Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in considering legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, what powers they are considering in relation to superintelligent AI that poses a threat to national security.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is considerable debate and uncertainty around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), but the possibility of their development must be taken seriously.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already regulated in the UK, and a range of existing rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality and sectoral regulation. But it is clear that the most advanced AI systems pose distinct opportunities and risks.
The AI Security Institute (AISI) has already deepened our understanding of national security risks, but the Government remains committed to taking further steps where required to ensure that the UK is prepared for the changes that AI will bring.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of genomic testing on the UK’s position as a global centre for clinic trials and investment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Life Sciences Sector Plan committed to ensuring that the NHS Genomic Medicine Service works closely with industry to align genomic testing with clinical trial requirements and improve access to precision medicine. NHS England, in collaboration with partners such as the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, is aligning the National Genomic Test Directory, which sets out the genomic tests available in the National Health Service, with clinical trial targets. A list of cancer genomic targets has been agreed with national experts and will be incorporated into routinely used next-generation sequencing panels and whole genome sequencing. This will allow these targets to be reported as part of standard care, enabling rapid patient enrolment into clinical trials. From 2025/26, NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs have begun reporting a small number of clinical trial targets, with plans to expand this coverage.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the obstacles which have prevented medicines being launched over the last five years, including terminated appraisals by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) plays a critical role in supporting patient access to clinically and cost effective new medicines and it consistently approves a very high proportion of medicines that come to England for appraisal. Over the last five years, NICE has approved 91% medicines that it appraised, with the latest figures for 2024/25 also standing at 91%.
NICE is also monitoring the proportion of appraisals that are terminated where the company does not participate in the appraisal process. The Medicines data: NICE approvals and availability in England paper, a copy of which is attached, was recently considered by the NICE board and summarised the findings of research with companies into the reasons stated by industry for terminating appraisals. The research showed that the proportion of terminations has been stable over the last five years, and that terminations reflect that not all products/indications will likely be clinically and cost effective.
The Life Sciences Sector Plan, published on 16 July, focuses on enabling world-class research and development, making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to start, scale, and invest in life sciences, thereby driving healthcare innovation and reform. This approach will support high-growth businesses, deliver better health outcomes, and cement the UK’s global leadership in life sciences.
It sets out our commitment to make the UK one of the top three fastest places in Europe for patient access to medicines by 2030. To achieve this, the Government will measure:
- the speed with which products are licensed and/or registered on the UK market in comparison to other European markets;
- the timeline and cost to achieving appropriate Health Technology Assessment in England; and
- the uptake and widespread adoption of products in the National Health Service in England.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue to support creative industries, including through the Music and Dance Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The creative industries are one of this government’s priority sectors for growth, as set out in our Industrial Strategy. The Creative Industries Sector Plan aims to make the UK the top destination for creativity and innovation by 2035. The Plan includes targeted packages for high-growth subsectors, including film, TV, video games, advertising, music, visual and performing arts. The Plan focuses on helping creative businesses access finance, export and innovate, and to develop a high quality workforce.
As part of this, the Government fully supports the arts and the skills pipeline into the creative industries, with the Department for Education providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how capital spending on flood defences will be split between physical infrastructure and nature-based solutions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Delivering on the Plan for Change, this Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities from the devastating impacts of climate change. Through the largest floods programme in history, this record investment will better protect nearly 900,000 properties.
Following a public consultation over the summer, the government published a Ministerial Statement on 14 October, announcing major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. We will invest at least £300 million in natural flood management over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme. These changes will support projects that not only reduce flood risk but also deliver wider benefits to communities and nature.
The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use Government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of Government investment go further
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to continue to provide funding to eight specialist music and dance schools through the Music and Dance Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer my noble Friend to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 79113.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support NHS trusts and integrated care systems to trial and adopt drone technology for time-sensitive healthcare logistics, such as blood samples.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors. Work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into healthcare logistics. The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme, the Department for Transport, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLS drone use cases for the National Health Service.
To enable NHS trusts and integrated care systems to trial and adopt drones, the Department of Health and Social Care works with organisations from across the Government such as Innovate UK, who have funded 20 projects exploring the use of drone technology to support a range of health and social care applications, with a total investment exceeding £20 million.
As part of the 2025/26 Future of Flight Programme, delivered by the Department for Transport, two new projects, namely Dragon’s Heart and London Health Bridge Growth, have been announced to advance the use of drones in healthcare logistics. Together, these projects will receive funding of £820,000.
The Department of Health and Social Care continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.
Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders about the treatment of environmental defenders in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government takes its obligations under the Aarhus Convention seriously and remains committed to engaging constructively with its mechanisms, including the rapid response mechanism and the work of the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Convention.
The UK has responded to the Special Rapporteur. These responses are publicly available on the website of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the strength of UK supply chains for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and what plans they have to reduce the UK’s reliance on overseas imports of hydrogen technologies for taxpayer-funded hydrogen projects.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is optimally positioned to develop a thriving hydrogen economy, with many UK companies at the forefront of hydrogen technology advancement.
The Government announced a public finance offer for clean energy industries to crowd private investment into sustainable UK supply chains. This includes: a £1bn Clean Energy supply chain fund; £5.8bn for the National Wealth Fund to invest across this Parliament in clean industries including low-carbon hydrogen; and a £4bn British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital initiative.
We will also work with projects to deliver events connecting developers and suppliers.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the export potential of the UK hydrogen and fuel cell technology sector by 2030, and what steps they are taking to support UK access into international markets.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
UK companies are at the forefront of the clean energy transition, and are already exporting their innovative technologies and world-renowned services to projects across the globe.
We are working hard to ensure UK hydrogen and fuel cell companies continue to capitalise on the opportunities of the global clean energy transition, and to access high value opportunities in international markets.
This includes working to remove trade barriers, as well as championing our world-leading hydrogen companies overseas.
We are also working with international governments to unlock opportunities in established and emerging markets, establishing international partnerships to support UK commercial collaborations.