EU Technological Sovereignty Package

Lord Bishop of Hereford Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

The noble Baroness highlights the importance of having clear guidance and a clear framework for the public sector as it makes various procurements. That is why, for example, we have published the Cloud Challenge Book 2026, which helps to identify how the public sector can strengthen resilience, improve competition and reduce unnecessary dependency on individual suppliers. That is part of our approach to cloud procurement for the whole of the public sector.

[The Lord Bishop of Hereford]

My Lords, technological sovereignty is not simply about developing domestic capabilities but about the values that guide their development. What steps are His Majesty’s Government taking to embed accountability, transparency and public oversight in technological development?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

Investments that are backed by, for example, the sovereign AI fund must of course abide by UK laws, including copyright laws. However, this also goes to the point about AI technology in terms of discerning values and the understanding of everybody, from children to workers to older populations, about how to safely adopt AI. The assurance market in AI is something that we are backing very strongly, so that people have real clarity about the underlying credentials of the AI that they use.