Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to accept the European Union's position, as set out in the explanatory memorandum COM(2025) 118 of 24 March, that the European Union's AI Act should be added to the legislation in force in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains a leading AI nation and is currently assessing the content of the European Union’s notification. The substantive provisions of the EU AI Act do not apply in Northern Ireland and would only apply following an agreement at the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.
Any decisions by the UK at the Joint Committee will be subject to the processes set out in Schedule 6B of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. We are not obliged to respond to the notification within any set timeframe and will continue to engage with the European Union on this matter.