Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held discussions with experts in the field of artificial intelligence who have raised concerns about social, economic, and environmental harm resulting from rapid advances in this technology; and, if so, who.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government engages regularly with a wide range of experts on both the opportunities and the risks presented by rapid advances in AI, including academics, civil society and independent researchers. Examples include: expert input to the Government Office for Science's AI Scenarios 2030, developed with experts from across government, academia and industry; the International AI Safety Report, which brings together over 100 independent experts and is chaired by Professor Yoshua Bengio, for which the AI Security Institute provides the secretariat; and the AI Energy Council, whose membership and minutes are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with companies specialising in artificial intelligence regarding the potential social, economic, and environmental harms caused by rapid advances in this technology.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government engages regularly with AI companies on both the opportunities and the risks presented by rapid advances in AI. Examples include: the AI Security Institute’s work with top AI developers to identify vulnerabilities in their models; the AI Economics Institute, which acts as a focal point for engagement with business and academia to strengthen the evidence base on AI's effects on productivity, labour markets and growth; and the AI Energy Council which convenes AI, data centre, and energy companies alongside regulators, with its membership and minutes published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure regulations relating to artificial intelligence are capable of addressing rapid advances in the development of superintelligent artificial intelligence.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
AI is developing rapidly and has the potential to transform our economy and public services. It is already helping scientists discover new treatments for disease and make our energy networks cleaner.
But as its capabilities advance, it is right that safeguards keep pace.
Through the AI Security Institute, the Government is leading global efforts to test and understand the most advanced AI systems, while helping to develop the standards and safeguards needed to keep people, businesses and critical infrastructure secure.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Free Trade Agreement with the Maldives will include specific provisions that prioritise the trade of tuna caught by low-impact methods over industrially-caught tuna.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave on 27 November 2025 to questions UIN HL12107, UIN HL12108 and UIN HL12109.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards for the marine environment they plan to include in the Free Trade Agreement with the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave on 27 November 2025 to questions UIN HL12107, UIN HL12108 and UIN HL12109.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave on 27 November 2025 to questions UIN HL12107, UIN HL12108 and UIN HL12109.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the proposed free trade agreement with the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The previous Government, of which the noble lord was a member, launched a public consultation into a potential UK/Maldives FTA in 2023. The Department for Business and Trade has subsequently evaluated its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme and decided not to progress a UK-Maldives FTA at this time. It would be inappropriate to speculate on what might or might not be included in an FTA which we are not pursuing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the free trade agreement with the Maldives will include specific provisions that prioritise tuna caught by low impact methods over industrially caught tuna.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The previous Government, of which the noble lord was a member, launched a public consultation into a potential UK/Maldives FTA in 2023. The Department for Business and Trade has subsequently evaluated its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme and decided not to progress a UK-Maldives FTA at this time. It would be inappropriate to speculate on what might or might not be included in an FTA which we are not pursuing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards for the marine environment they plan to include in any free trade agreement with the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Stockwood
The previous Government, of which the noble lord was a member, launched a public consultation into a potential UK/Maldives FTA in 2023. The Department for Business and Trade has subsequently evaluated its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme and decided not to progress a UK-Maldives FTA at this time. It would be inappropriate to speculate on what might or might not be included in an FTA which we are not pursuing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out a monitoring report of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, including its environmental impact and impact on deforestation; whether they will include opportunities for expert stakeholders to provide their views and evidence; and how often they plan to carry out such a report.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Department for Business and Trade intends to cover the UK’s accession to the CPTPP Agreement in a Free Trade Agreement monitoring report. The Department will consider a range of areas for inclusion in this report, including the environment, and it will take account of stakeholder views. The timing of the report will be provided in due course.