Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the current arrangements for licensing and accessing the postcode address file; and what assessment they have made of the impact this may have on economic growth.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Postcode Address File is owned by Royal Mail. Royal Mail’s terms of access to the Postcode Address File are regulated by Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services. Ofcom requires Royal Mail to provide access to the Postcode Address File on reasonable terms. Royal Mail provides free access to small charities and microbusinesses in their first year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 20 January (HL13300), whether they have now reviewed whether it is necessary for the prescribed standards for police driving training to be set by legislation; and if so, what was the outcome of that review.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

It is vital that police drivers are trained to a high standard in order to maintain public and driver safety. This is why the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced new training requirements and a new test for police drivers, which are required by the Act to be prescribed in regulations.

The Government engages regularly with the College of Policing and other stakeholders to ensure that police driver training continues to meet these high standards. We will give full consideration to making changes if it becomes clear there is a need to do so to maintain flexibility of the standards

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer by Baroness Lloyd of Effra on 28 January (HL13712) and Ofcom's statement in the 2013 Postcode Address File Review that "The decision as to whether to make PAF an open dataset is one for Government to take", what steps they are taking to consult on and review the current status of the Postcode Address File as a closed dataset, and which Minister is responsible for this work.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Postcode Address File is a privately-owned dataset. This was a decision taken as part of the privatisation of Royal Mail in 2013.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade owns the responsibility for postal services legislation. Section 116 of the Postal Services Act 2000 requires the owner of the Postcode Address File to make it available to those who wish to use it, on reasonable terms. It also requires the owner to maintain it.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of answers to written questions are researched or drafted using artificial intelligence tools and whether they have a specific policy regarding the use of artificial intelligence for such tasks.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

The Government does not collect data on the proportion of answers to written questions that are either researched or drafted using artificial intelligence tools. There is no specific cross - Government policy guidance relating to questions, but the Government Digital Service has published the “Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government” document which sets out principles for the use of a wider range of artificial intelligence technologies safely, effectively and responsibly.