Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what processes are in place to verify investment claims associated with large-scale AI infrastructure projects in the UK; and what steps they are taking to ensure transparency and accountability in the reporting of such investments.

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

Decisions on investment are a matter for private companies. The Government has been clear that it will encourage and support investments that will enable UK firms and people to benefit. Many of the large-scale AI infrastructure projects in the UK have been publicly announced, with most of these having press releases available on Gov.uk. The Government continues to engage across the board on these investments to ensure that they deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of support programmes available to small and medium-sized enterprises for AI adoption; and what steps they are taking to improve productivity, innovation and regional economic development.

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

We are committed to ensuring the UK is the leading adopter of AI in the G7, and the Government will look at how regulation, data and access to finance can support adoption including by working closely with sectoral AI Champions to identify new solutions. Upskilling is a crucial way to ensure the UK workforce can capitalise on the opportunities of AI. To support this, the Government has launched the AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030.

We are ensuring that UK businesses can access the guidance and expertise they need to adopt AI and drive transformational growth. We are expanding Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme across our Industrial Strategy sectors and have launched the Centre for AI-Driven Innovation in Imperial College London in partnership with the World Economic Forum. Each AI Growth Zone will also receive £5 million to go towards local AI adoption and upskilling.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the growth of UK-based AI start-ups, including the emergence of new unicorn companies; and what steps they are taking to improve access to scale-up finance, talent and long-term competitiveness in this area.

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

The UK has a flourishing AI start-up ecosystem, and as of early 2026, the UK is home to over 150 tech unicorns, ranking it 3rd globally for venture capital-backed innovation.

We’re strengthening the UK’s scale-up finance ecosystem to help high-growth companies - including AI start-ups - start, scale and remain in the UK. This includes strengthening long-term capital through an expanded remit for the National Wealth Fund, increasing its capitalisation to £27.8 billion and scaling up the British Business Bank to £25.6 billion, as well as increasing annual investments by two-thirds to around £2.5 billion and committing £5 billion to growth-stage funds.

We have a world leading R&D and talent ecosystem which is a major attraction globally. We have also established the Sovereign AI Unit, backed by up to £500 million, to invest in and support high-growth UK AI companies. Our AI Opportunities Action Plan demonstrates how we are delivering a long-term strategy to ensure that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to start, scale and grow AI companies.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of large-scale AI data centre developments on regional economic growth.

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

Data centres are foundational to a competitive UK economy, underpinning the digital services that drive productivity across sectors—from finance and advanced manufacturing to public services and the creative industries. By enabling AI, cloud computing and data‑intensive services, they deliver economy‑wide productivity gains nationally and regionally, as well as strengthen the UK’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

TechUK has estimated that UK data centres contribute £4.7 billion pounds in gross value added each year and support-tens of thousands of high-quality jobs across construction, operations and specialist supply chains. Operational employment is generally highly skilled and well paid, with wider employment supported through demand for electrical engineering, cooling, digital infrastructure and maintenance services. More widely, TechUK estimates that each job funded by data centre operations supports between 1.4–2.5 jobs in the wider economy.

HMG’s AI Growth Zone programme unlocks significant private investment and secures compute to drive AI growth, supporting high‑value local jobs and skills. HMG is investing up to £5 million per AI Growth Zone, in the North-East of England, Oxfordshire, North and South Wales, and Lanarkshire in Scotland, working with local areas to design tailored schemes to realise local economic benefits and boost AI adoption in local communities.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of AI tools in corporate governance and decision-making processes within financial institutions; and what steps they are taking to ensure that regulatory frameworks relating to accountability, transparency and oversight remain effective.

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

The Government’s ambition is to make the UK the fastest AI adopter in the G7 and encouraging safe adoption is an essential part of realising that ambition. We will continue to work closely with regulators and industry to ensure innovation proceeds safely and responsibly in the financial sector. In January 2026, the government also appointed Financial Services AI Champions to catalyse adoption and innovation of AI in this sector.

UK regulated financial firms are required to manage technology-related risks to consumers and financial stability, including those arising from the use of AI. These include requirements relating to governance and accountability. Alongside this, HM Treasury and the regulators are continually reviewing our approach as new technology develops to ensure that the framework continues to develop accordingly, and can be strengthened should this become necessary.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to the UK's supply chains of essential goods, including food, fuel and medicines, arising from the conflict in the Middle East; and what steps they are taking to strengthen resilience and contingency planning.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

DBT continuously assesses supply chain risks, mitigations, and potential interventions. The UK’s economic fundamentals remain strong. Supply of inputs and commodities remains stable and generally well diversified.

As the UK imports very low amounts of petrol, diesel and crude oil from the Middle East, we have not experienced supply issues. The Middle East is not a major source of UK food imports. Government does not currently expect any impact on food availability for consumers.

Government has already acted to strengthen UK economic resilience, including expanding the forthcoming British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) and restarting production at the Ensus plant.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK economy of the conflict in the Middle East, including impact on energy prices, trade and inflation; and what steps they are taking to ensure economic resilience.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

Government is closely monitoring the potential impact of disruption to trade and the wider economy. As with the conflict itself, there remains uncertainty about the scale and duration of the resulting economic and trade shock.

The UK has a diverse and resilient energy system, and Government has already taken action on energy prices, including allocating £50m for heating oil support for low‑income households and expanding the forthcoming British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS).

Rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to protect the UK economy. Government continues to work internationally to support a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support international competitiveness, inward investment and the development of AI infrastructure in the UK.

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

AI is the defining technology of our era, with the potential to transform productivity across the entire economy. We are working to ensure the growth and productivity gains from new technology are realised in the UK to the benefit of working people.

We’ll do this by building sufficient compute to protect our interests and avoid excessive dependencies on others. We have already announced five AI Growth Zones and are working with local authorities, regulators and industry to identify suitable locations, accelerate delivery and remove barriers to development. At the same time, we are backing sectors where the UK has real strengths through our Sovereign AI Unit, which will invest directly in promising UK AI companies.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of data security risks associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence systems by small and medium-sized enterprises in the hospitality sector; and what guidance they have issued about the safe deployment of those systems.

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

Organisations that process personal data through the deployment of AI systems must comply with the UK’s data protection legislation, as set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). This includes a requirement to put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of personal data.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, has published guidance for organisations on artificial intelligence and data protection available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/artificial-intelligence/. Additionally, the UK Government has published a Code of Practice that sets baseline security requirements for AI tools, models and systems. The Code has informed the development of an AI security global standard in ETSI (EN 304 223) which was published in December 2025.

The Government also supports the UK’s AI assurance market, and has set out our ambitions for the sector in the Roadmap to Trusted Third-Party AI Assurance. AI assurance is crucial to ensure that AI systems are developed and deployed responsibly and in compliance with the law, so that businesses can confidently invest in new AI products and innovate at pace.