Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation of Thames Water; and whether they intend to intervene to ensure fair prices for customers.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is carefully monitoring the situation with Thames Water and the company remains stable. It is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans, ensure that the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate and monitor and hold water companies accountable for delivery.

Thames Water has sought a referral to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for redetermination. Just as Ofwat conducts the price review process at a distance from the Government, the CMA also conduct their redetermination process independently and it would therefore be inappropriate for the Government to comment on the precise details of each company’s case.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to modifying their plans set out in the 2024 Autumn Budget to encourage greater investment and growth.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to delivering a decade of national renewal by fixing the foundations of the economy and rebuilding Britain, making every part of the country better off. The growth mission is the central mission of the Government. Through the growth mission, the Government is restoring economic stability, increasing investment, and reforming the economy to drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK.

The Government has made significant progress on its plan for growth. The Autumn Budget 2024 fixed the foundations of our economy by putting in place measures to support economic and fiscal stability. It also set out that the government will invest over £35 billion in economic infrastructure in 2025-26 to get Britain moving and spur regional growth. The OBR judged that policies announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 will, if sustained, permanently increase the size of the economy in the long term. The Government is committed to working further and faster to secure growth, which is why the Chancellor recently announced her support for a third runway at Heathrow and plans to deliver the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how AI has improved public services, following their press release Shake-up of Tech and AI Usage Across NHS and Other Public Services to Deliver Plan for Change, published on 21 January.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The AI Opportunities Action Plan, published in January 2025, reinforces the power of AI in improving citizens’ experiences of public services and driving up public sector productivity. The Action Plan proposed that we “scan, pilot, and scale” opportunities to embed AI in public services.

To bring immediate focus and pace to this objective, the Cabinet Secretary commissioned the Government Digital Service and the Public Sector Reform Unit in the Cabinet Office to identify a portfolio of AI ‘use cases’ that could benefit from potential Prime Ministerial sponsorship and support from the centre in 2025. These exemplars bring together the Prime Minister’s national AI ambitions, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and work underway in the Cabinet Office to drive towards a productive and agile state. The Exemplars will be rolled out this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for data centres, which consume high amounts of electricity, to be located near wind farms in Scotland that have previously been turned off due to the electricity grid being unable to handle excess generation.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Locating electricity demand in areas with high levels of electricity generation can help reduce the costs of managing the electricity system and the amount of new grid infrastructure that is needed. The government is committed to including data centres as part of its strategic energy plans and this department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to ensure the growth of AI and data centres in the UK is done in a way that supports our clean power mission and longer-term decarbonisation goals.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Whitehall operates effectively, particularly regarding how different departments collaborate and coordinate with one another.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Mission-driven government means a focus on ambitious, long-term goals that require coordination and partnership across government and wider society. This a refocusing of the state onto active delivery across departmental boundaries. The Mission Delivery Unit in my departments works to ensure that all parts of government work together to deliver the Plan for Change.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of artificial intelligence technologies to streamline NHS patient records to allow records to be accessible across different hospitals and practices.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improved digital and data infrastructure, such as Electronic Patient Records, are essential foundations for digital transformation. Many National Health Service trusts currently have out-of-date computers and devices, and poor clinical system interoperability limiting access to clinical information at the point of care.

New tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse text records and make them accessible for hospitals are currently being trialled in several NHS trusts. These tools can analyse patient records, doctors’ notes and letters to recognise their meaning and accurately assign the correct details to the patient record in a more structured and accessible fashion. Early trials have shown positive results, such as helping identify bottlenecks in patient journeys through the system and facilitating recruitment to clinical trials, as well as improved communication between different hospitals and practices.

NHS England is developing guidance for those adopting or considering adopting ambient voice technologies, where the latest generation uses advanced AI technologies to convert spoken words into text used for clinical documentation, such as patient records. This process needs minimal intervention from users, though they still need to review and approve the text produced. They are currently being trialled in several local organisations and early results show they can significantly reduce the time clinical staff need to spend on administration.

The NHS AI Lab and Sciencewise held a public dialogue on how the public feels decisions should be made about access to their personal health data for AI purposes. The NHS AI Lab conducted a discovery exercise to design approaches based on insights from the public, which is now informing broader data stewardship initiatives, including where AI is used in relation to patient records. There are strict safeguards in place throughout the NHS to protect data. All providers of services which handle patient data must protect that data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, and Data Protection Act 2018.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps to encourage firms to develop and incorporate AI technologies into their daily procedures.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The adoption of trustworthy AI across the UK public and private sectors will drive productivity and growth across the whole economy. To capture the full potential of AI in the private sector, we are targeting high-growth Industrial Strategy sectors and appointing AI Sector Champions in key industries to support diffusion across the whole economy. The cross-government Technology Adoption Review announced at the Autumn Budget will set out additional recommendations in Spring 2025 as to how government should work with industry to support businesses to adopt and innovate with AI.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Thames Water will increase its prices, and what steps they are taking to support customers.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Unfortunately, bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.

Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector.

All water companies offer affordability support through WaterSure and social tariff schemes to help reduce bills for households who struggle to pay their bills in full. Water companies also offer a range of financial support measures to assist households to better manage their budgets and provide flexible payments including payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and money/debt advice referral arrangements.

Water companies should continue to actively engage with households and inform them of support measures they offer. The Consumer Council for Water works with water companies and Defra to monitor the uptake of affordability measures, and the Government continues to explore options to improve the affordability of water bills.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of new house building, and what plans they have to aid the development of new homes.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We have recommitted in our Plan for Change to deliver 1.5m homes over this Parliament to solve the housing crisis and boost economic growth.

This government has inherited an acute housing crisis and has taken urgent action to fix this, including through bold planning reform and an £800m top up to the current Affordable Homes Programme.

Housing delivery, particularly major developments, takes time, so we expect housing supply to ramp up over the parliamentary term as our changes take effect.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to create regulations for artificial intelligence, and if so, how these will impact companies and customers.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, and our expert regulators are best placed to do this. The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out a number of recommendations on how the Government can proactively work with regulators to support our ambitions for AI and growth, which the Government will be taking forward.

The Government is also developing legislative proposals which will allow us to safely realise the enormous benefits of the most powerful AI systems. We will be launching a public consultation in due course to ensure our proposals are proportionate and support innovation.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK’s creative industry businesses do not relocate to other countries because of the impact of AI on their work and their intellectual property rights.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government recognises the importance of the UK’s copyright regime to the economic success of the creative industries, one of eight growth-driving sectors as identified in our Industrial Strategy. We are committed to supporting rights holders by ensuring they have control over and receive payment for their work, especially as technology advances to include AI. We are actively working with stakeholders to ensure copyright protections remain robust and fit for purpose.

Our aim is to clarify the copyright framework for AI – delivering certainty through a copyright regime that provides creators with real control and transparency, and helps them licence their content, while supporting AI developers' access to high-quality material. We want a set of British copyright rules that encourage AI training here, while protecting our world class creative industries.

Our consultation on the impact of AI on the copyright regime, which was published on 17 December and closed on 25 February, received over 10,000 responses. We will now consider the full range of responses we have received and will continue to develop our policy approach in partnership with creative industries, media and AI stakeholders.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following their announcement to increase defence spending, what steps they are taking to ensure that diplomatic solutions remain at the forefront of their approach to international relations.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

His Majesty's Government is responding to a period of profound change, with conflicts overseas undermining security and prosperity at home. This Government will continue using diplomatic solutions in a multidisciplinary approach to achieve our interests. We are reinforcing our relationships. The Prime Minister hosted European leaders to deliver on European security. The Foreign Secretary is driving collective efforts on Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan with the G7. This Government is developing deeper relations around the globe, reopening negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with India, signing a UK-South Africa Growth Plan and new Strategic Partnerships with Indonesia and Nigeria. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, we remain committed to upholding the international system, supported by the UK's network of diplomats. We are investing in a College of Diplomacy, ensuring the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office remains ready for the future.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage firms to continue to hire employees, following the changes announced in the Autumn Statement 2024.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has protected the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that next year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying any employer National Insurance contributions (NICs).

Businesses will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.

Achieving economic growth is vital. That’s why the growth mission is the central mission of the government. Through the growth mission, the Government is ensuring economic stability, increasing investment and reforming the economy. As laid out in the Plan for Change, the Government’s goal is to deliver higher living standards for people in every part of the United Kingdom and to build 1.5 million houses by the end of the Parliament.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of artificial intelligence technologies to help people back into the workforce through (1) monitoring individuals affected by illness; and (2) matching job vacancies with job seekers.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

1) The Health Transformation Programme is exploring how technology can improve the Personal Independence Payment service and support better outcomes for people with Health Conditions and Disabilities.

By creating modern digital health and disability benefit services, the Programme will collect health data in a structured way. This will allow us to use data more effectively to tailor support to individual needs and to connect individuals to the right work, health and skills support for them.

Structured data will also enable the Department to harness emerging technologies, such as AI. We will evaluate the impact of the changes on customers and DWP, before using AI tools widely.

2) We are working on the design for the national jobs and careers service with a pathfinder being planned. As part of the design of the service, we will explore and test the most appropriate use of technology (including AI) to support job seekers with their work search.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of net zero targets on the car industry in the UK, particularly in relation to new vehicle manufacturing.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Secretary of State and Minister Sarah Jones speak to the automotive industry regularly, so we know targets are important for certainty. We also need to ensure the transition to Zero Emission vehicles works for industry. That is why the Department for Transport has recently sought views from industry on how Government can best support it to meet the targets in the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. The response will be published in the near future.

This Government has also committed over £2 billion of funding to 2030 for zero emission vehicle manufacturing and supply chains. This support will be crucial for scaling up green technologies - supporting growth across the UK.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the protection of the energy sector from cyber attacks.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero collaborates with regulators, the National Cyber Security Centre, and operators to strengthen energy infrastructure security. This includes threat intelligence sharing and alerts to the sector, ensuring incident management plans are in place and setting clear and robust regulatory standards through the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018.

The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen our defences against current and future cyber threats by ensuring that more essential digital services are protected, expanding the remit of the existing regulations to protect supply chains and putting regulators on a stronger footing to ensure essential cyber safety measures are being implemented efficiently and effectively.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regulation of artificial intelligence use; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce a regulatory body for artificial intelligence.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Most AI systems should be regulated at point of use, and our expert regulators are best placed to do this. In response to the AI Action Plan, the Government has committed to supporting regulators in evaluating their AI capabilities and understanding how these can be strengthened.

The Government is also developing legislative proposals which will allow us to safely realise the enormous benefits of the most powerful AI systems.

We look forward to engaging further with the full range of stakeholders on our legislative proposals in due course including how we can best establish appropriate oversight where regulatory requirements apply.