Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to attract more private investment into the UK for the construction of new AI data centres.

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

This Government is committed to supporting data centre builds in the UK and removing barriers to sustainable development, including reviewing and improving grid connections and exploring other ways to provide capacity.

Since last July, over £40 billion has been announced in private investment in new data centres in the UK. In January, the Prime Minister launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which included plans to develop AI Growth Zones, dedicated hubs designed to fast-track AI infrastructure development, support planning approvals, and unlock energy access.

More widely, we are streamlining planning rules to accelerate buildout, have designated the sector as Critical National Infrastructure, and are introducing a stable regulatory environment to improve security and resilience.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that increased employer National Insurance contributions will lead to fewer jobs being available; and how this will affect individuals seeking employment.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) forecasts that, with all policies considered, the employment level will increase from 33.6 million in 2024 to 34.8 million in 2029.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce further legislation to regulate the cryptocurrency market.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has confirmed that it will proceed with introducing a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK. The Government is seeking to bring forward legislation to create this regime as early as possible this year.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure access to accurate and up-to-date statistics, following reports of delays and mistakes in releases of data from the Office for National Statistics.

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

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Taylor of Warwick

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

31 March 2025

Dear Lord Taylor,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what steps have been taken to ensure access to accurate and up-to-date statistics, following reports of delays and mistakes in releases of data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (HL6081).

In recent months, as part of routine quality assurance, the ONS identified issues with some of our statistical outputs, resulting in a small number of publications being delayed. Prioritising quality in our statistics is at the forefront of what we do. As such, we are consistently improving systems, investing in quality assurance, and undertaking vital transformation programmes. Further steps to ensure quality in our statistics will be communicated in our 2025/26 Strategic Business Plan. In early April, we will also be publishing our new survey strategy. This will build upon our existing surveys recovery plan, and will chart the pathway to a robust, sustainable survey system that can deliver the critical data required by Government and other key stakeholders.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announced increase in defence spending, what steps they are taking to research artificial intelligence technologies and encourage their implementation in defence programmes.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

AI (and the autonomy it enables) has potential to transform every aspect of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Armed Forces. Rapid and scaled adoption of these technologies is a key Defence priority and significant work is underway across the Department, including over 400 AI-related projects and programmes.

MOD’s efforts to harness AI are cohered through the Defence AI Centre - a partnership between Defence Digital, Defence Equipment and Support and Dstl. Dstl’s Science and Technology research capabilities therefore underpin our approach to AI, helping to ensure that the MOD understand key technological developments while also developing the standards, tooling and Test and Evaluation capabilities to adopt and use AI-enabled systems safely and responsibly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how apprenticeship schemes can stimulate economic growth by attracting more young people into the workforce.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth with the support of a strong skills system, including apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships for young people generate significant economic value. The department estimates that £56,000 and £104,000 of economic value is created per 16 to 18-year-old who start an apprenticeship at level 2 or level 3 respectively. More information can be found in ‘The net present value of further education in England 2021 to 2022’, which is attached and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67adc0ba69d39abb04adce22/The_net_present_value_of_further_education_in_England_2021_to_2022_.pdf.

Too many young people are struggling to access high-quality opportunities and this government wants to ensure that more young people can undertake apprenticeships. We are developing new foundation apprenticeships, which will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. The department is working closely with employers and providers to design foundation apprenticeships that give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working lives, whilst supporting the pipeline of new talent that employers will need to drive economic growth.

Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and allow them to progress and specialise in advanced apprenticeships, giving them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry, on top of fully funding the training costs through the new growth and skills levy.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the video game industry to increase (1) diversity of characters shown in games, and (2) the diversity of main characters in games.

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

The Government has announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates. The Fund includes diversity criteria in its assessment process for grant funding and encourages applicants to consider the British Film Institute’s Diversity Standards

Video games companies can also benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and can access support from the Create Growth Programme and UK Global Screen Fund, all of which require applicants to consider diversity criteria.

In January, the British Business Bank also committed to increase its support for the UK’s Creative Industries, including video games, to help them realise their full growth potential.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to investment and funding for video game developers in the UK, particularly those from under-represented groups.

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

The Government has announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates. The Fund includes diversity criteria in its assessment process for grant funding and encourages applicants to consider the British Film Institute’s Diversity Standards

Video games companies can also benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and can access support from the Create Growth Programme and UK Global Screen Fund, all of which require applicants to consider diversity criteria.

In January, the British Business Bank also committed to increase its support for the UK’s Creative Industries, including video games, to help them realise their full growth potential.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report published on 25 March by Offshore Energies UK, Business Outlook Report 2025, that by 2050 the UK could produce half of its projected demand for oil and gas.

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

On its website, the North Sea Transition Authority publishes projections on oil and gas production and demand, and reports on remaining reserves and resources.

The offshore basin is mature. The most accessible hydrocarbons have already been extracted. Future licences would not meaningfully increase production, nor change our status as a net importer of oil and gas. Nevertheless, oil and gas will be with us for decades, and the Government will continue to support existing fields.

Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition to clean energy industries, driving towards energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the video game industry, particularly in regard to tax relief schemes for companies.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that the creative industries, including the video games sector, play a key role in driving economic growth. As part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, a creative industries sector plan will be developed, working with business, local leaders, and sector experts.

The Government supports the video games sector through the tax system and through funding. Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.

In addition, companies may benefit from the £5.5 million UK Games Fund, which helps high-potential start-ups scale-up.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to invest in emerging artificial intelligence technologies to help boost productivity in the UK.

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

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that while the exact economic impact hinges on the wider development and adoption of AI, the UK could see productivity gains of up to 1.5 percent annually. By investing in AI now, we’re ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.

To encourage widespread adoption, we are targeting high-growth Industrial Strategy sectors and supporting diffusion across the whole economy by appointing AI Sector champions. The Technology Adoption Review will also set out recommendations for how government should work with industry to support businesses to adopt AI.

This builds on Innovate UK's £100 million BridgeAI programme, which has so far provided £68 million in funding to nearly 800 businesses to boost AI-enabled productivity.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to obtain usable data from legacy systems to enable the Civil Service to incorporate more artificial intelligence technology into its operating procedures.

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

HMG is committed to adopting AI to increase efficiency and quality of services. All departments are promoted to explore all of their existing data sets from all sources to find opportunities for innovation as part of the 'Scan, Pilot, Scale' approach set out in the AI opportunities plan. Further work is being scoped to look into data quality from both cloud and legacy services as part of the 'Lay the foundations of AI' mission also set out in the AI Opportunities Plan.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the introduction of 25 per cent tariffs on European car imports to the United States, and (2) the impact of those tariffs on UK car exports.

Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We’re disappointed by the decision to impose global tariffs of 25% on the auto imports and know this will be deeply concerning for our automotive sector. We support our automotive industry, and in the first instance we will continue to pursue a deal that works for both us and the US.

We have backed the auto sector with £2 billion to support the transition of domestic manufacturing and £300 million announced in the Budget to drive uptake of electric vehicles. We will also use our Industrial Strategy to strengthen UK automotive competitiveness.

This government is clear that we will always do what is necessary to defend the UK’s national interest. This is why the government has launched a request for input from businesses to help shape our response to US tariffs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Resolution Foundation titled Happy new tax year 2025 published on 3 April which indicates that household income will fall by £400.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government’s Plan for Change outlines our goal to raise living standards across the United Kingdom. The measure of living standards used in the Government’s Plan for Change milestones is real household disposable income (RHDI) per person.

In the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) March 2025 forecast, RHDI per person is expected to rise over this parliament – twice as fast compared to the previous parliament, which was the worst on record for living standards growth.

The Resolution Foundation report uses an alternative measure of living standards, rather than the more widely used RHDI per person. This measure excludes some categories of income and some groups that would be included in living standards as measured by RHDI per person.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure connections to the electricity grid are sufficient to attract investment in artificial intelligence data centre infrastructure.

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

The Government is working with Ofgem and NESO to deliver fundamental reform to the grid connections process. Subject to Ofgem’s final decision this could release over 400GW of capacity from the connection queue, which will accelerate connections for AI data centres.

The Government have also sought expressions of interest to identify promising locations which can benefit overall grid infrastructure whilst still having quick project development times to remain attractive for infrastructure investment.

The Government is also setting up the AI Energy Council, through which senior representatives from both the energy industry and the AI industry will look at where best to locate AI data centres and proactively manage the energy requirements of AI. These efforts work in tandem with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the infringement of copyright in generative artificial intelligence, and what steps they will take to address this.

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

Copying protected material in the UK will infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.

The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including seeking views on the use of copyright material in AI model development.

This consultation closed on 25th February.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be set out in due course

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of AI-powered remote-monitoring systems in caring for dementia patients, and how this technology could reduce the cost of care.

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

Artificial intelligence powered remote monitoring technologies that can support people who draw on care, including those with dementia, are being piloted as part of the Adult Social Care Technology Fund. We will be publishing evidence from the pilots following their completion across 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage firms to adopt artificial intelligence technologies to increase their efficiency and output.

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

The Government is taking targeted action to support firms across the UK to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), helping to drive productivity and economic growth.

We are delivering the 50 recommendations from the AI Opportunities Action Plan, to strengthen the UK AI ecosystem and boost adoption. This includes appointing AI Sector Champions, appointing respected figures from key industries to help raise awareness and support firms in their sector to adopt AI.

The Government has also announced the Technology Adoption Review at the Autumn Budget. This review will provide recommendations on how Government and industry can work together to fully realise AI’s potential in the private sector, accelerating AI adoption in the eight sectors most critical to UK growth, as well as facilitating widespread adoption across the rest of the economy, including addressing the specific barriers faced by SMEs.

Question

To ask the Leader of the House what assessment they have made of government departments using artificial intelligence assistance in answering Questions for Written Answer, and whether this affects the integrity of the answers.

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

All written parliamentary questions are considered on a case by case basis. The Government does not have a specific policy on the use of AI for responding to written parliamentary questions, however staff do have access to AI software tools to support the drafting process. All responses are reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy, and parliamentary questions are signed off by Ministers.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increase in minimum wage on 1 April on the number of job vacancies.

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

As set out in the Impact Assessment accompanying the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NLW) rates, the economic literature to date shows that increases to the NLW have had a limited impact on labour demand.

There were around 816,000 vacancies in December 2024 to February 2025, broadly unchanged on the quarter, based on the latest official data.