Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in the UK unemployment rate to 5.1 per cent between August and October 2025; and what steps they are taking to support employment opportunities for young people.

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

The UK’s unemployment rate is now 5.1%.

But since the start of 2025 363,000 more people are in employment – outweighing the increase in unemployment over the same period (280,000).

At the end of the last Government the UK was the only country with economic inactivity higher - rather than lower - than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have seen a significant fall in economic inactivity as people reengage with the labour market. Our economic inactivity rate (21.0%) has fallen to its joint lowest level in over five years (and was last lower in January to March 2020).

The Government’s number one mission is to grow the economy and raise living standards across the UK. However, almost one million young people across the UK are currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET). That is why our manifesto set out the ambition to transform young people’s prospects by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee.

We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee, to ensure that all 16–24-year-olds in Great Britain can access support to find work, training, or an apprenticeship. We have launched Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announced funding to almost double our Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and we recently launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.

We are now going further through an expansion of the Youth Guarantee. This expansion is backed by a £820 million investment over the Spending Review period to reach almost 900,000 young people, including through Youth Hubs in every area in Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24–year-olds on Universal Credit. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training and provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.

Taken together, these measures show the Government’s commitment to backing young people, transforming lives, driving the economy and ensuring background is no barrier to success. Delivered in partnership with local government and devolved authorities, they will ensure no young person falls through the cracks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support banks to overcome the barriers to the adoption of advanced fintech and artificial intelligence systems posed by outdated information technology infrastructure.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government believes that the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the financial services (FS) sector is a major strategic opportunity, with the potential to power growth across the UK. This includes banking which, as highlighted in the AI in Financial Services Survey led by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, already benefits from AI innovations. Use cases mentioned include cyber security and fraud detection functions.

The government and the regulators are taking a pro-innovation stance to AI regulation across the economy including in financial services; and we are committed to continuing engagement with the sector and working with the regulators to monitor developments.

As part of the government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, the government will shortly be appointing a Financial Services AI Champion to act as a catalyst for AI adoption and innovation in the sector.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the participation of the UK's software and technology sectors in initial public offerings and the implications of this for the UK's fintech ecosystem.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has delivered an ambitious programme of reforms to make it easier for all firms, including fintechs, to list and raise capital on UK markets. This includes overhauling the Prospectus Regime and Listing Rules, providing more flexibility to firms and founders raising capital on UK markets.

At Mansion House, the Chancellor also announced the formation of a Listings Taskforce, to support businesses to list and grow in the UK, and the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which sets out a comprehensive package of reforms to maintain the UK’s global leadership in Fintech. Officials and ministers regularly engage with industry leaders on sector developments.

The Government does not usually comment on specific movements in financial markets.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent trends in UK equity fund outflows and changes in investor asset allocation, and the implications for UK capital markets and investment.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has delivered an ambitious programme of reforms to make it easier for all firms, including fintechs, to list and raise capital on UK markets. This includes overhauling the Prospectus Regime and Listing Rules, providing more flexibility to firms and founders raising capital on UK markets.

At Mansion House, the Chancellor also announced the formation of a Listings Taskforce, to support businesses to list and grow in the UK, and the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which sets out a comprehensive package of reforms to maintain the UK’s global leadership in Fintech. Officials and ministers regularly engage with industry leaders on sector developments.

The Government does not usually comment on specific movements in financial markets.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that businesses planning AI investment can access appropriate digital infrastructure and skills training.

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

The government is committed to facilitating the diffusion of AI across the whole of the UK by addressing the barriers to adoption faced by businesses and workers. DSIT is working with DfE and Skills England to assess the AI skills gap and map pathways to fill it and recently announced a joint commitment with industry to upskill 7.5 million workers by 2030 with vital AI skills.

Through the Industrial Strategy the government is taking steps to boost access to digital infrastructure such by supporting strategic demand projects to connect to the grid. UK businesses can also access the AI Research Resource which offers free access to high-performance AI compute, with dedicated user support and skills development to help UK-based start‑ups and SMEs experiment, innovate, and scale.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to implement the provisional licences authorisation scheme for financial services start-ups; and how they plan to ensure that the scheme balances provisional authorisation with consumer and market safeguards.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has committed to introducing a provisional licence authorisation regime for financial services firms seeking authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Introducing a provisional licence authorisation regime will require primary legislation, which the government will bring forward when Parliamentary time allows.

The regime will retain the high standards necessary to provide regulated financial services in the UK, and the FCA will operate the regime in line with its statutory objectives. Firms in the provisional licence authorisation regime will be subject to close supervision, and will be required to comply with relevant rules and requirements during the provisional licence period. The FCA will have its full suite of supervisory and enforcement powers in relation to these firms.

Further details can be found in the government’s recent policy update: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creating-a-provisional-licences-authorisation-regime-policy-update-2025

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of AI on the labour market, and how that assessment informs their policies on training, skills and labour market resilience.

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

The government is committed to ensuring that people have access to good, meaningful work. This involves adapting to structural changes in the labour market, including the emergence of new technology and other changes. While AI-driven changes in the labour market may bring challenges, they also offer new opportunities for economic growth, job creation, and increased productivity.

We are already witnessing AI’s impact on the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and changing the jobs landscape. We continue to monitor trends in the labour market as the impact of AI evolves. We remain mindful of this impact and its effect on the UK workforce and DWP customers, whilst working to harness the benefits that AI can bring.

We are continuing to deliver our Get Britain Working reforms to ensure we provide people with access to good work and training opportunities fit for the future. DWP has a strong track record of supporting people to re-skill (where needed) to re-enter work.

Government funds post-16 education, training and qualifications through 16-19 funding, the Adult Skills Fund and apprenticeships. This can support people at all stages of their lives to train and reskill in a range of sectors – including in response to changes in technology such as AI.

Government is investing £187 million to bring digital and AI learning into classrooms and support over 4,000 graduates, researchers, and innovators in areas like AI, cyber security and computer science. We will train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 through our new industry partnership with major tech players. Skills England is working with DSIT to mobilise the government-industry partnership that will deliver on this commitment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to support the use of AI-enabled appointment and scheduling tools in the NHS.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan was published on 3 July 2025, which sets out how the Government will ensure the National Health Service is fit for the future, where artificial intelligence (AI) will play a fundamental role in this transformation. As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is supporting the use of AI-enabled appointment and scheduling tools to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians, with early trials showing an increase in productivity and clinician time saved.

An accident and emergency demand forecasting tool is now available to all NHS trusts and is already in use by 50 NHS organisations, helping them plan how many people are likely to need emergency care and treatment on any given day. While this tool does not schedule appointments specifically, it uses AI to predict emergency care demand, enabling trusts to plan staffing and resources more effectively and reduce pressure on services.

The NHS continues to fund both pilots and scaling of different software products that enable the use of AI in scheduling and managing secondary care appointments. Typically, these include the ability to predict Did Not Attends, to reschedule appointments at short notice, and improve utilisation of clinician time.

Work has begun to deliver the NHS’s Medium Term Planning Framework commitment that, from April 2026, the NHS will begin to move to a unified access model, using AI-assisted triage. This model should effectively guide patients to self-care or to the appropriate care setting, through a single user interface delivered via the NHS App but with an integrated telephony and in-person offering.

Further to this, features set to be developed through the NHS App will include the ability to book and manage remote or face-to-face appointments, receive personalised health advice, see when vaccines are up-to-date, and book appointments to get them organised, and find travel vaccine info.

Additionally, DrDoctor, an AI tool, had a three-year contract from 2021 to 2024 with the NHS AI Lab Award. It supports hospitals by providing AI guidance on overbooking as a more efficient and economical solution to increase NHS appointment capacity. This has been shown to free up clinician and administrative time, improve patient care and experience, and predict which patients are at the highest risk of missing an appointment with “Did Not Attend” DNA Prediction.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement and strengthen oversight of cryptoasset tax compliance, including measures to improve reporting, enforcement and consumer protection in the UK crypto market.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC uses a range of approaches to manage tax compliance, helping taxpayers get their tax right whilst tackling those who avoid or evade paying the taxes that are due.

Current and planned tax compliance measures are detailed below:

• HMRC has obtained historical data from cryptoasset entities using statutory information-gathering powers and undertaken communications with customers to encourage self-correction and disclosure.
• A dedicated cryptoasset section was added to Self Assessment forms for 2024–25 returns.
• Implementation of the OECD Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) from 1 January 2026, requiring service providers to collect and report user information. This new framework is expected to lead to additional tax being collected of £535 million (across 2026-2031).
• HMRC has updated GOV.UK guidance and published a YouTube video (‘Cryptoassets and paying tax’) to improve customer understanding paying taxes.
• HMRC has established a dedicated Crypto Sector team to co-ordinate cryptoasset compliance activities. This team will expand in the Summer of 2026 in preparation of the data arriving from CARF to help promote compliance through education and tackle those who do not pay the tax that they owe.
• The government has introduced legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. Subject to Parliamentary approval, this will ensure consumers are protected and firms have the certainty needed to invest and grow in the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of tokenised deposits and smart contracts on the mortgage market, including use in conveyancing, remortgaging and the reduction of intermediaries and transaction delays.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Decisions on the use of tokenised deposits and smart contracts in the mortgage market are independent commercial matters for lenders and property firms, within the regulatory framework overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, including the Consumer Duty and relevant mortgage conduct rules. However, the Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the evolution and integration of new technologies and their potential impact on the industry.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently undertaking a review of home buying and selling, which will consider how digital tools and emerging technologies could be used to improve property transaction processes. The Government has made clear its objectives that reform should support faster, more reliable transactions and reduced fall throughs and risks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for (1) consumer protection, and (2) financial stability, of emerging customer-facing trials of agentic AI systems in the UK banking sector.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government’s ambition is to make the UK a global leader in AI, leveraging our dual strength in financial services and AI to drive growth, productivity, and consumer benefits. Encouraging safe adoption is an essential part of realising that ambition.

The treatment of customers by UK banks and building societies is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), whose independent regulatory powers ensure consumer protection in the financial services sector. The FCA’s Principles for Businesses require firms to provide prompt, efficient, and fair service to all their customers. The FCA’s Consumer Duty requires firms to act in good faith, prevent foreseeable harm, and act in the best interests of consumers.

UK banks are required to comply with relevant laws and regulations that are fundamental to consumer protection, including in any use of customer-facing agentic AI. In April 2024, the FCA published an update on its regulatory approach to AI, making it clear that where firms use AI as part of their business operations, they remain responsible for meeting FCA rules. Firms remain fully accountable for outcomes delivered by AI systems.

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying and monitoring risks to UK financial stability. In their April 2025 Financial Stability in Focus publication, they set out the potential benefits and risks to financial stability that could result from AI use in the financial system, including in relation to agentic AI. HM Treasury continues to work closely with the FPC and UK financial regulators to assess risks to financial stability.

The Government will continue to work with regulators and industry to ensure innovation proceeds safely and responsibly.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for regulatory oversight of fintech innovation arising from developments in blockchain-based programmable deposit tokenisation in UK banks.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

New forms of digital money and payments present potential benefits for both users and providers of payment services, offering faster, cheaper payments with better functionalities and greater security.

The government, alongside regulators, is considering the innovation opportunities that blockchain-based payments instruments, including tokenised deposits, could present the UK financial services sector.

We are working with regulators and industry to design the next generation of retail payments infrastructure, overseen by the Payments Vision Delivery Committee.

Steps have already been taken to set up the right regulatory conditions for firms to safely innovate and experiment with this technology, specifically through the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) work on the Digital Securities Sandbox.

Furthermore, the government recently laid legislation to regulate cryptoassets and stablecoins. This regime will raise standards, strengthen consumer protection, help tackle market abuse, and support the responsible growth of the UK’s cryptoasset sector by providing clear and consistent rules.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by UK Finance Generative AI in Action: Opportunities & Risk Management in Financial Services, published in January 2025, in regard to the financial services sector's ability to harness generative AI; and how this informs their workforce and regulatory priorities for the sector in 2026.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government believes that the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the financial services sector is a major strategic opportunity, with the potential to power growth across the UK. As part of the government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, the government is in the process of appointing Financial Services AI Champions to act as a catalyst for AI adoption and innovation in the sector. The government has also commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission to produce a UK-wide report on how the skills system can drive growth and productivity in the financial services sector, by supporting adoption and innovation of disruptive technologies.

The government welcomes the work of industry bodies including UK Finance, and firms across the sector given their central role in supporting the ongoing transition to harness and adopt AI technologies, including generative AI.

The government also welcomes the technology positive approach of the FCA and the Bank of England to regulation, including through launching the AI Consortium and the FCA commitment to avoid additional requirements on firms when using AI, as outlined in Nikhil Rathi’s letter to the Prime Minister last year.

The government will continue to work closely with industry and consider research such as the report produced by UK Finance to inform our approach.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the UK AI sector following the acquisition of the British AI start-up Faculty by Accenture, including plans to retain and grow high-skill AI jobs domestically.

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

The UK has a great history of successful UK AI startups. Faculty is an excellent example of a UK startup running with its vision and succeeding on a global scale.

We want to ensure that this ecosystem continues to thrive and recently announced a comprehensive package of support. This includes the Advance Market Commitments in which Government will act as a first customer for promising UK start-ups who are building high-quality AI hardware products. The commitment is backed by up to £100 million of government support to give British startups the opportunity for a competitive edge and to win customers in a multibillion-dollar global market. Alongside this, we are investing in workforce readiness through initiatives such as the AI Skills Hub, partnerships to train 7.5 million workers, and expanded university programmes like Pioneer Fellowships and Sparck AI Scholarships to equip people with the skills needed to retain and grow high-value AI jobs in the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of AI adoption among UK fintech firms; and what steps they are taking to ensure that AI and fintech regulation remains proportionate and supportive of innovation.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy (“the Strategy”), the UK aims to be the world’s most technologically advanced global financial centre, and to remain a leading jurisdiction for Fintech firms to start-up, scale and list.

The UK has a long history as a powerhouse of financial services innovation. The Strategy set out a comprehensive package of reforms to maintain the UK’s global leadership in Fintech, and the sector attracted $3.6 billion of investment in 2025 - second only to the US. This drive to deliver innovation also includes the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the financial services sector, which the Government believes is a major strategic opportunity, with the potential to power growth across the UK.

As part of the Strategy, the Government is in the process of appointing Financial Services AI Champions to act as a catalyst for AI adoption and innovation in the sector. The Government has also commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission to produce a UK-wide report on how the skills system can drive growth and productivity in FS by supporting adoption and innovation of disruptive technologies.

The Government welcomes the technology positive approach both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England take to regulation, including through launching the AI Consortium and the FCA’s commitment to avoid additional requirements on firms when using AI, as outlined in the letter from Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the FCA, to the Prime Minister last year.[1] Their pro-innovation stance will help to support the UK’s Fintechs in these fast-moving markets.

[1]This letter is available at the following link: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/correspondence/fca-letter-new-approach-support-growth.pdf

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support advanced AI roles and specialist technology skills in the UK financial services labour market.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Setting the UK’s financial services sector up with the skills and talent it needs is an important pillar of the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.

This is why the Economic Secretary commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission (FSSC) to produce a report on how the skills system can drive growth and productivity by supporting more effective adoption and innovation of AI and other disruptive technologies. The FSSC have committed to reporting back by the end of the year.

The Government also committed to support the development of a sector Skills Compact for financial services and aim to launch it in summer 2026. This will accelerate progress and ensure the sector have the skills to thrive in the future. It will set out targeted, meaningful and ambitious actions for signatories to address skills gaps.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the acquisition of the UK-based AI start-up Faculty by Accenture for the UK’s broader strategy to support domestic AI innovation and retain high-growth AI companies in Britain.

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

The UK has a great history of successful UK AI startups. Faculty is an excellent example of a UK startup running with its vision and succeeding on a global scale.

We want to ensure that this ecosystem continues to thrive and recently announced a comprehensive package of support. This includes the Advance Market Commitments in which Government will act as a first customer for promising UK start-ups who are building high-quality AI hardware products. The commitment is backed by up to £100 million of government support to give British startups the opportunity for a competitive edge and to win customers in a multibillion-dollar global market.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ranking by Innovate Finance of the UK as second globally for fintech investment in 2025; and what impact that ranking has on their strategy to support fintech growth and international competitiveness.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK is a world leader in Fintech, and attracted $3.6 billion of investment in 2025, second only to the US. The Government is committed to making the UK the world’s most technologically advanced global financial centre and remaining a leading jurisdiction for Fintech firms to start-up, scale and list.

The Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy set out a comprehensive package of reforms to preserve the UK’s leadership in this area, including streamlining the regulatory environment and initiatives to support UK Fintechs to scale up.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recently-reported level of UK fintech investment of £2.6 billion in 2025; and how this informs their approach to fintech regulatory and market policy.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK is a world leader in Fintech, and attracted $3.6 billion of investment in 2025, second only to the US. The Government is committed to making the UK the world’s most technologically advanced global financial centre and remaining a leading jurisdiction for Fintech firms to start-up, scale and list.

The Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy set out a comprehensive package of reforms to preserve the UK’s leadership in this area, including streamlining the regulatory environment and initiatives to support UK Fintechs to scale up.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of investments by UK banks in stablecoin settlement companies on the UK's competitiveness as a global fintech hub.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that cryptoassets, and tokenised payment and settlement instruments present both significant opportunities and risks for the UK and the rest of the world.

That is why the UK has worked closed with international partners through the Financial Stability Board to develop global standards for cryptoassets and stablecoin. It is also why the Government is creating a comprehensive UK regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including to regulate the issuance of stablecoin.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of global trends in stablecoin settlement, and the implications for UK fintech regulation and financial infrastructure.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that cryptoassets, and tokenised payment and settlement instruments present both significant opportunities and risks for the UK and the rest of the world.

That is why the UK has worked closed with international partners through the Financial Stability Board to develop global standards for cryptoassets and stablecoin. It is also why the Government is creating a comprehensive UK regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including to regulate the issuance of stablecoin.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to facilitate collaboration between UK financial regulators and international regulatory authorities to maintain the City of London's competitiveness in fintech innovation.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making the UK the best place for fintechs, to start, scale and list. The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, published in July 2025, sets out our mission to shape a regulatory environment for financial services that is proportionate, predictable and internationally competitive, embracing innovation and leveraging the UK’s leadership in Fintech.

We are delivering this through strengthened partnerships with international financial centres around the world, supported by ongoing regulatory dialogues with many of our international partners such as the EU, US, China, India and the Gulf. We also continue to promote cooperation between UK financial regulators and their counterparts overseas. For instance, the UK has established the UK-US Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, which is exploring opportunities for deeper collaboration in financial services, with a particular focus on digital assets and capital markets.

In addition, the Office for Investment: Financial Services, launched last October, will guide and support international investors looking to establish or grow a presence in the UK’s financial services sector, with a focus on fintech and the other priority growth areas

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of consolidation trends in the fintech sector; and what steps they will take to support UK-based fintech firms in maintaining global competitiveness.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy (“the Strategy”), the UK aims to be the world’s most technologically advanced global financial centre, and to remain a leading jurisdiction for Fintech firms to start-up, scale and list.

The UK has a long history as a powerhouse of financial services innovation. The Strategy set out a comprehensive package of reforms to maintain the UK’s global leadership in fintech. The sector attracted $3.6 billion of investment in 2025 - second only to the US.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to private credit and financial stability of the growth of private markets.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Private markets are an increasingly important source of finance for the real economy and have supported growth. However, they also pose new risks, including from the use of leverage, opacity around valuations, and interconnectedness with the wider financial system.

These issues have been a growing area of focus for the Government, the Bank of England and the regulators in recent years. In the most recent remit letter to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee, the Chancellor asked that the Committee continue to consider risks in private markets.

We continue to work closely with the regulators to deepen our understanding of these risks. This includes working closely with the Bank of England on its new System‑Wide Exploratory Scenario, which is centred on vulnerabilities in private markets., and through our membership of the international Financial Stability Board.

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 forecasting tools by NHS trusts to manage demand for and waiting times in accident and emergency; and how the use of that AI is informing wider NHS digital transformation policy.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan was published on 3 July 2025 and sets out how the Government will ensure the National Health Service is fit for the future, and that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a fundamental role in this transformation. As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is supporting the use of AI-enabled appointment and scheduling tools to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians, with early trials showing an increase in productivity and clinician time saved.

An accident and emergency demand forecasting tool is now available to all NHS trusts and is already in use by 50 NHS organisations, helping them plan how many people are likely to need emergency care and treatment on any given day. While this tool does not schedule appointments specifically, it uses AI to predict emergency care demand, enabling trusts to plan staffing and resources more effectively and reduce pressure on services.

The tool forms part of a wider set of Government‑supported innovations in operational AI, which include technologies to streamline scheduling, automate administrative tasks, and enhance clinical workflows. These collectively aim to free up staff time, improve care quality, and reduce waiting times across the system.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent trends in venture capital investment and scale-up financing in the UK technology sector; and how those trends are informing policy to support fintech and AI innovation.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK has the third largest Venture Capital (VC) market in the world behind the US and China, and the largest in Europe. The latest edition of the British Business Bank (BBB) 2025 Equity Monitor found that the UK attracted £10.8 billion of VC investment in 2024, with £5.5 billion invested in the UK technology sector.

At the Budget in November 2025, we introduced measures to build on these strengths by expanding our enterprise tax reliefs to incentivise investment in scaling firms and support them to attract top talent, by targeting BBB investment towards scale-up companies, and by committing to public procurement reforms to make the UK government a better customer to innovative businesses.

HM Treasury will continue to monitor the implementation of Budget measures and analyse their impact on the UK technology sector, to inform future policy development.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to consumers and financial stability of the current regulatory approaches to AI in financial services.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes that the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the financial services sector is a major strategic opportunity, with the potential to power growth across the UK. As set out in the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, it is our ambition to make the UK ”the world’s most technologically advanced global financial sector”, leveraging our dual strengths in FS and AI to drive growth, productivity, and deliver consumer benefits.

The Government has been clear that we will strike the right balance between managing the risks posed by AI and unlocking its huge potential. The UK financial regulators take an outcomes-based approach to regulating AI within the financial sector, drawing on existing frameworks to ensure that firms uphold strong consumer, stability and market standards, whether they use AI or not. Our current assessment, shared by the regulators, is that this framework is capable of ensuring the effective regulation of the use of AI. However, we will continue working closely with the regulators as the technology evolves to monitor risks and ensure that AI adoption continues in a safe and responsible way.

The Government is carefully considering the Treasury Committee’s report on AI in financial services and will respond in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and retain high-growth UK technology firms seeking to list on the London stock exchange.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has delivered an ambitious programme of reforms to make it easier for all firms, including fintechs, to list and raise capital on UK markets. This includes overhauling the Prospectus Regime and Listing Rules, providing more flexibility to firms and founders raising capital on UK markets.

At her Mansion House speech last year, the Chancellor also announced the formation of a Listings Taskforce, to support businesses to list and grow in the UK, and the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which sets out a comprehensive package of reforms to maintain the UK’s global leadership in Fintech. Officials and ministers regularly engage with industry leaders on sector developments.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what impact the increase in foreign direct investment in the UK has on their policy for artificial intelligence innovation, if any.

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

The Government welcomes the increase of foreign direct investment into the UK economy. In 2024, the UK AI sector received £15bn worth of FDI across 51 different investment deals, creating over 6,500 jobs. This ensures the sector continues to grow and maintains its place as the largest AI sector in Europe and the third largest in the world.

In the AI Opportunities Action Plan, this Government set out its ambitions to make the UK an AI-maker. We are backing British businesses through our £500 million Sovereign AI Fund and acting as first customers to promising British chip companies in our Advanced Market Commitment. Foreign investment is helping us scale our ambitions, building out large-scale infrastructure as AI Growth Zones, but this has not altered our policy to make the UK a global leader in the development of AI.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safe, transparent and accountable use of AI in public services under the partnership with Google DeepMind, in particular with regard to (1) the proposed automated materials science laboratory, and (2) collaboration with the AI Security Institute.

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

Google DeepMind will deepen its work with the UK AI Security Institute (AISI) through enhanced technical information exchange on frontier AI capabilities and their real-world impacts, including indicators of accelerating AI progress, and emerging security risks.

The partnership will advance joint research on AI safety, security and societal resilience, with Google DeepMind providing AISI with priority technical access to its frontier models. Google DeepMind will also collaborate with the UK government to explore AI-enhanced approaches to national cyber resilience, including initiatives to identify and remediate threats at scale.

The automated lab announced alongside the partnership is an independent Google DeepMind initiative and the UK Government is not involved in operation of the lab.