Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of employers adopting AI systems on the labour market, and what steps they are taking to ensure workers are equipped with the skills required by the labour market.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out how we will address key labour market challenges and spread opportunity in order to fix the foundations of our economy so we can make the most of the opportunities AI presents. The Government is supporting workforce readiness for AI through a range of initiatives.
The new AI Skills Hub, developed by Innovate UK and PwC, provides streamlined access to digital training. This will support government priorities through tackling critical skills gaps and improving workforce readiness. We are also partnering with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 and expanding AI education in universities, by launching Pioneer Fellowships for cross-disciplinary upskilling.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage professional services firms to adopt artificial intelligence productivity tools.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to driving AI adoption across the economy, including professional services. Through the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we are tackling barriers such as lack of awareness, trust, and technical capability. This includes expanding the BridgeAI programme (which supports organisation adopt AI with funding and hands-on support), announcing an AI champion for professional business services, and training 7.5 million workers across the economy in essential AI skills by 2030. We are also investing £11 million to grow the UK’s AI assurance market, ensuring firms can adopt tools confidently and responsibly. These measures will help businesses harness AI to boost productivity and maintain the UK’s global competitiveness.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rising input costs, labour costs and taxes on small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to monitor the business environment in the UK, including SMEs, using official data and engaging with firms and business groups to inform policy decisions.
The Government set out its overall approach for supporting SMEs in the Small Business Strategy published in July 2025 and built on this with targeted reforms to support small businesses at the Budget in November 2025.
Through our changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions, the threshold at which business start paying Employer NICs has doubled to £10,500.
We are providing support for small businesses in a number of other areas. We are introducing the toughest late payment laws in the G7. We are changing the rules to fully fund SME apprenticeships training costs for eligible people under the age of 25, providing the skills that both workers and businesses need. Through the new Business Growth Service, small businesses will be able to access support with skills training, recruitment, or accessing Start Up Loans and Export Finance.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support job creation and infrastructure development in the AI Growth Zone in South Wales.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is establishing AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) to deliver the infrastructure needed for the UK to develop and deploy advanced AI at scale.
Following the announcement of the fourth AI Growth Zone in South Wales, we are working with national and regional government, businesses and local skills providers to address key barriers to investment in the area and accelerate benefits for communities across South Wales. Our AI Growth Zone policy package unlocks £5 million for each site to invest in local benefits and capitalise on the AI economy. This additional funding can support initiatives such as expanding data centre-focused skills pathways, creating more high-skilled, high-paying jobs and strengthening the local research environment.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of legacy IT infrastructure on the ability of UK banks to adopt new financial technology and AI systems.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that legacy IT infrastructure can present challenges for UK banks as they seek to adopt new financial technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems.
However, the Government believes that safe adoption of AI by the financial services sector is a major strategic opportunity, with potential to power growth across the UK. The Government and regulators are taking a ‘pro-innovation’ approach to AI regulation across the economy and in financial services.
The Government is focused on ensuring that the UK’s policy and regulatory environment is fit for purpose to seize the opportunity of our dual strengths in financial services and AI, and positioning the UK as a world leader in the safe adoption of AI in financial services.
The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy is an important part of that effort, with the appointment of an AI Champion intended to act as a catalyst for AI adoption and innovation in financial services.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of pensioners whose incomes will be below the minimum retirement living standard in 2040.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to delivering greater security in retirement for future retirees. The Pensions Scheme Bill will put in place bigger, better pension schemes that have the scale to deliver better returns, a strong Value for Money framework to ensure schemes are delivering these returns, and new Guided Retirements to support people to turn their savings into an income in retirement.
The Government has also revived the Pensions Commission, which is reviewing our pensions system as a whole and the retirement outcomes it delivers, with a focus on adequacy, fairness and sustainability.
DWP’s latest estimate, in July 2025, found around 13% of current working-age individuals were on track to have an income level in retirement below the Pensions UK Minimum Retirement Living Standard.
For those becoming a pensioner in the 2040s, it is estimated that 15% will fall below the Pensions UK Minimum Standard, the equivalent of around 1 million individuals.
For further detail please see:
Analysis of Future Pension Incomes 2025 - GOV.UK
analysis_of_future_pensions_incomes_data.xlsx – See table 4
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assess the clinical safety and cost effectiveness of AI mental health tools funded and used by the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that artificial intelligence (AI) tools used in mental health care within the National Health Service are clinically safe and deliver value for money. We are working with regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and other partners to ensure all AI mental health tools deployed in the NHS meet the requirements of the United Kingdom’s regulatory system, to ensure these technologies are safe for use and cost-effective.
Additionally, NHS England applies the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria to evaluate the safety, security, and usability of digital health tools. Independent clinical evaluations and pilot studies are also undertaken prior to wider implementation of these technologies.
Through the AI in Health and Care Award, which ran from 2020 to 2024, the NHS AI Lab funded the testing and evaluation of two mental health technologies, Limbic Access and Wysa. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS is working towards rolling out digital mental health tools. As part of this process, each technology is assessed not only for clinical safety but also for cost-effectiveness, ensuring that these innovations deliver measurable benefits and represent good value for the NHS and taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had discussions with commercial users about pricing arrangements for access to datasets through the Health Data Research Service.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure an appropriate commercial model is developed for the Health Data Research Service (HDRS), discovery work has been undertaken to gain insight into existing commercial models that might be applicable for the HDRS. This discovery work included engagement with 19 commercial organisations representing users of health data, allowing the development of a robust, up to date, and United Kingdom-wide evidence base. Decisions regarding what commercial model and pricing arrangement is used will be within the remit of the incoming HDRS senior leadership team.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of expanding community-based diagnostic and treatment services to reduce pressure on hospital capacity.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a transformed vision for elective care by 2035, where the majority of interactions no longer take place in a hospital building, instead happening virtually or via neighbourhood services. Planned care will be more efficient, timely, and effective, and will put control in the hands of patients.
The Elective Reform Plan sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to reach the 92% standard by March 2029. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs), and building up to five new ones in 2025/26, as well as extending opening hours to 12 hours per day, seven days a week. We will also expand the number of hubs over the next three years. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
CDCs are key to delivering on the Government’s ambition to move more planned care from hospitals to the community, reducing pressure on hospitals and delivering more convenient care close to home. Under the Government, CDCs have delivered over 9.4 million tests and scans since July 2024, supporting patients to access vital tests, scans, and checks around their busy working lives.
Dedicated and protected surgical hubs transform the way the National Health Service provides elective care by focusing on providing high volume low complexity surgery, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. By separating elective services from urgent and emergency care, hubs improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital pressures. There are currently 123 operational hubs across England, 22 of which have opened since the Government took office.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of artificial intelligence tools on employment levels, in the light of the finding in the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development Labour Market Outlook report, published on 10 November, that 17 percent of UK employers expect to reduce their workforce due to AI tools in the coming year.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We want to ensure people have access to good, meaningful work. AI has the potential to transform the labour market and Government is working to ensure the UK is well prepared, so that AI drives growth and opportunities for workers, businesses, and communities.
We are closely monitoring data on the impact of AI on the workforce, such as the CIPD report, and actively preparing for a range of scenarios. We are supporting workforce readiness for AI through multiple initiatives. Including our commitment to give 7.5 million workers essential AI skills by 2030.