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 increase levels of investment into scientific innovation as a proportion of GDP in comparison to other European countries.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The latest ONS figures show that economy wide R&D investment is c.2.8% of GDP, which places the UK above the OECD average (2.7%). The government is backing innovators across the UK with a record £20.4 billion in R&D spending. The UK is also a leader when it comes to attracting international investment in R&D. We are also taking steps to back high-growth firms developing new innovations, including through reforming the British Business Bank and pursuing pensions reforms to unlock £80 billion of investment. The government also has generous R&D tax relief rates, which will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure a year by 2029-30.
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 need to research new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies; and whether they intend to invest in universities to encourage more AI research.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government actively supports AI research through a range of research programmes, infrastructure investments, and skills and talent initiatives. The UK’s publicly funded portfolio of AI R&D investments is worth £1 billion, including investments in centres for doctoral training, the Alan Turing Institute, Bridge AI, Responsible AI UK, and the AI hubs.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan includes several new initiatives, including expanding the Turing AI Fellowships offer and acting immediately to double the capacity of the AI Research Resource (AIRR). Furthermore, we are opening AIRR access to a wider pool of researchers to drive forward new AI-enabled innovations.
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 ensure artificial intelligence technologies used to aid healthcare diagnostics are available in every hospital.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has provided £113 million, through the National Health Service’s Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Awards, to 86 artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which have been live in 40% of NHS acute trusts in England, and hundreds of Primary Care Networks across the United Kingdom. This funding is helping us to generate the evidence needed to deploy effective AI tools across the NHS and improve the lives and health outcomes of our population.
Many of these AI technologies are being tested and evaluated to aid healthcare diagnostics. For example, AI is being used to analyse and interpret acute stroke brain scans to support doctors making treatment decisions in 100% of stroke units in England. In addition, the Department is focusing the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund on the deployment of technologies in key, high-demand areas such as chest x-rays and chest computed tomography scans, to enable the faster diagnosis of lung cancer in over half of acute trusts in England.
Despite these exciting examples of AI use, the deployment of AI in the NHS is still at a relatively early stage. To address this, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS.
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 potential for funding into AI tools and projects (1) to increase the productivity and efficiency of small businesses, and (2) to affect the market share of larger businesses.
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, supporting the government to deliver its Plan for Change.
We are targeting high-growth Industrial Strategy sectors and supporting diffusion across the whole economy, which includes addressing the challenges faced by SMEs. The cross-government Technology Adoption Review will 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.
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 ensure that AI regulation does not create a digital border between (1) the UK and the EU, and (2) the UK and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government is committed to building a regulatory regime that is proportionate and keeps pace with new advancements and risks. This includes delivering on our manifesto commitment to place new binding requirements on the developers of powerful models. It also means ensuring UK regulators have the right resources to effectively regulate AI in their respective domains.
AI knows no borders and through international cooperation, we can make progress towards ensuring effective global AI collaboration. The UK will continue to work closely with international partners, building on the work of existing multilateral and multistakeholder initiatives to achieve this critical objective.
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 ensure the UK becomes the global leader in AI technologies, particularly regarding how they will encourage (1) firms to invest in the UK, and (2) talent to move to and remain in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK is the leading destination for AI growth and investment in Europe. We remain committed to building an AI sector that can win globally, ensuring AI companies want to call the UK home. The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions.
The UK’s immigration offer enables top AI talent to come to the UK through several visa routes such as the Skilled Worker, the Global Talent, and the High Potential Individual visas, and we continually keep our policies under review.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure a sufficient supply of minerals vital to the (1) manufacturing, and (2) technology, industries.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK's economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. The government is developing a new Critical Minerals Strategy which will be more targeted towards the delivery of our industrial strategy and its eight core growth sectors. This new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure our supply chains for the long term and drive forward the green industries of the future.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of anti-competition regulation on the growth of UK businesses.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government views effective competition regulation as a key driver for growth of UK businesses. As outlined in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, effective competition drives innovation and boosts productivity, enabling businesses to thrive. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK’s primary consumer and competition authority. The CMA has returned over £23 in savings to consumers for every £1 spent by UK taxpayers over the last 3 years.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure sufficient energy availability in the wake of increased artificial intelligence use.
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 has contracted European Economic Research Limited to analyse the future net energy demand of AI, with the project being due to be completed by April 2025. The National Electricity System Operator (NESO) is investigating the future power consumption of data centres, as well as grid constraints, lead times for developers, and how to improve connection processes.
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 ensure sufficient regulations are in place to keep the use of AI in the UK ethical and responsible.
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 the UK's existing expert regulators are best placed to do this. In response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the government committed to supporting regulators to identifying their future capability needs and to understand how they intend to mitigate AI risks and drive growth.
The Government also intends to introduce targeted requirements on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI systems. These proposals will build on the voluntary commitments secured at the AI Safety Summits and will strengthen the role of the AI Safety Institute.