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 the use of AI tools in supporting the treatment and management of cancer in the NHS; and what steps they are taking to ensure that those tools improve patient outcomes while maintaining safety and data protection standards.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the significant potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to support the treatment and management of cancer across the National Health Service, particularly through improving diagnostic accuracy, supporting clinical decision making, and helping clinicians prioritise care more effectively.
The Department is focusing the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund on the deployment of technologies in key, high-demand areas, such as chest X-Ray and chest computed tomography scans, to enable faster diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in over half of acute trusts in England.
The Government and NHS England are committed to the safe, ethical, and evidence-based adoption of AI. All AI technologies used in the NHS must meet robust regulatory requirements, including approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Health Research Authority, and the Care Quality Commission, as well as UK General Data Protection Regulations, and the Data Protection Act 2018.
NHS organisations remain responsible for deciding whether to deploy AI technologies locally, based on clinical need, safety, value for money, and alignment with national standards. The Government will continue to work closely with NHS England, regulators, and clinicians to ensure AI is used in ways that improve cancer outcomes while maintaining the highest standards of safety, transparency, and data protection.
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 assessment they have made of the impact of AI-related data centre energy demand on energy infrastructure; and what steps they are taking to ensure energy demand from those data centres does not increase costs for consumers.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.
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 the reliability of AI systems in supporting medical diagnosis, particularly in cases where patient data is incomplete; and what steps they are taking to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect patient safety and support clinical decision-making.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to support clinicians in medical diagnosis, while being clear that such technologies must be safe, effective, and used appropriately.
AI systems in healthcare are intended to support, not replace, clinical judgement. Their reliability depends in part on the quality and completeness of patient data, and the Government is clear that a qualified healthcare professional must remain involved in decision‑making. Managing risks associated with incomplete data requires both robust system design and wider improvements in how patient information is accessed and shared across the health and care system.
All AI technologies used for medical diagnosis in the National Health Service must comply with medical device regulations and clinical safety standards. These should specifically consider risks such as false positives, false negatives, and performance degradation where data are incomplete.
The Government is also improving data foundations through the development of a Single Patient Record, which aims to provide a clear, unified view of a patient’s history wherever they have received care. This will support safer, faster, and better‑informed clinical decision‑making by enabling seamless access across care settings, while building on existing systems such as Electronic Patient Records, Shared Care Records, and the Federated Data Platform.
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 the role of AI tools in supporting the early detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions; and what steps they are taking to support the safe and effective adoption of those technologies in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is actively deploying artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across the National Health Service to support the earlier detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions. We are supporting the safe and effective adoption of AI tools such as AI-assisted echocardiography, automated electrocardiogram interpretation and digital stethoscope recordings. We are supporting this through robust regulatory and assurance processes, closely aligned to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Evidence Standards Framework for Digital Health Technologies, ensuring that AI technologies are clinically validated and used to support, not replace, professional clinical judgement.
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 AI technologies to accelerate drug discovery and development; and what steps they are taking to support innovation, investment and adoption in the NHS and UK life sciences sector.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Researchers in the UK are already pioneering AI-driven applications in drug discovery, and we are taking steps to capture the opportunities this presents. Backed by up to £137m of investment, DSIT's AI for Science Strategy recently launched government's first AI for Science Mission, which will focus on harnessing the technology to accelerate drug discovery and deploy new treatments faster. The Sovereign AI Unit also provided seed funding to the OpenBind consortium to generate foundational protein-ligand structural data to power the next era of AI for drug design.
The Life Sciences Sector Plan and 10-Year Health Plan set out our vision to harness UK science and support adoption of innovation throughout the NHS to drive better health. For example, the Health Innovation Network plays a vital role in connecting innovators with NHS systems and supporting health and social care teams to identify, test and implement new solutions at scale - having already supported over 4.9 million patients.
Across the board, our plans also strengthen investment opportunities and partnerships across data, discovery and clinical trials to drive a thriving UK life sciences sector. This is demonstrated most recently by Boehringer Ingelheim’s investment of £150 million in King’s Cross to build capacity in AI and Machine Learning.
Finally, the launch of the Single National Formulary will play a key role in supporting equitable access and adoption of the most clinically and cost-effective medicines across England.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of screen time and digital technology use on early childhood development; and what steps they are taking to support parents and early years providers in managing the use of such technologies among young children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 27 March, the government published Best Start in Life advice about screen use for children aged 0 to 5, which is available on the Best Start in Life website.
The advice is informed by an expert panel’s independent report, which draws on quantitative and qualitative research, including engagement with parents, carers and stakeholders. It emphasises that screen use should be carefully managed, with a focus on supporting healthy development, encouraging active play, sleep, and positive interactions, helping parents to make informed, balanced decisions about technology use.
Guidance on appropriate electronic device and screen usage for early years settings is available on the Help for Early Years Providers platform.
Following the publication of our new screen use advice, we will update our guidance for early years settings, to align and strengthen the information on screen use and digital literacy for early years practitioners.
We will take the next opportunity to reference the updated Help for Early Years Providers guidance in the Early Years Foundation Stage frameworks.
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 the Guardian article Alarm in health service over Palantir staff being given NHS email accounts, published on 8 April, stating that external technology contractors have been granted access to NHS systems and communications; and what safeguards are in place to ensure data security, patient confidentiality and appropriate oversight.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
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 the use of AI and data analytics platforms by the NHS, including in partnerships with private technology providers; and what steps they are taking to ensure that use of those platforms complies with standards of data protection and transparency.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the use of AI in the delivery of postgraduate teaching at UK universities, and (2) the impact of the use of AI for teaching on higher education quality and regulation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
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 the role of AI in supporting personalised healthcare and extending patient life expectancy; and what plans they have to develop a strategy for safe and effective integration of AI technologies in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.