Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Employment

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Monday 13th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

Indeed, the OECD estimates that widespread AI adoption could boost UK productivity by 0.4 to 1.3 percentage points annually. That is why we have an AI Opportunities Action Plan and why we have already progressed 38 of the 50 recommendations. The AI sector already employs 86,000 people in the UK and is growing rapidly. We are doing everything we can to support the safe and sustainable adoption of AI so that companies and workers can benefit.

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord’s question was spot on, but may I focus on a slightly different area? I read over the weekend that Anthropic has produced software that it now deems too dangerous to launch publicly because of its huge impact on cyber security. This artificial intelligence is apparently able to crack all the flaws and bugs in cyber security systems, which obviously could have a devastating impact on our economy, given that it is now so digitally based. What plans do the Government have to discuss this concerning issue with Anthropic?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

We take the security implications of frontier AI seriously. Through our AI Security Institute, we have world-leading expertise in this area and maintain continuous engagement with global technology leaders. For obvious reasons, I am not going to comment on the specifics of all those engagements, but, in order to stay ahead of evolving threats, businesses should act now to strengthen their online defences. The NSCS’s guidance outlines how to secure Cyber Essentials certification and patch vulnerabilities quickly. AI capabilities are moving fast, but strong fundamentals are still effective.

AI Growth Lab

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Thursday 26th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, we have had a plethora of initiatives on AI. We had the welcome announcement of the sovereign AI fund last week. All of them are welcome individually: Innovate UK, ARIA, the AI Security Institute, the British Business Bank, and the National Wealth Fund. Could we perhaps have a moratorium on announcements of AI initiatives and perhaps an overview and co-ordination of this plethora of bodies?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

In our AI opportunities action plan we have indeed set out a plethora. That is because this is a technology that provides great potential benefits, and adoption is absolutely key. We need all areas of the economy to be thinking about the implications. We are a heavily service-based economy and it is very much in our future interests to adopt this technology and harness its benefits, whether that is in healthcare, energy efficiency or many other areas. So we will continue to focus on all areas of the development of AI, from data centres to regulation.

Mobile Phone and Broadband Prices

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Tuesday 9th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

The Chancellor and the Secretary of State have asked Ofcom to review the effectiveness of the changes that came in in January 2025, which set out that consumers must get the details in pounds and pence, so that they can have clarity. We have asked Ofcom to see how effective that is and a report will be coming in spring 2026, so that we can be assured that the measures are indeed effective.

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, I certainly do not support mid-contract price rises but, arguably, mobile prices in the UK are among the lowest in Europe, which to an extent affects mobile operators’ ability to invest in the world-class mobile infrastructure we need. On that note, can the Minister update us on the progress of the shared rural network, which will bring mobile coverage to so many areas of the country that do not yet have it?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right to stress the importance of investing in our digital infrastructure, both in the mobile network and, I would also say, in the fibre network through Project Gigabit. The shared rural network continues to operate this year, bringing more availability to areas that are not covered. Our mobile coverage is increasing year on year.

Children: Age Verification and Virtual Private Networks

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Thursday 4th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, this is a complex and difficult area. I often praise the work of Ofcom in implementing the Online Safety Act, and everyone thinks I am applying to be the chair of Ofcom: I am not. I do however think that the suggestion of the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, is a very interesting one. A lot of research needs to be done, and it would be interesting to see the VPN research. There is another huge gap in researching the technology used in our schools by edtech providers, and in providing some kind of quality framework to ensure that this technology—how it collects our children’s data, and so on—is at least transparent and known about, so that requisite action can be taken in the future.

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes a very good point about the need for accurate, evidence-based research that allows us to take the right action. As noble Lords may have seen, Ofcom published a report this morning setting out a number of methods for researching, for example, the use of VPNs by children. We should also examine technological solutions, as well as advice and guidance, and the role of Ofcom in enforcing the requirements of the Online Safety Act.

Data Adequacy Status: EU Data Protection Standards

Debate between Lord Vaizey of Didcot and Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Thursday 4th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

My noble friend is right that the importance of digital trade to the UK and its exposure to the EU is a very significant part of our digital trade agreement, as are the relationships that underpin this. As a testament to the way in which the reset is happening, we welcome the state visit of the German President here today.

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, to follow up on what the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, said to the Minister, digital trade is so important. The previous Government led the way with digital trade agreements, particularly with countries such as Singapore. As chair of the UK-ASEAN Business Council, I see how important these digital trade agreements are and how the UK leads the way as a member of the CPTPP and an observer at ASEAN. I hope that the Minister will keep her nerve as we start to reset our relationship with our largest trading partner, just 20 miles across the channel—the EU.

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

That is a very good point. I was able to discuss with my Malaysian counterpart the potential for a digital trade agreement when I was in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. I very much hope that we can progress that to promote digital trade—and likewise with the EU. I assure the noble Lord that the Government are working extremely actively to progress the EU reset.