Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contracts are held by (1) government departments, and (2) arm's-length bodies, with Starlink; and what is the value and duration of each contract.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and its Arms Lengths Body’s (ALBs) including the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) hold no contracts directly with Starlink, aside from the Very Hard to Reach Alpha trials which are due to close in the coming quarter. These are rolling monthly contracts with Starlink Internet Services, and the currently anticipated expenditure in March 2025 is £1,035.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) alongside the Ministry of Defence (MOD) have reported no contracts with Starlink. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) does not hold information on which departments have used Starlink.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - 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 radio waves from satellites on astronomical observation, and what steps they are taking to mitigate any interference.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government draws on the international studies that indicate the increasing number of communications satellites, particularly in Low Earth Orbits (LEO), have the potential to cause interference to some radio astronomy facilities. The UK regulator Ofcom has aligned its licences for LEO constellations with international regulations to protect radio astronomy sites in the UK.
Through the International Telecommunications Union, the UK is actively participating in studies on reducing interference to internationally important radio astronomy sites including the Square Kilometre Array. These will lead to the development of new regulations with the potential to be confirmed at the 2027 World Radio Conference.
I also refer to the answer I gave the Viscount Stansgate during a Lords Oral Question session on Wednesday 20th November 2024.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many satellites under the control of UK-registered businesses have been launched from overseas locations in each of the past 15 years.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
728 UK-registered satellites have been launched overseas in the last 15 years. Between 2010 and 2019 there was an average of five and a half UK-registered satellites launched overseas each year, rising to 134.4 launches each year between 2020 and 2024.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many satellites under the control of UK-registered businesses have been in orbit in each year of the past 15 years; and what estimate they have made of the number of satellites under the control of UK-registered business in orbit by 2035.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to the UN Index of Objects Launched in Outer Space and following the Elevation-1 satellite launch earlier this year, there are now 763 UK owned satellites in orbit. We do not currently have an estimate of the number of UK-registered satellites expected to be in orbit by 2035.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total number of satellites expected to be in orbit by 2035, and how many satellites were in orbit in each of the past 15 years.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Estimates vary but the total number of satellites in orbit is expected to reach up to 60,000 by 2030, and increase further by 2035. In 2010 the total number of satellites in orbit was 3,327, rising to 6,271 by 2020 and to over 13,600 today.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 10 April (HL3606), which stakeholders they are engaging with regarding the regulation of large language models; and when they anticipate reaching conclusions and recommendations based on these consultations.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the white paper consultation response, the Government set out the case for targeted binding measures for the most powerful AI systems to ensure adherence to the principles set out in the AI white paper including safety, transparency and accountability. The Government also set out key questions to consider as we develop our thinking, and we are engaging with stakeholders across academia, civil society, legal experts and regulators on this work. Government has committed to publishing an update by the end of the year.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 10 April (HL3606), what are the additional targeted binding measures proposed for highly capable general purpose AI models, including large language models.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the white paper consultation response, the Government set out the case for targeted binding measures for the most powerful AI systems to ensure adherence to the principles set out in the AI white paper including safety, transparency and accountability. The Government also set out key questions to consider as we develop our thinking, and we are engaging with stakeholders across academia, civil society, legal experts and regulators on this work. Government has committed to publishing an update by the end of the year.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 10 April (HL3606), what measures, if any, they intend to implement to ensure accountability for defamatory content generated by large language models.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the white paper consultation response, the Government set out the case for targeted binding measures for the most powerful AI systems to ensure adherence to the principles set out in the AI white paper including safety, transparency and accountability. The Government also set out key questions to consider as we develop our thinking, and we are engaging with stakeholders across academia, civil society, legal experts and regulators on this work. Government has committed to publishing an update by the end of the year.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they classify platforms hosting large language models as hosting providers or as publishers and content creators in their own right, and what assessment they have made of the impact of this classification on the regulation and accountability of such platforms.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Regulation White Paper recognised that allocating liability across the AI supply chain can be highly complex, particularly as these are new technologies that potentially provide a broad range of novel services and functions. The Government is working with a range of stakeholders, including regulators and legal experts, to explore this issue in more depth.
More widely, the Government’s response to the AI regulation White Paper Consultation set out the case for additional targeted binding measures on highly capable general purpose AI models, including Large Language Models. The Government committed to engage with a range of experts on potential interventions in the summer.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the (1) development, and (2) application, of artificial intelligence; and how do those priorities align with national strategies for technology and the economy.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The commitments made in the National AI Strategy and in the Science and Technology Framework remain central to DSIT’s approach to AI.
We’re committed to delivering a pro-innovation and pro-safety approach to AI. As per the AI Regulation White Paper and the consultation response, we’ve set out how the Government is strengthening its global AI leadership and supporting regulators to deliver the framework.
We’re also committed to increasing the UK’s capabilities in AI. We’re doing this by investing in skills and talent initiatives, delivering further investment in compute for AI, and prioritising AI adoption by establishing the AI Opportunity Forum.