Oral Answers to Questions
Alison Griffiths Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Feryal Clark
My hon. Friend rightly acknowledges that Stevenage is a leading hub for life sciences companies to develop and commercialise cutting-edge therapeutics. GSK and Airbus are shining examples of UK innovation at work. Earlier this week we published the industrial strategy Green Paper to drive long-term, sustainable, inclusive and secure growth, and to secure investment in crucial sectors of the economy, including life sciences. There is an opportunity to renew the UK’s leadership in life sciences through bold innovation and collective partnerships with the sector, to build an NHS that is fit for the future and to drive economic growth across the regions of the UK.
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
Following the successful investment in Rolls-Royce’s technology and logistics centre, what is the Minister doing to get more investment into my Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency?
Mr Speaker
I am not sure that Rolls-Royce fits into a question on life sciences. Does the Minister have an answer?
Technology in Public Services
Alison Griffiths Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Feryal Clark
I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution. As someone who served in local government for a very long time, I recognise the innovation in our local authorities. The work we are doing within our Department includes working very closely with our local government partners, so I thank her for her intervention.
One of the first places I visited in my new brief was Hammersmith hospital, where I met doctors who are using a new AI tool that can spot signs of ageing in the heart that are invisible to the human eye. The tool promises to calculate a person’s “heart age” from an MRI scan and, for the first time, pinpoint the genes that could make the heart age faster. In the process, it could transform the way we diagnose and treat heart failure.
That is just one of the projects I saw in Hammersmith hospital that is focused on the safe, ethical and responsible development of AI. Such projects will be a crucial part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future—a mission to which this Government are completely committed. We want to seize every opportunity that technology offers to improve lives for our people—whether that means life-saving healthcare in our hospitals or a world-class education in our classrooms. If used rightly, technologies such as AI can transform the productivity of Britain’s broken services. With a £22 billion black hole in the public finances and taxes at a 70-year high, saving taxpayers’ money is more important than ever.
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that it is important to use AI to save taxpayers’ money by doing the basics, such as setting up an automated online booking system for hospital appointments rather than sending out letters that we all fail to respond to?
Feryal Clark
The hon. Member is absolutely right. That is why the digital centre for Government will be working with Departments across Government to ensure that we are putting those innovations and improvements in place.
Led by Matt Clifford, the AI opportunities action plan will identify the biggest opportunities to leverage AI to accelerate growth and deliver on the Government’s five missions. We will ensure that this is backed by funded commitments, including those on compute, which will be taken in the round. AI will be at the heart of DSIT as the new digital centre for Government. We have brought together data, digital and tech experts from across Government under one roof to drive forward the digital transformation of our public services. A key part of that is ensuring that the centre has the very best leaders, all appointed in line with civil service recruitment.