Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of cross-government coordination on Artificial Intelligence assurance and governance.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
AI governance and assurance are central to the Government’s AI agenda, providing the principles and standards needed to ensure that AI development and deployment is safe and responsible, as well as the mechanisms for how this can be realised in practice.
That is why the Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade is coordinating across government on a series of targeted actions to strengthen the UK’s AI assurance sector.
This includes convening the AI Assurance Stakeholder Consortium, led by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, which brings together representatives from across the AI assurance ecosystem, including various government departments, to support the development of a recognised AI assurance profession.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and accessibility of Access to Work support.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Access to Work is a government scheme which provides grant funding to disabled people, as well as those with a health condition enabling them to start and stay in work. The Department is making improvements to the Access to Work scheme and to manage these improvements, we have engaged in extensive discussion with stakeholders to make sure the needs of customers are met.
The Department published a new Access to Work research report, in June 2026, Journeys to Access to Work, which was delivered by NatCen and builds on earlier research with Access to Work customers and employers. The report summarises applicants’ and employers’ journeys to Access to Work, their experiences of the application process and delivery of the scheme, perceptions of its impact and recommendations for improvement.
We announced in May 2026 our commitment to deliver an Access to Work that is timely, efficient, and can meet new levels of demand by employing nearly 500 additional staff. It will help to restore confidence in the capability of the Scheme to award the right support at the right time and sets a pathway towards further improvements.
Recruitment commenced as planned in September 2026, with new colleagues joining in cohorts through to December 2026. As these recruits move through coaching, consolidation and accreditation, we expect productivity to increase progressively over the following six months.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with employers to support disabled people into work.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that good work is good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work.
Through the Disability Confident scheme, the Government supports employers to create more inclusive workplaces and improve opportunities for disabled people to enter, remain and progress in work. Disability Confident reforms announced in January 2026 will introduce clearer standards, improved verification arrangements and greater emphasis on employee voice and lived experience. Test and learn activity has concluded and further details of the strengthened scheme will be announced in due course. This will help employers better understand and respond to the experiences of disabled people in the workplace.
Additionally, the government has developed a digital information service for employers, providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace.
Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent Keep Britain Working Report, published on 5 November 2025, highlighted the scale of the problem of people falling out of work for reasons of ill-health and disability, and the vital role employers can play in addressing this. Since publication, we have been working with Vanguard employers and providers, Disabled People's Organisations and people with lived experience to test and refine approaches to disability inclusion, ensuring the Workplace Health System supports more inclusive workplaces and better outcomes for disabled people and people with health conditions.
This includes developing a model of shared responsibility between employees, businesses, representative groups, and government which recognises that successful work and health outcomes depend on all parties working together to create positive change. After ten months of building and testing with employers, providers, places, unions and disabled people, we are taking forward the development of Britain's first Workplace Health System, bringing together better more inclusive workplaces, better support and better intelligence to improve coordination between employers and disabled people, and therefore improve outcomes, improve lives and drive growth.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how he plans to improve coordination between employers and disabled people.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that good work is good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work.
Through the Disability Confident scheme, the Government supports employers to create more inclusive workplaces and improve opportunities for disabled people to enter, remain and progress in work. Disability Confident reforms announced in January 2026 will introduce clearer standards, improved verification arrangements and greater emphasis on employee voice and lived experience. Test and learn activity has concluded and further details of the strengthened scheme will be announced in due course. This will help employers better understand and respond to the experiences of disabled people in the workplace.
Additionally, the government has developed a digital information service for employers, providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace.
Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent Keep Britain Working Report, published on 5 November 2025, highlighted the scale of the problem of people falling out of work for reasons of ill-health and disability, and the vital role employers can play in addressing this. Since publication, we have been working with Vanguard employers and providers, Disabled People's Organisations and people with lived experience to test and refine approaches to disability inclusion, ensuring the Workplace Health System supports more inclusive workplaces and better outcomes for disabled people and people with health conditions.
This includes developing a model of shared responsibility between employees, businesses, representative groups, and government which recognises that successful work and health outcomes depend on all parties working together to create positive change. After ten months of building and testing with employers, providers, places, unions and disabled people, we are taking forward the development of Britain's first Workplace Health System, bringing together better more inclusive workplaces, better support and better intelligence to improve coordination between employers and disabled people, and therefore improve outcomes, improve lives and drive growth.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to restrict the importation of Brazilian beef and chicken.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working as quickly as possible to assess Brazilian production systems to ensure that beef and chicken from animals treated with certain antimicrobial products are not exported to Great Britain and is keeping trade restrictions under review. The assessment will include an urgent in-country audit. Sanitary and phytosanitary trade measures must be evidence-based and proportionate in line with World Trade Organization rules.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Artificial Intelligence applications used across the public sector are subject to ongoing assurance, auditing and governance.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The government is committed to ensuring the ethical, safe and responsible adoption of AI to improve public service outcomes and boost public sector productivity. Seizing this opportunity requires strengthening public trust.
That is why we are implementing a mandatory rollout of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard across government departments and arm’s length bodies.
Alongside this, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade is taking steps to strengthen the UK’s AI assurance ecosystem, as set out in the Trusted Third-Party AI Assurance Roadmap.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement a cross-government Artificial Intelligence Assurance strategy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
AI assurance helps to build justified trust and confidence in AI systems, support responsible AI adoption, and drive economic growth.
That is why the Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade is taking action to implement the Government’s AI assurance strategy, as set out in the Roadmap to Trusted Third-Party AI Assurance (2025). This includes establishing the Centre for AI Measurement, led by the National Physical Laboratory to develop the technical and scientific foundations of AI assurance and deliver the AI Assurance Innovation Fund. We are also convening a multi-stakeholder consortium, led by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, to support the development of a recognised AI assurance profession.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what measures her Department is taking to ensure the safe development and deployment of agentic AI.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government will continue to a take long-term, science-led approach to understand and prepare for emerging risks from AI. The UK’s AI Security Institute (AISI) maintains strong relationships with all frontier AI developers and continues to test the world’s most capable models prior to their deployment to build a rigorous scientific understanding of their capabilities and risks, and make sure policy decisions are grounded in evidence.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of devolution in England on equitable grant funding for English farmers in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Agriculture is devolved. Defra administers farming policy in England, while the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive determine their own agricultural policies and support schemes. As part of this arrangement, funding for agriculture and fisheries was baselined and un-ringfenced in each devolved governments block grant from 2024-25.
The Barnett formula, which aims to give each country the same pounds-per-person change in funding, will apply to any future changes in UK Government funding from 2025-26 for agriculture and fisheries in the usual way. This is the normal operation of funding arrangements for the devolved governments. It is for devolved governments to allocate funding as they see fit and they are accountable to their devolved legislatures for those decisions.
The Government is acting in England to support farmers and give them clarity to plan and invest. The recently published Farming Roadmap and Farming Profitability Review response set out a range of short-term and long-term actions. These include investment in ELM funding, support for and investment in innovation and technology, and action to make supply chains fairer. The government has also established the Farming and Food Partnership Board, bringing together senior leaders from farming, food, retail and finance to drive profitability and strengthen food security. Defra continues to cooperate openly and transparently with devolved government colleagues on these frameworks – as well as ongoing policy development across the four nations - via informal and formal structures established under the Common Framework for Agricultural Support.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve testing capacity for blue tongue.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has taken proactive steps to strengthen the national capacity for the testing of bluetongue in response to increased demand. Testing is now also being undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at Weybridge alongside the National Reference Laboratory at The Pirbright Institute, helping to manage high sample volumes and support timely results.
A new online reporting form will be launched on Friday 11 September, which makes it easier and quicker for vets to report suspect cases and clinical signs directly to APHA. This will allow private vets to diagnose bluetongue after examining affected animals, with cases formally confirmed by APHA at a premises level.