Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what are the criteria for the strict UK benefit test being applied to assess prospective recipient companies of the Sovereign AI Fund.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Sovereign AI is designed to help the most promising UK AI companies start, scale and remain anchored in the UK. The Fund only invests in companies where this will benefit the UK, with UK nexus assessed as part of the decision-making process. This includes reviewing domicile, headquarters, the location of key executives, technical staff and R&D activity, and expected UK procurement, infrastructure and ecosystem contribution. This assessment ensures that the Fund’s investment activity, as part of the wider Sovereign AI offer, results in the realisation of the UK economic and strategic benefits the Fund is designed to achieve.
For non-equity support, UK anchoring is reflected in published eligibility and assessment criteria, including UK registration and requirements to demonstrate substantive R&D in the UK where applicable.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has received legal advice on the engagement of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide relating to El Obeid, Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 9 July, and to the answer of 9 July provided in response to Question HL1347. Legal issues on this and other subjects are routinely covered in the advice provided to Ministers by officials.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Fair Work Agency is taking to ensure its first enforcement strategy addresses the specific barriers faced by marginalised workers, including young women, in accessing their employment rights.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency's (FWA) Advisory Board includes representatives from businesses, trade unions and independent experts, providing a range of perspectives to support its work.
The FWA Assembly will bring together stakeholders from across the social partnership, including organisations representing marginalised workers, to share views, information and insight that can help inform the FWA's future priorities and strategic thinking. It will meet for the first time in autumn 2026. Further details will be communicated shortly.
The Assembly will inform the development of the FWA’s first three-year Strategy, which will be published in spring 2027.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his department is taking to ensure the Fair Work Agency hears the voices of marginalised workers, including young women, in its decision making and advisory processes.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency's (FWA) Advisory Board includes representatives from businesses, trade unions and independent experts, providing a range of perspectives to support its work.
The FWA Assembly will bring together stakeholders from across the social partnership, including organisations representing marginalised workers, to share views, information and insight that can help inform the FWA's future priorities and strategic thinking. It will meet for the first time in autumn 2026. Further details will be communicated shortly.
The Assembly will inform the development of the FWA’s first three-year Strategy, which will be published in spring 2027.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Fair Work Agency's fair work assembly includes representation from organisations working with marginalised workers such as young women.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency's (FWA) Advisory Board includes representatives from businesses, trade unions and independent experts, providing a range of perspectives to support its work.
The FWA Assembly will bring together stakeholders from across the social partnership, including organisations representing marginalised workers, to share views, information and insight that can help inform the FWA's future priorities and strategic thinking. It will meet for the first time in autumn 2026. Further details will be communicated shortly.
The Assembly will inform the development of the FWA’s first three-year Strategy, which will be published in spring 2027.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for the membership and terms of reference for the Fair Work Agency's fair work assembly.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency's (FWA) Advisory Board includes representatives from businesses, trade unions and independent experts, providing a range of perspectives to support its work.
The FWA Assembly will bring together stakeholders from across the social partnership, including organisations representing marginalised workers, to share views, information and insight that can help inform the FWA's future priorities and strategic thinking. It will meet for the first time in autumn 2026. Further details will be communicated shortly.
The Assembly will inform the development of the FWA’s first three-year Strategy, which will be published in spring 2027.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how Facial Age Estimation results will be presented to caseworkers or other decision-makers, and what weight those results will carry in any age assessment, including in relation to: accommodation, safeguarding, detention, removal and asylum-related decisions.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Assessing age is a complex task, and there is no single or a combination of techniques that are able to determine chronological age with precision.
Previously, the Department explored other potential scientific and technological methods, such as the use of X-ray and MRI technology. However, at this time FAE offers the potential to give much quicker results than other methods, with no requirement for any intrusive or invasive medical procedure. Our published factsheet, Facial age estimation - GOV.UK, explains how the technology works, and how the Department is exploring its use.
No final decisions have been made as to how FAE will work operationally, including how results will be displayed and weighted. The Home Office is planning a series of trials and testing throughout 2026 which will continue to inform policy, design and operational development. Subject to the results of the testing and trials taking place throughout 2026, FAE is planned to be rolled out from 2027. Full guidance will be provided and published to ensure a consistent approach to FAE and appropriate weighting of the results.
The Home Office has recently announced that the procurement process for an FAE algorithm has concluded, and a new contract has been awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd, with Cognitec as sub-contractor. The awarded algorithm was trained on the supplier’s proprietary dataset consisting of millions of facial images collected over several decades, covering a broad range of ages, ethnicities, and genders. The core model was not trained on Home Office operational data.
Separately, the Home Office has used industry algorithms to test FAE performance against approximately 2.5 million operational images with a known age across different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, and showed, indicating promising performance and accuracy. Internal testing and trialling is ongoing using the newly procured algorithm. Demographic differentials and the public sector equality duty have been a crucial part of this testing and ongoing policy development.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process will be available for a person seeking asylum to obtain, scrutinise, challenge or appeal a Facial Age Estimation result and any decision based on that result.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Assessing age is a complex task, and there is no single or a combination of techniques that are able to determine chronological age with precision.
Previously, the Department explored other potential scientific and technological methods, such as the use of X-ray and MRI technology. However, at this time FAE offers the potential to give much quicker results than other methods, with no requirement for any intrusive or invasive medical procedure. Our published factsheet, Facial age estimation - GOV.UK, explains how the technology works, and how the Department is exploring its use.
No final decisions have been made as to how FAE will work operationally, including how results will be displayed and weighted. The Home Office is planning a series of trials and testing throughout 2026 which will continue to inform policy, design and operational development. Subject to the results of the testing and trials taking place throughout 2026, FAE is planned to be rolled out from 2027. Full guidance will be provided and published to ensure a consistent approach to FAE and appropriate weighting of the results.
The Home Office has recently announced that the procurement process for an FAE algorithm has concluded, and a new contract has been awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd, with Cognitec as sub-contractor. The awarded algorithm was trained on the supplier’s proprietary dataset consisting of millions of facial images collected over several decades, covering a broad range of ages, ethnicities, and genders. The core model was not trained on Home Office operational data.
Separately, the Home Office has used industry algorithms to test FAE performance against approximately 2.5 million operational images with a known age across different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, and showed, indicating promising performance and accuracy. Internal testing and trialling is ongoing using the newly procured algorithm. Demographic differentials and the public sector equality duty have been a crucial part of this testing and ongoing policy development.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training and guidance will be provided to officials using or interpreting Facial Age Estimation results, including relating to the treatment of uncertainty and trauma-related facial ageing.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Assessing age is a complex task, and there is no single or a combination of techniques that are able to determine chronological age with precision.
Previously, the Department explored other potential scientific and technological methods, such as the use of X-ray and MRI technology. However, at this time FAE offers the potential to give much quicker results than other methods, with no requirement for any intrusive or invasive medical procedure. Our published factsheet, Facial age estimation - GOV.UK, explains how the technology works, and how the Department is exploring its use.
No final decisions have been made as to how FAE will work operationally, including how results will be displayed and weighted. The Home Office is planning a series of trials and testing throughout 2026 which will continue to inform policy, design and operational development. Subject to the results of the testing and trials taking place throughout 2026, FAE is planned to be rolled out from 2027. Full guidance will be provided and published to ensure a consistent approach to FAE and appropriate weighting of the results.
The Home Office has recently announced that the procurement process for an FAE algorithm has concluded, and a new contract has been awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd, with Cognitec as sub-contractor. The awarded algorithm was trained on the supplier’s proprietary dataset consisting of millions of facial images collected over several decades, covering a broad range of ages, ethnicities, and genders. The core model was not trained on Home Office operational data.
Separately, the Home Office has used industry algorithms to test FAE performance against approximately 2.5 million operational images with a known age across different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, and showed, indicating promising performance and accuracy. Internal testing and trialling is ongoing using the newly procured algorithm. Demographic differentials and the public sector equality duty have been a crucial part of this testing and ongoing policy development.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what datasets, images or other personal data have been used to train, validate or test the Facial Age Estimation technology intended for use in asylum age assessments.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Assessing age is a complex task, and there is no single or a combination of techniques that are able to determine chronological age with precision.
Previously, the Department explored other potential scientific and technological methods, such as the use of X-ray and MRI technology. However, at this time FAE offers the potential to give much quicker results than other methods, with no requirement for any intrusive or invasive medical procedure. Our published factsheet, Facial age estimation - GOV.UK, explains how the technology works, and how the Department is exploring its use.
No final decisions have been made as to how FAE will work operationally, including how results will be displayed and weighted. The Home Office is planning a series of trials and testing throughout 2026 which will continue to inform policy, design and operational development. Subject to the results of the testing and trials taking place throughout 2026, FAE is planned to be rolled out from 2027. Full guidance will be provided and published to ensure a consistent approach to FAE and appropriate weighting of the results.
The Home Office has recently announced that the procurement process for an FAE algorithm has concluded, and a new contract has been awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd, with Cognitec as sub-contractor. The awarded algorithm was trained on the supplier’s proprietary dataset consisting of millions of facial images collected over several decades, covering a broad range of ages, ethnicities, and genders. The core model was not trained on Home Office operational data.
Separately, the Home Office has used industry algorithms to test FAE performance against approximately 2.5 million operational images with a known age across different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, and showed, indicating promising performance and accuracy. Internal testing and trialling is ongoing using the newly procured algorithm. Demographic differentials and the public sector equality duty have been a crucial part of this testing and ongoing policy development.