Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information her Department holds on the distillation of UK AI models by China.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Distillation is the practice of training a "student" model to reproduce the capabilities or characteristics of a more capable "teacher" model. Developers commonly distill their own models to produce smaller, cheaper versions, and some models are released under licences that expressly permit others, external to their organisation, to do so. Distillation can also be carried out in breach of a model's licence or terms of service. The Department is not aware of any such instances of UK AI models being distilled.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, when he plans to update the AI Opportunities Action Plan Dashboard.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan dashboard was published on 29 January 2026 alongside the progress report AI Opportunities Action Plan: One Year On. It provides a detailed, action-by-action view of delivery against all 50 recommendations, showing that the Government met its commitments on 38 of them within the first year. The remaining 12 actions are long-term and complex commitments which are firmly in delivery. This forms part of the governmentâs ongoing programme of work to harness the opportunities from AI, whilst carefully managing the risks.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to ensure the AI Security Institute is able to access the newest frontier models before their release.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) has built trusted, relationships with the world's leading AI labs. This collaborative approach lets us keep pace with a fast-moving technology and adapt as it evolves and has allowed AISI to secure privileged access that has identified dozens of vulnerabilities that developers fixed before public release. AISI is in daily conversation with industry partners, including Anthropic, and works closely with allies and partners around the world on the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 2024 Budget on businesses in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Autumn Budget 2024 took place on 30th October 2024. It made choices necessary to support economic stability and investment, including sustaining public investment at the highest sustained levels since the 1970s, and putting our public finances back on a stable footing. This benefits all part of Britain, because this is a government that wants to see growth in every postcode, and that includes in Runnymede and Weybridge.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support is available to park home residents who face discriminatory practices by park home site owners.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where a park home resident believes they have experienced discrimination related to a protected characteristic, they can contact the Equality Advisory Support Service.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 110492 on 11 February 2026.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she will update the House on her plans to regulate LLMs/AI Chatbots providing therapeutic interventions.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
As outlined in the governmentâs progress statement following the âGrowing up in the online worldâ consultation, we received responses which felt that chatbots could play a beneficial role in supporting childrenâs wellbeing. However, we also heard concerns about how these services can provide children with harmful, misleading, or inaccurate advice.
Following the publication of the progress statement, we plan to come forward with further measures in July.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of when River Thames Scheme main construction works will begin.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is progressing the River Thames Scheme following the reset, with an updated Outline Business Case which will be submitted in summer 2026. The programme timeline for the Development Consent Order and Construction phases will be agreed as part of the assurance of the Business Case.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the planned timetable is for the submission of the Development Consent Order for the River Thames Scheme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is progressing the River Thames Scheme following the reset, with an updated Outline Business Case which will be submitted in summer 2026. The programme timeline for the Development Consent Order and Construction phases will be agreed as part of the assurance of the Business Case.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains Government policy to support the delivery of the River Thames Scheme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is working with the Environment Agency (EA) on the proposal for the River Thames Scheme, with the EA leading the development in line with its National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy.
The schemeâs main objective is to reduce the risk of flooding to the 15,000 homes, 2,500 businesses and critical infrastructure in the Lower Thames. The project will be subject to the usual prioritisation and business case approvals.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what perfomance metrics will be considered as part of SWR's leadership performance review.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department holds South Western Railway (SWR) to account against a range of performance measures focused on the delivery of reliable, safe and high quality services for passengers.
This includes monitoring punctuality and cancellations, safety and operational performance, fleet availability and delivery of the agreed train service, as well as the quality of passenger information and handling of disruption.
Officials regularly review performance with SWR and challenge the operator where standards fall short, including scrutiny of significant incidents and the actions taken to address their root causes.