Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps their Department is taking to support local authorities in establishing minimum requirements for the safety, reliability and accountability of emerging technologies before their deployment in essential public services.
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 that emerging technologies, including AI, are developed and deployed safely and responsibly. Most AI systems are already regulated at the point of use through existing expert regulators and legal safeguards. Government will legislate where needed, based on evidence of serious gaps in the existing framework.
Public sector organisations also have access to guidance and tools to support the responsible use of AI and other data-driven technologies, including the AI and Data Ethics Framework, the Model for Responsible Innovation and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
The AI Security Institute provides independent scientific and technical capability to test and assess advanced AI systems and identify vulnerabilities, helping Government understand emerging risks and strengthen safeguards.
The Government keeps its approach under review as technologies develop and will consider whether further guidance or protections are required to support the safe, reliable and accountable deployment of emerging technologies in public services.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether they plan to introduce guidance for local authorities on developing and testing exit arrangements before deploying emerging technologies in essential public services.
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 that emerging technologies, including AI, are developed and deployed safely and responsibly. Most AI systems are already regulated at the point of use through existing expert regulators and legal safeguards. Government will legislate where needed, based on evidence of serious gaps in the existing framework.
Public sector organisations also have access to guidance and tools to support the responsible use of AI and other data-driven technologies, including the AI and Data Ethics Framework, the Model for Responsible Innovation and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
The AI Security Institute provides independent scientific and technical capability to test and assess advanced AI systems and identify vulnerabilities, helping Government understand emerging risks and strengthen safeguards.
The Government keeps its approach under review as technologies develop and will consider whether further guidance or protections are required to support the safe, reliable and accountable deployment of emerging technologies in public services.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of whether the corporate governance framework incentivises short-term shareholder returns over long-term value creation for the wider economy.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 enshrines in law the ‘enlightened shareholder value’ principle, in which directors must have regard in their decision-making to the long-term and to the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment. The UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes also include principles that promote a focus on long-term value creation by business and institutional investors. The Government will shortly publish a ‘Modernising Corporate Reporting’ consultation which will give an opportunity to stakeholders to comment on UK corporate governance reporting and the wider governance framework, among other matters.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has consulted the independent Task and Finish Group on its resilience strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. The Government will work hand in hand with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. The Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure our supply chains for the long term and drive forward the green industries of the future.
DBT regularly engages with industry and academia to inform policy development, including through the Critical Minerals Expert Committee. DBT also plans to reconvene the independent Task and Finish Group members following their 2023 report, informing development of the new Strategy.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the Government's policy is on future use of the Critical Imports and Supply Chain Strategy.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy was a product of the previous government.
As part of our Growth Mission, this government is committed to assessing where supply chains critical to the UK's economic security and growth could be vulnerable to disruption and is working to build resilience. Our upcoming Industrial and Trade Strategies will set out further detail on the steps we are taking to ensure the UK’s growth is secure and resilient.