Chi Onwurah

The House Administration actively considers how AI can benefit Members. This consideration has a number of threads:

(1) Exploring the use of AI

Teams across Parliament are working together through Parliament’s AI Working Group to consider how AI may be used in a Parliamentary context (in line with the response provided on 17 October). The intent is to work closely with Members to identify opportunities for the use of AI, including to support their constituency duties. The House Administration will work with Members to assess whether AI is viable for the opportunities that are identified.

(2) Guidance and learning for Members and their staff

AI is increasingly embedded into the services and digital tools we all use. The Parliamentary Digital Service is producing guidance to support Members and staff to use these new technologies safely. This guidance will be considered by the relevant governance bodies in coming weeks.

In addition, resources developed by the House of Commons Library for Members and their staff to learn more about AI are being promoted. PDS and the House of Commons Library have also developed an interactive seminar for Members and their staff to participate in. The first such seminar took place on 19 November as part of the New Parliament Fair and teaches Members what AI is, how to use it safely and how it can be applied to Members’ work.

(3) Learning from other parliaments

Many other parliaments are exploring how AI may support their Members. We have ongoing engagement with them to identify potential uses and learn from others about how AI is being used to support Members in their parliamentary and constituency duties.

All Members will be invited to share ideas for where AI might be useful in supporting them, and the AI Working Group is preparing engagement plans with Members and their staff to assess what might be viable.

The House Authorities, in conjunction with the House of Lords administration and Parliamentary Digital Service, have been actively exploring the potential for AI, and other new technologies, to support the work of Members. A recent example includes the creation of the online portal for the registration of MPs’ financial interests released in spring 2024.

PDS is undertaking a cost-benefit analysis of Microsoft’s Co-Pilot AI tool, which includes AI for mailboxes. This could aid Members and staff in their management of day-to-day administrative activities and involves learning from Government departments which are testing its use. Before a pilot of Co-Pilot could happen within Parliament, there are important information rights protections to put in place to make sure that sensitive information is handled appropriately. Steps to put those protections in place are taking place in coming months.

Parliament’s Information and Digital Strategy sets out both an ambition to ensure that the Houses are exploring the opportunities and risks of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and to be more focused on meeting the needs of Members in the delivery of digital services.

To support these ambitions, an AI Working Group has been convened with representatives of departments across both Houses coordinating and considering how best to enable the use of generative AI. A Digital Innovation Lab has been established to provide a safe testing ground for the use of AI and other emerging technologies, and initial proofs of concepts are being developed for the use of AI to support the work of Hansard and the Table Office. House staff and PDS are working closely with Government departments to understand their use of AI (in particular the development of the Redbox tool which can summarise documents and briefings, and whether there is potential application in Parliament).

To support Members specifically, guidance is being prepared on the safe use of AI in relation to Parliamentary duties. AI learning materials are also being curated, as well as opportunities to learn more through seminar-style events. Both the guidance and learning should become available over the autumn.

As per the previous answer, the Cabinet Office regularly discusses Civil Service workforce matters with trade unions. These matters are wide ranging and include the use of new technology.

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) known as the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) with Microsoft, which commenced on 1 November 2024. This arrangement provides enhanced value and discounted pricing for public sector organisations.

A reduction of approximately 6% in Microsoft 365 licence pricing took place in February 2025 as part of a wider price adjustment for Commercial Cloud Services.

The Cabinet Office regularly discusses workforce matters with trade unions.

The Civil Service is committed to establishing a strong presence in regions and nations across the United Kingdom, including in cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne. The Civil Service should be connected to and representative of the communities it serves as well as delivering a high quality of service for citizens across the whole of the UK. Further plans will be set out in due course, aligned with the upcoming Spending Review.

The Government expects all firms to treat their customers fairly, and there is a strong framework of consumer rights in the UK that underpin this. At the same time, businesses are generally free to set the price of their products as they wish. The UK competition regime encourages open and competitive markets which produces lower prices for consumers. The Government has strengthened both competition and consumer protection regimes in the recent Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

The Department for Business and Trade has not conducted a formal assessment on Microsoft's price increase for Office 365.

Microsoft cites the addition of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities as the main reason for higher prices. Digital technologies, including AI, are an important way to improve business efficiency. We are exploring ways to boost uptake through the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce, Technology Adoption Review, and AI Opportunities Action Plan. We also provide a range of other support for small businesses, from the Business Support Service to local Growth Hubs.

The Minister for Investment has made several regional visits since her appointment in October, including to Edinburgh, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, Darlington and Sunderland. The Minister for Investment will continue to make several regional visits in the coming months, to continue to promote investment and identify opportunities across the United Kingdom.

DBT regularly engages with the lithium extraction and processing industry. I will visit Cornwall this Spring to see first-hand the progress that the UK’s leading extractive and processing projects have made. Government has supported growing the lithium value chain through the National Wealth Fund’s £24m investment in Cornish Lithium.

Domestic production of lithium will be increasingly important as demand for resilient and responsible sources of critical minerals grows. Government will work closely with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. This will secure our supply chains for the long term and refine our approach to maximising domestic production.

A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. 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.

Government is considering policy options to secure our critical mineral supply chains and will be engaging closely with industry to realise our potential for producing critical minerals domestically. I am pleased to see the National Wealth Fund’s recognition of our domestic critical minerals industry’s growth potential, as demonstrated by their recent £28.6m equity investment into the Cornish Metals South Crofty tin mine.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) conducted substantial technical, deliverability and economic analysis to identify a preferred option for a long-term disposition solution for the UK-owned plutonium, considering options for immobilisation and reuse of the material as fuel to generate electricity. The outcome of this work recommended immobilisation as the preferred way forward to put the material beyond reach soonest and with greatest delivery confidence.

The plutonium cannot be used as fuel in its current form: new infrastructure for Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel production would be required, as well as new reprocessing capabilities to sustain a closed fuel cycle. A proportion of the material is unsuitable for reuse in reactors and requires immobilisation in any scenario.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) conducted substantial technical, deliverability and economic analysis to identify a preferred option for a long-term disposition solution, considering options for immobilisation and reuse of the material as fuel. It is not intended for the NDA analysis to be made publicly available due to commercial sensitivity and safeguarding national security.

The Government has published a refreshed planning framework for new nuclear reactors (EN-7), including small and advanced modular reactors, for consultation. The new planning framework proposes to empower nuclear developers to identify potentially suitable sites in real-time against a robust set of siting criteria.

Plans for Government policies on nuclear power were taken into account when making the decision on plutonium disposition. All current reactor projects use uranium oxide fuel. In addition, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) conducted substantial technical, deliverability and economic analysis to identify a preferred option for a long-term disposition solution for the UK-owned plutonium, considering options for immobilisation and reuse of the material as fuel. Immobilisation is the solution that will place the material beyond reach soonest and with greatest delivery confidence. This is a key step towards dealing with our nuclear legacy and not passing the burden on to future generations.

The short pause on connection applications is a necessary, transitional step in delivering fundamental connections reforms that, if approved by Ofgem, could reduce the connections queue by up to half and will enable accelerated connections for many generation and demand projects. The pause does not apply to demand projects and therefore will not impact data centre or energy-intensive infrastructure projects.

Fusion has the potential to provide virtually limitless, low-carbon, safe, baseload energy which could revolutionise global energy production. The UK is at the forefront of commercialising fusion technology and is building a strong fusion industry which already supports thousands of high-quality jobs and will create thousands more. The opportunities inherent in fusion development, including transfer of technology like robotics and advanced materials to adjacent energy sectors and inward investment, contribute strongly to the Government’s missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

The Online Safety Act does not ban any service design, including end-to-end-encryption. Under the Act, providers must risk assess the design of their service. Ofcom can only recommend measures in codes of practice that are technically feasible. Separately, Ofcom has powers to direct companies to develop and deploy accredited and accurate technology to identify and remove child sexual abuse material on private communications, but only when all other measures have not adequately addressed the risk.

Under the Online Safety Act Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety in the UK. In order to carry out its regulatory functions, it is important that Ofcom maintains regular contact with regulated online services, including large social media companies. Ofcom publicly consults on its draft guidance and codes of practice, and many consultation responses are published on its website, including responses from some regulated services. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament and is required to publish an annual report and accounts. Ofcom is also in scope of the Freedom of Information Act.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects and strategic investments, including research into sensory processing sensitivities, such as autism and ADHD. Research is funded by different Research Councils, including the Medical Research Council through its Neurosciences and Mental Health Board.

Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care funds health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes proposals for research into a range of conditions, including sensory processing sensitivity, at https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic

The Online Safety Act gives user-to-user and search service providers new duties for tackling illegal fraud. These duties took effect on 17 March. Providers will need to conduct risk assessments and ensure they put in place systems and processes that proactively tackle fraud. Ofcom set out details about how providers can comply with their duties in its illegal harms codes of practice. Ofcom will keep the effectiveness of its codes under review and strengthen the codes as needed. The department is not aware of any specific estimate for fraud reduction by Ofcom.

Ofcom expects to publish the draft Codes of Practice on the remaining duties on categorised services by early 2026, later than it originally anticipated. The fraudulent advertising duties rely on these codes being in force. Separately, the illegal content duties are now in force and user-to-user services must have appropriate measures to protect users from user-generated fraud. The government has published an enactment impact assessment for the Online Safety Act but has not carried out an impact assessment specifically on the timing of the fraudulent advertising duties coming into effect.