Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support regional investment funds; and whether the Minister for Investment has met with (a) Northern Gritstone, (b) Midlands Mindforge and (c) other regional investment funds.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade supports regional investment funds by fostering growth, expanding their investor networks, and identifying opportunities for international collaboration. The Minister for Investment will look to meet North Gritstone, Midlands Mindforge and others when next in the regions.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who are the members of the Technical Advisory Board.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The membership of the Technical Advisory Board (TAB) is listed on the TAB’s GOV.UK webpage:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/technical-advisory-board/about/membership
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of open source AI on the economy.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has a strong open-source ecosystem and we recognise how open source can help support economic growth and innovation. The AI Opportunities Action Plan includes measures to help maximise this potential, including through commitments around open sourcing where possible in the development and deployment of AI tools in the public sector.
Open source can also boost transparency and support AI safety research. The UK Government will carefully balance these important benefits alongside the risks that AI can bring as it develops its regulatory approach.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much public money has been allocated for the development and maintenance of the AI tools (a) Scout, (b) Connect, and (c) Humphrey; and from which departmental budgets those funds have been drawn.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
One of the functions of the new Government Digital Service is to incubate AI products and scale them into cross government services. As part of this funding for the development of Connect and Humphrey will come from the budget of the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, which sits within DSIT's overall operating budget.
The level of funding is subject to the department’s settlement at Spending Review. Currently other departments are not charged for use of these tools, though the department will determine an appropriate operating model on finalisation of the Spending Review. Following a handover of the tool, future budgetary decisions for Scout will belong to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Written Statement of 24 January 2025 on Plutonium Disposition Strategy, HCWS388, if he will publish the basis for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s recommendation to immobilise the UK plutonium stockpile.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using procurement to support open source software development in the UK.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has a strong open-source ecosystem, which has helped drive innovation and distribute the benefits of technology widely.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines how the government will maximise the potential for AI, including its support for open-source development. This includes the government's agreement to support open-source solutions when procuring AI models and other software for public sector use where appropriate. As a result, we are working closely with and engaging the open-source community to benefit from open-source innovation through appropriately sourced models and other technical solutions.
The principles of being open and using open source has been part of the Government's Technology Code of Practice for some time, and continues to be one of our core principles.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Written Statement of 6 February 2025 on Consenting and Regulation of Nuclear Energy, HCWS419, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using the UK’s plutonium stockpile to support the delivery of the Government’s policies on nuclear power.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.