Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Griffith]

I know that this is an issue close to my hon. Friend’s heart. He is a great animal lover, and I recall his past work as shadow Minister for animal welfare. This summer we will publish a plan, together with colleagues in the Home Office, to accelerate the uptake of non-animal methods of research.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation (Andrew Griffith)]

This Government have a plan to ensure that technology works for our people, not against them. Right now, the Secretary of State is in South Korea for the AI Seoul summit. She is building on the progress we have made and on the UK’s leadership at Bletchley Park last year to tackle the risks of artificial intelligence. Whether it is AI, quantum, life sciences or the next generation of advanced telecommunications, we are making the UK a science and tech superpower, backed by the highest ever level of spend on research and development. Our plan is working, and our scientists and entrepreneurs cannot afford to go back to square one with Labour.

[Chris Elmore]

The UK Research and Innovation chief executive has announced that they are stepping down in June next year. The recruitment process normally lasts eight months, yet the Government are speeding up that process. Is that because they are worried about the outcome of a general election?

[Andrew Griffith]

This Government are focusing on delivery every single day, and I make no apologies for cracking on with the process of making sure that our brilliant research institutions have the finest leadership that the best and brightest in the world deserve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 17th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Saqib Bhatti]

The hon. Lady is right to say that AI can play a great role in improving the way we treat conditions, provided that it is implemented in an ethical, safe and responsible way. One great example of that is Brainomix, which is already being used in 37 NHS healthcare trusts. It means that the in/out time has been greatly reduced, and three times more people who previously would have not been able to live independently are now able to do so because of the use of AI. That is also being used in additional critical pathways, and lessons are learned. I know the NHS is working closely with DHSC to ensure that AI is used effectively.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

2. What steps the Government is taking to regulate AI.

[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

4. What steps the Government is taking to regulate AI.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Michelle Donelan)]

In our White Paper on AI regulation we set out our ambitious pro-regulation, pro-innovation framework, outlining five cross-sectoral principles to be applied by existing regulators. In February we published our response, setting out how we are supporting regulators to deliver the framework and strengthen our global AI leadership. That includes new funding and guidance for our regulators, and we have established a central risk function to support.

[Chris Elmore]

Yet we heard just a few months ago from the Prime Minister that the UK’s answer is not to rush to regulate. The Competition and Markets Authority has been clear about the potential harms that unregulated AI could generate from baking in biases that affect certain demographics, and general purpose models that could get out of control. Why have the Government dragged their feet on safeguards for the most advanced AI models, or is the Secretary of State simply waiting for the next Labour Government to control the new AI models?

[Michelle Donelan]

Mr Speaker, this is absolute tosh. We have led the world when it comes to AI safety. We have set up a long-term process in the AI Safety Summit, and the next one will be in Seoul in just a few weeks. We have also set up the world’s first AI Safety Institute, which is testing both pre and post deployment. We have also been clear: we will not rush to legislate. We will grip the risks and better understand them, rather than produce out-of-date legislation as a gimmick.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 21st February 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We know how vital bus services are to communities right across the country—indeed, buses are our most popular form of public transportation—which is why we have used some of the savings from HS2 to invest in bus services. We have capped bus fares at £2 right across the country, and we have provided my hon. Friend’s local authority with millions of pounds of more funding specifically to support local bus services. I join him in calling on the Mayor to ensure that there are direct bus routes to hospitals in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and to make sure that people can see their loved ones at a distressing time.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

Q14.   At the weekend the people of south Wales marched in support of the steel industry, following the Government’s grubby deal with Tata, which is now placing thousands of jobs at risk in Port Talbot and beyond. The Prime Minister is failing to protect our steel industry because he failed to make protecting jobs at the plant a red line. He now has a choice: work with the unions, Tata and the workforce to protect the industry and the jobs with investment, or walk away and do what Tories always do—abandon the south Wales communities yet again. Which is it, Prime Minister?

[The Prime Minister]

This Government have worked hard to secure a long-term, sustainable future for Welsh steelmaking, and to grow the legacy of that important industry. That is why during the pandemic we stepped in to support Celsa, which, as the hon. Gentleman knows, safeguarded more than 1,000 jobs and ensured that the plant was sustainable. It is why we agreed one of the largest ever cash grants, of half a billion pounds, for Tata Steel to safeguard at least 5,000 jobs that would otherwise have been lost. The hon. Gentleman might want to ask why the Welsh Labour Government did not put in a penny to support that deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 10th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Julia Lopez]

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s work in this area. He is a tremendous champion for his constituency. He will be aware that I spoke to the Scottish Government before I went on maternity leave. I asked for an update on that work yesterday when I spoke to BDUK. I understand that progress is being made. I am anxious to get that sorted because Scotland is missing out and falling behind other parts of the UK. That is not good enough and I want to help him to do everything he can to get this moving.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

I have raised with the Minister over and over again the subject of the village of Bryncethin in my constituency, where three streets still do not have connectivity. BT Broadband has now come in to do the work, which it says it will complete in 2026. That is just not acceptable. Will the Minister point out to BT Broadband again that the position needs to be rectified quickly, and that the work on those three streets should not take two years?

[Julia Lopez]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, things are changing in Wales because the Welsh Government are starting to take some of the contracts in-house. That work is under way, but I am happy to look into that specific issue with Openreach on his behalf, because I appreciate the frustration felt by his constituents. Those Welsh Government contracts are being taken in-house because we think we will be better placed to deliver them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 6th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of rail infrastructure in Wales.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

12. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of rail infrastructure in Wales.

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Thank you for your generosity, Madam Deputy Speaker. I, too, pay tribute to my very good friends in the Kinnock family after the loss of Glenys, who was a dear friend to all of us, and note the sad death of the former Member for Rhondda.

I ask the Secretary of State—

--- Later in debate ---

[Fay Jones]

I will be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss that and the investment that the UK Government are already putting into rail infrastructure in Wales.

[Chris Elmore]

The Secretary of State and the Minister should know that I have campaigned for years to close the dangerous level crossing in Pencoed in my constituency. No levelling-up funding or transport bid funding has been approved for any of the applications. Will the Minister please talk to Department for Transport officials to resolve this, rather than allowing DFT officials to keep announcing more and more rail services, which means closing the crossing more by stealth? That is not acceptable to my constituents.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Thursday 7th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight those challenges. The health service—I have seen this in my own constituency—is coming up with innovative models to look at wider public health, and to address exactly that issue. We want to get more people back into the workforce, and we need to deal with some of those long-term challenges.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

T5.   Although the police data leak in Northern Ireland was caused by human error, it raises wider concerns about cyber-security and data for our public service workers. I have been approached by constituents who work particularly within policing. They would like some reassurance that the Cabinet Office is working with forces across England and Wales to ensure that those types of data breaches do not happen again, and that the Cabinet Office will do more work on securing people’s personal data, particularly when they are working in services such as the police force.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that this issue is local to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, but he is also right—I fully acknowledge this—that there may be questions to learn across Government about how we make certain that people’s data is secure. It is critical that individuals working and providing a service to the country know that their data is secure. I agree with him on that, and I have had discussions with officials about what we can to do ensure we can give that reassurance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin]

Mr Speaker, we are all better informed. I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The policy is not doctrinaire. As my hon. Friend says, there are occasions when that is the right approach, but the default position should be working together in the office space. We believe that means we get more out of employees, there is better productivity and it is a better experience for those working together in that team environment.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

Following the question asked by the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone), may I press Ministers in relation to HMRC and Department for Work and Pensions phone services? I have constituents who are waiting over an hour to speak to DWP call centre staff, who are then cut off. The pressure is partly caused by more and more people relying on DWP and HMRC services. Having been cut off, they subsequently receive letters saying their benefits have been revoked or they are expected to repay taxes, without having been able to talk to any officials in those call centres. It cannot be right for the Minister to say that it is for those Departments to deal with the problem. The Cabinet Office needs to have a co-ordinating role to resolve these ongoing problems. It is simply not good enough.

[Alex Burghart]

The hon. Gentleman will have heard me say already that it is a matter for those Departments. It is their responsibility, but I know they are taking those responsibilities very seriously. DWP and HMRC are working hard to get the waiting times down.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

The Government have made some changes to the legacy Bill during its passage through this House. If the changes are not enough and all Northern Ireland parties vote against it again on its return to the House, will the Secretary of State commit to a different approach, as reconciliation cannot be imposed on Northern Ireland?

[Chris Heaton-Harris]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place and hope that all is well with the shadow Minister he is replacing, the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi). The hon. Gentleman has big shoes to fill, but that is a good start. I thank him for noticing what is going on in the other place, where we have already tabled amendments that seek to address a number of key issues raised by the stakeholders we have been meeting, including compliance with the European convention on human rights, strengthening the commission’s independence, sanctions for individuals found guilty of lying to the commission, and stronger incentives for individuals to engage with the commission. We will table more such amendments on Report, when I hope we can get everybody on board, or at least to acknowledge that we are doing a decent job.

Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to offer the condolences of my constituents to His Majesty the King and to all members of the royal family.

My constituency is privileged to be able to thank Her late Majesty the Queen and, as he was at the time, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales—now, of course, the King—for securing Sony in my constituency. As the managing director of Sony UK told me today, thousands of my constituents have benefited from their direct intervention. The site was opened by the late Queen in 1993 and it was the King in 1974, on a visit to Japan, who said to the then chief executive of Sony, “If you consider putting something in the UK, please put something in my country, Wales.”

I think of Her late Majesty in the forms of fun and friendship. Just like the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), I am frequently asked, whenever I visit a school, be they teenagers or primary schoolchildren, “Have you ever met the Queen?” To which the answer is, “Sort of. I have seen her. I have been at the box in the House of Lords for the Queen’s Speech.” I once was asked, following that question, “Have you ever touched the Queen?” I am not sure who was more shocked, me or the headteacher, who genuinely looked like he was about to faint.

The Queen had a healthy obsession with trees. I recall fondly the talks she held with Sir David Attenborough about the Queen’s Green Canopy—clips have been shown over the past few days—and the work he was doing to talk about delivering that right across our United Kingdom. She joked that “We”—her and Sir David—would not see that tree come to its 50-year life, and they both laughed. It is her humility that so many of us will think of so fondly.

I have had the privilege, in my brief time in this House, to meet King Charles III twice. The first time was five days after I was elected in a byelection in 2016. I was lined up by the secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant and told, “Just stand there, Mr Elmore. He’ll be along shortly.” When he arrived and came out of the car, I was the second person to greet him. He said to me, “You’re the new one.” I was quite nervous and I said, “Yes, your Royal Highness.” He said, “I wouldn’t worry about it; I’m terribly nice.” I think that common touch is what he has picked up from the late Queen and I know he will go on to serve this country and the Commonwealth well. God bless and keep the Queen, and all who mourn her. God save the King.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Elmore Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Neil O'Brien]

We will certainly look at that. Of course there is intense competition for the freeports, which will create huge benefits not only for the local area, but for all of Scotland.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

6. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the effect of High Speed Rail 2 on Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Iain Stewart)]

As I just said in answer to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown), Scotland is set to benefit from the boost in connectivity and huge economic benefits that HS2 will bring. Scotland will be connected to the HS2 network from the day it opens, and further work will be done in the years ahead to optimise the journey times and capacity. In addition, I am very pleased that 100 permanent jobs will be created at the new HS2 Annandale depot in Dumfries and Galloway.

[Chris Elmore]

On the day of the confidence vote in the Prime Minister, the Government tried to sneak out the news that the HS2 Golborne link, a £2 billion rail link between Glasgow and the north-west of England, had been scrapped. How can the Minister say that Scotland will benefit from connecting to HS2 when the Government are secretly trying to get rid of lines linking the north of England with Scotland and reducing the overall connectivity between the nations of the United Kingdom?

[Iain Stewart]

As I have just said to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, the removal of the Golborne link was because Sir Peter Hendy’s connectivity review had found that it was not the best way to address the capacity constraints between Crewe and Preston. However, we are looking at better options for it; we are committed to HS2, and I believe the line will help connectivity between Scotland and England and encourage a modal shift to more environmentally friendly forms of transport.