Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the use of animal testing in scientific research.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
On Monday 19th February, I announced that the government will be publishing a plan to accelerate the development, validation, and uptake of technologies and methods to reduce reliance on the use of animals in science. This summer, this will be led by a cross-government group that will consult stakeholders in industry, academia, and charities.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure the UK remains at the forefront of safe and regulated research and development for (a) artificial intelligence, (b) machine learning models and (c) deep learning algorithms.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
In February, the Government’s response to the AI Regulation White Paper set out how it is delivering on our regulatory framework. The AI Safety Institute has built state-of-the-art safety testing capacity - and have just published headline results from a recent evaluation exercise. We have also open-sourced our AI safety testing platform (‘Inspect’), empowering safety researchers to conduct their own evaluations; published the International AI Safety Report on 17 May, promoting a shared understanding of AI’s potential impacts; and are co-hosting the next AI Safety Summit in Seoul this week, convening the international community to strengthen AI safety collaboration.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 5.174, page 105 of the Autumn Statement 2023, what steps her Department is taking through (a) distribution decisions and (b) monitoring of expenditure to help optimise the impact of funding for AI compute on the UK's (i) technological advancement and (ii) economic competitiveness.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
UKRI is working with its delivery partner UKRI to identify appropriate host sites for the £500m AIRR expansion through a competitive process. We will provide updates on the outcomes in due course.
DSIT is working with industry and academia to understand how AI and compute technologies are developing over time to ensure the UK secures best value for money and maximum impact from our investments.
As announced in the 2024 Spring Budget, DSIT will set out in due course the access model for public compute facilities, ensuring that both researchers and innovative companies can access the compute they need.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the OneWeb and Eutelsat merger on the UK's (a) national security and (b) strategic interests in space and satellite technology.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat means the Government now has a significant stake in a larger and more diverse company, which will play an important role in securing UK interests in an increasingly competitive satellite communications sector.
The Government retains certain rights in OneWeb. These provide a range of national security rights and ensure that the UK remains a preferred location for activity on a commercially competitive basis. The merger was approved by all relevant regulatory bodies in 2023.
OneWeb continues to innovate in the UK satellite communications sector, contributing to one of Government’s five critical technologies for the future.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the OneWeb and Eutelsat merger on the UK's (a) strategic economic interests in space and satellite technology and (b) wider economy.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat means the Government now has a significant stake in a larger and more diverse company, which will play an important role in securing UK interests in an increasingly competitive satellite communications sector.
The Government retains certain rights in OneWeb. These provide a range of national security rights and ensure that the UK remains a preferred location for activity on a commercially competitive basis. The merger was approved by all relevant regulatory bodies in 2023.
OneWeb continues to innovate in the UK satellite communications sector, contributing to one of Government’s five critical technologies for the future.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support research into the causes of motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In November 2021, the Government committed to delivering at least £50 million to support motor neurone disease (MND) research over five years, as part of a package of £375 million for research into neurodegenerative diseases.
In June 2023, the government announced that more than £35 million of the £50 million pledged to cutting-edge MND research has now been allocated, just two years into a five year funding commitment. Work continues at pace to support MND researchers to submit high quality bids for open funding calls. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-continues-delivering-on-50-million-funding-pledge-for-motor-neurone-disease-research)
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) size and (b) growth rate of the commercial space and satellite sector in the UK in (i) the 2022-23 and (ii) each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department is committed to supporting the growth of the commercial space and satellite sector in the UK. Data on the size and growth rate of the commercial space and satellite sector in the UK is currently unavailable for 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Department is committed to publishing updated figures as they become available.
The latest data available for the previous three financial years is set out in the table below. The figures and growth rates are inflation-adjusted based on 2020/21 prices.
Year | UK space industry income, 2020/21 prices (£m) | Real growth |
2018/19 | 16,883 | 5.8% |
2019/20 | 16,632 | -1.5% |
2020/21 | 17,475 | 5.1% |
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the use of artificial intelligence to collect literature, art, and music data; and whether she is taking steps to support (a) individuals and (b) businesses in those industries with data management.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is aware of the rapid technological progress in AI, and the Office for AI is developing an adaptive and proportionate regulatory framework for AI, to be published in a forthcoming AI regulation white paper.
In terms of the specific implications for copyrighted works, the UK has a world leading copyright and IP protection regime. We know how important this is for the continued success of our creative industries and we want to maintain it.
We also have ambitions to be a world leader in AI innovation and research. This is why the Government consulted on whether it should be easier to use text and data mining techniques with copyright material.
However, we recognise the concerns of the creative industries and want to make sure we get the balance between protecting rights holders and promoting digital innovation rights.
We are confident that together we can design a balanced approach which supports the Government’s ambitions on AI innovation without critically undermining value for rights holders.
Finally, the Intellectual Property Office is working closely with stakeholders from across the music industry to improve metadata practices in music streaming, to support creators being credited and paid promptly and accurately.