Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress her Department has made on introducing an artificial intelligence bill; what timetable has been set for its publication; and what interim regulatory steps are being taken to help tackle risks relating to artificial intelligence.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government does not speculate on legislation ahead of future parliamentary sessions.
A range of existing rules already apply to Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation and other forms of sectoral regulation.
AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the UK believes that the vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. In response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities.
This is complemented by the work of the AI Security Institute which has deepened our understanding of the critical security risks posed by frontier.
However, the government will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.
On 3 December 2025, the DSIT Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament that the government is exploring how emerging services, such as AI chatbots, interact with the Online Safety Act and what further measures may be required. Further to this, we are signing the commencement order to urgently bring powers to criminalise the creation of intimate images without consent into force.
We will also legislate to criminalise nudification apps. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate images.
The government remains committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
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 prevent software companies from releasing artificial intelligence tools that enable the creation of sexually explicit images, in particular of women and children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Under the Online Safety Act, sharing, or threatening to share, a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence. The government will also urgently bring into force a new offence which criminalises the creation of intimate images without consent.
We will also legislate to criminalise nudification apps. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate images.
Ofcom is the enforcement regulator for the Online Safety Act and it has confirmed it is opening a formal investigation into X due to concerns over non consensual intimate images.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what fines, sanctions or enforcement measures her Department is applying to technology companies that make available artificial intelligence tools capable of generating sexually explicit images, in particular of women and children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Under the Online Safety Act, sharing, or threatening to share, a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence. The government will also urgently bring into force a new offence which criminalises the creation of intimate images without consent.
We will also legislate to criminalise nudification apps. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate images.
Ofcom is the enforcement regulator for the Online Safety Act and it has confirmed it is opening a formal investigation into X due to concerns over non consensual intimate images.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many meetings she has had since taking on her post on the safety risks posed by AI chatbots to children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I meet regularly with civil society, industry and Ofcom to discuss online safety, including the risks of AI chatbots to children.
AI services allowing users to share content with one another or that search the live web are covered under the Online Safety Act and have a duty to protect users from illegal content, and children from harmful content.
I have already asked officials to investigate how the Act covers AI chatbots and I am considering what more can be done.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of start-ups have relocated to Silicon Valley in the last ten years.
Answered by Feryal Clark
There is currently no available dataset that accurately provides the number or proportion of start-ups that have relocated to Silicon Valley. The UK remains Europe’s top tech ecosystem and the third most valuable globally. However, the Government knows that start-ups can face difficulties when scaling here. Our ambitious Industrial Strategy sets out our vision to make the UK, by 2035, one of the top three places in the world to create, invest in and scale-up a technology business. This includes an ambition to create the UK’s first trillion-dollar technology business by 2035. The government will achieve this through reforming the business environment by addressing the need for greater investment, skills, infrastructure, planning reform, regulatory reform and access to international markets.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help accelerate the rollout of (a) 4G and (b) 5G in (i) central Winchester and (ii) other urban areas with limited mobile data availability.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government wants all areas of the UK, including urban areas such as Winchester, to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025 through the Shared Rural Network programme.
This government is committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition. As part of this work, the Government intends to reform the planning system to make it easier to build and deploy digital infrastructure.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department is taking steps to support people with the cost of full fibre to premises connections in commercially viable areas where providers (a) do not connect premises and (b) require substantial fees.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government does not support individuals with the cost of obtaining a full fibre connection in commercially viable areas. However, we have deployed a range of measures to support roll-out in commercially viable areas to make it as easy and as cost-effective as possible for operators to rollout their networks. For instance, we have worked with Ofcom to create regulation that facilitates infrastructure sharing between operators. We are also working with local authorities to overcome planning barriers