Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve (a) knowledge transfer and (b) applied AI research through regional university-business partnerships.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government is investing up to £500 million in the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, a new programme to grow high potential innovation clusters across the UK. This will empower local partnerships of government, universities and businesses to decide how to target R&D investment in their region and unleash their full innovation potential. Alongside this, UKRI continues to support knowledge transfer and AI adoption through consortia of universities and local businesses across the UK. Investments such as the AI research hubs, AI centres for doctoral training and flagship BridgeAI programme are already catalysing local partnerships and driving local innovation and prosperity.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans his Department has to support university-led innovation programmes that boost (a) AI capacity and (b) research and development activity activity in partnership with local businesses in (i) West Yorkshire and (ii) other regional economies.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) plays a crucial role incentivising collaboration and knowledge exchange between universities and other sectors and has supported numerous high-impact collaborations in artificial intelligence. For example, Higher Education Innovation Funding supports engagement with the space industry through the University of Bradford’s Bradford-Renduchintala Centre for Space AI.
UKRI also supports partnerships between universities and businesses through opportunities like Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and consortia investments such as the AI research hubs, AI centres for doctoral training and the flagship BridgeAI programme, catalysing local partnerships and driving local innovation and prosperity.
The AI Action Plan emphasises building a robust AI ecosystem that supports research, skills development, and business engagement, and at Spending Review £2 billion was allocated to implement the Action Plan.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps his Department has taken to strengthen collaboration between (a) higher education institutions and (b) local SMEs in the field of AI research and commercialisation in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) plays a crucial role incentivising collaboration and knowledge exchange between universities and other sectors and has supported numerous high-impact collaborations in artificial intelligence. For example, Higher Education Innovation Funding supports engagement with the space industry through the University of Bradford’s Bradford-Renduchintala Centre for Space AI.
UKRI also supports partnerships between universities and businesses through opportunities like Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and consortia investments such as the AI research hubs, AI centres for doctoral training and the flagship BridgeAI programme, catalysing local partnerships and driving local innovation and prosperity.
The AI Action Plan emphasises building a robust AI ecosystem that supports research, skills development, and business engagement, and at Spending Review £2 billion was allocated to implement the Action Plan.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what (a) formula and (b) criteria is used by UK Research and Innovation to determine the distribution of Horizon Europe funding; and how much funding has been allocated to (i) institutions and (ii) organisations in (A) Bradford and (B) West Yorkshire since the programme began.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK is an Associated Country to Horizon Europe. UK applicants are eligible to apply to Horizon Europe calls both now and in the future. The Government strongly encourages researchers to do so.
Horizon Europe funding calls are set by the EU, who then evaluate applications and award funding accordingly. As Horizon Europe is a competitive fund, UK entities bid into the programme directly.
As a result of the UK’s association to Horizon Europe, institutions and organisations in Bradford and West Yorkshire have been awarded €10 million and €74 million, respectively, as of 13 June 2025. These figures include funding from the UK Government’s Horizon Europe Guarantee Scheme.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to increase (a) core funding and (b) grant opportunities for universities in the north of England conducting AI and data science research as part of its strategy to support regional growth.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government has committed to invest more than £86 billion on research and innovation over financial years 26/27-29/30, supporting the UK’s scientific excellence and its full economic potential around the country, including in areas such as AI and data science. This funding will support the UK’s top scientists and innovators in business, universities and R&D organisations. DSIT will share further details of how its £58.5bn settlement over the Spending Review period will be invested once multi-year business planning allocations conclude this Autumn.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
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 potential merits of granting regulatory powers to the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute; and whether such powers could include oversight of frontier AI models, safety testing, and enforcement mechanisms.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is clear in its ambition to bring forward legislation which allows us to safely realise the enormous benefits and opportunities of the most powerful AI systems for years to come. The government is continuing to refine its proposals and will launch a public consultation in due course.
As part of its plans to boost AI security, the government is committed to supporting and growing the AI Security Institute.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential for artificial intelligence policy to support inclusive economic growth and safeguard good work.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI is at the heart of the Government’s plans to kickstart economic growth and improve public services.
Earlier this year the Prime Minister announced the AI Opportunities Action Plan - a roadmap setting out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier.
The Secretary of State has had discussions with Cabinet ministers, including with the Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade, regarding how the Government can maximise the potential of AI.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of advanced AI systems on (a) recruitment, (b) performance management and (c) other employment practices; and whether his Department is considering safeguards to reduce this impact.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are already witnessing AI’s impact within the labour market. We are working to harness the benefits that AI can bring – such as productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. DSIT has developed guidance for industry on the responsible adoption of AI in recruitment processes, utilising AI assurance techniques.
The Get Britain Working White Paper from DWP, HMT and DfE also sets out how government will address key labour market challenges. We will continue to work closely with these and other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan on this rapidly developing area.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has considered including transparency and public accountability requirements as part of any regulatory model for advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is clear in its ambition to bring forward legislation which allows us to safely realise the enormous benefits and opportunities of the most powerful AI systems for years to come.
These proposals will be highly targeted, will build on the voluntary commitments already secured at the Seoul and Bletchley AI Safety Summits, and will be designed to be future-proofed and effective against this fast-evolving technology.
The government is continuing to refine its proposals, which will incentivise innovation and investment, and will launch a public consultation in due course.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if their Department will publish an Ethnicity Pay Gap Report for financial year 2023-24 in line with the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance for employers published on 17 April 2023.
Answered by George Freeman
We are currently considering the best way to approach Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting in the Civil Service. The Civil Service is looking to develop a consistent methodology to be used in departments to produce the data.
We are working with Civil Service HR to work through the detail so the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance which was published on 17 April 2023.