Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support she is providing to people facing redundancy due to the impact of AI technology on the employment market.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises that artificial intelligence will reshape the labour market. Our approach is to ensure that workers are supported to adapt, benefit, and continue to participate in good, meaningful work throughout this transition.

We are taking practical steps to equip workers with the skills they need through the AI Skills Boost programme, which will equip 10 million UK workers with essential AI skills by 2030. Alongside this, we are promoting forms of AI adoption that complement and enhance existing jobs. We have launched a new prize, chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Simon Johnson, to showcase and reward businesses that are successfully using AI to raise productivity and support employees, rather than displace them.

The new AI Economics Institute will provide rigorous analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets and growth. As the first government-backed institute of its kind, it will help close critical evidence gaps and ensure that policy is informed by real-world data and employer practice.

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 potential merits of publishing AI-related professional displacement employment data by region and age band.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of understanding how AI affects different groups across the economy, including by region and age. The new AI Economics Institute (AIEI), established as a joint HM Treasury and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology research organisation, will build the data infrastructure and analytical capability to assess AI’s economic impacts, including the effects across regions, generations and sectors.

To support this work, AIEI will collaborate with businesses and frontier AI firms to understand how AI is being adopted across the economy. AIEI will also work closely with HMRC and the Office for National Statistics to explore what administrative and survey data could support its research.

The UK government is committed to using this data to inform policy research. The Institute will publish selected analysis where this is sufficiently robust and supports open debate. The publication of specific data will also depend on the sensitivities around commercially shared information and the terms under which it has been provided by partner organisations.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help mitigate the potential impact of AI-related professional displacement in employment for graduates and school leavers.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are supported to succeed in a labour market being reshaped by artificial intelligence, including graduates and school leavers entering employment for the first time.

We have established a new Early Jobs Alliance, bringing together government, employers, trade unions and young people to understand how AI is changing entry-level roles and to protect pathways into work. Backed by £20 million, it will map changes in entry-level work, identify best practice, and provide practical guidance to employers on redesigning roles while maintaining progression routes for early careers entrants. It will initially focus on the digital and technologies sector, with plans to expand across all eight Industrial Strategy sectors.

Alongside this, the Government is investing in skills and routes into employment. Through TechFirst, our nationwide tech skills programme, at least 400,000 students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be supported to develop AI and digital skills through school sessions, competitions and industry engagement.

These programmes will complement our ongoing work to understand how AI is affecting the labour market. The new AI Economics Institute will provide rigorous analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets and growth. As the first government-backed institute of its kind, it will help close critical evidence gaps and ensure that policy is informed by real-world data and employer practice.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help mitigate the potential impact of AI-related professional displacement in employment for those in the late stages of their career.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises that artificial intelligence will reshape the labour market. Our approach is to ensure that workers are supported to adapt, benefit, and continue to participate in good, meaningful work throughout this transition.

We are taking practical steps to equip workers with the skills they need through the AI Skills Boost programme, which will equip 10 million UK workers with essential AI skills by 2030. Alongside this, we are promoting forms of AI adoption that complement and enhance existing jobs. We have launched a new prize, chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Simon Johnson, to showcase and reward businesses that are successfully using AI to raise productivity and support employees, rather than displace them.

We are also strengthening our understanding of how AI is affecting different groups of workers. The new AI Economics Institute will provide rigorous analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets and growth. As the first government-backed institute of its kind, it will help close critical evidence gaps and ensure that policy is informed by real-world data and employer practice.

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 potential impact of AI-related professional displacement in employment across (a) the South East , (b) Eastbourne and (c) the UK.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

AI is going to reshape the world of work, with some jobs more impacted than others, but AI will also create new roles and opportunities.

Our recent assessment of AI capabilities and its impact on the labour market highlighted IMF estimates that around 70% of UK workers are in exposed occupations. Half of these exposed workers are in ‘high complementarity’ roles with the other half in roles where AI may be more likely to perform tasks currently delivered by human labour. To date however, there is little conclusive evidence demonstrating a causal link between AI impacts and a reduction in employment levels.

The Government’s new AI Economics Institute will assess both opportunities and risks under a range of scenarios. A key consideration will be whether AI gains are broadly shared across regions, income groups, sectors and generations and that the opportunities are accessible, regardless of background, gender or geography.

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