Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating an AI Growth Zone at Daresbury Science Park.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are committed to working in partnership with regional and local authorities on AI Growth Zones. The selection process will open in spring 2025, and we welcome interest from areas with strong access to power infrastructure and economic potential. AIGZs will be closely aligned with wider government initiatives, including Local Growth Plans, to ensure they deliver substantial regional and national benefits.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of AI growth opportunities at Daresbury Science Park.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are committed to working in partnership with regional and local authorities on AI Growth Zones. The selection process will open in spring 2025, and we welcome interest from areas with strong access to power infrastructure and economic potential. AIGZs will be closely aligned with wider government initiatives, including Local Growth Plans, to ensure they deliver substantial regional and national benefits.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to ensure AI training is accessible to all sectors of society.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan will ensure the UK builds a strong, diverse talent pipeline, realising AI benefits across sectors.
Through Skills England, work is underway to map out how we will meet this challenge, including identifying how new flexibilities in the skills offer can deliver on the aims of driving opportunity. Lifelong learning and adaptability will be key as we set people from all backgrounds up to prosper in an increasingly technology-driven world.
Skills England will bring businesses, training partners and unions together with national and local government to meet industry workforce digital and AI skills needs.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to ensure the AI plan for change helps small businesses utilise artificial intelligence.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The adoption of trustworthy AI across the UK public and private sectors will improve public services and drive productivity and growth across the whole economy, transforming all of our lives for the better and supporting the government to deliver its Plan for Change.
To capture the full potential of AI in the private sector, we are targeting high-growth Industrial Strategy sectors and supporting diffusion across the whole economy, which includes addressing the challenges faced by SMEs. The cross-government Technology Adoption Review will set out recommendations for how government should work with industry to support businesses to adopt AI.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 reduce barriers to the roll-out of gigabit broadband to rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We continue to work to remove barriers to the deployment of digital infrastructure, including working with Highways Authorities and operators to trial a more flexible street works permitting system and implementing the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.
Earlier this month, we announced the signature of four new Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach, to roll out gigabit broadband to over 130,000 premises in rural and hard-to-reach areas. More than £2 billion of contracts have now been signed, that will bring fast, reliable broadband to over a million premises in predominantly rural areas.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 support rural households to receive broadband connections in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 98% of premises in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency have access to superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 92% can access a gigabit-capable (>1000 Mbps) connection.
To extend gigabit-capable coverage further, Freedom Fibre is delivering a £43 million contract under Project Gigabit to bring fast, reliable broadband to premises across Cheshire, including in Runcorn and Helsby, that would otherwise miss out.