Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Chi Onwurah

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

5. What steps the Commission is taking to help improve Members’ productivity through technology.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)]

Members and their teams should be supported to manage and address the increasing volume and complexity of work being placed on us all. Managing email inboxes is a huge task, as we all know. The Parliamentary Digital Service has been working with Members to understand how we can harness technology to help us filter, prioritise and manage our correspondence and casework. I know that the Parliamentary Digital Service is happy to further support the hon. Lady in that work.

[Dame Chi Onwurah]

I thank the hon. Member for that answer. I believe that Parliament can—indeed must—use AI to improve our productivity, but it must be used securely, ethically, effectively and in the public interest. A poll by Brunel University has said that 80% of the public reject the idea of AI assisting parliamentarians or replacing our judgment. What progress has been made on shaping Copilot—the only AI that we are allowed to use—to reflect Parliament’s priorities, rather than Microsoft’s? I am thinking specifically about inbox management, which I have raised and the hon. Member has mentioned.

[Nick Smith]

The hon. Member is right to keep on raising this issue. The foundation of the guidance to Members on the use of AI is that there needs to be a human in the loop. The Parliamentary Digital Service is in ongoing discussions with Microsoft to shape the use of Copilot to meet Members’ needs. Our digital service must continue looking at the potential applications of AI to support all our work, so that either Copilot or another solution from elsewhere can be tested for all our benefit.

If the hon. Member wishes, she can join our committee the next time we meet the PDS management team to look at how we can better support Members.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Chi Onwurah

Thursday 27th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

7. What steps the Commission is taking to provide technology to improve the productivity of hon. Members.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)]

A new approach to proactively understand Members’ needs has been introduced by the Parliamentary Digital Service to shape improvements to digital services. Recently, its research informed a trial of a paid version of Copilot artificial intelligence with Members, including me, and with staff. To ensure that any new solutions meet Members’ needs, PDS runs pilots, works with suppliers and applies Member feedback to try to drive improvements.

[Dame Chi Onwurah]

I thank my hon. Friend for that response. My constituents expect me to spend their money and my time addressing their issues, not trying to manage an inbox flooded with lobbyist spam and by Russian and Chinese bots. Microsoft Copilot asks me if I want help writing emails to my constituents—I do not—but will not help me manage my inbox, despite repeated requests. Can my hon. Friend say whether this House is paying more money for Copilot functionality that we are not using, and if and when Microsoft Copilot will address the issues that I and other MPs face, rather than the ones that Microsoft thinks we should have?

[Nick Smith]

My hon. Friend has a fair beef. The volume of unwanted emails received by MPs is a known problem, but no one yet has an easy solution. Testing of whether Copilot or other digital solutions can help with inbox management has taken place, but Copilot is unlikely to be the answer for it. I understand that the technology may now exist, though, and I will ask the Parliamentary Digital Service to brief her on what might be possible.

[Dame Chi Onwurah]

Are we paying for it?

[Nick Smith]

In terms of paying more for Microsoft Copilot, there is a version that does come at a monthly cost.