Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of the AI Security Institute’s access arrangements with frontier AI developers following reports concerning Claude Mythos 5.1; whether the Minister will publish, for each of Anthropic and OpenAI, the number of models for which pre-release access was requested, granted, delayed or refused since 1 January 2026; what minimum evaluation time the Institute sought and whether that time was provided; what restrictions applied to testing or communicating findings to Ministers and Parliament; and what steps are available to the Government where a developer does not provide the access sought.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to PQ 29988.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Department has held discussions with frontier AI developers, the Competition and Markets Authority and international counterparts on proposals for coordinated pacing of AI development; what forms of safety cooperation the Government supports; how it would seek to verify compliance; how it would protect competition and prevent coordination from creating unnecessary barriers for smaller developers; and what steps it is taking to ensure that international safety arrangements and restrictions on model access do not prevent independent evaluation by UK public bodies.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government engages regularly with frontier AI developers, including through the AI Security Institute, and with regulators and international partners. Through this engagement, the UK seeks to develop practical, proportionate, and agile governance that advances secure, trustworthy, and responsible AI across borders and regulatory regimes, built on a scientifically robust evidence base.
AI is a global technology, and no country can realise its benefits or manage its risks alone. That is why on 22 September the Prime Minister announced that the UK will put AI at the heart of its G20 presidency next year, working towards a single set of global principles and standards to secure the transparency and access we need to prepare for the rapid technological changes AI will bring, and to make sure its development is safe.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what access the AI Security Institute (a) requested and received to Claude Mythos 5.1 before its release to approved users and (b) has subsequently obtained; whether restrictions apply to that access; whether Anthropic gave any refusal, delay or restriction; what representations Ministers have made to Anthropic and the United States Government on this matter; and when the Government expects the Institute to complete an independent evaluation of that model.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The AI Security Institute (AISI) continues to collaborate closely with all industry partners, including Anthropic, and maintains long-standing arrangements to test models from major AI developers.
As I outlined in my speech on 12 October, the Government has been working closely with the US government and frontier labs to ensure the AI Security Institute continues to have access to the most powerful AI models before they are released.
AI scientists at the AI Security Institute continue to conduct rigorous evaluations of the latest generation of models to build a scientific understanding of the risks posed by the most advanced AI systems and develop technical mitigations against them, so that policy decisions are grounded in evidence.
Pre-release testing is a core part of the Institute's work to inform Government, but its remit extends well beyond this. Its researchers work on projects drawing on both pre-release and post-release testing across chemical and biological risks, human influence and loss of control. This research helps the UK and our partners make real-world improvements to AI security, for example by advancing the science of evaluations and AI monitorability.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many incidents involving the impersonation of foreign government representatives targeting (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) senior civil servants have been reported since 1 January 2024; and what changes have been made to security procedures following those incidents.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government takes matters of national security very seriously, including cyber security, and has robust procedures in place to prevent the loss of sensitive information.
However, we do not routinely comment on the specifics on matters relating to national security.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help mitigate the potential impact of extreme temperatures.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Cabinet Office works closely with experts in the Met Office and UKHSA to continually assess the forecast and review heat health alerts.
Ahead of periods of forecast extreme temperatures, the Cabinet Office convenes the cross-government Severe Weather Resilience Network to review readiness for the heatwave across the various sectors and ensure public messaging is in place to help keep people safe.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written statement of 19 January 2026 entitled A roadmap for modern digital government 2025-2030, HCWS1249, what estimate he has made of expected take-up of the proposed national digital identity scheme by 2030; whether any public services will require its use; what non-digital alternatives will remain available; and how the scheme will interact with existing identity verification systems used by local authorities and the NHS.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The scope of the digital ID scheme is still in development and we are inviting the public to have their say in the consultation as we develop an inclusive, trusted and useful system.
This Government recognises that around 1.5 million people in the UK are digitally excluded. That’s why we will deliver an ambitious inclusion programme working closely with employers, trade unions, civil society groups, the devolved governments, and other stakeholders.
Wider inclusion work is already underway - we set out a range of first steps in the Digital Inclusion Action Plan published in February last year and are working across government to reduce exclusion. There are no plans to make the national digital ID a requirement to access public services.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department’s priorities are for the next phase of negotiations on a food and drink agreement and carbon market linkage with the EU, as referenced in HCWS1114 on 1 December 2025; and what impact he expects these to have on UK consumers and businesses.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
We are currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement and an agreement to link our Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) and will not give a running commentary on the talks. The SPS agreement will cut costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, reducing consumer prices and increasing choice. ETS linking is expected to facilitate a cheaper path to net zero, reducing long-term costs for businesses. Combined, these measures are set to add nearly £9 billion a year to the UK economy by 2040.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of businesses which have ceased trading each day since July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 15th July is attached.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on securing integrated tariff treatment for the Falkland Islands, in the context of the UK-EU reset.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
We recognise the challenges these tariffs pose for the Falkland Islands. They stem from the fact the previous Government’s Brexit deal does not cover the Overseas Territories. The EU has been clear that they are not willing to re-open the fundamental terms of that deal. However, the UK and Falkland Islands governments have been working together on supporting the seafood sector, including securing US agreement to consider reducing tariffs on Falklands exports.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of SMEs that were awarded public sector contracts in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Aldridge-Brownhills constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on public sector suppliers within a regional location and/or specific constituency is not held centrally. The Find a Tender service programme includes search and filter capabilities by location, supplier type and contract.