Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the six priority areas for the Office of Artificial Intelligence to include financial services.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already transforming business models across many sectors of the UK economy and Government collaboration with academia and industry to encourage realisation of the benefits of AI will not be limited to the 6 initial priority sectors.

We recognise the importance of the financial services sector and the role research and development can have in managing, seeking, and providing finance in both personal and business banking. Tech in the financial sector is currently overseen by HM Treasury. However, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, together with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, work closely across Government, academia and industry, to ensure the sector is represented, including through the joint Ministerial and industry-led Digital Economy Council.

As announced in November’s budget, Government is providing £75m to AI and this includes globally pioneering action to establish a new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation; facilitating data access through Data Trusts; and supporting 450 PhDs over three years in a new fellowship programme. And we are committed to working closely with industry and academia on the Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenge and Sector Deal which we hope to publish early in 2018.