Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help increase productivity within his Department through the use of (a) artificial intelligence and (b) effective use of data.

DCMS is committed to improving its productivity, including through artificial intelligence and more effective use of data, with projects across our science, analytical and digital functions.

We have a number of initial small-scale AI pilots taking place, to assess potential use cases across the organisation to identify benefits of scaling such tools in the future; for example developing a model to analyse free-text responses to public consultations.

We have also used data analytics to gain insights into spend and outcomes across our sectors and public bodies, helping to better evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions. We are building our data capability to enhance our evidence base, standardise our architecture and infrastructure to expand our ability to use data to generate efficiencies and achieve more impactful outcomes.

We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI and data usage.

For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Data Maturity Assessment, the government data quality framework, the Code of Practice for Statistics and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard. The department also has access to the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), now based in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.

We will continue to regularly review our usage of AI and data to maximise productivity benefits for staff and the public.