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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to train and prepare workers for the impact of artificial intelligence.

The Industrial Strategy sets out the Government’s vision to make the UK a global centre for AI and data innovation, alongside measures to ensure our people are equipped to capitalise on those opportunities.

We are improving the UK's system for training in digital skills and lifelong learning to ensure that working people have the support they need to navigate the challenge of automation to a higher-wage future. Through the Industrial Strategy we are delivering:

• 16 New Centres for Doctoral Training at universities across the country, delivering 1,000 new PhDs over the next 5 years;
• New prestigious AI fellowships to attract and retain the top AI talent, underpinned by up to £50m of funding agreed at Autumn Budget
• Industry-funding for new AI Masters places;
• Invested £406m in maths, digital and technical education; and
• Committed £100m for the first phase of developing the National Retraining Scheme to support people vulnerable to technological change.

The Government’s Good Work Plan was published in December 2018 and will ensure that the labour market continues to work for everyone. The Plan commits to a wide range of policy and legislative changes to ensure that workers can access fair and decent work, that both employers and workers have the clarity they need to understand their employment relationships, and that the enforcement system is fair and fit for purpose.