Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to 'Political Thinking with Nick Robinson' dated 24/10/2026, which 'frontier ai models' were used to look at cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and from which department did the £13k budget derive.

As set out in response to Parliamentary Question number 34679 on 19th October, the updated total cost of two pilot programmes using AI for Government Cyber Defence was £24,000. The £13,000 figure was previously published on the 12th of June as part of a Government case study and relates specifically to the expenditure on tokens used during an earlier stage of the pilot work. The pilots were funded by the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, now the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The Government pilots used best-in-class commercially available models through the Trusted Access Programmes. We also work with the AI Security Institute to understand the cyber capabilities and risks of frontier AI, alongside engagement with private sector companies, including British startups, to identify the most cost-effective approaches to defending public services.