Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision they have made for the teaching of computer science, with particular regard to artificial intelligence, in post-16 education; what assessment they have made of that provision; and whether they have any plans to change it.

The government introduced the reformed computer science A level for first teaching in 2015. The new A level has a strong focus on programming, algorithms and problem solving, which underpin artificial intelligence systems. We have just announced in the Budget that we will be creating an online platform to support A level computer science teaching, as part of a wider £84 million programme of support for school teachers of computing.

The independent review carried out by Sir Nigel Shadbolt into computer science accreditation and graduate employability, included artificial intelligence courses among other computer science courses in its assessment. The government is working with stakeholders to take recommendations forward.