Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure the UK remains at the forefront of safe and regulated research and development for (a) artificial intelligence, (b) machine learning models and (c) deep learning algorithms.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In February, the Government’s response to the AI Regulation White Paper set out how it is delivering on our regulatory framework. The AI Safety Institute has built state-of-the-art safety testing capacity - and have just published headline results from a recent evaluation exercise. We have also open-sourced our AI safety testing platform (‘Inspect’), empowering safety researchers to conduct their own evaluations; published the International AI Safety Report on 17 May, promoting a shared understanding of AI’s potential impacts; and are co-hosting the next AI Safety Summit in Seoul this week, convening the international community to strengthen AI safety collaboration.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Answer of 19 July 2023 to Question 194133 on Golf: Portrush, whether he is taking steps with the Northern Ireland Executive to help increase economic opportunities during the Open Championship in Royal Portrush in 2025.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2025 is an outstanding opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland’s exceptional tourism offering, stunning scenery and state-of-the-art golfing facilities. These are just a few of the many reasons that Northern Ireland is a great place to live, work and invest.
Economic growth, sport and tourism are all devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. The Secretary of State, Lord Caine and I continue to work closely with the Ministers for the Economy and Communities to ensure that Northern Ireland is well placed to maximise the plethora of opportunities that the Championship, and other sporting spectacles, will bring to Northern Ireland’s hospitality and tourism sectors.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Sir George Beaumont.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
May 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the National Gallery. Sir George Beaumont played a crucial role in the Gallery's creation, both campaigning for its formation and donating his own art to what has become one of our greatest institutions. He died just three years later in 1827. Two hundred years on from when the Gallery was founded for the nation, it continues to bring great paintings and people together.
The Gallery is marking its bicentenary with an exciting year of activities, special displays, online events, exhibitions, and significant loans to other galleries across the UK – with everyone, everywhere welcome. The Arts Minister, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, was delighted to have attended the gallery last week to take part in the official start to the celebrations.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to use (a) the Turner Prize and (b) other high-profile art competitions to enhance the (i) visibility and (ii) understanding of multicultural arts (A) in the UK and (B) internationally.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The United Kingdom's arts and culture sector is recognised globally as a world leader. It promotes the UK’s diversity and dynamism, fosters international engagement, and contributes to global cultural exchange and understanding. In 2024, our creative and cultural sectors helped the UK once again to rank second globally in the Brand Directory Soft Power Index.
The Turner Prize is, as the Tate website explains, awarded to ‘an artist working primarily in Britain or an artist born in Britain working globally.’ As its winners over the past forty years – including Sir Anish Kapoor (1991), Chris Ofili CBE (1998), Sir Steve McQueen (1999), Susan Philipsz OBE (2010), Lubaina Himid CBE (2017), Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Tai Shani and Oscar Murillo (2019), and Veronica Ryan OBE (2022) – show, it has always been an opportunity to reflect and champion the diverse array of artists living and working in the UK. Similarly, the list of artists nominated over the past four decades have helped to give national and international attention to the strength and diversity of art in Britain.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how he measuring is the level of synthetic drugs being (a) manufactured in the UK and (b) trafficked into the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling illicit drugs, including potent synthetic opioids, is a priority for the Government and through our 10 year drugs strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’ we are taking action to tackle drug supply and reduce demand.
UK agencies are highly alert to the threat from synthetic drugs, including synthetic opioids like fentanyl and nitazenes, as well as synthetic cannabinoids and benzodiazepines. The Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and the National Police Chiefs Council are working with local partners to proactively monitor and respond to synthetic opioid related deaths, tracking drug related deaths and other intelligence to ensure a quick response.
We assess that the scale of trafficking of synthetic opioids into the UK remains low. However, nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid, have been linked to more than 100 deaths in the UK during the last year. The NCA assess that these substances are manufactured in illicit labs in China and have no evidence to suggest they are manufactured in the UK.
Through the cross-Government Synthetic Opioids Taskforce we are taking action and are working to enhance our drug harms surveillance and early warning system to provide monitoring information on the presence and impact of synthetic opioids or other drug threats to inform our response. It will also include data on lab-tested police seizures as well as state-of-the-art monitoring for the presence of synthetic drugs by analysing wastewater.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is investing in research into drug testing methodology to identify the presence of synthetic drugs.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling illicit drugs, including potent synthetic opioids, is a priority for the Government and through our 10-year drugs strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’ we are taking action to tackle drug supply and reduce demand.
Through the cross-Government Synthetic Opioids Taskforce, we are working to enhance our drug harms surveillance and early warning system to provide monitoring information on the presence and impact of synthetic opioids or other drug threats to inform our response. This will also include data on detections from drug-checking services as well as state-of-the-art monitoring for the presence of synthetic drugs by analysing wastewater.
The Home Office continues to investigate the market for new technologies that can be used to identify the presence of synthetic drugs.
Ministers are clear that drug testing services must not condone drug use and should only be delivered where licensed and operated responsibly, in line with Government policy to ensure that they discourage drug use and signpost potential users to treatment and support.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) museums, (b) theatres, (c) art galleries, (d) sports venues and (e) other public buildings for which her Department is responsible have reported RAAC in their roofs; and what estimate she has made of the cost of remediation in each such area.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Individual building owners are responsible for health and safety, including responding to safety alerts such as the one relating to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
The Department for Culture Media & Sport is in regular contact with our arm’s-length bodies about all aspects of building management, including RAAC. We are aware of one instance of RAAC in an arm’s-length body and have advised it, and other organisations in the cultural and sporting sector for which DCMS does not have direct responsibility, to follow the latest guidance from the Office of Government Property and Institution of Structural Engineers.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure every (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in England can visit the theatre at least once in their school career.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.
Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.
Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.
A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.
Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that pupils from low income families are able to participate in school visits to theatres.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.
Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.
Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.
A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.
Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have issued guidance to public institutions and universities concerning security arrangements for the protection of historic portraits of past statesmen.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The vandalism against the portrait of A.J. Balfour at Trinity College, Cambridge, last month is rightly being investigated as a criminal act by Cambridgeshire Police. The shoddy sense of history by those who perpetrated and promoted it is also a reminder of the importance of historic portraits in improving our awareness and understanding of the past.
The famous declaration made by Balfour as Foreign Secretary in November 1917 made clear that ‘nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country’. At the time Balfour issued it, the man who had painted his portrait three years earlier, Philip de László, was (despite having become a British citizen, with the former Prime Minister as one of his sponsors) interned, having been arrested on suspicion of treason on account of letters he had written to family members in Austria. As the historian Giles MacDonogh has noted, it appears ‘the fact that de László was born of Jewish parents had some bearing on the case’; his interrogation by Special Branch dwelt on his Jewish ancestry, and an unsympathetic biography included in the recommendation from MI5 to the Home Secretary that he be interned noted that de László was the ‘son of a Jew tailor’. In May 1919, his case was raised in a debate in Your Lordships’ House; the following month, it was brought before the Certificates of Naturalisation (Revocation) Committee, which took just fifteen minutes to throw it out and exonerate him.
It is thanks to portraits like this that such fascinating insights into our past can be gleaned.
I have spoken to the Vice-Master of Trinity College following the attack, and hope that this magnificent portrait can be swiftly repaired and shared with students and visitors to the college for many years to come.