Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 12906 on Alcoholism and Drugs: Veterans, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of rehabilitative care for injured veterans.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans. The National Rehabilitation Centre is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, and construction started in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients, including veterans, by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE is a bespoke physical health and wellbeing service, commissioned by NHS England, which supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces, and have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces.
NHS England continually works with its commissioned providers to improve the quality of data relating to the veterans that are being cared for by those services. No assessment has been made on the potential merits of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quantity and quality of data on veterans with mental health conditions, but we remain open to using AI to improve the quality of data where it is appropriate to do so.
Veterans are able to access all National Health Service mainstream health services, in addition to the bespoke NHS commissioned services. Access to mainstream health services is based on clinical need. The Veterans’ ID Card can assist where access to NHS services requires confirmation of military service, for example Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE.
The Armed Forces Act 2021 introduced a legal requirement for integrated care boards to give due regard to the Armed Forces Community when commissioning healthcare services. The 2024/25 general practice (GP) contract will introduce a requirement that GPs must have due regard for the requirements, needs, and circumstances of Armed Forces Veterans when offering services and making onward referrals. Integrated care boards are encouraged to work with health providers in their area, including GP surgeries, to ensure patient needs are met.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using AI to improve the (a) quantity and (b) quality of data on veterans with mental health conditions.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans. The National Rehabilitation Centre is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, and construction started in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients, including veterans, by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE is a bespoke physical health and wellbeing service, commissioned by NHS England, which supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces, and have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces.
NHS England continually works with its commissioned providers to improve the quality of data relating to the veterans that are being cared for by those services. No assessment has been made on the potential merits of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quantity and quality of data on veterans with mental health conditions, but we remain open to using AI to improve the quality of data where it is appropriate to do so.
Veterans are able to access all National Health Service mainstream health services, in addition to the bespoke NHS commissioned services. Access to mainstream health services is based on clinical need. The Veterans’ ID Card can assist where access to NHS services requires confirmation of military service, for example Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE.
The Armed Forces Act 2021 introduced a legal requirement for integrated care boards to give due regard to the Armed Forces Community when commissioning healthcare services. The 2024/25 general practice (GP) contract will introduce a requirement that GPs must have due regard for the requirements, needs, and circumstances of Armed Forces Veterans when offering services and making onward referrals. Integrated care boards are encouraged to work with health providers in their area, including GP surgeries, to ensure patient needs are met.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a health card for veterans.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans. The National Rehabilitation Centre is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, and construction started in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients, including veterans, by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE is a bespoke physical health and wellbeing service, commissioned by NHS England, which supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces, and have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces.
NHS England continually works with its commissioned providers to improve the quality of data relating to the veterans that are being cared for by those services. No assessment has been made on the potential merits of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quantity and quality of data on veterans with mental health conditions, but we remain open to using AI to improve the quality of data where it is appropriate to do so.
Veterans are able to access all National Health Service mainstream health services, in addition to the bespoke NHS commissioned services. Access to mainstream health services is based on clinical need. The Veterans’ ID Card can assist where access to NHS services requires confirmation of military service, for example Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE.
The Armed Forces Act 2021 introduced a legal requirement for integrated care boards to give due regard to the Armed Forces Community when commissioning healthcare services. The 2024/25 general practice (GP) contract will introduce a requirement that GPs must have due regard for the requirements, needs, and circumstances of Armed Forces Veterans when offering services and making onward referrals. Integrated care boards are encouraged to work with health providers in their area, including GP surgeries, to ensure patient needs are met.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to help increase collaboration between (a) GP surgeries and (b) Integrated Care Boards when treating veterans with physical and mental conditions.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans. The National Rehabilitation Centre is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, and construction started in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients, including veterans, by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE is a bespoke physical health and wellbeing service, commissioned by NHS England, which supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces, and have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces.
NHS England continually works with its commissioned providers to improve the quality of data relating to the veterans that are being cared for by those services. No assessment has been made on the potential merits of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quantity and quality of data on veterans with mental health conditions, but we remain open to using AI to improve the quality of data where it is appropriate to do so.
Veterans are able to access all National Health Service mainstream health services, in addition to the bespoke NHS commissioned services. Access to mainstream health services is based on clinical need. The Veterans’ ID Card can assist where access to NHS services requires confirmation of military service, for example Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE.
The Armed Forces Act 2021 introduced a legal requirement for integrated care boards to give due regard to the Armed Forces Community when commissioning healthcare services. The 2024/25 general practice (GP) contract will introduce a requirement that GPs must have due regard for the requirements, needs, and circumstances of Armed Forces Veterans when offering services and making onward referrals. Integrated care boards are encouraged to work with health providers in their area, including GP surgeries, to ensure patient needs are met.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 21 of the report entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, published on 6 February 2024, whether the (a) lead AI Ministers and (b) new Inter-Ministerial Group to drive effective coordination across government on AI issues have met.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the (1) development, and (2) application, of artificial intelligence; and how do those priorities align with national strategies for technology and the economy.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The commitments made in the National AI Strategy and in the Science and Technology Framework remain central to DSIT’s approach to AI.
We’re committed to delivering a pro-innovation and pro-safety approach to AI. As per the AI Regulation White Paper and the consultation response, we’ve set out how the Government is strengthening its global AI leadership and supporting regulators to deliver the framework.
We’re also committed to increasing the UK’s capabilities in AI. We’re doing this by investing in skills and talent initiatives, delivering further investment in compute for AI, and prioritising AI adoption by establishing the AI Opportunity Forum.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential for bias in the automated machine learning and decision-making systems used to audit.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Please be assured that assessments of bias have been conducted for all IRIS machine learning models and the screening to date has not identified any areas of concern. The outcomes will be published in summer 2024 within DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts.
The department always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place. There are detailed Data Protection Impact Assessments and Equality Analysis that accompany our machine learning models, and these are live documents that are kept updated. We also work closely with legal colleagues to ensure our use of machine learning is legal and proportionate. As an additional safeguard, all decisions on claims are made by DWP case workers based on all the facts and individual circumstances of the claim.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent any negative impact on this year's local elections as a result of fake news being disseminated through (1) artificial intelligence, and (2) other means.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to safeguarding the UK’s elections and already has established systems and processes in place, to protect the democratic integrity of the UK.
The Government has established the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which has a mandate to safeguard our democratic institutions and processes from the full range of threats, including digitally manipulated content. The Taskforce is an enduring government function which is ensuring we have a robust system in place to rapidly respond to any threats during election periods, including novel threats from artificial intelligence (AI).
The new digital imprints regime, introduced by the Elections Act 2022, will increase the transparency of digital political advertising, including AI-generated material.
Additionally, it is already an election offence for a person to make a false statement about a candidate which provides a reasonable check and balance against malicious smear campaigns.
The threat to democracy from artificial intelligence was discussed at the AI Safety Summit in November 2023, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to international collaboration on this shared challenge.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what projects have been undertaken by the 10 Downing Street Data Science Team since its establishment, and in each case what were the objectives and outcomes, and what is the current status, of these projects.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The No10 Data Science Team has a remit to improve the way in which key decisions are informed by data, analysis, and evidence using cutting-edge data science techniques. This enables the Government to use the best available evidence, throughout the policy and decision-making process, to drive long-term systems change and enable staff to collectively solve the most pressing policy challenges. They also use data to track delivery of government priority programs, working closely with Delivery Unit. The Government would not normally comment on the details of policy development and formation nor the process by which collective decisions are made across government.
The team also runs a transformation program including: (1) project rAPId, a free, open source, lightweight data sharing system; (2) the No10 Innovation Fellowships, bringing industry expertise in AI into central government on year-long secondments to improve public services; (3) Evidence House, a program to upskill civil servants in data science, AI and software engineering; and crowdsource technical solutions to complex problems; and (4) creating and managing the new Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, a 30-strong team of AI experts who are working on rapid delivery of AI projects in line with the Prime Minister’s priorities.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of defence capabilities in his Department incorporate artificial intelligence as of 6 March 2024.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The term Artificial Intelligence includes a broad family of technologies (from advanced automation to machine learning or symbolic logic-based systems), some of which have been in widespread use for decades. It is therefore not possible to provide accurate statistics on the proportion of Defence capabilities that incorporate such technologies.
While the Defence AI Centre is monitoring over 250 R&D projects across Ministry of Defence that apply different AI technologies to their respective context, we do not currently collect statistics on the proportion undertaken by SMEs. Work is underway to better understand our total AI investment across the Defence enterprise; over time this should allow more granular reporting of supplier metrics.