Written questions by Mak.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has recused himself in relation to decisions relating to Faculty AI.

The Secretary of State had no role in awarding this contract nor did he have any discussions with the Secretary of State for Education in relation to it. The procurement process was conducted by DSIT officials in line with Cabinet Office rules and processes and ministers were not involved.The contract commenced in February 2024, five months before last summer’s General Election and the Secretary of State’s appointment.Details of the contract are publicly available on contract finder, including its value which is £2,344,378.

Innovation and Technology, if he will publish a copy of the full contract with Faculty AI from November 2024; and what the value of that contract is.

The Secretary of State had no role in awarding this contract nor did he have any discussions with the Secretary of State for Education in relation to it. The procurement process was conducted by DSIT officials in line with Cabinet Office rules and processes and ministers were not involved.The contract commenced in February 2024, five months before last summer’s General Election and the Secretary of State’s appointment.Details of the contract are publicly available on contract finder, including its value which is £2,344,378.

Innovation and Technology, what discussion he had had with the Secretary of State or Education on the (a) policy and (b) procurement decision to award a contract to Faculty AI in November 2024.

The Secretary of State had no role in awarding this contract nor did he have any discussions with the Secretary of State for Education in relation to it. The procurement process was conducted by DSIT officials in line with Cabinet Office rules and processes and ministers were not involved.The contract commenced in February 2024, five months before last summer’s General Election and the Secretary of State’s appointment.Details of the contract are publicly available on contract finder, including its value which is £2,344,378.

Innovation and Technology, whether the Director General for Digital Centre Design was involved in the (a) policy and (b) procurement decision to award a contract to Faculty AI in November 2024.

The Director General for Digital Centre Design was not involved in the decision to award a contract to Faculty AI in November 2024.

Innovation and Technology, whether Ministers have disappearing messages in use on WhatsApp for communication with (a) private offices, (b) departmental officials and (c) other communications related to departmental business.

DSIT Ministers use Whatsapp in line with government and departmental policies. This may, occasionally, include the use of disappearing messages where this is in line with our obligations to maintain good recordkeeping and transparency responsibilities.

Innovation and Technology, how many in-year awards have been given to officials in his Department since 5 July 2024.

3,118 In-Year Awards were given to delegated DSIT staff from 5 July 2024 to 31 January 2025. This figure relates to all In-Year Awards paid during the months specified including awards approved prior to that period

Innovation and Technology, what budget has been allocated to the construction of the supercomputing facility included in the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and its benefits extend far beyond economic growth. By investing in AI now, we are ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.The government invests in AI in several ways, including through investing in the UK’s compute capacity, the latest research and innovations, and upskilling the workforce with AI skills.The recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, is fully funded under the current Spending Review. We have already funded parts of the AI Action Plan through Spending Review Round One, including compute, R&D, and sovereign AI commitments. Departments are working through the policy details, which will be integrated into future spending plans as part of the spending review process.As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, we will outline the next steps to ensure these commitments continue driving progress, but it would not be appropriate to speculate on spending review decisions.

Innovation and Technology, what meetings he has held with the creative industries since 5 July 2024.

Ministers, special advisers, and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders, details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website.

Innovation and Technology, what meetings he has had with the AI industry since 5 July 2024.

We are committed to building an AI sector that can scale and win globally, ensuring global AI companies want to call the UK home, and boosting the responsible adoption of AI across all parts of the economy. The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions.The AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, has been informed by a series of external roundtables with experts from across the AI ecosystem, including civil society, academia, investors, and industry. All external meetings with Ministers are listed on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-quarterly-transparency-return-2023-2024

Innovation and Technology, whether the AI Opportunities Action Plan submitted by Matt Clifford was edited by his Department before publication.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan was an independent report delivered by Matt Clifford CBE, who engaged widely across AI startups, industry leaders, academia and civil society. Matt Clifford regularly updated ministers on progress before submitting the final plan which was published on 13th January alongside the Government response setting out the steps departments would take to implement the 50 recommendations. As is usual practice, the impact of these recommendations would be assessed when they are about to be introduced.

Innovation and Technology, what funding was allocated to each Cyber Local project announced on 8 January 2025.

Cyber Local is a UK government scheme to deliver tailored support for the cyber security sector across regions of England and Northern Ireland. It is part of the government’s work to kickstart economic growth and ensure good jobs, skills and growth benefit every part of the country. £1.9 million of funding will be shared by 31 projects, details of which can be found herehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-local-projects-2025The downloadable spreadsheet indicates whether the project focuses on skills, resilience or innovation.

Innovation and Technology, whether he made an impact assessment before publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan was an independent report delivered by Matt Clifford CBE, who engaged widely across AI startups, industry leaders, academia and civil society. Matt Clifford regularly updated ministers on progress before submitting the final plan which was published on 13th January alongside the Government response setting out the steps departments would take to implement the 50 recommendations. As is usual practice, the impact of these recommendations would be assessed when they are about to be introduced.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department requested changes to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan was an independent report delivered by Matt Clifford CBE, who engaged widely across AI startups, industry leaders, academia and civil society. Matt Clifford regularly updated ministers on progress before submitting the final plan which was published on 13th January alongside the Government response setting out the steps departments would take to implement the 50 recommendations. As is usual practice, the impact of these recommendations would be assessed when they are about to be introduced.

Innovation and Technology, when Matt Clifford submitted the AI Opportunities Action Plan to his Department.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan was an independent report delivered by Matt Clifford CBE, who engaged widely across AI startups, industry leaders, academia and civil society. Matt Clifford regularly updated ministers on progress before submitting the final plan which was published on 13th January alongside the Government response setting out the steps departments would take to implement the 50 recommendations. As is usual practice, the impact of these recommendations would be assessed when they are about to be introduced.

Innovation and Technology, whether additional funding was allocated to his Department for the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and its benefits extend far beyond economic growth. By investing in AI now, we are ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.The government invests in AI in several ways, including through investing in the UK’s compute capacity, the latest research and innovations, and upskilling the workforce with AI skills.The recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, is fully funded under the current Spending Review. We have already funded parts of the AI Action Plan through Spending Review Round One, including compute, R&D, and sovereign AI commitments. Departments are working through the policy details, which will be integrated into future spending plans as part of the spending review process.As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, we will outline the next steps to ensure these commitments continue driving progress, but it would not be appropriate to speculate on spending review decisions.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the funding required for the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and its benefits extend far beyond economic growth. By investing in AI now, we are ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.The government invests in AI in several ways, including through investing in the UK’s compute capacity, the latest research and innovations, and upskilling the workforce with AI skills.The recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, is fully funded under the current Spending Review. We have already funded parts of the AI Action Plan through Spending Review Round One, including compute, R&D, and sovereign AI commitments. Departments are working through the policy details, which will be integrated into future spending plans as part of the spending review process.As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, we will outline the next steps to ensure these commitments continue driving progress, but it would not be appropriate to speculate on spending review decisions.

Innovation and Technology, what the budget of the AI Opportunities Unit is.

AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and its benefits extend far beyond economic growth. By investing in AI now, we are ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.The government invests in AI in several ways, including through investing in the UK’s compute capacity, the latest research and innovations, and upskilling the workforce with AI skills.The recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, is fully funded under the current Spending Review. We have already funded parts of the AI Action Plan through Spending Review Round One, including compute, R&D, and sovereign AI commitments. Departments are working through the policy details, which will be integrated into future spending plans as part of the spending review process.As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, we will outline the next steps to ensure these commitments continue driving progress, but it would not be appropriate to speculate on spending review decisions.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has allocated funding to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and its benefits extend far beyond economic growth. By investing in AI now, we are ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.The government invests in AI in several ways, including through investing in the UK’s compute capacity, the latest research and innovations, and upskilling the workforce with AI skills.The recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, is fully funded under the current Spending Review. We have already funded parts of the AI Action Plan through Spending Review Round One, including compute, R&D, and sovereign AI commitments. Departments are working through the policy details, which will be integrated into future spending plans as part of the spending review process.As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, we will outline the next steps to ensure these commitments continue driving progress, but it would not be appropriate to speculate on spending review decisions.

Innovation and Technology, what the budget for UK Sovereign AI is.

AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and its benefits extend far beyond economic growth. By investing in AI now, we are ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.The government invests in AI in several ways, including through investing in the UK’s compute capacity, the latest research and innovations, and upskilling the workforce with AI skills.The recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was developed by Matt Clifford, is fully funded under the current Spending Review. We have already funded parts of the AI Action Plan through Spending Review Round One, including compute, R&D, and sovereign AI commitments. Departments are working through the policy details, which will be integrated into future spending plans as part of the spending review process.As we approach the 2025 Spending Review, we will outline the next steps to ensure these commitments continue driving progress, but it would not be appropriate to speculate on spending review decisions.

Innovation and Technology, whether trade unions were consulted on the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our ambitions by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier.The Action Plan has been informed by a series of external roundtables and wide engagement with experts from across the AI ecosystem. These discussions covered key areas such as the collaboration between the public and private sectors to create a robust AI ecosystem and to unmask the potential economic impact of AI technologies.DSIT ministers recently met with the Assistant General Secretary of the Trade Unions Congress to discuss the AI Action Plan. As the Government takes the Plan forward, it will continue to engage widely with stakeholders, including trade unions, to ensure its implementation.