Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help improve regulatory confidence and acceptance of alternative methods.

The strategy sets out seven commitments to increase confidence in the validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods.On 24 March, the MHRA announced it will offer early regulatory review of non animal data, including data generated using in silico approaches, to provide clarity on how such data will be assessed ahead of clinical trials. MHRA is the first UK regulator to offer this service, setting a precedent which the Government expects other regulators to follow.The Government will publish a delivery update, including the regulatory elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in developing regulatory guidance to support data-driven and AI‑informed decision-making.

The strategy sets out seven commitments to increase confidence in the validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods.On 24 March, the MHRA announced it will offer early regulatory review of non animal data, including data generated using in silico approaches, to provide clarity on how such data will be assessed ahead of clinical trials. MHRA is the first UK regulator to offer this service, setting a precedent which the Government expects other regulators to follow.The Government will publish a delivery update, including the regulatory elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025 what progress has she made in a) expanding existing and b) establishing new partnerships with international regulators to identify internationally agreed priorities of mutual importance.

The delivery of the commitment to develop out relationships with international regulators sits with the Office for Life Sciences.The Government is ensuring the UK is a global leader in alternative methods by strengthening regulatory confidence through MHRA reform and investing in validation infrastructure and skills, supporting UK leadership by setting international benchmarks for how alternative methods are developed, assessed and adopted. We are also currently scoping opportunities for international engagement on a multilateral and bilateral level.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators, on progress across all elements of the strategy, in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in a) expanding existing and b) establishing new partnerships with international regulators to accelerate the global acceptance of validated alternative methods.

The delivery of the commitment to develop out relationships with international regulators sits with the Office for Life Sciences.The Government is ensuring the UK is a global leader in alternative methods by strengthening regulatory confidence through MHRA reform and investing in validation infrastructure and skills, supporting UK leadership by setting international benchmarks for how alternative methods are developed, assessed and adopted. We are also currently scoping opportunities for international engagement on a multilateral and bilateral level.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators, on progress across all elements of the strategy, in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in establishing data sharing platforms to facilitate access to public and private data repositories.

The Government is working with industry partners to develop appropriate data sharing frameworks to support the safe and responsible development of AI methods.The Office for Life Sciences is working with the Regulatory Innovation Office to explore opportunities to support innovation in AI within existing regulatory frameworks. The Preclinical Translational Models Hub, will include opportunities to utilise AI enabled approaches where appropriate.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators covering progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress has she made in creating infrastructure and partnerships to unlock value from UK data.

The Government is working with industry partners to develop appropriate data sharing frameworks to support the safe and responsible development of AI methods.The Office for Life Sciences is working with the Regulatory Innovation Office to explore opportunities to support innovation in AI within existing regulatory frameworks. The Preclinical Translational Models Hub, will include opportunities to utilise AI enabled approaches where appropriate.The Government will publish a delivery update, alongside key performance indicators covering progress across all elements of the strategy, later in 2026.

Innovation and Technology, how much funding has been distributed from the National Security Strategic Investment Fund since 5 July 2024.

National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) invests in dual use companies across Quantum, Space, AI, and Emerging Technologies, on a range of cheque sizes, co-investing typically at Seed or Series A funding rounds. NSSIF tends to take a minority stake and not lead the rounds. As published in public accounts NSSIF invested via direct equity investments £8.6m in FY24-25. Accounts for FY25-26 will be published later in the year.Details of many of the companies in NSSIF's investment portfolio are published on NSSIF's website (www.nssif.gov.uk).

Innovation and Technology, what progress she has made in developing photonic computing.

DSIT are funding an Innovation and Knowledge Centre led by the University of Southampton’s world leading silicon photonics research foundry, Cornerstone. This centre is focused on translating silicon photonics technologies from research to industry, including photonic integrated circuits that are essential for optical computing. In parallel, the UK’s National Quantum Computing Mission aims to build scalable quantum computers. We have already announced over £1bn of funding for the quantum technologies sector – which includes over £500m specifically around the development of quantum computing of which photonic approaches are an integral part. Details of key milestones and funding programmes under this investment will be published soon.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2026 to question 109652 on Artificial Intelligence, what progress she has made on scaling onshore compute.

Compute is a critical enabler for AI development and scientific research. This Government is committed to scaling this essential infrastructure to accelerate innovation, drive economic growth and better support our public services.We are investing up to £2 billion in public compute through to 2030. This will deliver a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh and expand our AI Research Resource twentyfold by 2030 providing free access to compute for researchers, SMEs and the public sector.The UK has also established five AI Growth Zones, including the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, announced this January. We will continue to work with these zones to secure them as the UK's AI powerhouses, as well as identifying new sites around the UK with the potential to become AI Growth Zones.

Innovation and Technology, what information does her Department hold on the number of occasions that Ministers from her Department met with representatives from MBR Acres since 5 July 2024.

The Department has held three Ministerial meetings with MBR since 5 July 2024. All meetings were attended by Minister Vallance. The first took place on 18 July 2025 as part of a wider meeting with Contract Research Organisations (CROs). Further meetings were held on 17 September 2025 and also on 2 October 2025.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made plans for potential uses of the Isambard supercomputer.

This government is committed to harnessing the power of compute to enable innovations that will deliver growth and opportunity and for people across the UK.The AI Research Resource (AIRR) is now live and is free to use for the UK’s scientists, public sector organisations, and start-ups and SMEs. It is made up of two supercomputers: Dawn at Cambridge, and Isambard-AI in Bristol – one of the world’s top 10 public supercomputers and the 4th greenest in the world. As of last month, more than 350 projects are actively running on the Isambard-AI supercomputer.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a Sovereign Frontier Lab.

The Government recognises the importance of building resilience and strategic advantage in frontier AI. While US companies currently provide most frontier model capabilities, our approach is to ensure the UK can access the best global models while safeguarding national interests.We are expanding sovereign capability where it matters most by scaling onshore compute, supporting emerging national champions, and strengthening the UK talent pipeline. Our focus is on areas of the AI value chain where there is the greatest opportunity for the UK to advance its strategic position.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the growth in the availability of open source Chinese AI platforms on the UK.

The Government continues to monitor global developments in AI, including open-source platforms. Open-sourcing AI models decentralises control, enabling more developers to innovate, experiment and deploy systems for diverse purposes.This approach can deliver significant benefits by fostering innovation, competition and transparency. However, decentralisation also introduces security risks. Open model releases may allow malicious actors to remove safeguards and fine-tune models for harmful purposes.Consumers and businesses should choose the AI system most suitable for their purpose, considering whether they trust the organisation hosting the model and handling of potentially sensitive queries. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance to help individuals use AI tools safely, including advice on understanding how personal information is processed and shared.As part of its research to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI and develop and test risk-mitigations, the AI Security Institute (AISI) takes a leading role in safety-testing open and closed AI models wherever they come from.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of introducing new measures on governing the influence of agentic AI tools.

AI is a general-purpose technology, with a wide range of applications, which is why the UK believes that the vast majority of AI should be regulated at the point of use – including agentic AI tools.A range of existing rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation, and online safety. In response to the AI Action Plan, the government confirmed it would work with regulators to boost their capabilities.This is complemented by the work of the AI Security Institute, which has deepened our understanding of the critical security risks posed by frontier AI, including agentic AI. We are committed to ensuring our rule book is up to date and future-proofed so the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66464 on Submarine Telegraph Act 1885, by when will she have considered whether existing penalties and definitions remain fit for purpose to address modern threats.

Existing penalties for acts of sabotage to submarine cables are significant. Under the National Security Act (NSA) 2023 the sabotage offence carries a maximum penalty of life in prison or a fine, or both, where the activity is conducted for, on behalf of, or for the benefit of a foreign power.Where the foreign power condition cannot be met, the offence under the NSA does not apply, and the penalties available under the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885 are more limited. This is under review.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 69 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, on what areas of technology with potential defence interest have the Advanced Research and Invention Agency held recent discussions with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

As an independent research body custom built to fund high-risk, high-reward scientific research, Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has autonomy in its project choice and partnerships and has regular discussions with a number of public bodies, including DSTL. ARIA is not currently working on a defence project with DSTL.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of online misinformation spread by AI Large Language Models on social media platforms.

The Government recognises the risks posed by mis- and disinformation on social media, including that which is spread by Large Language Models (LLMs). The Online Safety Act already provides protections against material that is AI-generated, where it is illegal or harmful to children.The Government continues to invest in assessing and countering the risks posed by AI on misinformation. We work with industry, academics and civil society to understand how the risk picture is developing, and to consider options for future mitigations. One example of this is the Deepfake Detection Challenge, co-led by the Home Office and DSIT.

Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the Submarine Telegraph Act 1885.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 17 July 2025 to Question UIN 66464.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress she has made on driving the (a) development and (b) adoption of quantum computers in the UK.

The UK’s National Quantum Computing Mission aims to build a scalable quantum computer within ten years. As part of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy Government has committed to invest £670 million into the development of quantum computing. Details of key milestones and funding programmes under this investment will be published in due course.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress she has made on establishing a clear framework to (a) value and (b) licence public sector data assets.

As the Government outlined in the UK Industrial Strategy, there are significant benefits from the financial, economic, and societal value of the different types of data it holds, and work is ongoing to understand how best to assess that.DSIT is working across departments to fulfil the commitment in the Industrial Strategy by April 2026.