Speeches by Aldridge.

“There is a question about capital as well. Is the UK thinking seriously enough about its capital? Can we afford to do what we need to do? Is there enough money on the table?”

“Thanks, everybody, for being here. You have talked a bit about the EVs, battery storage and renewable energy infrastructure that are prioritising some of this. Emerging technologies, such as semiconductors, AI hardware and quantum systems, are also coming online and will be increasing the demand for specialist material…”

“Which countries are making the most progress in diversifying their critical minerals supply?”

“That is fascinating. Thank you.”

“We are talking about the money situation. The Government are talking very differently—[Interruption.]”

“Thank you very much for everything you are saying. I love these sessions because you get to raise your eyes and look at the bigger picture and the global picture. It is really helpful because sometimes we just perceive the global threats and we forget that we have some game. There are weaknesses across the piece as wel…”

“That is really helpful. In our session last week on artificial intelligence, Professor Dame Wendy Hall said that she felt that her academic freedom was being curtailed by the seeming obfuscation of the academic partnership between China and the UK. If we are looking at AI, quantum and life sciences, it feels like there…”

“I am really interested in what your members are thinking about this. You have talked a bit, I think positively, about your members’ perception of the Government’s movements around China. You have helpfully explained some of the purpose of Government around identifying security risk. I would be really keen to know wheth…”

“I mean in terms of having professional standards in the development of AI.”

“Do we need professional standards then?”

“Weston-super-Mare is a growing, thriving town with a population comparable to the city of Bath, yet cancer patients regularly make a round trip of 90 minutes by car or more than three hours by public transport to Bristol to get their treatment. After his own difficult battle with cancer, my constituent John Kiely is le…”

“13. What steps his Department is taking to support the treatment of cancer patients.”

“I have far too many questions and I know we have such a little amount of time. We have talked a bit about the uncertainty around US tech companies. There is a political imperative around understanding what that actually means. I would be really keen to get your perspectives on this. We have seen owners of AI platforms …”

“This is National Grid’s fault.”

“Startup Coalition has been doing a great job. It came to Weston-super-Mare and did a roundtable on this very issue. It was fantastic. It is in that space. That was awesome. We have talked about specific policy levers, such as tax incentives and R&D support, so you have probably answered some of this question, but which…”

“Albeit pre Brexit, when Demis Hassabis sold DeepMind to Google, a big selling point of keeping it in London was proximity to European talent. How do we take advantage of some of the options that we have now with a potentially uncertain US environment? You alluded to some people potentially wanting to be here. What do t…”

“I wanted to clarify something. There are obviously stumbling blocks in accessing the grid. Is National Grid doing what it needs to do to support your industries?”

“It is not as bad as it was.”

“We have scratched at something that I want to talk about more, but I know we are out of time.”

“When we were in India with the Committee, the vibe was very different. We have got the vibe a bit wrong.”