Written questions by Lopez.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the impact of energy prices on the cost and competitiveness of operating AI infrastructure in the UK.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, if she will (a) provide an overview of the methods used by her department to track and report (i) how many individuals have taken courses and (ii) the number of courses delivered through the Government’s AI Skills Hub platform, and (b) provide the latest figures for each of these metrics.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to question 126666, what recent progress she has made on the establishment and membership of the ministerial-level working group as set out in the MOU for the UK-US Tech Prosperity Deal.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, what process was followed to appoint Suzanne Ashman as Managing Partner of the UK Sovereign AI Fund.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the proportion of funding awarded by the Advanced Research and Invention Agency to non UK based companies; and how such funding is expected to deliver benefits to the UK.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the extent to which existing UK fibre and mobile connectivity infrastructure is sufficient to support the adoption of AI technologies across different sectors of the UK economy.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, whether her department plans to publish a response to its call for evidence on the AI Growth Lab scheme.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2026 to Question 128826, when the chips used in the Isambard‑AI and Dawn AI Research Resource clusters in (a) July 2024, (b) July 2025 and (c) April 2026 were procured.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, if she will publish details of any public data sets made accessible to technology firms with which the Government has signed partnership agreements or Memoranda of Understanding in relation to its Sovereign AI Unit.

The Sovereign AI Fund has not made any public sector datasets accessible for technology firms under MoUs or partnership agreements to date.

Innovation and Technology, if she will provide the most up to date figures for the number of (i) individuals who have taken courses and (ii) courses that have been delivered, through the Government’s AI Skills Hub platform.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Innovation and Technology, what the volume of compute capacity was at (i) the Isambard-AI and (ii) Dawn AI Research Resource clusters in July 2024, July 2025 and April 2026.

We are investing up to £2 billion in public compute infrastructure until 2030. This will deliver a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh and expand our AI Research Resource (AIRR) twentyfold by 2030. The volume of compute capacity at the AIRR’s two supercomputing clusters at the specified points in time was as follows:July 2024: Neither the Isambard‑AI cluster in Bristol nor the Dawn cluster in Cambridge was fully operational at this point. Isambard‑AI remained under construction. Dawn was not yet publicly operational, although a limited early access environment was available using around 400 Intel AI accelerator chips to support early users and system commissioning.July 2025: The AIRR was launched and became operational. Isambard‑AI comprised approximately 5,448 NVIDIA AI accelerator chips, forming the UK’s flagship national AI supercomputer. Dawn comprised approximately 1,024 Intel AI accelerator chips, providing complementary AI‑optimised compute capability.April 2026: Isambard‑AI continued to operate with approximately 5,448 NVIDIA AI accelerator chips, unchanged from launch. Dawn continued to operate with approximately 1,024 Intel AI accelerator chips.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer provided on 26 February 2026 to question 114130, what recent progress she has made on the establishment and membership of the ministerial-level working group.

The United States is our close ally and tech partner. We continue to have regular discussions with the US administration on science and technology. This includes discussions on future governance and delivery timelines for the joint initiatives under the Tech Prosperity Deal.Ministers recently hosted senior US counterparts at the Quantum Development Group meeting in London.

Innovation and Technology, when she expects to publish the outcome to the consultation entitled Standard Essential Patents, published on 15 July 2025.

The Intellectual Property Office is continuing to analyse responses to its consultation on Standard Essential Patents and will publish its response in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of concentrating Government AI partnerships with a small number of large US technology companies on competition and innovation in the UK AI market.

The Government is committed to ensuring its AI partnerships benefit the UK AI ecosystem and support public and private sector capacity, innovation and long-term UK capability. Engagement with international technology companies is critical to bring world leading capabilities, expertise, and infrastructure to the UK. The MoUs signed in 2025 with international frontier AI companies provide a framework for voluntary collaboration, allowing the Government and its partners to explore areas of mutual interest—such as innovation, safety, and responsible development.These partnerships sit alongside a wider approach to build a diverse and competitive UK AI ecosystem. The Government is strengthening competition and innovation at home by backing British AI companies through the £500 million Sovereign AI Fund , expanding public compute via the AI Research Resource, and supporting startups and scaleups across the AI value chain.The Government also works closely with independent competition and regulatory authorities to ensure markets remain open and competitive, with existing competition and procurement frameworks applying to AI partnerships as they do in other sectors.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of regulatory intervention in the UK cloud market; and what steps she is taking to help reduce barriers to competition in that market.

In July last year, the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) cloud market investigation identified a number of potential competition concerns. The CMA recommended that its Board consider prioritising a future Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into cloud services under its new digital markets powers. The Government is committed to promoting a competitive and innovative digital economy and therefore prioritised the commencement of these powers last year, alongside a clear expectation that they be used to support competition and innovation in digital markets. The CMA is independent of Government, and decisions on which markets to investigate are a matter for its Board alone.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to public sector bodies of limited competition in the UK cloud infrastructure market.

In July last year, the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) cloud market investigation identified a number of potential competition concerns with clear negative impacts for UK businesses, consumers and the public sector. The CMA recommended that its Board consider prioritising a future Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into cloud services under its new digital markets powers. The CMA is independent of Government, and decisions on which markets to investigate are a matter for its Board alone.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on the timetable for decisions regarding Strategic Market Status investigations into cloud infrastructure providers; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken for those decisions on competition in the UK cloud services market.

In July last year, the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) cloud market investigation identified a number of potential competition concerns. The CMA recommended that its Board consider prioritising a future Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into cloud services under its new digital markets powers. The Government is committed to promoting a competitive and innovative digital economy and therefore prioritised the commencement of these powers last year, alongside a clear expectation that they be used to support competition and innovation in digital markets. Neither the Secretary of State nor Ministers have discussed future SMS prioritisation decisions with the CMA. The CMA is independent of Government, and decisions on which markets to investigate are a matter for its Board alone.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of enterprise software licensing practices on the ability of customers to run software across competing cloud platforms on equivalent commercial terms.

In July last year, the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) cloud market investigation identified a number of potential competition concerns, including barriers that may limit customer choice and make it harder for businesses to switch or run workloads across competing cloud providers on equivalent terms. The CMA recommended that its Board consider prioritising a future Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into cloud services under its new digital markets powers.The Government is committed to promoting a competitive and innovative digital economy and therefore prioritised the commencement of these powers last year, alongside a clear expectation that they be used to support competition and innovation in digital markets. The CMA is independent of Government, and decisions on which markets to investigate are a matter for its Board alone.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of technical, contractual and financial switching barriers in the cloud services market on effective competition for UK businesses and public sector bodies.

The Government is committed to supporting a competitive and innovative digital economy. In July 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that certain technical and commercial practices in the cloud market hinder switching and limit effective competition. The CMA recommended its Board prioritise a future Strategic Market Status investigation into cloud competition.

Innovation and Technology, what total value of AI-related contracts has been awarded by all Government departments since July 2024; and what proportion has gone to (a) UK-headquartered firms and (b) firms headquartered outside the UK.

Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023 above £12,000 inc VAT are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service. This includes a note of the winning supplier. (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search).