Written questions by Jopp.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve research and innovation in the defence sector.

The Strategic Defence Review and Industrial Strategy were clear. Innovation is central to deterrence and decisive factors in war. DSIT is working closely with the Ministry of Defence to implement the Defence Industrial Strategy. UKRI are delivering £550m into the Defence and National Security sector. We are partnering with MOD as they commit at least 10% of their equipment budget on novel technologies. Ensuring cutting-edge UK research and innovation delivers for defence.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of GOV.UK AI assistant pilot developed with Anthropic on (a) user satisfaction, (b) call centre volumes, and (c) accuracy of information provided to citizens.

The pilot of the GOV.UK AI assistant is currently being undertaken by GDS and will be concluding soon. We will then evaluate the concept to inform future development of the concept.At this stage, the pilot is about learning and understanding the potential value of the technology for citizens in helping them get through complex life events. We will be considering accuracy and value as part of the final reporting on this pilot.

Innovation and Technology, how many meetings Ministers and senior officials have held with representatives of (a) Anthropic, (b) OpenAI, (c) Google, (d) Microsoft, (e) Meta and (f) Palantir since July 2024.

The full details of Ministerial and senior civil servant-level meetings will be published publicly in quarterly transparency returns.

Innovation and Technology, whether specific, measurable deliverables have been agreed with (a) Anthropic, (b) OpenAI and (c) Google DeepMind under the Memoranda of Understanding signed since February 2025.

The Government has signed Memoranda of Understanding with these companies to support industry cooperation. You can read the full details of these agreements on the GOV.UK website for each company: Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind.The Government is already working with these firms to deliver on UK objectives. For example, Anthropic are developing an AI assistant to transform GOV.UK services, and OpenAI are collaborating with the Ministry of Justice to support businesses with AI innovation.Our AI Security Institute also collaborates closely with these companies to research the serious risks that advanced AI could pose. Through this collaboration, the Institute helps to identify vulnerabilities in developers' models; both OpenAI and Anthropic have addressed dozens of such issues before releasing their models.

Innovation and Technology, how many AI-related MOUs, strategic partnerships and service agreements have been signed by government departments since July 2024.

A total of 26 AI‑related MOUs, strategic partnerships, and service agreements have been signed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of the US CLOUD Act for UK government data held on infrastructure provided by (a) Microsoft, (b) Google Cloud and (c) Amazon Web Services under agreements entered into since July 2024.

DSIT has not made any central assessments of the US CLOUD Act and the implications for UK government data.Under UK data protection laws, UK organisations, including UK Government, must ensure personal data is appropriately protected when transferred internationally.The UK has an adequacy decision for certain transfers to the US under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which included an assessment of US government access laws and practices, such as the US CLOUD Act. Where adequacy is not relied upon, organisations must use alternative safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses, in accordance with Article 46 of the UK GDPR.