Written questions by Wrigley.

What steps he is taking to ensure that non-deterministic outputs from AI tools used in (a) diagnostics and (b) treatment planning can be (i) explained and (ii) validated.

In the United Kingdom, the majority of artificial intelligence (AI) products being used in health and social care are regulated as medical devices. This means they are subject to stringent safety, performance, and efficacy requirements, primarily set out in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002, with robust monitoring by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency. These requirements also apply to non-deterministic AI systems that are medical devices used in the National Health Service, such as large language models.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), an arms-length body of the Department, makes recommendations on the safety and cost-effectiveness of products for health and social care services in England. NICE routinely evaluates medical technologies, including innovative AI-enabled technologies, which are assessed in NICE’s Early Value Assessment programme, for those technologies that are most needed and in-demand.NHS England is also developing guidance for those adopting or considering adopting AI technologies, which is expected to support the safe uptake of these technologies and alleviate concerns that clinicians currently have when buying and using these technologies.Although many generative AI systems need minimal intervention from users, clinicians still need to review and approve the text which has been produced. AI tools are to be used to support clinicians with their own decision making, rather than to make decisions on the clinicians’ behalf. AI augments, rather than replaces, human expertise.To ensure that clinicians understand the tools they are working with, we have developed tailored guidance for users and regulators. Through public dialogue, we’ve involved patients and the public in deciding how and why access to health data should be granted for AI research and development. In addition, to bridge the gap between policy and practice we have launched the AI Ambassador Network, which currently has 5,000 members.

Whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had meetings with (i) business representatives and (ii) civil society organisations on changing shareholder primacy into stakeholder primacy in business in the last 12 months.

The Government welcomes suggestions on how to ensure companies consider wider stakeholder interests alongside the needs of stakeholders. As part of this, officials have engaged with industry-led reports such as the Demos report, "The Purpose Dividend" published in 2023.Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 enshrines in statute the "enlightened shareholder value" principle, which recognises that the long-term success of a company depends in part on the ongoing consideration of wider stakeholder interests. The Government believes that this allows companies to determine their purpose and priorities themselves. This contrasts with the "shareholder maximisation" principle underpinning directors' duties in some other jurisdictions, in which directors owe duty only to shareholders.Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries meeting with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

If UK defence intelligence will analyse the reported drone attack on the vessel Conscience in international waters to determine the identity of the actors involved.

I hope the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that the Department does not routinely disclose precise details of intelligence analysis concerning specific incidents.

Whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that company law prioritises stakeholder primacy over shareholder primacy.

The Government welcomes suggestions on how to ensure companies consider wider stakeholder interests alongside the needs of stakeholders. As part of this, officials have engaged with industry-led reports such as the Demos report, "The Purpose Dividend" published in 2023.Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 enshrines in statute the "enlightened shareholder value" principle, which recognises that the long-term success of a company depends in part on the ongoing consideration of wider stakeholder interests. The Government believes that this allows companies to determine their purpose and priorities themselves. This contrasts with the "shareholder maximisation" principle underpinning directors' duties in some other jurisdictions, in which directors owe duty only to shareholders.Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries meeting with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to bring into force paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021 on a due diligence regime for forest risk commodities in advance of the COP30 international climate conference in November.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course.

Innovation and Technology, whether civil servants receive (a) training and (b) guidance on managing the risks of non-deterministic outputs in AI-assisted decision-making.

DSIT has provided civil servants with both training and guidance on managing the risks of AI, including non-deterministic models such as LLMs. Training includes over 70 free courses on AI fundamentals, ethics, machine learning and generative AI, available through Civil Service Learning and the Government Campus. These emphasise critical evaluation of AI outputs and awareness of risks like bias and hallucination. The AI Playbook for the UK Government outlines principles for managing risks, accuracy, bias, hallucinations, and security threats. Civil servants are advised to apply human oversight and robust testing to ensure responsible use of AI and always adhere to the Model of Responsible Innovation.

What steps she is taking to ensure that decisions made using AI in law enforcement can be (a) explained, (b) reviewed, and (c) challenged.

It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they use AI-enabled or algorithmic tooling.However, the adoption of these technologies by law enforcement must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed.The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for government departments.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using non-deterministic AI in (a) marking, (b) admissions and (c) behaviour prediction on (i) schools and (ii) universities.

The department aims to use evidence-based technology to reduce the time teachers spend marking, planning and form filling so their drive, energy and passion is fully focused on delivering change for children. The department provided £2 million funding to support Oak National Academy to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools for teachers. Oak has launched an AI assistant called Aila that helps teachers create personalised lesson plans and resources in minutes, saving them hours each week.In August 2024, the department announced the Education Content Store, a joint pilot with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, aiming to make the underpinning content and data that are needed for great AI tools available to developers. In parallel, the department has launched innovation funding to encourage developers to make use of the content store and stimulate the market to create high-quality marking and feedback tools.Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, course content, teaching and assessment. They are responsible for designing and implementing their own policies and approaches to the use of AI as well as for taking steps to detect and prevent any form of academic misconduct by students including the misuse of AI, as set out in the Office for Students’ regulatory framework.

What plans her Department has to develop guidance for educational institutions (a) using and (b) procuring AI systems.

To accompany the Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy paper, the department has published online materials to help educators use AI safely and effectively, developed in partnership with Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching. The materials are a toolkit for all educators, outlining the basic information that everyone working with young people should know about using AI safely, with some potential use cases, to help leaders address the risks and opportunities of AI, and how to consider AI as part of a wider digital strategy.To help educational institutions procure safe and effective education technology (EdTech), the department wants to incentivise more evidence generation from EdTech companies by setting product quality standards and piloting how to assess products through the EdTech Evidence Board.To ensure the safety of our children, the department announced the AI Product Safety Expectations in Education framework for technology companies, which sets out technical safeguards including prioritising child-centred design and enhanced filtering of harmful content.The department will test an approach to quality assurance by engaging experts, such as company and sector representatives, data scientists, regulators, charities, academics and expert teachers, to assess edtech product evidence against set criteria and give judgements which could be made available to the sector.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has issued guidance to government Departments on the (a) procurement and (b) use of non-deterministic AI models in public service delivery.

DSIT has issued detailed guidance via the AI Playbook for the UK Government on both (a) procurement and (b) use of AI, including forms of non-deterministic AI such as Generative AI.The Buying AI section outlines best practices on engaging commercial teams, specifying requirements, and aligning procurement with ethics and regulation.The Playbook stresses that such AI systems produce probabilistic, non-deterministic outputs and require continuous monitoring, ethical safeguards, and clear understanding of their limitations. It provides guidance on managing the risks of generative AI—including hallucination, bias, and misinformation—while emphasising human oversight, data protection, and responsible deployment.

Innovation and Technology, what mechanisms are in place to ensure (a) reproducibility and (b) accountability when AI is used in cross-government digital services.

The AI Playbook discusses accountability requirements for the use of AI in the public sector, emphasising human validation for high-risk decisions and user-reporting channels for oversight. Transparency is mandated through the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS), requiring public disclosure of algorithms in decision-making, with contestability mechanisms for appeals and redress.The Playbook and Magenta Book stress considering reproducibility and scalability from project inception, supported by rigorous evaluation and quality assurance. The AI Community fosters collaboration across government to prevent duplicated efforts, while the AI Knowledge Hub’ collection of AI use cases supports reproducibility and scalability of projects through shared learning and best practices.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the seizure of the UK-flagged civilian ship Madleen by Israeli forces in international waters.

We are aware of the interception of the Madleen and the arrest of its passengers by Israeli Naval Forces. We note that this happened without serious incident or injury to any passenger. We pressed the Israeli authorities in advance of the ship's arrival to ensure that any action they took would resolve the situation safely, with restraint, and in line with International Law. The UK continues to demand that the Israeli government permits the full and unhindered resumption in the flow of aid into Gaza immediately. By far the most effective way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale that is needed is via overland routes. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling. We reiterate that Israel must immediately allow the UN and other agencies to deliver lifesaving aid to those in Gaza who so desperately need it.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will launch an investigation into reported drone attacks on the vessel Conscience in international waters off Malta.

We are aware of an incident in May regarding a vessel off the coast of Malta. His Majesty's Government officials were in touch with the Maltese Authorities regarding the incident and understand there were no casualties and that no British nationals were aboard this vessel. We are not planning an investigation into the incident but continue to be in contact with Maltese Authorities if any new information regarding the incident becomes available.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his (a) Israeli and (b) Maltese counterpart on the reported drone attack on the vessel Conscience in international waters.

His Majesty's Government officials were in touch with the Maltese Authorities regarding the incident and understand there were no casualties and that no British nationals were aboard this vessel. We continue to discuss with Israeli counterparts the urgent need for the Israeli Government to permit the full and unhindered resumption of the flow of aid into Gaza. Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately. As we've said, the most effective way to meet the desperate needs of the Gazan people at the speed and scale that is needed is via overland routes.

Whether he plans to support reform in corporate governance from shareholder primacy towards stakeholder primacy.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard in their decision-making to the interests of their employees and to the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment. All large companies must report annually on how their directors have fulfilled this duty. Section 172 enshrines in statute the "enlightened shareholder value" principle, which recognises that the long-term success of a company depends in part on the ongoing consideration of wider stakeholder interests. This contrasts with the "shareholder maximisation" principle underpinning directors' duties in some other jurisdictions, in which directors owe their duty only to shareholders.The Government welcomes suggestions on how to ensure companies consider wider stakeholder interests alongside the needs of stakeholders. I look forward to considering the clauses of the Company Directors (Duties) Bill when available.I would be pleased to meet with the Honourable Member for Newton Abbot to discuss his Private Member's Bill.

Whether his Department plans to consult (a) businesses, (b) trade unions, (c) investors and (d) civil society organisations on the principle of moving from shareholder primacy to stakeholder primacy.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard in their decision-making to the interests of their employees and to the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment. All large companies must report annually on how their directors have fulfilled this duty. Section 172 enshrines in statute the "enlightened shareholder value" principle, which recognises that the long-term success of a company depends in part on the ongoing consideration of wider stakeholder interests. This contrasts with the "shareholder maximisation" principle underpinning directors' duties in some other jurisdictions, in which directors owe their duty only to shareholders.The Government welcomes suggestions on how to ensure companies consider wider stakeholder interests alongside the needs of stakeholders. I look forward to considering the clauses of the Company Directors (Duties) Bill when available.I would be pleased to meet with the Honourable Member for Newton Abbot to discuss his Private Member's Bill.

If he will support the (a) passage and (b) principle of the Company Directors (Duties) Bill.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard in their decision-making to the interests of their employees and to the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment. All large companies must report annually on how their directors have fulfilled this duty. Section 172 enshrines in statute the "enlightened shareholder value" principle, which recognises that the long-term success of a company depends in part on the ongoing consideration of wider stakeholder interests. This contrasts with the "shareholder maximisation" principle underpinning directors' duties in some other jurisdictions, in which directors owe their duty only to shareholders.The Government welcomes suggestions on how to ensure companies consider wider stakeholder interests alongside the needs of stakeholders. I look forward to considering the clauses of the Company Directors (Duties) Bill when available.I would be pleased to meet with the Honourable Member for Newton Abbot to discuss his Private Member's Bill.

Whether her Department plans to provide funding for the Teign estuary project through the Local Transport Grant.

At the Spending Review (SR), the government announced £2.3 billion across the SR period for the Local Transport Grant (LTG). Allocations have been published, and Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority have been allocated £40.9m. This is in addition to £4.7m the authority was allocated in 2025/26 through the Integrated Transport Block. This funding is for maintaining and improving local transport infrastructure, delivering transport schemes that will boost growth. Local leaders can choose how to spend it, including on supporting new housing developments, improving public transport, and making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Funding guidance will be issued later this year to support local areas in deciding how to best utilise their LTG allocations. In addition, Active Travel England recently announced capital funding allocations for 2025/26 to local authorities through the Consolidated Active Travel Fund. Devon County Council’s allocation is £2.3m, and this can be used to support the delivery of high quality walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure as well as capability building measures and behaviour changes activities. It is for Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority to decide how they wish to spend their LTG and Consolidated Active Travel Fund allocations, including on the Teign Estuary Project, alongside other priority projects in their Local Transport Plan.

If he will meet with (a) the hon. Member for Newton Abbot and (b) members of the business community to discuss expanding the duties of company directors.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires company directors to have regard in their decision-making to the interests of their employees and to the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment. All large companies must report annually on how their directors have fulfilled this duty. Section 172 enshrines in statute the "enlightened shareholder value" principle, which recognises that the long-term success of a company depends in part on the ongoing consideration of wider stakeholder interests. This contrasts with the "shareholder maximisation" principle underpinning directors' duties in some other jurisdictions, in which directors owe their duty only to shareholders.The Government welcomes suggestions on how to ensure companies consider wider stakeholder interests alongside the needs of stakeholders. I look forward to considering the clauses of the Company Directors (Duties) Bill when available.I would be pleased to meet with the Honourable Member for Newton Abbot to discuss his Private Member's Bill.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 52067 on Power Failures, whether the contingency plans include protection from cyber attacks.

The Government takes the security of Great Britain’s energy infrastructure extremely seriously and works closely with industry to continually improve and strengthen cyber security resilience. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill being introduced this summer will further strengthen cyber security standards for all sectors, including energy. Additionally, industry have well-developed cyber security plans to minimise the risk of disruption and to respond to any emerging issue.