Written questions by Olney.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107739, if he will clarify what productivity and effectiveness service improvements are used with the assistance of AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used across a number of Home Office services to support productivity, improve effectiveness, and enhance service delivery. In immigration operations, we have developed bespoke tools for specific teams to improve the asylum decision making process, with the pilot suggesting that up to an hour can be saved per case when reviewing interview transcripts and searching for country policy information.AI is also used in other business areas to support productivity and effectiveness, as set out in the response to UIN 73677.The Home Office continues to introduce AI-enabled tools, including the rollout of Microsoft Copilot to assist in routine administrative tasks, help summarise information, and improve search and analysis. We will continue to explore the appropriate and responsible use of AI to enhance effectiveness and strengthen the delivery of our services.

Whether her Department uses artificial intelligence for decision making on immigration applications.

Where appropriate, we use AI to improve productivity and effectiveness in our public services. All applications made under the Immigration Rules are considered and decided by trained human decision-makers.

What steps his Department is taking to put the Financial Reporting Council on a statutory footing.

The Government will look to put the Financial Reporting Council on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows. We will set out next steps in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the estimated costs saved to businesses following the cancellation of the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance bill.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made a full assessment of the costs to business of the policies previously intended to form part of the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill. Most of those costs would have come from the expansion of the Public Interest Entity audit regime to private companies with 1000 or more employees and £1 billion or more in turnover.

Whether her Department uses artificial intelligence to automate decision making about access to public services.

The Department uses automated decision-making in some areas, as described in our Personal Information Charter, but AI is not used to automate decision-making about access to our services. Customers are told when an automated decision has been made in relation to their case, along with information on the steps they would need to take if they want to exercise their right to ask for a human to review that decision.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of therapeutic Tier 4 services.

NHS England’s London Region Specialised Commissioning is currently undertaking a tabletop review of Tier 4 (T4) Personality Disorder inpatient provision within the London footprint. This review is being led by the Nursing and Quality and Mental Health teams and covers all units providing national T4 Personality Disorder inpatient services, which are all located in London.The review has been initiated in response to a number of quality and environmental concerns identified within the provision and is assessing the effectiveness of the current service model, its clinical distinctiveness, equity of access, and its alignment with national policy objectives.

Whether his department uses AI to automate decision making about access to public services.

The Department develops policy and strategy on the regulation and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across health and care. The NHS England Information Governance (IG) Policy Engagement Team are updating their guidance for patients, health care professionals, and IG professionals on the use of AI and patient data in the National Health Service.Decisions regarding the adoption and deployment of AI tools, including those used for automated decision making, are made at a local level by individual NHS trusts. At present, NHS trusts have autonomy to determine the use of such technologies, taking into account the needs and priorities of their respective organisation, and should evaluate and review the impact of AI deployment within their care settings.While some trusts may utilise AI to support processes such as prioritisation, access to NHS services is, and will remain, governed by the NHS Constitution. In particular, principle 2 of the NHS Constitution ensures that access is based on clinical need, not on the technology used.

What data is collected on patients with complex trauma and personality disorder diagnoses who are placed into private out-of-area placements.

NHS England has advised that all providers of National Health Service-funded mental health services, including private providers, are required to submit the mandatory and required fields, where the service is provided, contained within the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) Technical Output Specification and follow the extensive guidance available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/mental-health-services-data-set/tools-and-guidanceThe MHSDS is able to collect information about out of area placements and people that have had a diagnosis of complex trauma or personality disorder. However, the information requested is not centrally validated.

Whether she plans to reconvene the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce prior to the Spring Statement.

The Government intends to convene a further meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce in the near future to discuss next steps for the project. My Department’s officials will be in touch with key local stakeholders to arrange this in due course.

What recent discussions her Department had with Hammersmith and Fulham Council on the reconvening of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce.

My Department regularly hold discussions regarding the viable engineering options for the next stage of works on Hammersmith Bridge with their counterparts at both the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Transport for London. The Government intends to convene a further meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce in the near future to discuss next steps for the project. My Department’s officials will be in touch with key local stakeholders to arrange this in due course.

Whether the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce will reconvene in 2026.

The Government intends to convene a further meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce in the near future to discuss next steps for the project. My Department’s officials will be in touch with key local stakeholders to arrange this in due course.

When the results of the Aviation Nights Noise Effects study will be published.

We expect to publish the results of the Aviation Night Noise Effects study later this year.

What recent discussions her Department has had with Hammersmith and Fulham Council on engineering options relating to the repair of Hammersmith Bridge.

My Department’s officials held regular discussions regarding the viable engineering options for the next stage of works on Hammersmith Bridge with their counterparts at both the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Transport for London throughout 2025.

What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential impact of a third runway at Heathrow on the Government's net zero targets.

The Secretary of State regularly speaks to his Cabinet colleagues about these issues. On Heathrow, this Government is clear that expansion must be compatible with our legally binding carbon budgets and net zero. We are committed to ensuring that the economic benefits of airport expansions are delivered in line with our environmental and climate objectives.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to provide additional support to councils that receive less funding after the fair funding formula is implemented.

By the end of the multi-year Settlement, we will have made available a 15.1% increase in Core Spending Power for councils in England, worth over £11 billion, compared to 2025-26. The vast majority of social care authorities will see a real terms increase across over the multi-year Settlement. The government agrees with respondents to the December consultation and Fair Funding Review 2.0 that implementing funding reform in full in 2026-27 without transitional arrangements would be the wrong approach. We will support local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by introducing changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income, including locally retained business rates growth.

Whether her Department meet with representatives from Heathrow Airport prior to the Chancellor's announcement of the Government's support for a third runway at Heathrow in January 2025.

Heathrow Airport is a key stakeholder for a range of aviation and transport policy areas, and it is routine for officials to engage with airport operators and other industry stakeholders as part of the Department’s ongoing work. My officials continue to meet with representatives of Heathrow Airport regularly to discuss a range of issues.

Whether her Department held discussions with Hammersmith and Fulham Council regarding Hammersmith Bridge in the lead-up to the Budget 2025.

My Department’s officials have held discussions regarding Hammersmith Bridge with their counterparts at both the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Transport for London throughout 2025.

When announcements regarding the allocation of the Structure Fund will be made.

The Department is currently developing its approach for the Structures Fund. Further detail on how it will be delivered and expected timings will be provided shortly.

With reference to her statement, entitled A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, of 20 November, if she will explain the impact of the changes on pathways to settlement on the children of British National (Overseas) visa holders.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements. Children of BN(O) visa holders will also remain on the 5-year path to settlement in line with their parents.We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, including on how dependants should be accommodated within an earned settlement system, and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has considered the potential merits of the mitigation of potential future risks from non-human, autonomous AI systems which may evade human oversight and control.

AI systems have the potential to pose novel risks that emerge from models behaving in unintended ways. The possibility that this unintended behaviour could lead to loss of control over advanced AI systems is taken seriously by many experts and warrants close attention.The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand them. One of the Institute’s research priorities is tracking the development of AI capabilities that could contribute towards AI’s ability to evade human control.That is why the Institute launched the Alignment project - a funding consortium distributing up to £15m for research projects to carry out foundational research on methods for building AI systems, ensuring they reliably align with human values across multiple technical disciplines.