Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,361–1,380 of 1,767 · this parliament
For what purposes the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Innovation and Technology, for what purposes the Met Office has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Met Office is at the forefront of public sector deployment of AI and has an organisation-wide change programme that fosters a culture of AI innovation: AI4Everyone. It has been using AI in a wide range of applications, for example working with The Alan Turing Institute to co-develop a machine learning model for weather prediction known as FastNet. It has also started using AI in climate science applications through its AI4Climate Programme and is deploying AI across its internal operations to deliver efficiencies, improved internal processes and to stimulate innovative new services. It will begin publishing records through the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard shortly.All Arms Length Bodies can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage and have access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.
Communities and Local Government, for what purposes the Planning Inspectorate has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is key to delivering the outcomes set out in the blueprint for modern digital government published on 21 January 2025. The policy paper can be found on gov.uk here.The Planning Inspectorate has undertaken the following exploratory work in relation to AI in the past 12 months:· The Inspectorate issued guidance on use of artificial intelligence as part of any appeal, application or examination being dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate.· The Inspectorate established an Artificial Intelligence Governance Board as per the government’s Generative AI Framework.· The Inspectorate investigated the use of Artificial Intelligence tools to support in the redaction of the data and documents it publishes, as necessary.· The Inspectorate investigated the use of tools powered by artificial intelligence to create visualisations and extract insights from data about casework for internal staff use only.· The Inspectorate undertook the first phase of internal testing of Microsoft CoPilot tools for staff to establish their impact and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.The Planning Inspectorate can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.The Planning Inspectorate also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.
What steps his Department is taking to encourage more people to become blood donors in Lincolnshire.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England.Throughout the year, NHSBT runs campaigns to attract new donors, such as the ‘gift of blood’ campaign in the run up to Christmas. This involved paid media activity across several platforms including, social media, radio and TV. NHSBT also worked with the BBC’s Casualty to support development of its Christmas special focussing on the need for blood. To reach new audiences and find new ways to inspire donors to donate, NHSBT partners with organisations such as Disney, the Civil Service, NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards.This activity takes place across England, including in the county of Lincolnshire.
Food and Rural Affairs, for what purposes the Forestry Commission has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Forest Research, an agency of the Forestry Commission, is primarily trialling Machine Learning to automate some of the basic tasks currently performed by scientists to support its specialist work. This algorithmic learning can be trained using established and mature techniques on new and existing datasets to classify complex, multidimensional data. This is carefully considered and monitored for accuracy and performance and viewed in the context of evolving practice and recommendations of secure, sustainable and ethical Artificial Intelligence.
How much money was seized from gangs involved in smuggling people across the English Channel in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.
Seized/Frozen2022/23£7,543,7462023/24£2,616,5092024/25£13,376,869 Seized and frozen assets relating to Organised Immigration Crime, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery for the financial years requested is available. These would include much of the seized assets in relation to people smuggling across the Channel.
What steps he is taking to help armed forces veterans access mental health support in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Across England, NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service for veterans. The Op COURAGE Midlands service, run by the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, covers the South Holland area.In the South Holland and The Deepings constituency and in Lincolnshire, veterans can self-refer to Op COURAGE, or a referral can be made on their behalf by a clinician or a family member. The service has been designed to support veterans from all areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices, Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate.Whilst Op COURAGE provides a bespoke model of care for veterans, we recognise that there are some veterans who prefer to access mainstream NHS services such as Talking Therapies.
For what purposes the Food Standards Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is using AI, both traditional and generative, for a range of purposes. Using traditional AI, we have focused on pattern detection for food risk identification using, and developing, approaches to extract and structure information contained in documents, from shipping manifests to webpages. We aim to see food safety and authenticity risks before the food lands on the United Kingdom’s shores.For generative AI, we are piloting its use in our front-line services in the field by using mobile based AI applications. The goal of this is to streamline our inspection of meat businesses by having AI help collate notes during the inspection process, which will allow uniformity in reporting and improve data quality. We aim for this to improve the existing method, which involves inspectors carrying large amounts of equipment while taking written, paper-based, observations.We have also deployed generative AI tools to improve data quality. As most data from national and international food alert systems is unstructured text, considerable human effort has been required to extract the relevant information and then categorise it to a standardised format. The aim is to reduce the manual work required in improving data quality, which will allow colleagues to spend more time deriving insights from data rather than cleaning data, while also improving the speediness of the response.The FSA can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.The FSA also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of fertility testing in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
No assessment has been made of the availability of fertility testing in the South Holland and Deepings constituency or Lincolnshire. Data is not collected centrally.
Media and Sport, for what purposes the Charity Commission has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Charity Commission has used Generative AI (GenAI) in the production and editing of some video content in the past 12 months.The Charity Commission has robust internal policies in place that define acceptable and prohibited uses for GenAI modules and applications, to ensure its legal and ethical use.The Charity Commission also considers the Generative AI Framework for HM Government when making decisions concerning the approval of GenAI tools and use cases.
For what purposes the Valuation Office Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. The VOA is conducting initial discovery work to identify where Generative AI tools might improve productivity and quality, including through trialling Microsoft’s Copilot tools.
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed Grimsby to Walpole National Grid pylon project on house prices in affected areas in Lincolnshire.
The Government does not assess the impact of new transmission network infrastructure on house prices. However, landowners, businesses, and homeowners that have electrical equipment, such as pylons or towers, sited on their land have the right to compensation for the value of their land, as well as for any losses or expenses incurred. Acquiring authorities can also put in place discretionary schemes offering additional compensation.
For what purposes Companies House has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. Companies House trialled Microsoft Copilot to support administrative tasks. It has deployed specific AI tools to generate tailored communications content and develop new IT services more quickly. Companies House is also developing and testing advanced analytics, machine learning and AI that detect suspicious activity and identify trends.
Food and Rural Affairs, for what purposes the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has not used AI within any business processes to aid decision making regarding the quality, safety or efficacy of the lifecycle of veterinary medicines within the last 12 months. The VMD submitted a nil return to Cabinet Office regarding the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) on 30 August 2024. The VMD can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the ATRS. The Directorate also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.
For what purposes the Teaching Regulation Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) has not used artificial intelligence for any purpose during the last 12 months.The TRA also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.
For what purposes the Care Quality Commission has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has used AI to support how they fulfil their role as the independent regulator of health and social care, focussing on supporting their operational colleagues with identifying risk in health and care services, making operational efficiency improvements, and making better use of unstructured data.Over the last 12 months, the CQC’s AI usage has been in an initialisation phase. They have been developing governance approaches, AI platforms and tooling, and making sure their staff have the right skills to use AI platforms, tools, and processes.Their current priority AI projects include developing an adult social care risk model, which takes multiple complex data sources and gives a predictive score of risk, as well as the key drivers of that risk for a given provider. They have also explored how generative AI capabilities can support the CQC’s work, both in the form of bespoke chatbot solutions to increase operational efficiencies, and in a small-scale Microsoft 365 Copilot trial.The CQC has not yet submitted any Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard records. They are however, in the process of adopting that standard and are trialling it with their risk model for residential adult social care services.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support for out of hours doctors services in Lincolnshire.
No such assessment has been made by the Department. The commissioning of out of hours services, and the extent to which those services are supported, is the responsibility of local commissioners in partnership with their providers, to serve the best interests of their populations.
For what purposes His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.Staff in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation service are part of a controlled pilot that is testing the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot.All use of artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Justice is undertaken in line with the Ministry’s AI Ethics Framework and aligned with the Generative AI Framework for government and the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard.
For what purposes the Pensions Regulator has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has used artificial intelligence (AI) over the past 12 months to support its regulatory functions and decision-making to better protect savers. To ensure AI is used responsibly and effectively, TPR has established an AI Accelerator Team and is exploring the creation of an AI Advisory Council. These initiatives aim to promote safe and ethical AI adoption both within TPR and across the pensions industry. Key areas where AI has been applied by TPR include detecting pension scams, monitoring market trends, predicting pension scheme health and managing website feedback.
Media and Sport, how the National Youth Strategy will help tackle barriers to opportunity for children and young people in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
The National Youth Strategy will be co-produced with young people and the youth sector to ensure it meets the needs of young people right across the country. This Government is also committed to tackling barriers to opportunity for all young people through the Opportunity Mission.