Written questions by Hayes.

Whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

The department recognises the opportunities for productivity and efficiency enabled by effective deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). Any use of AI is undertaken in line with relevant government guidance on security and transparency, and under appropriate oversight. The department has made proportionate use of AI‑enabled tools to support tasks such as information retrieval and summarisation. These tools are used to assist officials and do not replace decision making or professional expertiseThe drafting of primary and secondary legislation is often the responsibility of a large number of officials across government departments. A range of tools are used to assist with this drafting, including AI which is most commonly used to check, critique, and otherwise interrogate drafts.While AI can be used to assist with the drafting of legislation, the production of the draft remains the responsibility of a lead human drafter to meet the high standards expected of government legislation.All secondary legislation is subject to established governance arrangements and are drafted and finalised under the responsibility of qualified lawyers.It is Parliament's responsibility to scrutinise and amend legislation as it sees necessary.

Whether his Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) uses artificial intelligence (AI) to support activities including corporate and administrative activities, drafting and analysis. AI is used in accordance with all relevant departmental and government guidelines, to ensure transparency, accountability and responsible and ethical use and data protection. AI tools in DESNZ are not used for decision-making, and civil servants remain fully accountable for decisions based on AI products and outputs. All drafting of policy and legislation is conducted in accordance with government and departmental guidelines and all legislation and policy is finalised and decided upon by an expert in accordance with government and departmental guidelines.

Whether his Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

Officials within the Department for Work and Pensions have access to artificial intelligence tools that may be used to support efficiency in their day‑to‑day work. However, responsibility for developing policy and legislative proposals remains with officials and all final decisions on substantive policy or legal issues continue to be taken by Ministers.

Whether his Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

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

What proportion of the Crisis and Resilience Fund for off-gas grid households using heating oil will be allocated to Lincolnshire.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 April 2026 to Question UIN 122640.

What steps her Department is taking to help prevent heating oil theft in rural communities in Lincolnshire.

This Government is introducing the most radical and comprehensive policing reforms in nearly 200 years. We will modernise policing in this country – equipping it to tackle more sophisticated, online, and cross-border crimes (like fuel theft, wildlife crime and organised equipment theft), while also restoring neighbourhood policing.We have hit our target of 3,000 more neighbourhood officers in March – and our target remains 13k by the end of the parliament. With the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours. Every rural area will also be covered by a Local Policing Area under a commander responsible for emergency response, local crime investigation and neighbourhood policing. They will be set targets to ensure they answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend 90% of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas.This financial year (FY25/26) we are providing £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we will be providing the same level of funding in 26/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime, which is why we worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy and sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.

Whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

The Department for Transport published the Transport AI Action Plan in June 2025 which sets out the Department’s approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI). The action plan represents the start of a step-change for AI in our transport system, recognising its power to increase resilience, productivity and turbo-charge innovation across the private and public sectors. Over the last 12 months, the Department for Transport has continued to use AI for operational purposes and has taken part in a pilot of the Microsoft Copilot AI product with approximately 1,300 staff, to assess its potential benefits. However, the Department does not centrally use AI in legislative or policy decision‑making. Where such tools have been used, this has been on an assistive basis only (for example, summarising information or improving readability), and not to generate policy or legislative content. Responsibility for the substance, accuracy and final drafting of all departmental policy and legislation remains with civil servants.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, whether House of Commons officials have used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting legislation in the past 12 months.

Government bills are drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, which is part of the Cabinet Office, and secondary legislation is generally drafted by the relevant government department.The House of Commons Public Bill Office (PBO) provides support to individual Members in the drafting of private Members’ bills and of amendments to bills. These are specialised tasks and a range of online resources, training and guidance is available to staff in the PBO. This includes access to Microsoft’s Copilot Chat tool, which is available to all parliamentary account holders. No record is kept of whether or when Copilot is used.Where a draft Private Members Bill (PMB) or amendment is produced for a Member, the Member concerned ultimately takes responsibility for it by presenting or tabling it.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

The drafting of primary and secondary legislation is the responsibility of a large number of officials across government departments. A range of tools are used to assist with this drafting, including AI which is most commonly used to check, critique, and otherwise interrogate drafts. Work is continuously underway to identify ways of improving the efficiency of this work, including collaboration between departments to share ideas and emerging practices.While AI can be used to assist with the drafting of legislation, the production of any draft remains the responsibility of a lead human drafter to meet the high standards expected of Government legislation.Policy teams in DCMS can use approved AI tools to assist with the drafting and synthesis of documents, as well as the analysis of data; however, like other government departments, we have a strong human-led AI approach, meaning that any policy document, analysis or decision made remains the responsibility of a human, and no decision is made based on AI outputs alone, without manual intervention or overarching human accountability. This approach aligns with the UK Government’s AI Playbook, published in 2025, and with DCMS’s wider work to support the secure, appropriate, responsible and well-governed use of AI across the department.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her department has undertaken polling of the Chagossian people in respect to the 2025 UK/Mauritius Treaty concerning the Chagos Archipelago.

Accurate polling of Chagossian communities would be challenging given the geographical spread of individuals with Chagossian heritage across the world as well as difficulties in establishing and confirming eligibility to take part. We continue to engage with Chagossian communities, including through meetings of the Chagossian Contact Group, which enables organisations from the UK, Mauritius, Seychelles and France to set out their views directly to the UK Government.

Whether his Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the past 12 months.

The Ministry of Defence is exploring various applications of AI to enhance corporate services and drive efficiency. Officials may use approved AI tools (such as large language models) to help with drafting policy and legislation, but responsibility for finalising and approving resulting outputs rests with officials.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of asylum claims of Chagossians to the United Kingdom from a) Mauritius and b) the Seychelles since July 2024.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the past 12 months.

AI is not used by the department to draft legislation. Officials use AI tools in combination with a range of evidence, collaboration, challenge and technology to deliver policy drafts. They use their judgement and a variety of data sources to apply a critical lens to their advice and analysis to ensure high quality. Officials use HMT-GPT, the department’s internal AI tool, and Copilot, which are both secure and quality assured for civil service use. Guidance and training for responsible AI usage is provided to staff, making it clear that tools are designed to assist with work, not to replace colleagues in decision making processes.

Whether their Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the past 12 months.

DBT has used and continues to use artificial intelligence tools like Copilot and DBT Assist to support colleagues in their work, for example to help produce initial drafts, summaries, or research. The Department’s policy states that ‘human review/approval of AI tool output is mandatory’ and that ‘individuals are accountable for ensuing the accuracy of work where AI tools have been used’.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to her Department was of litigation undertaken in the Supreme Court relating to the British Indian Ocean Territory in the last 12 months.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 13 April, and the answers I provided to questions raised in response, except for matters of ongoing litigation, where I am unable to comment at this time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (1) legal representatives and (2) officials her Department sent to the Judicial Review in the Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory on Friday 13 March 2026.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 13 April, and the answers I provided to questions raised in response, except for matters of ongoing litigation, where I am unable to comment at this time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will list all law firms her department has consulted regarding British Indian Ocean Territory this year.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 13 April, and the answers I provided to questions raised in response, except for matters of ongoing litigation, where I am unable to comment at this time.

Communities and Local Government, whether their Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the past 12 months.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have rolled out Microsoft Copilot across the Department to enhance efficiency and support the work of all staff, including policy professionals. The rollout was accompanied by training and guidance which states that all work produced by AI must be checked with an appropriate level of rigour to ensure trustworthiness, reliability, and to avoid bias. Copilot is used by staff across the department including legislation and policy teams. The department is clear that document authors are fully accountable for policy judgement and conclusions and compliance with departmental, legal, and information governance, irrespective of whether or not AI has been used to assist with drafting.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the investigation by the United Nations of the proposed deal with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 13 April, and the answers I provided to questions raised in response, except for matters of ongoing litigation, where I am unable to comment at this time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her department will cease the passage of the Diego Garcia Military Base & BIOT Bill, in respect to the ruling by Justice Lewis that reinstated the Right of Abode for Chagossians on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 13 April, and the answers I provided to questions raised in response, except for matters of ongoing litigation, where I am unable to comment at this time.