Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Artificial Intelligence: Skills Training

Wednesday 10 January 2024 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government have funded a broad package of AI skills initiatives through the education pipeline to address the skills gap.
  • The Government have invested 290 million in AI initiatives since 2018 to support businesses and citizens in adopting AI technologies.
  • The Government have published guidance to support businesses in adopting AI and are prioritising the development of a skilled workforce.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Emma Lewell Lab South Shields
Science & Technology
Context

The MP is concerned about the lack of AI skills among citizens and businesses.

Question

What steps she is taking to increase access to AI skills training?

Answer from Michelle Donelan

The Government have funded a broad package of AI skills initiatives through the education pipeline, to address the skills gap and to support citizens and businesses to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities that AI technologies provide. We have funded a new AI master's conversion course and published draft guidance to help training providers develop business-relevant AI skills training.

Answered
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Q2 Emma Lewell Lab South Shields
Defence Science & Technology
Context

The defence AI strategy from two years ago promised to work with industry to provide expertise in AI and develop a skills framework.

Question

The defence AI strategy acknowledged an AI skills gap across the whole of defence and promised to work with industry to provide expertise in AI and develop a skills framework. That was two years ago. Where is it?

Answer from Michelle Donelan

The hon. Member does not quite grasp the magnitude of what we have done on this agenda. We have invested £290 million in it since 2018. We also recently published guidance to support businesses to adopt AI. We will continue to prioritise that area.

Partly answered

Not addressed: the hon. Member does not grasp the magnitude of what we have done on this agenda

How: The Hon. Member Does Not Quite Grasp

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Q3 Greg Clark Con
Science & Technology
Context

Just before Christmas, the EU institutions declared that they had agreed to a new EU AI Act.

Question

What assessment has the Secretary of State made of that? How does her intended approach in the UK differ?

Answer from Michelle Donelan

I welcome my right hon. Friend's work in this space. The EU has taken a slightly different tack from us. We want to foster innovation in AI, seize the opportunities for our public services and ensure that the jobs are located here in the UK. That is why we have our domestic track—we will produce a White Paper shortly—and also why we introduced an international track and convened the entire world for the first ever global AI safety summit. We are certainly leading in this area.

Partly answered

Not addressed: the EU has taken a slightly different tack from us

How: The Eu Has Taken A Slightly Different Tack

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Q4 Matt Rodda Lab Reading Central
Economy Science & Technology
Context

The Government's AI scholarship scheme is floundering, with Ministers finding only 21% of the funding they promised.

Question

It is vital that Britain grasps the opportunity of AI to grow our economy and to modernise vital public services. That relies on having a supply of highly trained staff. However, the Government are failing in that. Their AI scholarship scheme is floundering, with Ministers finding only 21% of the funding they promised. Why has the Department failed? When will the Secretary of State authorise an urgent review of this vital policy area?

Answer from Michelle Donelan

Perhaps the hon. Member missed my answer to the previous question, so I will indulge him by repeating it. Since 2018, we have dedicated £290 million to AI skills. That does not sound like a Government who are failing on that agenda.

How: Perhaps The Hon. Member Missed My Answer, Repeating It

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