Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

New Technologies in the Workplace

Wednesday 10 September 2025 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Lewis Cocking asked the Secretary of State about support for small businesses to benefit from innovation and new technology.
  • Dame Chi Onwurah thanked the outgoing ministerial team and congratulated the new team on their commitment to transforming public services through new technologies.
  • The Secretary of State expressed her passion for public service reform and the potential of technology and AI to deliver better outcomes and value for taxpayers.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Lewis Cocking Con Broxbourne
Economy Business & Trade
Context

The MP raises concerns about supporting small businesses to adopt new technologies and scale up. He mentions his constituency's reliance on small businesses for economic growth.

Question

I welcome the Secretary of State to her place. Small businesses in my constituency are vital to economic growth. What is her Department doing to ensure that small businesses can benefit from innovation and new technology?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Liz Kendall)

The hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. My own constituency is dominated by small businesses, and one issue that they always raise is that we are great at start-ups in this country but we need to do more to help those companies to scale up. I am new in the job and open to ideas, so if the hon. Gentleman and the businesses in his constituency would like to say what they think they need to help them go from start-up to scale-up, I would be more than happy to listen to them.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not provide specific actions or initiatives her Department is taking to support small businesses adopting innovation and new technologies.

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Q2 Chi Onwurah Lab Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Taxation Science & Technology
Context

The MP congratulates the new team on their important role. She inquires about a detailed road map for deploying technologies to achieve efficiencies as promised by DSIT.

Question

I thank the outgoing ministerial team for their engagement as I congratulate the new team on succeeding to this important and inspiring brief. The Government are committed to transforming public services through the adoption of new technologies. At the June spending review, Departments published their plans to deploy technologies to achieve efficiencies, but we are yet to see the detailed and fully funded road map for delivery promised by DSIT for this summer. Will the Secretary of State commit to publishing a road map that sets out what will be delivered, who will deliver it and by when, and how much it will cost, before her appearance before my Committee as part of our digital centre of government inquiry in November?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Liz Kendall)

I have a feeling that will be one of the gentler questions that my hon. Friend asks me over the coming months. I am a passionate public service reformer and I believe there is huge potential for technology and AI to deliver better outcomes for the people who use services and better value for taxpayers’ money. I will definitely provide her with more detail on the questions that she asked, but let me give a fantastic example from my previous role. In our jobcentres in Wales, there were big queues for work coaches who were helping people do their CVs. They used AI, and it was better for the people who used the service and freed up the work coaches to spend time with the people who most needed help. That is a small example; we have to do more, and I will absolutely commit to setting out our further plans.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Secretary of State did not provide concrete details on the road map including timeline and costs but committed to providing more information in future.

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