Matt Rodda
MP for Reading Central · Labour · United Kingdom
“That shows a real understanding of the pressures on families at this difficult time. I particularly thank the Chancellor for his offer of £100 paid directly to residents, which I consider very sensible. That, and a range of other measures, will help to reduce the current severe pressure on family finances.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I warmly welcome the Budget. It offers breathing space for both families and businesses, and, crucially, hope for the future. Although this is a time of really quite severe international headwinds, as we are all very aware, there are real signs of growth in the British economy.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The growth of businesses in the Thames valley is partly due to the inward movement of people from across the rest of the UK and around the world, so housing is needed, and these are two important measures to support home ownership and ensure that there are homes for people to rent.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When it comes to regeneration, the new mayoralties that have been announced present some real opportunities. I warmly welcome the Thames Valley mayoralty of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, and, in particular, the scope for mayors to free up land near railway stations.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“One of the significant advances is that bringing in mayors allows the creation of a mayoral development corporation, which can bring together those disparate sites and make them much more attractive to developers.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That includes the issues I mentioned, such as dangerous wooden items in the foyer of a large block in Reading, and wooden balconies; in one case, a building had wooden balconies next to an underground car park, which was then discovered to be a huge fire risk.”
House of Commons27 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
The complete record
2,035 lines on record for Matt Rodda, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, without an account. Most recent 500 lines shown. Search to find more. Page 10 of 10.
This is not an official version of UK Parliament proceedings. It reproduces the published record and links to it; the official version is the one UK Parliament publishes.
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on an excellent speech in which he is highlighting a number of weaknesses in the Government’s approach. Does he agree that his points are particularly relevant, given that we have just entered a recession, and that many working people and small businesses are under increasing pressure from not just the cost of living crisis but wider economic pressure as the economy contracts? I have a number of small businesses and working people in my constituency who have raised deep concerns with me recently. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to be doing more at this critical time?”
House of Commons20 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I hope that my hon. Friend will also press the Minister on the wider context. My hon. Friend highlights the important point made by my hon. Friends the Members for City of Chester and for Cardiff North, which is that the Government seem to be neglecting their responsibilities. There appears to be a contradiction in Government policy between what we have heard today and other aspects of UK domestic legislation, such as the commitment to support the conference of the parties process. Will my hon. Friend press Ministers on that?”
House of Commons20 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister is very confident in his marshalling of evidence this afternoon. The Opposition remain deeply sceptical; would he like to give us—and the public—a reassurance, regarding the NHS and other key public services, that the new agreement will not lead to foreign providers undermining standards of care and replacing domestic or indeed NHS suppliers?”
House of Commons20 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I commend my hon. Friend’s speech. He is making an excellent point. This issue has been raised with me a number of times in my time as an MP, by both charities and other civil society groups. There is a great deal of concern about ISDS in the community, particularly, in my experience, from charities involved in development. My hon. Friend is making an excellent point in trying to address some of those legitimate concerns about the nature of trade policy.”
House of Commons20 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Prime Minister said he was going to grow the economy and he has obviously failed: we are now in recession. In my constituency, families and small businesses are under severe pressure. Can the Minister possibly explain how he is going to address these very serious problems?”
House of Commons19 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Earlier this week, the Government published a written statement as a response to the consultation on their White Paper on artificial intelligence. However, this statement was very limited in detail. This is in stark contrast to both the US and the EU, both of which have set out clear responses to the challenges and opportunities of AI. The Government’s written response failed to set out the full scale of opportunities to use AI in areas such as medicine, and failed to tackle concerns about safety such as those raised recently about deepfakes. Can you advise me on how I and other Members can ask Ministers to explain this very limited response, and on what opportunities there might be for us to raise this matter in the House?”
House of Commons7 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“May I offer my support to our local police and say what a wonderful service they provide to our community? I was curious about what the Minister said about bureaucracy. It appears that what the Government have actually done in the past 14 years is cut police numbers very substantially and then replace some of those police officers with new officers who need to be trained. What proportion of those new officers are still undergoing some form of training or receiving support?”
House of Commons7 February 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making a deeply important speech. Does she agree that it is also important to consider the effect poor-quality housing has on all the groups she mentions, in particular the combination of poverty and poor-quality housing, which leads to actions such as parents turning heating down?”
House of Commons31 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Does he agree that there is a huge amount of public concern about the way that the Government have been managing environmental issues in their trade negotiations—both in the Australia deal and this one?”
House of Commons29 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his work on this. I am interested in the point that he made about the broader town-centre area. My experience is that many adjoining streets can benefit from this kind of measure and, indeed, neighbouring shopping centres. I urge him to look at that and be as flexible as possible, as there is a risk of displacement activity and concentrating on a small area. I hope that he has thought about that.”
House of Commons26 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I wonder if the hon. Gentleman has considered the public transport implications of what he is saying, because he is making a very good point about hub towns and rural areas, and their connectivity to bigger towns or cities. In my county, one of the very important benefits we have is the existence of excellent bus services—Reading buses connect to neighbouring smaller towns—and I understand that there might be an issue in Staffordshire with the different level of bus provision. I wonder whether he would like to comment on the importance of public transport and its ability to help regenerate towns and cities.”
House of Commons26 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Turning to the first of those effects, there are occasional concerns about telecom networks having infrastructure access. As I understand it, one of the main issues is in areas, such as the city of Hull, where there is a monopoly company—in that case, KCOM—or in situations across the rest of the country where Openreach is the monopoly provider. Across the country, there have been repeated issues with the use of telecoms infrastructure, in particular the repeated digging up of roads. There are legitimate questions.”
House of Commons26 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will address a number of issues when responding for the official Opposition, and I take this opportunity to underline the importance of increasing access to broadband and the wider need for greater connectivity. The Bill of the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) would have two effects, as I understand it. First, it would require mobile network operators to share their network infrastructure for a reasonable price. Secondly, it would incentivise operators to allow customers of other companies to roam on to their network. As she mentioned, this is known as rural roaming, and it is similar to what happens when travelling abroad. These measures are intended to tackle partial notspots, but it is worth noting that the Bill would not address total notspots—areas that do not receive any coverage from any mobile network operator.”
House of Commons26 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I fear that the Minister may be referring rather too much to new build homes. The reality is that in 2010 there were 1.8 million insulation measures introduced into cavity walls and lofts, yet in 2022, in comparison, there were only 80,000. That has left my constituents in Reading and Woodley, who mainly live in Victorian and 20th-century homes, struggling with very high bills, so what is the Minister going to do about that?”
House of Commons16 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am concerned by that, and we are right to raise these points from the Opposition Benches. The point that my hon. Friend made about the way that the live animal export trade developed rapidly and expanded between 10 and 20 times in scale over a 10-year period is a salutary reminder of what some unscrupulous business people are willing to do in this industry. I urge the Government to think again about these probing amendments, which are wise and sensible and highlight some serious future risks as agriculture changes and develops. We would be wise to address that by looking at the species in the amendments and adding them to the Bill to ensure that those animals are protected in the same way as other animals. I urge Ministers to consider the thoughtful amendments tabled by Labour Front-Bench Members.”
House of Commons15 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for Hemel Hempstead (Sir Mike Penning) who just spoke about the possibility of tackling foie gras. Those are serious points, and the hon. Member for Crawley has done excellent work on trophy hunting. I was proud to be able to support that work. I will turn to the Labour amendments, which are in the name of the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones). As she said, the Bill leaves open the possibility of other animals being exploited. She is right to point that out, because some of the species mentioned in the Labour amendments are farmed in the UK. There is deer farming and the hunting of deer in woodland. I have seen llamas being farmed in the Thames valley. I understand there is a possibility that these species could be traded.”
House of Commons15 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to speak tonight in favour of the Labour amendments and to briefly pay tribute to constituents who have raised these important matters with me and other colleagues. I stress the significant public interest in this issue. Like other colleagues, I have had a large amount of correspondence. We all want to see this change. We do not want to see live animal exports in any shape or form, and I appreciate the effort my colleagues have gone to in identifying future risks, which should be taken seriously. I welcome the legislation, but I regret the delays in it coming to the House. I also ask the Government again to support wider measures to improve animal welfare. I commend the work of the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) and the right hon.”
House of Commons15 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“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?”
House of Commons10 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I appreciate the Minister’s comments so far. Can he confirm how many times policy has changed in this important area since 2019? While he is making some further points today, it seems that Government policy has changed quite erratically, and that in itself is difficult for businesses to respond to when they are looking for certainty in planning for the long-term.”
House of Commons10 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent point, which comes to the nub of the argument: the Government are not capable of providing business with the certainty it needs. That is such a tragedy, because so many wonderful emerging industries in the UK which have incredible potential need that certainty, as indeed do other businesses.”
House of Commons10 January 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I pay tribute to the campaigners, particularly Mr Bates and, indeed, hon. Members from across the House. The point she makes about the Government, the Post Office and, indeed, Fujitsu learning lessons from this appalling scandal is absolutely right, and I do hope that the Minister, when he speaks later, will be able to address those points. Does she agree with me that it is very important that the Government learn the lessons and help the Post Office learn the lessons of such awful incidents?”
House of Commons19 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for her statement but urge her to go much further in tackling this terrible crime. In particular, I ask her to look again at further work at music festivals. Thousands of vulnerable young people attend the Reading festival in my constituency, many of them teenagers. It would be good to hear that work is under way to protect them and other young people at such festivals.”
House of Commons18 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I particularly commend her point about foxhunting and the action taken by the last Labour Government to tackle that appalling activity. Does she agree with me that there is enormous interest in animal welfare, both around provisions set out in the Bill and wider aspects of the issue? Does she agree that the Government have spent a very long time on this but they have not yet delivered a comprehensive animal welfare Bill, despite previous attempts? Would she now like to see further action taken on that, and on many other matters?”
House of Commons18 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Does my hon. Friend agree that those who support refugees in our country deserve our respect and should be commended by the House for their excellent work in local communities up and down this land?”
House of Commons12 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Ruth Perry. Following the inquest last week, will the Secretary of State now consider the removal of the single-word judgment from Ofsted inspection reports?”
House of Commons11 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to the Secretary of State for the way he is addressing this issue. Can I draw his attention to a particular variant of this practice that exists in my constituency? Between a developer and a local authority, a scheme was allowed whereby residents were—and continue to be—charged for access to public open space on their estate and, indeed, to maintain a neighbouring park that residents across the district can enjoy. That is surely wrong, and I hope he will look into that matter.”
House of Commons11 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I put on record my support for the police, particularly Thames Valley Police—like the Minister, I represent a constituency in Berkshire. Can she update the House on the proportion of new officers who are still in training? It seems to be a very serious issue in Reading and the surrounding areas that, while officers have been recruited, they are still in training, as opposed to the fully trained and experienced officers who were lost through austerity.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Croydon North (Steve Reed). I hope the Minister is listening and paying attention to what we are saying, because this is a very serious problem and I hope he will look at it again.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In the middle of the river was what I thought were either flecks of snow—it was very, very cold—or rain or leaves. In fact, they were bubbles from sewage pollution. I could see banks of foam building up around small islands in the river, sometimes nearly a foot high, with white, brown creamy foam which was clearly linked to sewage pollution. The river was very high and I could tell that the outlets had been opened upstream. It was absolutely disgusting. That is the type of pollution affecting people’s enjoyment of beautiful countryside, riverside walks, and their own gardens and homes in the south of England just upstream from London. I hope the Minister will note that and look into it. I am aware of time and I do not want to overstep my limit. I commend the action plan put forward by my hon.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is an offensive thing to see when trying to enjoy a walk next to a river or, like many thousands of local residents, when living near a river. People who live along several miles of banks of the Kennet, the Thames and the Loddon have to put up with sewage floating past their houses. There has been a series of other terrible incidents, and I could go on and on. Many are happening all the time and, as we heard earlier, they are not properly monitored. On Saturday, on a family walk, I experienced yet another such incident. Imagine the scene: frosty countryside just outside Reading—absolutely beautiful—with heavy frost on hedges and wildlife in abundance, walking down the hill through a nature reserve to the River Thames. I could see a heron on the bank of the river spying for fish and there was a cormorant diving into the Thames.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Another appalling local issue is the long-standing pollution incident in a tributary called Foudry brook, which comes from a spring in the northern part of Hampshire and flows under the M4 motorway, through the outskirts of Reading, and ultimately into the Kennet and the Thames. I saw the pollution when I was running the Reading half-marathon this year. There were pools and little tributaries of water that smelled pungently, and were a lurid neon green colour that one would see in an artificial and lifeless place, completely out of place next to the willows and bushes near the river. It should never have happened, and clearly was linked to the pollution incident upstream a few miles away. I hope that the Minister is noting the level of revulsion that people like me have exhibited when we have seen that.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Local anglers, many of whom live in Reading, have raised serious concerns about the Pang, and about other chalk streams across southern England. They are a unique ecosystem found only in the south of this country, where water comes up from the chalk aquifer into streams and flows into major rivers such as the Thames. I hope the Minister will take note of the specific issues affecting chalk streams. I would appreciate it if he or his colleague could write to me about them and the other specific issues in the Thames Valley and Thames catchment. I thank the Angling Trust for its excellent work on this matter.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds). However, Thames Water does not seem to be fully addressing these matters. I hope that the company, the Government, the Environment Agency and the regulator are listening to the debate and will look into this further. Of the issues affecting tributaries in our area—an important and environmentally very sensitive issue—is pollution in chalk streams. Very close to Reading, the River Pang tributary is a particularly beautiful chalk stream, which used to be in pristine condition. There is a beautiful landscape, with rolling hills on the edge of the downs in Berkshire and gentle footpaths next to the river. When I walked along there some time ago, I noticed that the riverbed had no apparent life in parts of it.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have run a community survey, which hundreds of people have filled in to raise their concerns. This is a widespread issue for many local residents, which differs slightly from those described further downstream in London but relates to the level of concern and the impact on local people. I will go slightly upstream from Reading towards Oxford, where there has been a well-known series of incidents linked to pollution in the Wolvercote stream. All the sewage pollution further upstream of the Thames, from many tributaries in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, flows through Berkshire into London and, ultimately, out to the Thames estuary. Residents in my area are suffering the direct result of that pollution. The simply appalling levels of pollution are monitored by people in Oxford. I pay tribute to local campaigners there, including my hon.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate in support of the motion. I will raise the issues in my constituency and the part of Thames Water that covers south-east England outside London. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) and for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury) for talking about many other issues affecting Thames Water. Their speeches relate more to customers in London, but they made some excellent general points about the company’s financing, the weak regulation and the Government’s failure to act, which I will also highlight. Serious and persistent problems affect wildlife and thousands of residents in the Thames Valley, particularly Reading and Woodley. We have seen things in our area that are truly shocking and deeply concern many residents.”
House of Commons5 December 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Reading gaol has been empty for 10 years now, and there has been a strong local campaign to turn the historic prison into an arts and heritage hub. The campaign is supported by me and the right hon. Member for Reading West (Sir Alok Sharma), by our local council and by many others. The Ministry of Justice promised us an update this autumn on this important project, but sadly, none has yet been forthcoming. Will the Leader of the House raise the matter with the Justice Secretary?”
House of Commons30 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. This is a truly national problem, which unfortunately affects the whole of the UK. Indeed, there is also a related problem of postal deliveries not appearing on time, which is having a huge effect on many residents. I have had closures of post offices in my constituency in Reading and Woodley, and also severe problems with residents not getting post on time, leading to people missing out on paying their bills and many other things.”
House of Commons27 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Would the Minister reassure me on the interoperability of post office systems with those belonging to building societies? We have talked about that before, given some of the difficulties with accessing cash in my constituency. Will he also pass on my concerns and those of colleagues to Royal Mail about the lack of cover for postal staff when they are off sick? That appears to be driving some of the problems with delivery.”
House of Commons27 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I look forward to colleagues’ contributions on these points and, indeed, on the aspect covered by the second statutory instrument.”
House of Commons22 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Additionally, will the Minister respond to the suggestion that rights holders can insist on transparency reports without legal obligations resting on CMOs to produce them? Some commentators believe that that may be unrealistic. I ask the Minister to write to me about that point as well. Finally—this is another point about CMOs—the regulations are touted as a key solution to navigate the impact of AI on creatives and rights holders as we move forward to a permitted-but-paid system of AI training or to AI use on protected content. Will the Minister also write to me about that point? Regulation of all the infrastructure of collective licensing in the UK is critical. We should not be pushing for more transparency without considering it very carefully and, where possible, without placing undue burdens on organisations.”
House of Commons22 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Having spoken to people in the industries, I would like to ask the Minister to reassure them on a couple of points. The point about collective management organisations is interesting; it appears that the regulations would make them exempt from some requirements that they currently have to comply with. Will the Minister update me on the assessment his Department made that led to this decision? There has been some comment that the exemption may be unnecessary, and there are concerns that some CMOs might not pledge to use this exemption; new CMOs could exist in the future, which may further complicate this matter. Will the Minister write to me on that specific point about CMOs?”
House of Commons22 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In the House, it is important that we are clear about what we do. We must give businesses and the public confidence and certainty that we are treating the issue appropriately. We recognise that artists, creative industries and others make an enormous contribution to our economy and to society, as do scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs. Long-standing legal protections of IP, such as copyright and patent, are important and need to be recognised. More broadly, the intellectual property system exists to balance the interests of creators and the public, ensuring access to work. It is important that we strike the right balance, so I hope that, as we said earlier, we are able to work on a cross-party basis on this. I look forward to the Minister’s answering a couple of specific questions that I have for him.”
House of Commons22 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Thank you, Mrs Cummins; it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank the Minister for his speech, and other Members for their contributions. As we have heard, the first instrument modifies four distinct laws associated with intellectual property through the authority granted in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. The objective of the instrument is to implement various technical adjustments to align the UK’s IP framework with the objectives of the 2023 Act. The second instrument maintains existing exhaustion rights. Intellectual property is the key to maintaining leading British industries, so it absolutely is important that we get it right, and I know that many people working in the creative industries and other sectors are looking to us in our discussions today.”
House of Commons22 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, and has just made an important point. My local hospital, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, is one of those that were promised something but have not yet received anything. This is a problem for many communities around the country”
House of Commons22 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Gurkha soldiers who retired before 1997 receive a lower pension than other British soldiers. Will the Minister update the House on the current negotiations between the UK and the Government of Nepal to solve that difficult issue?”
House of Commons20 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Prime Minister has said that terrorist groups could use artificial intelligence to build chemical or biological weapons, but he has still failed to act decisively to regulate AI, even though the US and the EU are both taking action. Will the Minister tell the House whether the Secretary of State is using her current trip to the US to learn from the Biden Administration, or will our country have to put up with yet more dither and delay?”
House of Commons15 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There was a space for a Bill on pedicabs in London in the King’s Speech this year, but not for one on frontier AI. Other countries, such as the US, have moved ahead with mandatory regulation for safety and security. It is confusing for the public to hear a Prime Minister on the one hand tell the country that there are dangers to our way of life from AI, but on the other hand say that his Government are in no rush to regulate. Labour has called for the introduction of binding regulation on those companies developing the most powerful frontier AI because, for us, the security of the British people will always come first. I hope that the Government will now consider taking action and I look forward to the Secretary of State’s response to these points.”
House of Commons9 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Criminals could exploit AI for cyber-attacks, disinformation, fraud, or even child sexual abuse.” Those are stark warnings and demand urgent action from any Government. Keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government. Yet Ministers have chosen not to bring forward any legislation on the most advanced AI. All the commitments that have been made are voluntary, and that creates problems. For example, if a new company is established with advanced capabilities, how will it be compelled to join the voluntary scheme? What if a company decides it does not want to co-operate any more? Is there a mechanism to stop that happening? The stakes are too high for those questions to remain open, so I look forward to the Secretary of State’s being able to offer us more detail.”
House of Commons9 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The AI safety institute policy paper states: “Running evaluations and advancing safety research will also depend on access to compute.” Yet earlier this year, the Government had less computing power than Finland and Italy. Can the Secretary of State update the House on how much of the AI research resource to which the institute will get priority access is available and operational? Of course, the main task of the institute is to understand the risks of the most advanced current AI capabilities and any future developments. The Prime Minister told the public two weeks ago that, “AI could make it easier to build chemical or biological weapons. Terrorist groups could use AI to spread fear and destruction on an even greater scale.”
House of Commons9 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The future summits in South Korea and France will hopefully lead to more agreement between nations about how we make this new technology work for everyone. The AI safety institute will play an important role in making this new technology safe. Labour supports its creation, but we do have some questions. It would be good to hear the Secretary of State explain why the new institute is not keeping the function of identifying new uses for AI in the public sector. As the institute is taking all the AI expertise from the taskforce, it is also unclear who in her Department will carry out the crucial role of identifying how the public sector can benefit from cutting-edge technology. There are also questions about UK computer capability.”
House of Commons9 November 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗