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1676483

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Offences against Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to make (1) the generation, and (2) the possession, of AI-generated sexual images and videos of children a punishable offence.
tabling member printed	Lord Bailey of Paddington
uin	HL966
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The Government remains firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse online and in our communities across the UK and internationally. Our approach is underpinned by the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy which sets out firm commitments to drive action across the whole system.</p><p>The law in the UK is very clear with regards to production of child sexual abuse material. It is an offence to produce, store, share or search for any material that contains or depicts child sexual abuse, regardless of whether the material depicts a ‘real’ child or not. This prohibition also includes pseudo-imagery that may have been computer-generated.</p><p>Possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment. In addition, the offence of taking, making, distribution and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 18 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.</p><p>Home Office investment supports the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, safeguard children and remove the most horrific child sexual abuse material from the internet, including on the dark web.</p><p>The Home Office has recently rolled out new tools linked to our world-leading Child Abuse Image Database to support law enforcement to identify offenders and safeguard victims more quickly. This includes Fast Forensic Triage – a tool that enables police officers to identify known indecent images of children on suspects’ devices up to 100 times faster than before.</p><p>In October, the Home Office, in partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation, hosted an AI Safety Summit side event to discuss the growing threat of generative artificial intelligence in tackling online child sexual abuse. As part of the event, the Home Office issued a joint statement on tackling the proliferation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, with 33 signatories, including tech companies such as Snapchat, TikTok and Stability AI.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 21/12/2023 15:14:45 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	4987 label Biography information for Lord Bailey of Paddington

1676484

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Intimate Image Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to criminalise the (1) production, and (2) possession, of AI-generated deepfake sexual images and videos involving real individuals.
tabling member printed	Lord Bailey of Paddington
uin	HL967
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office is currently working with the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to review the extent to which existing criminal law provides coverage of AI-enabled offending and harmful behaviour, including the production and distribution of deepfake material using generative AI.</p><p>With respect to material concerning public figures, the new Online Safety Act introduces ‘false communications’ and ‘threatening communications’ offences that could cover the sending of deepfake content produced via AI, so long as the conditions are met. Other offences may also apply, such as impersonating a police officer.</p><p>If the review suggests alterations to the criminal law are required to clarify its application to AI-generated synthetic and manipulated material then amendments will be considered in the usual way.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom grouped question UIN HL968 question first answered 21/12/2023 14:29:09 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	4987 label Biography information for Lord Bailey of Paddington

1676485

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Intimate Image Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to (1) address, and (2) criminalise, the production of deepfake video and audio recordings involving public figures.
tabling member printed	Lord Bailey of Paddington
uin	HL968
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office is currently working with the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to review the extent to which existing criminal law provides coverage of AI-enabled offending and harmful behaviour, including the production and distribution of deepfake material using generative AI.</p><p>With respect to material concerning public figures, the new Online Safety Act introduces ‘false communications’ and ‘threatening communications’ offences that could cover the sending of deepfake content produced via AI, so long as the conditions are met. Other offences may also apply, such as impersonating a police officer.</p><p>If the review suggests alterations to the criminal law are required to clarify its application to AI-generated synthetic and manipulated material then amendments will be considered in the usual way.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom grouped question UIN HL967 question first answered 21/12/2023 14:29:09 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	4987 label Biography information for Lord Bailey of Paddington

1676486

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Transport: Young People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned into the economic impact of transport poverty for young people aged 16 to 24.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL969
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2023 answer text <p>The Government is taking action to ensure young people can access work, education and apprenticeship opportunities, regardless of where they live. We have consistently invested in public transport to help make services more frequent, more reliable, cheaper and easier to use.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver Railcard, extending the 50 per cent discount available to children for rail travel to their entire period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. In October, we announced that the £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London would be extended until the end of 2024. Through the Plan for Drivers, we have also announced measures to help tackle the cost of driving.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to meeting the obligations of the Public Sector Equality Duty, including giving due consideration to the needs of different age cohorts.</p> answering member printed Lord Davies of Gower grouped question UIN HL970 HL971 HL972 question first answered 15/12/2023 11:54:03 answering member 4499 label Biography information for Lord Davies of Gower
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

1676487

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Transport: Young People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that transport policy meets the needs of young people aged 16 to 24.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL970
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2023 answer text <p>The Government is taking action to ensure young people can access work, education and apprenticeship opportunities, regardless of where they live. We have consistently invested in public transport to help make services more frequent, more reliable, cheaper and easier to use.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver Railcard, extending the 50 per cent discount available to children for rail travel to their entire period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. In October, we announced that the £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London would be extended until the end of 2024. Through the Plan for Drivers, we have also announced measures to help tackle the cost of driving.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to meeting the obligations of the Public Sector Equality Duty, including giving due consideration to the needs of different age cohorts.</p> answering member printed Lord Davies of Gower grouped question UIN HL969 HL971 HL972 question first answered 15/12/2023 11:54:03 answering member 4499 label Biography information for Lord Davies of Gower
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

1676488

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Transport: Young People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase transport choices to further and higher education for young people aged 16 to 24.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2023 answer text <p>The Government is taking action to ensure young people can access work, education and apprenticeship opportunities, regardless of where they live. We have consistently invested in public transport to help make services more frequent, more reliable, cheaper and easier to use.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver Railcard, extending the 50 per cent discount available to children for rail travel to their entire period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. In October, we announced that the £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London would be extended until the end of 2024. Through the Plan for Drivers, we have also announced measures to help tackle the cost of driving.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to meeting the obligations of the Public Sector Equality Duty, including giving due consideration to the needs of different age cohorts.</p> answering member printed Lord Davies of Gower grouped question UIN HL969 HL970 HL972 question first answered 15/12/2023 11:54:03 answering member 4499 label Biography information for Lord Davies of Gower
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

1676489

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Transport: Young People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce transport barriers to work and apprenticeships to help young people aged 16 to 24.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2023 answer text <p>The Government is taking action to ensure young people can access work, education and apprenticeship opportunities, regardless of where they live. We have consistently invested in public transport to help make services more frequent, more reliable, cheaper and easier to use.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver Railcard, extending the 50 per cent discount available to children for rail travel to their entire period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. In October, we announced that the £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London would be extended until the end of 2024. Through the Plan for Drivers, we have also announced measures to help tackle the cost of driving.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to meeting the obligations of the Public Sector Equality Duty, including giving due consideration to the needs of different age cohorts.</p> answering member printed Lord Davies of Gower grouped question UIN HL969 HL970 HL971 question first answered 15/12/2023 11:54:03 answering member 4499 label Biography information for Lord Davies of Gower
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

1676490

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Hillsborough Stadium
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government why it has taken six years for them to respond to the report The patronising disposition of unaccountable power: A report to ensure the pain and suffering of the Hillsborough families is not repeated (Session 2017–19, HC 511) on the Hillsborough disaster of 1989.
tabling member printed	Lord Birt
uin	HL973
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2023 answer text <p>For much of the time since Bishop James Jones’ report on the experiences of the Hillsborough families was published there were ongoing legal proceedings; it was clearly important that the Government did not take any action which might risk prejudicing the outcome of those proceedings.</p><p> </p><p>More recently, the Government has been undertaking work to go further to deliver on issues that are important to the families, and to make sure that similar injustices are not repeated.</p><p> </p><p>In publishing its response to Bishop James’ report on 6 December, ministers in both Houses apologised to the Hillsborough families on behalf of the Government for the length of time taken to do so.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 20/12/2023 11:09:44 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

1676491

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy-paying employers have spent more than half the funds in their apprenticeship levy account, for each of the past five financial years.
tabling member printed	Baroness Blower
uin	HL974
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the apprenticeship levy, which is collected by HM Revenue &amp; Customs. The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes build their workforces. As the apprenticeships levy is UK wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.</p><p>In England, employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.</p><p>Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government.</p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts does not represent the total spend on apprenticeships for levy-paying empoyers and is not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships for employers of all sizes. On average, 98% of the apprenticeships budget has been spent in the last two financial years.</p><p>The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers that have spent more than 50% of the funds declared in their apprenticeship service accounts, including the 10% top-up from the government, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>FY</p></td><td><p>Number of employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds</p></td><td><p>Percentage of total employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>4,210</p></td><td><p>27%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>6,000</p></td><td><p>36%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>6,080</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>6,580</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>6,970</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department is supporting employers to make greater use of their levy and have improved the transfer system to make it easier to find other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds. In April 2019, the department increased the transfer allowance from 10% to 25%, so levy-paying employers could transfer more of their annual funds to support any employer. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers who spent all of their transfer allowance in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>FY (of allowance calculation)</p></td><td><p>Employers who used all their transfer allowance</p></td><td><p>Percentage of total employers who used all their transfer allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>70</p></td><td><p>0.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>170</p></td><td><p>1.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>280</p></td><td><p>1.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>370</p></td><td><p>2.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>270</p></td><td><p>1.4%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>With regard to allowing levy-paying employers to use their funds on non-apprenticeship training schemes and courses, I refer the noble lady to the answer of 10 November 2023 to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-11-07/614" target="_blank">614</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL975 question first answered 21/12/2023 16:25:43 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4724 label Biography information for Baroness Blower

1676492

registered interest
date	07/12/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy-paying employers have transferred the maximum 25 per cent of apprenticeship levy funds to other businesses, for each of the past five financial years.
tabling member printed	Baroness Blower
uin	HL975
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the apprenticeship levy, which is collected by HM Revenue &amp; Customs. The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes build their workforces. As the apprenticeships levy is UK wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.</p><p>In England, employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.</p><p>Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government.</p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts does not represent the total spend on apprenticeships for levy-paying empoyers and is not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships for employers of all sizes. On average, 98% of the apprenticeships budget has been spent in the last two financial years.</p><p>The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers that have spent more than 50% of the funds declared in their apprenticeship service accounts, including the 10% top-up from the government, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>FY</p></td><td><p>Number of employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds</p></td><td><p>Percentage of total employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>4,210</p></td><td><p>27%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>6,000</p></td><td><p>36%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>6,080</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>6,580</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>6,970</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department is supporting employers to make greater use of their levy and have improved the transfer system to make it easier to find other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds. In April 2019, the department increased the transfer allowance from 10% to 25%, so levy-paying employers could transfer more of their annual funds to support any employer. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers who spent all of their transfer allowance in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>FY (of allowance calculation)</p></td><td><p>Employers who used all their transfer allowance</p></td><td><p>Percentage of total employers who used all their transfer allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>70</p></td><td><p>0.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>170</p></td><td><p>1.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>280</p></td><td><p>1.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>370</p></td><td><p>2.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>270</p></td><td><p>1.4%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>With regard to allowing levy-paying employers to use their funds on non-apprenticeship training schemes and courses, I refer the noble lady to the answer of 10 November 2023 to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-11-07/614" target="_blank">614</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL974 question first answered 21/12/2023 16:25:43 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4724 label Biography information for Baroness Blower