Peter Kyle MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her comments. Just to clarify, this is a legacy Bill which has been in Parliament several times before, including under the previous Government, so it was always inevitable that at whatever time the consultation was launched it would have coincided with the Bill going through Parliament. That was never my intention but, as I have just said, I accept that that was the impression given. When we went into the consultation, I believed that opting out could have offered an opportunity to bring both sides together, but I now accept that that is not the case.

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba), who was the first on his feet, then I will come to my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell).

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  Let me be as direct as I possibly can. The amendment before us does not include powers of enforcement; it would give powers to the Secretary of State, but it gives no indication of how those powers should be used. Given that ambiguity, it would be incumbent on me to use the powers in a way in which I saw fit, and I would see fit to do a thorough engagement on the back of such powers before using them, if I decided to use them at all. Any of my successors in the post could well use those powers in vastly different ways, which would lead to great instability in an area where I am determined to create stability. Finally, it would be disempowering for this place to have all those powers in the hands of the Secretary of State and future Secretaries of State when what we really need is a comprehensive set of legislative measures that this place and the other place have fully endorsed, is on statute and can give the security that both sectors need into the future. It was remiss of me to take the intervention of my hon. Friend the Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington), even though it was an important one, before the intervention of my hon. Friend the Member for York Central, to whom I turn now.

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  The range of interventions shows several things, including the breadth of wisdom and experience in this House and the complex nature of the issue at hand. That is all being dealt with by one amendment that does not actually touch on many of the issues that I am being questioned about. Again, that reinforces the need to deal with this issue in the round and in its entirety, with all its complexities. I will turn to the point that my hon. Friend raises shortly, but the extraterritorial nature of the way in which AI is being consumed, scraped and brought into the models adds challenges to getting a grip on it. That is why having a Bill that incentivises investment in this country, alongside giving modern digital rights and obligations to creatives in the digital age, is a way in which we can incentivise companies to come and obey the law of this land as we move forward. I believe one more Member was on their feet to whom I am yet to give way.

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  In all sincerity, I am confused by the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. The Bill before us does not mention AI or copyright—it has nothing to do with those items. The Data (Use and Access) Bill is as I described at the beginning of my remarks. If there is a clause, sentence or paragraph of the legislation that is before us and for consideration that damages either the AI sectors or the creative industries, then I would like him to stand up and read that out. What I am proposing is a comprehensive solution in legislation to both the opportunities and the challenges presented to the AI sector, which is a barrier for companies in that sector investing here, and to the current direction of travel that is posing an existential threat to the nature of the creative sector as we know it. That is what I am proposing, and I assure the hon. Gentleman that the Bill before us does not damage any of those interests in the way that he suggests.

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. It is true that much content has already been used and subsumed by AI models, usually from other territories and under the current law. Nothing illustrates the need to have a comprehensive think about the way forward than the example that he has just given.

• 14 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I agree with my hon. Friend; excessive smartphone use is detrimental to children, as it is to MPs across the House. I can assure her that I am commissioning evidence on the impact of social media use on children. I am looking particularly closely at the addictive nature of some of the algorithms being deployed, and at how we can act to keep children safe and benefit their welfare.

• 14 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  This Government are harnessing the power of technology to create a smarter, smaller state. My Department is partnering with the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to understand how AI can save taxpayers’ money and deliver the world-class public services that people deserve. At the same time, we are tearing down the barriers facing businesses that want to invest in Britain. Last month, we welcomed experts from across the energy and tech sectors to the first meeting of the AI energy council, at which we discussed how we can use clean energy to power our domestic AI sector and deliver strong growth and good jobs right across the country.

• 14 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  We will release the compute strategy. That strategy will be fully funded and fully delivered—unlike under the Government, which the hon. Gentleman was part of, that let our country down.

• 14 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  It surprises me that the hon. Gentleman continues down this path. One of the first decisions I had to take after becoming Secretary of State was how we deal with an unfunded commitment for hundreds of millions of pounds where the money never existed—the Treasury had not committed it. Not a single letter had gone to my Department from the Treasury, yet the previous Government spent years making verbal commitments. We will deliver a compute strategy that is fit for purpose, that will get our country where it needs to be—

• 14 May 2025 · UK-US Trade Agreement: Digital Services Regulation · Hansard source

  More

  We have just delivered a deal between the UK and the US, and none of it weakened any of the legislation we have that keeps children safe in this country. We were promised by the Conservatives that we were at the front of the queue for a US trade deal; this Government took us out of the queue altogether and delivered the deal. The previous Government took a decade; we delivered the deal, and we are strengthening the rights that young people have to keep them safe, not weakening them.

• 14 May 2025 · UK-US Trade Agreement: Digital Services Regulation · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful for that question. I certainly share the hon. Gentleman’s concern for the welfare of young people online, which is why so many provisions have been brought in since I came into office, including issuing a statement of strategic priorities to Ofcom, tackling intimate image abuse and getting right behind the implementation of the new regulations from January and age verification, which will come in in July. We are behind those as well as working on what will come next and strengthening it. I reassure him and the House that online harms are never up for negotiation under this Government.

• 14 May 2025 · UK-US Trade Agreement: Digital Services Regulation · Hansard source

  More

  I reassure my hon. Friend that I am looking very closely at how we strengthen the online safety regime in order to protect children further into the future. I have commissioned research into the exact causal relationship between which products young people use and the impact that they have on them, and I will act accordingly from there.

• 14 May 2025 · UK-US Trade Agreement: Digital Services Regulation · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate the Prime Minister and the Business Secretary on the UK-US trade deal, which, among many provisions, includes the commitment to deepen digital trade. My Department will continue to work across Whitehall to strengthen the transatlantic trade relationship that benefits our country so greatly. When it comes to online harms, we will continue to strengthen those provisions too.

• 14 May 2025 · Innovation: Hertfordshire · Hansard source

  More

  I am extremely grateful for my hon. Friend’s question; it shows how diligently and assiduously he is working for the businesses in his constituency. I can assure him that high standards lead to their adoption, and this Government are committed to the very highest of standards. I saw that myself on visits to Hertfordshire: I visited Airbus and the tech firm Autolus, which are both doing cutting-edge work to the highest of standards, contributing to innovation in our country as well as the area that he represents so well.

• 14 May 2025 · Innovation: Hertfordshire · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s recognition that I have a personal commitment to Northern Ireland, which I recently visited for the second time. This Government are committed to cyber-security right across the United Kingdom. The budgets for it and their application are subject to Barnett consequentials. I know that he will be working with the devolved Administration to ensure that that money is spent wisely, and in central Government they will have the partner they need.

• 14 May 2025 · Innovation: Hertfordshire · Hansard source

  More

  The Government are committed to supporting innovation in Hertfordshire and across the country, and we are investing a record £20.4 billion in research and development this financial year alone. In the last financial year, UK Research and Innovation invested £67 million in projects in Hertfordshire. For example, more than £650,000 was awarded to Copco Ltd, which is based in Hemel Hempstead, to develop a digitally enhanced low-cost technology in aerostructures.

• 14 May 2025 · Public Sector Productivity: Technology · Hansard source

  More

  I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are deploying technology to deliver productivity gains across Whitehall, which are starting now. We are investing heavily through the digital centre that we created in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and working intensively with Departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. We have already identified billions of pounds-worth of savings, which will be put to use within Government without delay for the benefit of citizens.

• 14 May 2025 · Public Sector Productivity: Technology · Hansard source

  More

  I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are investing heavily in AI technology across the NHS for the benefit of patients. I have visited Huddersfield hospital, where AI has been fully integrated into the radiography department. I will look into the specific issue that the hon. Gentleman has raised, and if there are any conversations to be had, I can assure him that we are on the side of patients and of harnessing technology for the good of patients.

• 14 May 2025 · Public Sector Productivity: Technology · Hansard source

  More

  This Government are piloting a range of technologies, including generative AI and large language models, across Departments in order to release their potential to boost public sector productivity. We are aiming for a smarter, smaller state, and that is exactly what we will deliver.

• 14 May 2025 · Public Sector Productivity: Technology · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is highlighting the great work coming out of Basingstoke, which will not just contribute to the productivity of local authorities around the country but benefit our entire economy. I can assure him that this Government are committed to harnessing the power of British technology, putting it to use for citizens across our country and for productivity in Government, and I look forward to engaging more with the companies he has mentioned.

• 7 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. The House has worked incredibly hard to get the Bill to where it is today. It is a relief that after so many attempts to get this piece of legislation through, over such a long period of time and multiple Governments, we will finally get it across the line. I put on record my thanks to the people who have got us to where we are, including the Members from across the House who have contributed in sincere and passionate ways during today’s debate on Report, and now on Third Reading. I also put on record my very sincere thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda and Ogmore (Chris Bryant), the Minister responsible. He has seen the Bill through assiduously, persistently, and with passion at all times to make sure that it passes through Parliament and is out there, benefiting the people of Britain. I thank him, and also officials in my Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. There are certain officials who have been working on this Bill since 2022 and who have put their life and soul into it, often seven times a week. Their dedication to getting this piece of legislation through should be recognised by Members right across the House—it certainly is by me. I thank them very much. I hope the House has noticed that the Government have tabled amendments to improve the Bill until the last moment. By making it an offence to request the creation of deepfake intimate images without consent and empowering the courts to deprive offenders of images and devices containing them, we will ensure consistency in our approach to protecting women and girls from that vile, demeaning form of abuse. To conclude in the short time I have available, the Bill will make life better for working people right across our country.

• 7 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  I am afraid that in the time I have, I cannot give way. I want to do the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Havant (Alan Mak), the courtesy of allowing him to have his say in the remaining couple of minutes. The Bill will give working people across our country a stronger economy, better public services, and more time to do the things they like with the people they love. I look forward to working with people, including hon. Members from across the House, to resolve as quickly as possible any outstanding issues that may arise after the Bill passes. The version of the Bill that is before us today is its third substantive iteration. It follows two failed attempts by the previous Government, the first of which started back in July 2022. It is time that we got this done; for far too long, our citizens and businesses have paid the price of the failure to deliver data reform, and we cannot expect them to put up with it any longer. Today, we have an opportunity to finally get it right. The Bill that is before us today will remove the brakes that are holding back our country.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I can assure my hon. Friend that I am speaking to both sectors, and I am determined that both sectors will get fit for the future as we face the opportunities and challenges. We are lucky as a country to have the second largest creative arts sector and the third largest AI market in the world. This is both a benefit and an opportunity for our country, and this Government will navigate any challenges it poses so that both sectors are fit to exploit the opportunities they have and for commercial gain into the future.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman has been reading the news. We have had more than £30 billion of tech investment in this country from around the world. He should be celebrating that, not talking it down.