Select Committee · Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Artificial Intelligence, business and the future of the workforce
Status: Open
Opened: 10 Mar 2026
Inquiry scope
The Business and Trade Committee is holding an inquiry into Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to better understand the opportunities and costs for businesses and the workforce, and to make recommendations on Government priorities. AI has advanced rapidly in recent years, supported by major improvements in computing power, data availability and the emergence of large language models (LLMs). This has enabled AI to perform an expanding range of tasks. AI adoption has increased, but uptake remains uneven. As adoption accelerates, AI is expected to have significant impacts on UK business and the UK workforce, reshaping work. It will prove a growth industry in itself, enhance productivity, disrupt existing industries and business models, cost jobs, and create jobs. The Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan includes a twentyfold expansion of public AI hardware by 2030 and seeks to leverage private investment through initiatives such as the US–UK Tech Prosperity Deal (with £30 billion committed by major technology firms).Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Jul 2026 | Adam Cantwell-Corn · The Bristol Cable, Anna Thomas MBE · Institute for the Future of Work, Blair McDougall MP · Department for Business and Trade, Carl-Benedikt Frey · University of Oxford, Julia Adamson MBE · BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, Kanishka Narayan · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Kate Dearden MP · Department for Business and Trade, Lauren Thorpe · United Learning, Phil Smith CBE · Skills England, The Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho CBE · London AI and Jobs Taskforce, Will Sandbrook · NEST | View ↗ |
| 16 Jun 2026 | Alyn Jones · Somerset Council, Daniel Smalley · Siemens, Dave Sellick · Sidgrove, David Spence · Innovate UK, Dr Alec Price-Forbes · Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, Karen Dewar · NatWest Group, Kate Jones · UNISON, Kayur Raughani · Accenture, Ms Vinous Ali · Startup Coalition, Paul Wilson · Federation of Small Business, Stephen Phipson CBE · Make UK | View ↗ |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Clinton Hasell · Kao Data, Hugh Milward · Microsoft, Karim Palant · UK Private Capital, Matthew Evans · techUK, Phill Robinson · Boardwave, Professor Neil Lawrence · University of Cambridge, Simon Menashy · MMC Ventures, Wendy Hall · University of Southampton | View ↗ |
Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Cantwell-Corn · Co-Founder | The Bristol Cable | 1 |
| Alyn Jones · Executive ITC Services Director | Somerset Council | 1 |
| Anna Thomas MBE · Founding Director | Institute for the Future of Work | 1 |
| Blair McDougall MP · Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation | Department for Business and Trade | 1 |
| Carl-Benedikt Frey · Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute | University of Oxford | 1 |
| Clinton Hasell · Chief Business Officer | Kao Data | 1 |
| Daniel Smalley · Industrial AI Lead and Business Manager for Factory Automation Digitalisation | Siemens | 1 |
| Dave Sellick · Founder and Director | Sidgrove | 1 |
| David Spence · Head of Applied AI | Innovate UK | 1 |
| Dr Alec Price-Forbes · National Chief Clinical Information Officer | Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England | 1 |
| Hugh Milward · UK Vice President of Corporate Affairs | Microsoft | 1 |
| Julia Adamson MBE · Executive Director for Education and Public Benefit | BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT | 1 |
| Kanishka Narayan · Minister for AI and Online Safety | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 1 |
| Karen Dewar · Chief Data and Analytics Officer | NatWest Group | 1 |
| Karim Palant · Director of External Affairs | UK Private Capital | 1 |
| Kate Dearden MP · Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection | Department for Business and Trade | 1 |
| Kate Jones · AI Policy Lead | UNISON | 1 |
| Kayur Raughani · Managing Director for Data and AI (UK and Ireland) | Accenture | 1 |
| Lauren Thorpe · Chief Transformation Officer | United Learning | 1 |
| Matthew Evans · Chief Operating Officer & Director of Markets | techUK | 1 |
| Ms Vinous Ali · Deputy Executive Director | Startup Coalition | 1 |
| Paul Wilson · Policy Director | Federation of Small Business | 1 |
| Phil Smith CBE · Chair | Skills England | 1 |
| Phill Robinson · Founder | Boardwave | 1 |
| Professor Neil Lawrence · DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning | University of Cambridge | 1 |
| Simon Menashy · Partner and AI Specialist | MMC Ventures | 1 |
| Stephen Phipson CBE · Chief Executive Officer | Make UK | 1 |
| The Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho CBE · Chair | London AI and Jobs Taskforce | 1 |
| Wendy Hall · Director, Web Science Institute | University of Southampton | 1 |
| Will Sandbrook · Managing Director for Strategy, Analytics and Nest Insight | NEST | 1 |
Correspondence
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| Published | Direction | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 2026 | From committee | Letter to the AI Security Institute relating to a request to provide oral evidence to the Committee, 15 September 2026 |
| 9 Sep 2026 | From committee | Letter to the AI Security Institute relating to Anthropic Model Testing, 9 September 2026 |
| 8 Sep 2026 | From committee | Letter to the Secretary of State relating to the resignation of the Chair of the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), 7 September 2026 |
| 8 Sep 2026 | From committee | Letter to the AI Security Institute relating to a potential visit by the Committee, 7 September 2026 |