Peers focused on whether the Government should move beyond broad international co-operation and support enforceable rules on AI, including the Council of Europe treaty, risk-based regulation, patient safety, online authenticity and UK access to advanced models. Ministers said the UK was working through the G7, UN and other bodies, but also stressed sector-by-sector regulation and building domestic capability rather than relying on international agreement alone.

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The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee said UK research and development investment remains too concentrated in London, the south-east and the Oxford-Cambridge-London corridor, and warned that the Government’s refusal to adopt a clear regional monitoring framework leaves gaps in tracking whether innovation spending supports towns, devolved nations and areas with poorer health outcomes.

Ministers defended the AI Security Institute’s testing of Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable models after US restrictions exposed security and supply risks, but resisted calls for new powers to block dangerous releases and said the UK would build capability through investment, chips, talent and selected sovereign AI projects.

Ministers said the UK has sanctioned networks linked to Russian information warfare against Ukraine and is working with allies to disrupt hostile online campaigns, but declined to commit to a statutory counter-disinformation centre despite calls from MPs and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Peers examined regulations updating the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 so the rules on animal research continue to work in UK law after leaving the EU. Ministers said the changes do not weaken welfare protections or create new powers, but several peers pressed for reassurance on oversight, future reform, the 35% reduction target for dogs and non-human primates, and what happens after the current power to make technical changes expires on 23 June 2026.