Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using procurement to support open source software development in the UK.

The UK has a strong open-source ecosystem, which has helped drive innovation and distribute the benefits of technology widely.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines how the government will maximise the potential for AI, including its support for open-source development. This includes the government's agreement to support open-source solutions when procuring AI models and other software for public sector use where appropriate. As a result, we are working closely with and engaging the open-source community to benefit from open-source innovation through appropriately sourced models and other technical solutions.

The principles of being open and using open source has been part of the Government's Technology Code of Practice for some time, and continues to be one of our core principles.