theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has indemnified Astrazeneca in relation to covid-19 vaccine damage claims. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 20 of his Department's Opening Statement to Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, published 15 January 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) deaths, (b) infections and (c) hospitalisations that were prevented by the covid-19 vaccination programme since September 2021. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Samantha Niblett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 27349 on Vaccination, what steps his Department is taking to ensure contemporaneous vaccine delivery across all regions. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024 in the context of reports of delays to funeral services. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the maximum remaining lifespan is of each RAAC building left on the estate of Hinchingbrooke Hospital. \p Karin Smyth: A report by Mott MacDonald in autumn 2022 into five of the seven predominantly reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) hospitals, including Hinchingbrooke Hospital, estimated that the remaining life of the RAAC panels at the sites would generally extend until approximately 2030.

We have since commissioned a comprehensive site-by-site report into the seven RAAC schemes, including Hinchingbrooke Hospital, due to report in summer 2025. The report objectives include forming an updated assessment of the remaining expected life span of the affected sites and establishing whether there are additional mitigation works that could be put in place to extend the sufficiently safe use of the whole hospital site, or areas of the hospital site. Conducting periodic reviews is to be expected in projects of this scale, and given the risks associated with RAAC.

Construction for all RAAC replacement schemes is planned to commence and substantially deliver between 2025 and 2030 as part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme. We will prioritise the most affected buildings and services first, followed by the less affected parts of existing hospitals. We continue to prioritise these schemes, with mitigation works in place to ensure patient and staff safety.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of levels of access to Enhertu for cancer patients in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Scotland. \p Karin Smyth: No assessment has been made, as health is a devolved matter and decisions on the availability of medicines in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are a matter for their own administrations.

Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England are made on the basis of recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), following an evaluation of a treatment’s costs and benefits. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is important that they are made independently and on the basis of the available evidence.

NICE published guidance in July 2024 on the use of Enhertu for the treatment of HER-2 low metastatic and unresectable breast cancer and was unfortunately unable to recommend it for routine NHS funding. I understand that NICE and NHS England have sought to apply as much flexibility as they can in their considerations of Enhertu for HER2-low breast cancer, and have made it clear to the companies that their pricing of the drug remains the only obstacle to access.

Ministers met with the manufacturers of Enhertu, AstraZeneca, and Daiichi Sankyo in November 2024, to encourage them to re-engage in commercial discussions with NHS England. Despite NICE and NHS England offering unprecedented flexibilities, the companies were unable to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price. NICE’s guidance, published in July 2024, will therefore remain unchanged. Although the deadline for a rapid review has now passed, NICE has reassured me that the door remains open for the companies to enter into a new NICE appraisal if they are willing to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned completion date is for the rebuild of Hinchingbrooke Hospital as part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme. \p Karin Smyth: The pre-construction activity for the Hinchingbrooke Hospital scheme, which includes business case development and critical enabling works, is ongoing, with construction of the main hospital build expected to commence in 2027/28 as part of wave one of the New Hospital Programme.

The expected completion dates for all schemes will be confirmed following the approval of a Full Business Case as set out in HM Treasury Green Book, as is usual for large infrastructure projects
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken was to certify a death in (a) hospital and (b) the community in the period since changes were made to the death certification process in September 2024. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) his Department has had discussions with County Durham and Darlington Foundation NHS Trust on delays to death certification. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to increase the funding available for research into children cancers. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of hospital beds for teenagers and young adults undergoing cancer treatment. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of UK medical graduates in NHS speciality training places. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reinstating the restriction on international medical graduates in the first round of selection for NHS speciality training programmes. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) his Department, (b) himself and (c) his ministerial team have not received a substantive response in each month since August 2024. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to meeting the target of responding to at least 80% of correspondence from Hon. Members within 20 working days. Parliament has a right to hold ministers to account. The Leader of the House of Commons wrote to all Cabinet members in November to remind ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' Parliamentary Questions and correspondence.

The Department receives some of the highest, and most sensitive, volumes of correspondence. In 2024 alone we received over 65,000 queries, with over 15,000 of those from Hon. Members. Ministerial correspondence performance data by Department is published annually by the Cabinet Office on the GOV.UK website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce health inequalities in City of Durham constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) adequacy of access to and (b) reliability of the supply of Sustanon in the UK. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is not aware of any current supply issues regarding the provision of Sustanon. Decisions about which medicines to prescribe are made by the doctor or healthcare professional responsible for that part of the patient’s care. Prescribers are accountable for their prescribing decisions.

It is for the responsible clinician to work with their patient and decide on the best course of treatment, with the provision of the most clinically appropriate care for the patient always being the primary consideration. Prescribers must always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and that they take account of the appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness, as well as the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring that a minimum number of (a) local and (b) regional freelance professionals are hired by (i) TV and (ii) film companies when filming is taking place in their area. \p Chris Bryant: The Department has not made any assessment of the potential merits of the particular suggestion of per-production employment quotas. However, our public service broadcasters are already subject to regional production quotas set by the regulator Ofcom. One of the criteria through which public service broadcasters can meet their quotas is by ensuring at least 50% of the off-screen production talent (by cost) working on a given production is based outside of London. This ensures that creative job opportunities continue to be available to freelance professionals building their careers in the nations and regions of the UK.

We are also incentivising television and film production in every region through our tax reliefs and support for studios, including the £25 million investment for Crown Works Studios in Sunderland via the North East Combined Mayoral Authority.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) improve access to leisure facilities in rural areas. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises that leisure facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.

The ongoing responsibility for public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services. The Government and Sport England continue to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor pressures in the sector.

The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities. £123 million will be invested UK-wide via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme throughout 2024/25. Grassroots sport is also funded through the Government’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, who invest over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the number of charities that will pay increased employer National Insurance contributions in financial year (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 in South Cotswolds constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: At the recent Budget, the government took a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the foundations of the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.

The government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change next year, such as those in the South Cotswold constituency.

We are also expanding eligibility of the Employment Allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, to simplify and reform employer NICs so that all eligible employers now benefit. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs was provided to charities, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and their donors in 2023 to 2024. The biggest individual reliefs provided are Gift Aid at £1.6 billion and business rates relief at nearly £2.4 billion.

DCMS does not hold the specific regional financial impacts of this policy. A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) has been published by HMRC, setting out the impact of the policy on the exchequer; the economic impacts of the policy; and the impacts on individuals, businesses, civil society organisations and equality impacts. The TIIN for the employer NICs changes was published on 13 November 2024.
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Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to provide (a) funding and (b) other support to the Tranzfuser programme. \p Chris Bryant: The Government recently announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for the financial year 2025/26 to support early-stage games studios and talent. This funding will support all existing strands of the UKGF, including the Tranzfuser programme.

The UKGF is administered by UK Games Talent and Finance Community Interest Company which works closely with DCMS on the fund’s design and delivery.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of the sale of local authority leisure facilities on public access to sports and recreation services. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises that leisure facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.

The ongoing responsibility for public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services. The Government and Sport England continue to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor pressures in the sector.

Sport England’s Moving Communities service provides insight which informs local authorities in making strategic decisions about the most effective investments to benefit local communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-11)

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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Code for Sports Governance in increasing female representation in sport. \p Stephanie Peacock: Sport England and UK Sport's Code for Sports Governance ensures bodies in receipt of substantial public funding have ambitious diversity and inclusion action plans. This includes a drive for greater diversity on boards, which has helped female representation on the boards of partners complying with the Code rise to 44% since its introduction in 2016.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times her Department has invited the Centre for Media Monitoring to official events since 4 July 2024. \p Stephanie Peacock: Ministers and officials engage with a range of stakeholders in the course of usual business. However, my department has found no record of responses to any letters from the Centre for Media Monitoring, or of the Centre for Media Monitoring being invited to DCMS-led official events, since 4 July 2024.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has funded the BBC Media Action charity in each of the last five years. \p Stephanie Peacock: The BBC Media Action charity has not received funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in any of the last five years. Sources of funding for BBC Media Action can be found in their annual reports.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (a) external lottery managers, (b) bookmakers and (c) other gambling providers on the (i) forms and (ii) levels of gambling harms. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) collects data from its respondents on the gambling activities they participate in and the types of consequences they experience. Rates of gambling harm, measured by the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), are reported by type of gambling activity (such as lotteries or betting), rather than by supplier (such as external lottery manager or bookmaker).

The PGSI nonetheless captures a range of harms experienced among those who gamble. The GSGB 2023 annual report found that 4.7% of respondents who had participated in society lotteries had a PGSI score of 8+ (representing ‘problem gambling’ by which a person will have experienced adverse consequences from gambling and may have lost control of their behaviour.) This captures society lotteries run by charities themselves and through external lottery managers. The equivalent rate for other gambling providers varies significantly, from 4.2% to 41.2%.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support access to spectrum for (a) new entrants and (b) underrepresented groups under the Community Radio Order 2025. \p Stephanie Peacock: The community radio sector is a key part of the UK radio landscape – there are now around 320 analogue (AM / FM) services, plus a further 75 unique community digital services that exclusively broadcast on small-scale DAB to local communities across the UK.

The changes made by the Community Radio Order 2025 will enable Ofcom to extend the duration of community radio licences for a fourth time and to remove restrictions that limit the amount of income a community radio licence can receive from advertisements and sponsorship, except for a small number community radio stations whose coverage area overlaps with small independent commercial stations.

The Order does not include measures that deal with access to spectrum for community groups wanting to establish new services. Ofcom has a wide range of powers to license new community radio stations on analogue or on DAB digital radio, including specific requirements to roll out new small-scale DAB services, which remains its stated priority for the time being. The timing of any new licence awards is a matter for Ofcom.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26736 on Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Bidfood, what contracts (a) under the value of £12,000 and (b) tendered before 2015 and subsequently extended (i) the BFS Group Limited and (ii) subsidiary companies of BFS Group Limited holds with (A) her Department and (B) agencies of her Department. \p Stephanie Peacock: Core Department: DCMS does not hold any active contracts, nor any contracts since 1st April 2015 with BFS Group Limited and its subsidiaries. To the best of our knowledge, we do not hold any information on Bidfood contracts tendered before 2015, noting that we do not hold consistent contract records before 2015, as this is prior to the migration to our previous electronic contract management software.

Executive Agencies: DCMS does not hold executive agency contractual information.
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Andrew Bowie:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the estimated timeline for the creation of jobs by GB Energy on the renewable energy industry in Scotland. \p Kirsty McNeill: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is in the process of establishing GB Energy, which will drive our clean energy mission. The company will employ staff in its Headquarters in Aberdeen and in additional sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow, making the most of the local skills and expertise available across Scotland.

GB Energy will install thousands of clean power projects across the country, crowding in investment for next-generation technologies, and providing vital support to accelerate large-scale projects; in turn, this will create thousands of good jobs, with good wages, across the country.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with UK Research and Innovation on (a) their sustainability plans and (b) assessments of the sustainability of projects they (i) fund and (ii) otherwise sponsor since July 2024. \p Feryal Clark: Ministers and officials meet regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) including its constituent councils, on a range of issues. The UKRI Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020-2025 sets out UKRI’s ambition to protect and enhance the environment across its investments and operations, while ensuring that the research and innovation it supports stays at the cutting-edge. The UKRI Environmental Sustainability Strategy is available at: https://www.ukri.org/publications/ukri-environmental-sustainability-strategy/.

As part of this Strategy, UKRI established a carbon fund, which identified and funded quick wins in their research facilities and as of April 2025 will support the implementation of a pilot scheme for carbon budgets.

UKRI’s councils provide broad support for research and innovation to improve sustainability, including over £22.7 million funding over five years through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to support research that drives the transition to sustainable technologies and operations.
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John Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much (a) his Department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies has spent on external public relations since 5 July 2024; and which firms that funding went to. \p Feryal Clark: Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

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James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) community information websites, (b) hobbyist forums and (c) other small (i) websites and (ii) discussion forums are not disproportionately affected by the regulatory requirements of the Online Safety Act 2023. \p Feryal Clark: Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope user-to-user and search services must assess for risks of illegal content and harm to children. Ofcom is the independent regulator for this regime. It sets out what steps small low-risk providers need to take to fulfil their duties following their risk assessment. When implementing these duties, Ofcom is legally required to ensure burdens on providers are proportionate to their risk factors, size, and capacity. Ofcom recently launched an online digital toolkit, aimed at helping SMEs with compliance (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/ofcom-launches-digital-safety-toolkit-for-online-services/).
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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what was the total allocation of funding from the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund to projects aimed at improving the (a) supply and (b) distribution of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy since 2 March 2022. \p Feryal Clark: The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund has – since its inception in March 2022 – supported a wide range of projects across the life sciences sector, able to manufacture different types of life-saving medicines and medical devices. Several of these could have the capability to manufacture medicines such as pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies. The latest iteration of this fund will allocate up to £520 million to deliver economic growth and build health resilience. The fund is currently open to applications, and we encourage companies with eligible life sciences manufacturing projects to apply.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

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Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the number of people dying of suicide after engaging with suicide-related content online; and what steps he is taking to reduce those deaths. \p Feryal Clark: DSIT is made aware when there has been an online-related death by suicide through Coroner’s ‘Reports to Prevent Future Deaths’ and has responded to nine reports in the past 12 months. The department is very concerned about the number of reports of deaths.

Under the Online Safety Act, which is coming into effect in the coming months, all in-scope services must proactively prevent all users from encountering illegal suicide content, and children from encountering legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instructions for suicide.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions for financial year 2025-26. \p Feryal Clark: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is working with HM Treasury (HMT) on any additional funding that may be required to cover for costs associated with the Employer’s National Insurance Contributions (ERNIC) rule changes, announced at Autumn Budget 2024. This work is being undertaken under the auspices of the established Estimates process led by HMT, and which will conclude in the coming months.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will meet with Dr Susan Michaelis to discuss funding of research into invasive lobular breast cancer. \p Feryal Clark: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Office for Life Sciences Officials have met with Dr Michaelis to discuss lobular breast cancer. The Government does not ringfence funding for specific cancer types. DSIT invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, and The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. DHSC is currently developing a new National Cancer Plan which will outline the Government’s strategy to improve patient outcomes for all cancer types, including breast cancer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_8

Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to (a) fast track protections for people who experience doxing and (b) help ensure social media platforms (i) act swiftly to remove doxing content and (ii) sanction those who commit such offences. \p Feryal Clark: DSIT is implementing the Online Safety Act which will bring in a number of protections for online users from the harms associated with doxing. In-scope providers will need to enact measures to take down illegal content and protect children from harmful content. Additionally, the largest services (Category 1) must ensure their terms of service are clear and consistently enforced. Ofcom can take enforcement action against companies failing to meet their duties, including fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_9
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_9

Mr James Frith:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy that a copyright exception for text and data mining will not be brought into law until a rights reservation mechanism has been proven to work to the satisfaction of copyright holders. \p Feryal Clark: The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.

This consultation seeks views on proposals to introduce a text and data mining exception alongside a rights reservation mechanism and transparency measures. The Government has been clear in oral answers, in both houses, that it will not introduce these measures until it has a workable system in place.

The proposals in this consultation are presented for feedback and discussion, and no decision has yet been taken on the final policy.

The consultation closes on 25 February.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_10
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_10

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with the Advanced Research and Invention Agency on (a) their sustainability plans and (b) assessments of the sustainability of projects they (i) fund and (ii) otherwise sponsor since July 2024. \p Feryal Clark: As set out in ARIA’s Framework Agreement, ARIA has unique operational freedoms, including over its research and project choice and its procedures. ARIA is committed to integrating sustainable practices into both its business operations and its programme portfolio. As set out in the Framework Agreement, ARIA will evaluate itself against pillar A of the 2021-25 Greening Government Commitments. Additionally, ARIA will have regard to contributing to the UK’s climate change targets and environmental goals through its programme portfolio.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_11
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_11

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with the Geospatial Commission on (a) their sustainability plans and (b) assessments of the sustainability of projects they (i) fund and (ii) otherwise sponsor since July 2024. \p Feryal Clark: The Geospatial Commission (now part of the Government Digital Service) has had no discussions with the Secretary of State on sustainability aspects of their work.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_12

Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the development of a roadmap for phasing out animal testing. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. We are currently engaging with partners from sectors with interests in animal science as to how we will take this commitment forward, including the publishing of a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. This has included discussions between ministers from DSIT, the Home Office and Defra. We expect to publish this strategy later this year.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_13
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_13

Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when he expects the report of the Independent Pornography Review to be published. \p Feryal Clark: The Independent Pornography Review assesses the effectiveness of current pornography legislation, regulation, and enforcement. It is an important area of interest for this government. The Review has now just concluded. The government is assessing its findings and the final report will be published in due course.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_14
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_14

Charlotte Cane:To ask the Solicitor General, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on backlogs of court cases. \p Lucy Rigby: I welcome the strong action already taken by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor to bring down the outstanding caseload that this Government inherited, and measures introduced to help ensure victims have swift access to justice.

These actions include extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 12 months and funding additional Crown Court sitting days, taking them to the highest levels since financial year 2015/16 .

In the longer term,  the Lord Chancellor has commissioned an independent review of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of wider reforms, as well as assessing the efficiency and timeliness of court processes.

These important issues have been discussed as part of our cross-government approach through the Safer Streets Mission Board.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_15
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_15

Jerome Mayhew:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has conducted a study of the (a) financial and (b) operational impact of rail nationalisation in Scotland. \p Simon Lightwood: Decisions regarding ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper services are a devolved matter for the Scottish Government. My officials engage closely with devolved counterparts on their experiences of nationalisation.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_16
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_16

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will list all training that has been provided to traffic officers on managing electric vehicles in incident recovery situations in each year between 2014 and 2024. \p Lilian Greenwood: National Highways has evolved its training programme for Traffic Officers on Electric Vehicles (EVs) as their use on the network has emerged and grown. Our training provision is aligned to the traffic officer work instructions in operation at that time, which have evolved as the number of EVs on our roads has increased.

Booster Pack and Skids training was provided for all Traffic Officers from December 2020 to April 2021. This was consolidated into new starter training from May 2021. Booster Pack training is the familiarisation of the booster pack that Traffic Officer vehicles carry. This training covers component parts of the booster pack and how to apply to release electronic handbrakes in line with manufacturer guidelines. Skids training is delivered to enable Traffic Officers to put skids underneath tyres that are unable to turn when electronic handbrakes cannot be released, enabling clearance of the carriageway. Whilst neither are exclusively EV training, they are methods that can be used with EVs.

Both training packages were subsequently consolidated into New Starter training for Traffic Officers as part of the continuous improvement of foundation training. EV eLearning was also rolled out to all Traffic Officers from January 2021 until November 2023, across a range of subjects, including:

Overview of EV and Hybrids

Evaluate the Positives and Negatives of EV and Hybrids

Identify Types of EV/Hybrids at scene of incident or breakdowns

Potential hazards involved when dealing with EV/Hybrids

EV and Hybrid component parts

H&S (HSE Guidance)

The EV and Hybrid Awareness eLearning package covers identification of component parts of EVs, such as High Voltage batteries and their location. The EV training delivered at New Starter Course offers a higher level of awareness, including when EVs are involved in Road Traffic Collisions and sustain a higher degree of damage.

Carriageway clearance, which includes EV training, is delivered to all new National Highways Traffic Officers as part of their Foundation training, this has been in place since 2018.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_17
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_17

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to take into account the potential impact on access to health services in (a) Exeter, (b) Torbay, (c) Newton Abbot, (d) Dawlish and (e) Teignmouth when making decisions on phase 5 of the South West Rail Resilience programme. \p Simon Lightwood: Transport investment decisions are based upon the development and consideration of a business case. Business cases assess the costs of investment against a wide range of passenger benefits, set against the operational cost to the railway.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_18
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_18

Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the delivery of the Midlands Rail Hub on economic growth. \p Simon Lightwood: Midlands Rail Hub would kickstart economic growth by introducing additional trains and improving the performance of the railways, and in March £123m was committed to design the first stage.

In December, the Chancellor launched the second stage of the Spending Review. This is a ‘zero-based’ review, to ensure every line of spending – including the transport infrastructure portfolio – delivers the Plan for Change and provides good value for taxpayers.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_19
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_19

Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) frequency and (b) capacity of services between Birmingham and (i) Nottingham and (ii) Leicester. \p Simon Lightwood: The scope for increased frequency is limited by current infrastructure which is being considered as part of the proposed Midlands Rail Hub project. In terms of capacity, CrossCountry has recently declassified First Class accommodation on services from Birmingham to Cardiff, Nottingham and Stansted Airport to provide a number of additional seats for all ticket holders.

The Department has funded 12 cascaded Voyager trains for CrossCountry Inter-city routes to provide additional capacity for passengers, including on routes that overlap with Birmingham to Nottingham services, thereby spreading demand across more carriages. Three of these trains are already in service, the rest will start in May.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_20
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_20

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to take into account the potential impact on access to health services in (a) Exeter, (b) Torbay, (c) Newton Abbot, (d) Dawlish and (e) Teignmouth when making decisions on (i) transport and (ii) connectivity. \p Simon Lightwood: Transport investment decisions are based upon the development and consideration of a business case, which assesses the costs of investment set against a wide range of benefits to transport users.
wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_21
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_21

Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Chiltern Railways on increasing its capacity. \p Simon Lightwood: My officials and I continue to work with Chiltern Railways to improve passenger experience. Chiltern periodically adjusts its timetable in response to passenger demand.

We are closely engaged with Chiltern’s fleet renewal programme. The option to procure additional trains to increase capacity is being investigated, whilst considering value for money.