theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the expected in-year cost of redundancy payments in (a) DHSC and (b) NHS England is in (i) 2025-26, (ii) 2026-27 and (iii) 2027-28. \p Karin Smyth: Detailed plans are being formulated by a joint Department and NHS England programme team. The remit of work includes formulation of the relevant costs. Further detail on the costs and funding mechanisms will be provided as this work develops.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help tackle ageism in healthcare services. \p Ashley Dalton: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme on 5 June 2025 to Question 54136.
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Julia Lopez:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure the continuation of the Type 2 Diabetes in the Young programme following the abolition of NHS England. \p Ashley Dalton: As we work to bring NHS England and the Department together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.

A central mission of the Government is to build a health and care system that is fit for the future. Tackling preventable ill health such as type 2 diabetes is crucial. Shifting the focus from treatment to prevention is one of three shifts for the Government’s mission for a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and is a cornerstone of supporting people to live healthier lives.
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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of vapes by children under 16 years of age in the London Borough of Hounslow. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is taking progressive national-level action through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to protect future generations from the harms of addiction and nicotine. The Bill includes strong measures to tackle youth vaping, including a ban on the sale of all vapes and nicotine products to children under the age of 18 years old and ending the free distribution of these products to anyone. The Bill will also ban the advertisement and sponsorship of all vapes and nicotine products and provides new powers to limit the flavours, packaging and changing where and how vapes and other nicotine products can be displayed.

The Bill also takes bold action to strengthen enforcement and tackle underage sales. This includes the introduction of new £200 fixed penalty notices to support Trading Standards to crack down on underage sales, and powers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vape and nicotine products. Alongside the Bill, the Government is investing over £100 million over five years to boost HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force enforcement capability. The Government is investing £10 million of new funding in Trading Standards this year to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales. This funding is being used to boost the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting over 80 new apprentices. Hounslow has been allocated a new apprentice.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of the uptake of vaccines by children from ethnic minority communities in England. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors trends in the level of childhood vaccination rates by upper tier local authority (UTLA), region, and country. The UKHSA does not routinely collect data on trends in the level of the uptake of vaccines by children from ethnic minority communities in England. An assessment of coverage trends and ethnicity was published in the Lancet in 2023, and is available at the following link:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00458-3/fulltext

Data on the coverage of all routine childhood immunisations is published quarterly by the UKHSA, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2024-to-2025-quarterly-data

Annual coverage data is also published by NHS England, and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2023-24
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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of how many 12 to 16 year olds use vapes in (a) Hounslow (b) London. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England publishes estimates of the prevalence of vaping in children from the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England Survey. This survey covers children in years seven to 11 in secondary school of whom the majority will be aged between 12 and 16 years old but some children aged 11 years old will also be included. Data on the use of vapes in children is not available at local authority level.

The latest figures for London are from the 2023 survey which showed that 4% of children were regular vapers, while 18% reported having ever tried vaping. The report is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2023
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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers available to local authorities to take enforcement action against shops unlawfully selling vapes. \p Ashley Dalton: Trading Standards Officers currently have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal to enforce age of sale restrictions and take a proportionate approach to enforcement that reflects the severity of the offence committed. When necessary, this includes prosecuting offenders which can result in courts imposing a fine of up to £2,500, and, in the case of repeat offences, applying for a restricted premises order or restricted sale order. £200 fixed penalty notices introduced by the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will complement existing sanctions and support Trading Standards to crack down on retailers selling to people underage.

To ensure that local authorities are provided with the appropriate powers to enforce measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, provisions in the Bill give Trading Standards Officers investigatory powers set out in Schedule 5 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Future regulations relating to vaping product requirements will also provide appropriate powers for enforcement authorities to carry out their duties.

We will complete a post-implementation review of the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in due course.
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure NHS trusts consistently meet the 62 day target for starting cancer treatment. \p Ashley Dalton: As set out in the new plan for reforming elective care, the Government is committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times. The National Health Service’s annual operational planning guidance set out a national commitment to improve waiting times, including improving performance against the 62-day cancer standard to 75% by March 2026.

The Department is committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment; we have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over three million more appointments. £70 million will also be spent on replacing out-of-date radiotherapy equipment so that cancer patients benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment using the most up-to-date technology. Replacing these older machines will save as many as 13,000 appointments from being lost to equipment breakdown.

Additionally, providers have also been asked to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the faster diagnosis standard, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer and start treatment.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 51393 on Fast Food, how the (a) Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and (b) Public Health England defines a fast food outlet. \p Ashley Dalton: In February 2025, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities published data on fast food outlets per 100,000 population. In this analysis, fast food was described as “food that is energy dense and available quickly, usually via a counter service, and for consumption on or off the premises”. This definition covers a range of outlets selling foods, including, but not limited to:

Public Health England was abolished in 2021, but published comparable data, and in 2018 defined fast food as “energy dense food that is available quickly, therefore it covers a range of outlets that include, but are not limited to, burger bars, kebab and chicken shops, chip shops and pizza outlets.”
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of of cancer patients have had their 3 monthly scans (a) delayed and (b) cancelled in the last 12 months. \p Ashley Dalton: This data is not held by the Department. Diagnostics waiting times and activity data is published by NHS England and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/

The Government commitment to reduce the number of missed and delayed appointments, including scans, is a priority for the National Health Service in England. The recent expansion of the ‘NHS App’ has already stopped 1.5 million hospital appointments being missed and saved 5.7 million staff hours since July 2024.

The Department is also supporting NHS England in the implementation of the new ‘Cancer 360 tool’ which brings all the data into one central system, so clinicians can prioritise those most in need and see patients quicker. This technology is set to benefit millions of patients over the next five to 10 years. The real-time tool will help teams to easily track a patient’s progress, avert delays and harness digital innovation to improve patient outcomes.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure consistent enforcement of food hygiene certification standards by local authorities in England. \p Ashley Dalton: To support food law enforcement consistency, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) publishes a Food Law Code of Practice. This provides statutory guidance to local authorities on how to meet their legal obligations as regulators of food law.

The FSA operates the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in partnership with local authorities. The scheme protects public health by publishing a clear rating to indicate how compliant a business is with food hygiene law.

To be an effective incentive, the scheme must be operated consistently. The FSA expects all local authorities to operate the scheme in line with its guidance. The FSA monitors local authority compliance and will intervene when evidence suggests a lack of consistency. The FSA coordinates regular consistency training in which all local authorities are expected to participate.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 51393 on Fast Food, whether the Food Standards Agency categorises (a) Pret a Manger, (b) Subway and (c) Greggs as a fast food outlet. \p Ashley Dalton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not categorise businesses as fast-food outlets. The FSA gathers information on and categorises food businesses based on understanding potential risk in relation to food safety only.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase research into (a) the causes of and (b) treatment options for chronic migraine disease. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) into a range of conditions, including chronic migraine. The NIHR promotes participation in research through the Be Part of Research service, which features chronic migraine research studies seeking participants. Further information is available at the following link:

https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/

The NIHR also invites proposals for new research into the causes and treatment of conditions through its website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic
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Julia Lopez:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating pilots. \p Ashley Dalton: As we work to bring NHS England and the Department together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care. For 2025/26, national funding has been made available to support delivery of Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) services up to 31 March 2026 in the five current pilot site areas based in Coventry and Warwickshire, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, Humber and North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Mersey, and Norfolk and Waveney.

The funding allocated to the relevant integrated care boards (ICBs) has been ring fenced which means that the funding should be protected for T1DE in 2025/26 rather than reallocated to cover other costs.

Funding for the T1DE pilot programme has been provided to sites on a pump prime basis, to allow the services to establish, feed into the national evaluation and generate the evidence that would be required to attract longer term sustainable local funding, following this initial period of national investment.

NHS England is undertaking a national evaluation of the five pilot services and to support local teams to make the case to the relevant ICB for longer term continuation of services, will provide an evaluation report in summer 2025. This will include data on patient outcomes, insight into staff and patient experience and analysis of National Health Service costs and savings to run the services, alongside supportive resources such as a model business case and commissioning support tool.
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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take in the National Cancer plan to improve diagnosis times for children and young people with cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, including children and young people. To achieve this, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

To support timely and effective referrals, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out detailed guidance for general practitioners on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer. The Taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of the uptake of vaccines by children in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors trends in the level of childhood vaccination rates by upper tier local authority (UTLA), region and country level. Newcastle-under-Lyme falls within the Staffordshire UTLA.

In Staffordshire, children aged five years old in 2023/2024 had a 94.8% coverage for the first dose of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. This is a 0.7 percentage point decrease from 2022/2023, when the coverage was 95.5% but is 3.6 percentage points above the England average which was 91.9%.

Coverage of the 6-in-1 vaccine, which includes diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis also known as whooping cough, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B, in the same age group was 95.6% in 2023/2024, a 0.7 percentage point decrease from 96.3% in 2022/2023 but 3.7 percentage points above the England average of 92.6%.

Data on coverage of all routine childhood immunisations are published quarterly by UKHSA and annually by NHS England, and are available at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2024-to-2025-quarterly-data

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2023-24
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the potential impact of advertising restrictions on rates of childhood obesity following their implementation. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and create the healthiest generation of children ever. We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on television and online. This includes a 9pm watershed on television and a 24-hour restriction on paid-for advertising of these products online. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets in the United Kingdom per year.

We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation. We have commissioned various studies through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to feed into this review, which will allow us to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the restrictions.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the Air Quality Information Systems Review recommendation 4 on raising public awareness of (a) air pollution, (b) the associated health impacts and (c) how people can protect themselves. \p Ashley Dalton: Following publication of the Air Quality Information Systems (AQIS) Review final report and recommendations on 6 March 2025, we are working closely with the UK Health Security Agency and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to improve public awareness of air pollution and the associated health impacts.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is currently developing a new air quality web service which embeds the communication principles recommended in the AQIS review. The new service will provide clearer and more relevant information to the public about air pollution, its associated health impacts and actions people can take to protect themselves.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to support research into chronic urinary tract infections in Surrey. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and social care, including urinary tract infections (UTIs). These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Funding opportunities are openly published on the NIHR website, which is at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/

Universities and other stakeholders can propose research topics to the NIHR via the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic

The development of new products to diagnose infections more accurately is essential to ensure we can continue to treat infections and protect public health. NHS England is supporting research into newer, more accurate point-of-care tests for UTIs, such as via the Toucan study. More information on the study is available at the following link:

https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated by his Department for research into the (a) causes, (b) treatment, and (c) long-term effects of long covid in children and young people. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, the NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, have jointly invested over £57 million into long COVID research with the aim of improving diagnosis and our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease, evaluating the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, and clinical care. This research will support the treatment of long COVID in children and young people, as well as adults.

We have also funded research specifically focused on long COVID in children and young people, including the approximately £1.9 million CLoCk study jointly funded by the NIHR and MRC. The study developed an agreed definition of long COVID in children and young people and associated symptoms, to improve understanding of the condition and help harmonise research.

The NIHR and MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research into the causes, treatments and long-term effects of long COVID. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care including long COVID in children and young people. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
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Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on the introduction of specific metrics to tackle sexual misconduct. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department has not had any recent discussions with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regarding the introduction of specific metrics to tackle sexual misconduct.

Nonetheless, the CQC monitors for concerns related to sexual misconduct as part of its regulatory responsibilities. This is in line with Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which requires that service providers must have a zero tolerance approach to abuse, including sexual abuse and harassment. Failure to comply with Regulation 13 can have serious consequences, including regulatory action from the CQC, potentially leading to a provider being denied registration, or in some cases, prosecution.
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Care Quality Commission plans to inspect medical care services at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. \p Ashley Dalton: It is not usual practice for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to announce when inspections will take place.

Unannounced inspections of healthcare services allow the CQC to obtain a realistic view of how the service is operating. It also allows the CQC to observe normal practice and assess more accurately the quality of care being provided. While most inspections are unannounced, some services may receive notice to minimize disruption to care.

The CQC can also inspect at any time in response to risk.
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Sonia Kumar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether residential treatment for severe gambling addiction will (a) continue to be funded by his Department after commissioning for treatment services is moved to the NHS and (b) be funded through a statutory gambling levy. \p Ashley Dalton: In April 2025, the new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities continue to work closely together to develop their gambling programmes in their respective roles as treatment and prevention commissioner during this transition year.

NHS England continues to work at pace to take on commissioning responsibility for the full treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare. Evidence- based commissioning decisions will be made to ensure optimal treatment modalities.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support women with cervical cancer in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: It is a priority for the Government and the National Health Service to improve support for women living with cervical cancer in England, including in the Surrey Heath constituency.

NHS England has committed to ensuring that every person diagnosed with cancer, including cervical cancer, has access to personalised care. This includes needs assessments, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. Through the provision of information, personalised care empowers people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer. This approach ensures that each person’s care is planned holistically, covering mental and physical health, as well as any practical or financial concerns.

The National Cancer Plan, which is planned for publication later this year, will seek to improve the experience and outcomes for people living with cancer, including cervical cancer. It will look at how we can improve communication and coordination for patients, so that they feel informed and in control of their care.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has commissioned research into the potential impact of toxic emissions from battery storage fires near residential areas on public health. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department has not formally commissioned research into this topic. However, on 14 March 2025, the Environment Agency published the paper, Net zero: Environmental and social implications of energy storage technologies: summary, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-environmental-and-social-implications-of-energy-storage-technologies/net-zero-environmental-and-social-implications-of-energy-storage-technologies-summary

On 3 June 2025, a paper was also placed in the House of Commons library which has details of Battery energy storage systems; this is available at the following link:

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7621/CBP-7621.pdf

Despite the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) not currently undertaking research per se on fires involving lithium ion batteries, UKHSA draws upon previously published Public Health England guidance on products of combustion, for example, Combustion products: a toxicological review, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/combustion-products-a-toxicological-review

In addition, practical guidance has been developed by the Waste Industry Safety and Health forum, Fire Risk and Lithium Batteries at Waste Transfer, Recycling and Recovery Operations, which is available at the following link:

https://www.wishforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/INFO-08.pdf
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the link between poor lung health and poverty. \p Ashley Dalton: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton on 28 April 2025 to Question 46400.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of using gross national income forecasts to determine future levels of Official Development Assistance. \p Darren Jones: To enable the government to invest more in security and defence, while remaining committed to our fiscal rules, the Prime Minister has taken the difficult decision to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the equivalent of 0.3% of GNI by 2027. Following the Spending Review, financial year ODA Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) totals will no longer be adjusted for Gross National Income fluctuations to improve budget stability. The government remains committed to international development and to returning ODA to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal circumstances allow.
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Andrew Griffith:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations her Department has made to the Office for National Statistics on the economic classification assessment of British Steel. \p Darren Jones: HM Treasury officials work with the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) to discuss their forward workplan for economic statistics classifications and the priorities for HM Treasury within that workplan (as set out in the ONS’ website). These discussions have included the review of the classification of British Steel, which the ONS' forward work plan notes they expect to complete in Quarter 2 (April-June) of 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

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Katie Lam:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius. \p Luke Pollard: Costs relating to the Chagos agreement will be incurred from financial year 2026-27. These are being considered as part of the wider Government engagement on the second phase of the Spending Review, which concludes on 11 June 2025. The deal secures the unrestricted control of the Diego Garcia military base for the coming century and beyond. The deal is backed by our US, Canadian, Indian, Australian, New Zealand and NATO allies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_282

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 13435 on Military Aircraft: Helicopters, whether there are non-routine circumstances in which (a) Ministers, (b) senior officials and (c) senior members of the armed forces remain eligible to use military helicopters for official travel. \p Maria Eagle: Ministry of Defence policy allows for senior leader use of military helicopters in emergency circumstances, linked to matters of immediate national security only.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_283

Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) industry bodies, (b) defence industry companies, (c) media organisations and (d) other non-Government bodies or people were given access to the Strategic Defence Review 2025 ahead of its publication; and at what times. \p Luke Pollard: The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was published on 2 June 2025, setting Defence's strategic direction for the next decade. Before the Secretary of State made his Statement in the House of Commons at 1700, the Ministry of Defence organised for selected stakeholders (industry, media, trade associations and think tanks) to read the SDR under strict embargo, with an official present. This was designed to inform key stakeholders.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_284

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which hon. Members received advanced copies of his Department's policy paper entitled Defence Command Paper 2023: Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world, published on 18 July 2023, from his Department's messenger service on 18 July 2023; and at what time of day. \p Luke Pollard: Ahead of the publication of the DCPR 2023, the Ministry of Defence sent an advance copy of the Defence Secretary's statement to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey. This met the requirement to give the Speaker sight of the statement at least 45 minutes before the Oral Statement started.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_285

Chris Hinchliff:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of provisions within the Data, Use and Access Bill on (a) copyright and (b) AI on the long-term sustainability of the music and arts sector. \p Chris Bryant: The Data (Use and Access) Bill does not contain any provisions relating to copyright law and AI or the music and arts sectors. Nor does it change copyright law in any regard. In response to concerns, the Government has committed on the face of the Bill to produce an economic impact assessment and report on key matters relating to use of copyright works in the development of AI systems.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_286

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps he has taken to support (a) innovation and (b) invention among (i) SMEs and (ii) sole traders. \p Feryal Clark: Growth is the key mission for this government and supporting firms of all sizes to innovate is key to unlocking it. Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, supports over 10,000 businesses annually on their innovation journey and over the final six months of the previous financial year, Innovate UK launched £276m of competitions. This is in addition to work underway to increase the availability of growth capital for innovative firms, which includes increasing the National Wealth Fund’s capitalisation to £27.8bn, reforms to the British Business Bank, and new pension reforms aimed at unlocking £80 billion of investment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_287

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help protect (a) private businesses and (b) public bodies from cyberattacks. \p Feryal Clark: The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the Government. This year we will introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve UK cyber defences and better secure our essential services and the IT infrastructure they rely upon. The Government offers free guidance, tools and training to help businesses and organisations improve their cyber resilience. This includes a new Cyber Governance Code of Practice to help boards and directors manage digital risks, and the Cyber Essentials scheme which is highly effective in protecting businesses against cyber attacks. The PSTI Act, along with Codes of Practice on AI, Software and Apps, are helping protect organisations at scale by making technology secure by design.

The Government Cyber Security Strategy (2022-2030) sets a clear target for all public bodies to be resilient to known vulnerabilities and common attack methods by 2030. To date we have delivered GovAssure as our new cyber assurance regime and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre to support cross-government incident response.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help protect small and medium enterprises from cybersecurity threats in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire. \p Feryal Clark: The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the Government. The Government offers free guidance, tools and training to help businesses improve their cyber resilience. This includes a new Cyber Governance Code of Practice to help boards and directors manage digital risks, and the Cyber Essentials scheme which is highly effective in protecting businesses against cyber attacks. This year the Government will introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve UK cyber defences and better secure our essential services and the IT infrastructure they rely upon. The PSTI Act, along with codes of practice on cyber security of AI, software and apps are helping protect organisations at scale by making technology in the UK secure by design.

In Lancashire, the Cyber Resilience Centre for the North West is part of a nationwide police-led collaboration helping strengthen cyber resilience in small and medium-sized businesses. The Government’s Stop! Think Fraud campaign provides the public and small businesses with advice on how to prevent fraud and cyber crime.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_289

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve mobile connectivity in (a) rural and (b) semi-rural areas in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire. \p Chris Bryant: We base our assessment of coverage in rural and urban areas on Ofcom's rurality definition. Ofcom reports that 5G (standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 92% of rural premises in the Fylde constituency from at least one operator. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, we continue to work with the mobile industry to achieve this.

I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I welcome the improvements they have made to their online coverage checker which will go live in the second half of June.

We are working with the Mobile Network Operators to improve poor mobile signal in rural areas. The Shared Rural Network is delivering 4G coverage to places where there is either limited or no 4G coverage at all.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_290

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to use nuclear energy to support the AI Opportunities Action Plan. \p Feryal Clark: The Government recognises the significant energy demands of advanced AI infrastructure and is exploring how this can be met through renewable power sources, including nuclear.

In February this year, the Prime Minister announced significant reforms to accelerate the development of nuclear power infrastructure, including the Nuclear Regulatory Reform Taskforce which will oversee enhancements to the nuclear regulatory framework to facilitate the timely and efficient development of nuclear projects.

DSIT is working closely with DESNZ and NESO to align AI energy demand with future energy planning and long-term sustainability, including the potential role of nuclear in supporting these objectives.

The AI Energy Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for DSIT and DESNZ, will explore clean energy solutions for AI infrastructure, including small modular reactors and next-gen renewables, to ensure our AI ambitions align with the UK’s net zero goals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_291

Alan Mak:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to recommendation 4 of the independent report entitled AI Opportunities Action Plan, published by his Department on 13 January 2025, whether he plans to introduce a streamlined planning approvals process for AI Growth Zones. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to enabling the timely delivery of AI infrastructure across the UK. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will support the streamlining of planning approvals for AI infrastructure and data centres, building on work led by MHCLG and reinforced by the inclusion of data centres in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects consenting approach.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out measures to enable the growth of AI infrastructure, including addressing challenges such as planning and energy access. As part of this, the Government is engaging with local and regional authorities, and relevant regulators to support timely decision-making.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_292

Alan Mak:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in levels of funding for medicines on life sciences research. \p Feryal Clark: The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care on the current Mid Scheme Review for the Voluntary Scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth (VPAG) and is aware of the impact which funding of medicines could have on life sciences research. In addition, the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan will set out a bold vision to strengthen world-class R&D, attract global investment, and accelerate healthcare innovation to ensure the UK remains a strong place for life sciences research.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_293

Alan Mak:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help secure future life sciences research in UK. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is taking decisive steps to secure the future of life sciences research in the UK. The upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a bold vision to strengthen world-class R&D, attract global investment, and accelerate healthcare innovation. This includes investment in cutting-edge research infrastructure, support for talent and skills, and deeper collaboration between academia, industry, and the NHS. The recent announcement of BioNTech’s c.£1 billion R&D investment demonstrates our ambition to secure the future of life sciences research and development in the UK.