Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to include older people in developing countries in his Department’s White Paper on International Development.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK will produce a White Paper in late 2023 which sets out a vision for global development that delivers on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, poverty reduction, economic growth and tackling climate change.
The precise content of the White Paper will be determined by consultation across the UK government, civil society, those in the sector (and outside it) in the UK and our international partners. The open call for evidence will close on 16 September. In parallel, UK government officials are undertaking targeted outreach to stakeholders and partners in different areas of development policy, and the FCDO global network are consulting around the world with partner organisations and countries. External engagement has involved consultations looking at inclusion as part of the White Paper development.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take with his international counterparts to include older people in commitments made at the United Nations High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage in September 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to championing universal health coverage (UHC). In the 2019 Political Declaration on UHC, United Nations Member States committed to promote healthy and active ageing and to respond to the needs of ageing populations. We are working with other Member States to retain and build on that commitment at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting. We continue to work with country partners and global organisations such as the World Health Organization on integrated and equitable approaches to strengthening health systems and achieving universal health coverage that meets the needs of people of all ages.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress the Government has made on ensuring that young people have the skills for entry into the space industry.
Answered by George Freeman
Ensuring that people of all ages can enter the UK space sector is a whole-of-government effort. This is recognized in the UK Science and Technology Framework (March 2023), which commits to expanding participation in all STEM careers. The UK Space Agency has a strong history of ensuring children are inspired and learning about space throughout their education and as they move into potential space careers. This has included educational projects following Tim Peake’s Principia mission, which reached over 1.6 million young people nationwide (Impact Assessment: Principia Campaign, 2018).
The Agency’s Space Placements in Industry (SPIN) Programme supports university students to undertake a space-related summer internship, with over 400 participants to date. The Programme will receive a three-fold increase in funding in 2024. In July, the Department for Education launched the new Level 6 Space Systems programme, which will enable apprentices to receive quality training in the industry while earning a salary.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the Scottish Roadmap for a Sustainable Space Industry; and what steps her Department is taking to promote sustainability in that sector.
Answered by George Freeman
The sustainability of the space environment is a priority. The 2022 Plan for Space Sustainability includes measures to improve responsibility across the sector, including regulatory and international leadership, and developing new industry-led standards. We fund important projects with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, one implementing the Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines of Outer Space Activities, and another project on Registration of Space Objects. We will consult shortly on applying variable liability limits for satellite operations to reflect mission sustainability.
The UK government will consider further the Scottish Space Sustainability Roadmap as thinking develops on how sustainability measures could be implemented.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Scotland and the UK build satellite capabilities to help support global leadership in that field.
Answered by George Freeman
As announced on 1 August 2023, the Government is working to establish the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) scheme, a potential £160 million R&D scheme to fund the next generation of satellite communications development and boost the UK’s leadership in the ever-growing global satellite market. The goal of the scheme would be to support suppliers across the UK in developing the technologies critical to the future of low Earth orbit satellite communications. These areas remain subject to change as the scheme develops but funding could go towards using AI to make data delivery faster, connecting satellites together for improved connection, and payload development.
The C-LEO programme is currently in development. Launch of the scheme and commitment of any funding would be subject to standard Government business case and other approvals.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the space sector to (a) the economy and (b) upskilling the workforce.
Answered by George Freeman
The UK space sector is highly productive, employing almost 49,000 people. It is worth £17.5 billion in annual UK income with an average long-term growth rate of 6.4% since the turn of the millennium, outpacing growth of the wider UK economy (Size and Health of the UK Space Industry, 2022).
The recently announced Space Workforce Action Plan will build on findings of the Space Skills Survey to inform intervention by government, industry, and academia, in continuing to upskill the sector’s workforce. The UK Space Agency additionally plan to invest over £4m in the next two years, to enhance access to training for current and potential space sector workers. This supports the Department for Education’s ambition to produce 200,000 people with high quality technical skills by 2030.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of independent investigations that have been opened by Israeli authorities into attacks on emergency medics and ambulances by Israeli forces since 1 January 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The work of healthcare workers across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent possible. The wounded and critically ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) obstructions and (b) physical assaults there have been on Palestinian health workers by Israeli forces since 1 January 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The work of healthcare workers across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent possible. The wounded and critically ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any Departments are using artificial intelligence-based systems to make automated decisions.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) in the Cabinet Office is working with departments to establish the frameworks and policies to guide the responsible adoption of new technologies, including artificial intelligence.
The requested information relating to specific departmental use of artificial intelligence systems to make automated decisions is not centrally held.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of tuition fees on the social mobility of young people.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The introduction of tuition fees has not resulted in fewer people going into Higher Education (HE). The 18-year-old entry rate for disadvantaged students from England increased from 14.4% in 2011 to 25.1% in 2022, and in 2022 we saw record numbers of disadvantaged 18-years-olds going to HE.
Disadvantaged entry rate - English 18-year-olds
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Disadvantaged entry rate | 14.4% | 14.4% | 15.6% | 17.0% | 18.0% | 18.9% | 19.9% | 20.2% | 21.7% | 24.0% | 24.5% | 25.1% |
Notes: Disadvantage measured using POLAR, a measure of educational disadvantage.
Source: UCAS End of Cycle Resources, available at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2022.
From August 2023, interest rates for new student loan borrowers will be reduced to RPI only. Under these new terms, no one will repay more than they originally borrowed when adjusted for inflation.
Degree apprenticeships also offer a unique opportunity for people to earn while they learn, achieving degrees from some of our best universities without incurring tuition fees. We’ve seen year-on-year growth of degree-level apprenticeships (Levels 6 & 7) with over 185,000 starts since their introduction in 2014/15 academic year.