Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to genetic testing for inherited cardiovascular conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing in the National Health Service plays an important role in diagnosing and managing inherited cardiovascular conditions. The National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD) outlines eligibility criteria for genomic testing, including for conditions such as familial hypercholesterolaemia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, and Brugada syndrome. The NGTD is reviewed annually, with input from expert groups, to ensure it reflects the latest scientific advances and delivers value for money.
Seven NHS Genomic Medicine Service Alliances improve access to genomic testing, including for cardiovascular conditions, through the systematic embedding of genomics in end-to-end clinical pathways and clinical specialities, as well as improving clinicians’ awareness of genomic testing services available for patients.
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to creating a genomics population health service by the end of the decade. This will support earlier detection of inherited causes of major diseases and begin integrating genomic insights into cardiovascular disease prevention and care, including through a service evaluation with Our Future Health on Integrated Risk Scores and through neighbourhood health teams to increase equitable uptake of genomic testing.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further action they are taking to procure UK-made steel for alterations and additions to (1) Royal Air Force, (2) Royal naval, and (3) army bases and installations.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. The sector provides vital support to the UK’s defence capabilities, including specialist cast and forged steel components for a range of defence programmes. The department publishes its future pipeline for steel requirements, enabling UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for upcoming contracts.
The National Security Strategy, Strategic Defence Review, and Defence Industrial Strategy set out how a strong industrial base is critical for maintaining our national security infrastructure. While steel used in our major Defence programmes is generally sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurement activity will continue to apply PPN 022, a policy aimed at increasing the use of British-produced steel in public contracts. The MOD also supports the recently published UK Steel Strategy which sets out a long-term plan to revitalise the UK steel sector and restore domestic production to sustainable levels.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to make procurement processes for British food producers more transparent and accessible.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to opening up public sector supply chains to a wider range of companies, particularly small and medium-sized (SME) businesses, including farmers and growers. The Government published a national procurement policy statement (NPPS) in February 2025. The NPPS sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to higher environmental standards that high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet. Given the limited information on the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain, Defra has begun collecting new data to understand how far public sector settings are serving food from local and sustainable sources and what further action is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to simplify the process for British food producers, especially small and medium-sized farms, to access public sector supply chains.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to opening up public sector supply chains to a wider range of companies, particularly small and medium-sized (SME) businesses, including farmers and growers. The Government published a national procurement policy statement (NPPS) in February 2025. The NPPS sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to higher environmental standards that high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet. Given the limited information on the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain, Defra has begun collecting new data to understand how far public sector settings are serving food from local and sustainable sources and what further action is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that employees who face violence are supported, such as through guaranteed offers of counselling and group debriefing.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has a robust serious incident reporting process, where colleagues’ wellbeing is paramount. The guidance advises the line manager to consider, with the colleague, whether to seek support from our 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (which may include counselling) and Mental Health First Aiders. It also asks them to consider using a stress risk assessment where appropriate.
There is proactive support in place such as mandatory keeping safe training, procedures, and intranet guidance to limit these incidents and to make sure colleagues and managers are aware how to respond should an incident occur. All such incidents must be reported. Colleagues are made aware that abuse affects people differently and as such the response and support they receive will be tailored to their needs, whether through immediate help or ongoing support.
Through DWP’s critical incident support, our Employee Assistance Programme supplier can attend DWP sites for face-to-face critical incident support through both group support sessions and one to one conversations. They also offer legal advice and signposting.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities to support the UK steel industry through public procurement policies.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government wants to see more use of UK-made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations. The latest steel public procurement data shows that in the financial year 2024-2025, where all the steel required could be produced in the UK, 95% of the steel procured by central government buyers was UK produced.
That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the public procurement of UK-made steel. Updated steel procurement guidance (Public Procurement Policy Notice 022) was introduced in June 2025 and requires all in-scope organisations for all new relevant steel procurements to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions and encourages them to consider if the national security exemption under the Procurement Act applies.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities to mandate greater use of UK-made steel in publicly funded projects.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government wants to see more use of UK-made steel in public projects, whilst respecting our national and international legal obligations. The latest steel public procurement data shows that in the financial year 2024-2025, where all the steel required could be produced in the UK, 95% of the steel procured by central government buyers was UK produced.
That said, we continue to strengthen mechanisms to enable the public procurement of UK-made steel. Updated steel procurement guidance (Public Procurement Policy Notice 022) was introduced in June 2025 and requires all in-scope organisations for all new relevant steel procurements to consult UK Steel’s digital catalogue before making procurement decisions and encourages them to consider if the national security exemption under the Procurement Act applies.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that clinical academic posts are available in all regions of the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is the United Kingdom’s largest funder of clinical academic training, investing over £220 million each year in research training programmes.
We are working with the devolved administrations and stakeholders to ensure there is a comprehensive, clear, and rewarding career pathway for clinical academics in research.
We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to lower electricity prices in the UK following the uplift of the Network Charging Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In February the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a response to consultations on proposals to amend the inflation indexation of the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff schemes. Lowering levy costs through reforms such as these forms part of the work that government is doing to bear down on costs across the energy system to ensure that consumers do not see a net increase in their electricity bills as a result of this measure. More widely, at the last Budget government took an average of £150 of costs off household energy bills from this coming April.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure each region in England receives equal health research funding.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds health and care research via its research operational arm the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) across England. The Department is committed to ensuring that research is inclusive and representative of the population geographically and demographically. To support this, in November 2024 the Department made equity, diversity, and inclusion a condition of NIHR funding for all domestic research awards.
The NIHR is taking a number of steps to secure equitable allocation of health research funding including targeted programme design, long‑term capacity building in under‑served regions, such as new regional Commercial Research Delivery Centres, and place‑based research partnerships. In addition, from this April the NIHR’s Research Delivery Network, which supports all National Health Service trusts in England to deliver research, is implementing a new national funding allocation model for NHS support costs and research delivery which will reduce regional variations in health research delivery investment.