Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the UK’s post-Brexit trade deals with key international partners and the economic benefits that are expected to flow from these agreements.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have secured trade deals with 73 countries plus the EU since Brexit, partners that accounted for £1.1 trillion of UK bilateral trade in 2022.
The government publishes analysis to assess the potential impacts of new Free Trade Agreements in advance of negotiations and publishes final impact assessments once the negotiations have concluded. These assessments set out the potential economic impact of the Free Trade Agreements and are available on Gov.UK.
The government publishes analysis that is proportionate to the scope of negotiations and the agreement’s likely impact.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current levels of police recruitment in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government has delivered its manifesto commitment to deliver 20,000 additional officers. At the end of March 2023, we had the highest number of officers on record in England and Wales, with 149,566 officers in post surpassing the previous peak of 146,030 officers in post in March 2010.
We expect police forces to maintain officer numbers and Chief Constables will be held to account for ensuring that officer numbers continue to match. The next available data on officer numbers will be published as part of the Police Workforce Statistics for England and Wales on 24 January 2024.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve early diagnosis and support for individuals with autism, particularly in educational and healthcare settings.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education to ensure that children and young people with Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND), including autistic children, receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. We are doing this through working together to implement the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published 2 March 2023
In 2023/24, £4.2 million is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services, pre and post diagnostic support, and the continuation of the Autism in Schools programme
On 22 November 2023, we announced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme. This new programme, backed by £13m of investment, is a partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education and NHS England. It will bring together ICBs, local authorities, and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children, including autistic children. The programme is expected to reach around 10% of mainstream primary schools. It will be evaluated, and learning will be used to inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - 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 patients diagnosed with dementia are able to access breakthrough treatments as soon as possible.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Several potential new disease modifying treatments for dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease are in development. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England and the Department are working closely to ensure that arrangements are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and NICE recommended treatment for dementia as soon as possible.
NICE’s evaluations of two new potential treatments, lecanemab and donanemab, are now underway. NICE has begun work in readiness for the companies submitting their evidence. This includes work done by NICE’s Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory (HTA Lab) to identify the key issues that might arise during planned and future evaluations, based on current knowledge, publicly available evidence and in-depth discussions with researchers, patient groups and National Health Service colleagues. The NICE HTA Lab report found that NICE’s methods and processes for evaluating new treatments for use in the NHS are appropriate for the new class of Alzheimer’s drugs and identified key issues that need to be considered during evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what update they can provide on the progress of initiatives aimed at enhancing the cybersecurity of the UK military; and what measures are in place to protect the UK military's critical infrastructure.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (James Cartlidge), in the House of Commons on 24 October 2023 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr John Healey) in response to Question number 202622.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what investments they are making to enhance the capacity of the Armed Forces, including modernization of equipment, training and recruitment.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The MOD has set out plans to enhance the capacity of the Armed Forces, details of which can be found in the Defence Command Paper Refresh which was published on 18 July 2023.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to enhance bilateral relations with the United States; and what priorities they have identified for cooperation on key global challenges.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Earlier this year, the PM and President Biden agreed a first-of-its-kind economic partnership, the 'Atlantic Declaration', which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before ensuring US-UK leadership in critical and emerging technologies, closer cooperation on our economic security, partnering on digital transformation, and building the clean energy economy of the future. The US-UK relationship remains strong and we are united by decades of unrivalled security and defence cooperation. We continue to work with the US Administration to deepen and strengthen our vital economic and trading partnership, advance mutual priorities and shape the global trade agenda.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to deepen relations with New Zealand; and what common objectives have been identified for advancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has strong relations with New Zealand through our modern partnership built on shared values and history. The partnership is reinforced by close friendship, prosperity and people-to-people links, Commonwealth membership and cultural exchange. HMG is in regular contact with counterparts in New Zealand to advance cooperation on a broad range of issues including trade, security and development. We look forward to continuing to deepen our cooperation with New Zealand's new government.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to increase the availability of non-invasive cancer treatment technologies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service continues to increase investment in minimally invasive cancer therapies, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy services. Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has sat with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS from 2022 to 2025.
The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number of minimally invasive cancer treatments and technologies, into the NHS in England is generally the result of National Institution of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and integrated care boards are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by NICE.
Where treatments are approved by NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the National Health Service is required to make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning team has been undertaking work to expand the number of providers offering minimally invasive cancer therapies, such as selective internal radiation therapy. The market engagement and Prior Information Notice aspects of this have now been completed, with regional teams now putting in place the necessary contractual arrangements with NHS trusts.