Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a further phase of the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund from April 2026; what budget has been allocated for any such phase; and when they will announce the outcome of any such phase.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund was designed as a one-year programme to understand what works in digital inclusion, and how best practice or innovative approaches can be scaled to maximise local impact across the UK.
We remain committed to building a digitally inclusive society where no one is left behind, and plans for future support for digital inclusion are still in development.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 20 January 2026 (HL13591), whether the ambition set out in the National Cancer Plan for all cancer patients to receive a genomic test within a clinically relevant timeframe includes the full range of biomarker tests, both genomic and non-genomic molecular, used to determine eligibility for cancer precision medicines.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The ambition set out in the National Cancer Plan for all cancer patients to receive a genomic test within a clinically relevant timeframe reflects the Government’s commitment to expanding access to precision diagnostics that inform treatment decisions.
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service is currently focused on delivering genomic testing in line with the National Genomic Test Directory. As set out in the plan, over the next five years the service will extend circulating tumour DNA and other biomarker testing to additional cancers, subject to evidence of clinical efficacy and value for money.
The scope of testing will continue to be reviewed, and additional biomarker tests, both genomic and non-genomic, will be brought into routine use where clinically appropriate and cost effective.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund’s November 2025 to March 2026 delivery window and payment-in-arrears model on application rates and project viability.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is about testing new ideas, learning what works, and supporting the best approaches so they can grow and benefit more communities across the UK. The Fund received 1016 applications from organisations across the country, amounting to a total request of over £170m for the £11.9m available.
Payment-in-arrears is the standard Government approach for grants. However, we recognise some stakeholders were concerned about payments-in-arrears and the short delivery window of the Fund. These issues are considerations we are taking forward as we continue policy development in this area.
Despite this, projects are continuing to deliver important outcomes for the people they support, such as supporting people to access the internet and building their digital skills.
We have appointed external evaluators who are working with grant recipients to understand the impact of the Fund. This will also involve assessing the process, including grant management and deliverability within the timescale.
We expect to receive their report in April 2026.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of successful applications to the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund were from grassroots or voluntary sector organisations with an annual income of less than £1 million.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We know that digital inclusion works best when it's delivered in local places by trusted people and organisations. The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is about backing local communities to close the digital divide, and grassroots organisations are fundamental to that process.
The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund had 85 successful applications in England: a mix of charities, research organisations and local and combined authorities.
Around 73% of the organisations funded by the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund are charities, many of which are local, grassroots voluntary organisations. We don't hold specific data on the annual income of organisations.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on the development, testing, marketing and maintenance of the GOV.UK App to date, broken down by financial year.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The GOV.UK app is in public beta with expenditure met from within the overall budgets of the Government Digital Service (GDS) as part of the wider GOV.UK modernisation activity.
In 25/26 c.£6.2m has been attributed to GOV.UK app and related programme of personalisation and modernisation - this relates to spend on design, build, test and running. There has been no significant spend on marketing of the app, with less than £2k related to reaching private beta testing audiences.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent guidance they have issued to medical practitioners about the requirement to record eating disorders as a contributory or underlying cause on medical certificates of cause of death.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Medical Examiner produces the Good Practice Series, a topical collection of focused summary documents, designed to be easily read and digested by busy front-line staff, including medical practitioners, with links to further reading, guidance, and support. The collection is published online by the Royal College of Pathologists.
In June 2022, the National Medical Examiner’s Good Practice Series No. 7 - Mental health and eating disorders was published, and a copy is attached. The paper explores the role medical examiners can play in identifying links between mental health disorders and causes of death, notifying others when lessons can be learned so that care of future patients with mental health conditions is improved, and ensuring medical certificates of cause of death are completed appropriately.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking at the national level to ensure that International Classifications of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics-11 coding practices in the NHS capture the role of psychiatric illness in cases of organ failure or suicide.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for coding causes of death using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD‑10). This is separate from hospital morbidity coding undertaken within the National Health Service. The response below therefore relates to morbidity coding and applies to cases of attempted suicide and organ failure for patients admitted to hospital alive.
ICD-11 is the International Classification of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, Eleventh Revision, and is not yet approved as an Information Standard under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act, and so ICD‑10 remains the mandated classification for NHS morbidity data.
Under current national coding guidance, all conditions identified in the medical record by the responsible consultant as relevant to the episode of care are coded. Where a clinical link has been established between a psychiatric condition and outcomes such as organ failure or an episode of attempted suicide, each of these conditions is coded in line with this guidance.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered the development of a national testing "cancer manual" to support the consistent delivery, governance and expansion of genomic and non-genomic biomarker testing within routine cancer pathways.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan for England sets out the Government’s commitment to expand and integrate biomarker testing, including blood-based biomarkers known as liquid biopsies and genomic testing, across cancer services to improve treatment selection and outcomes. In particular, the plan commits that every cancer patient who needs a genomic test to guide their treatment will receive one, with the results returned in time to inform clinical decisions. To achieve this, the National Health Service is integrating testing across pathology networks and the Genomic Medicine Service, ensuring that multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have timely access to test results when determining the best treatment options. Ongoing investments in diagnostic infrastructure, for example, in digital pathology and comprehensive molecular profiling of cancers, will support this integration and enable earlier use of precision medicines in routine pathways. This joined-up approach means that genomic and other biomarker test results will directly inform MDT decision-making and help clinicians match patients to the most effective therapies.
The NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. The Test Directory outlines the nationally commissioned genomic testing offer, including the eligibility for testing, the test method, and target genes. NHS England, supported by a Genomics Clinical Reference Group and expert Test Evaluation Working Groups, reviews the Test Directory to keep pace with scientific and technological advances, while delivering value for money for the NHS. A robust and evidence based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory and ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit.
The National Cancer Plan also confirms that over the next five years, the NHS Genomic Medicine Service will extend ctDNA and other biomarker testing to other cancers beyond lung, colorectal, and breast cancer, subject to efficacy and value for money, further embedding precision diagnostics into routine care.
As part of a new approach to quality in cancer care, the National Cancer Plan introduces the development of new cancer manuals. These manuals will set out national standards for cancer care by tumour type. NHS England is working with clinical experts and stakeholders on the scope of these cancer manuals. Further details on their implementation, including specific guidance on diagnostics and testing, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how biomarker testing, as set out in the National Cancer Plan, will be integrated across pathology, genomics services, and multidisciplinary team decision-making to ensure it directly informs treatment selection.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan for England sets out the Government’s commitment to expand and integrate biomarker testing, including blood-based biomarkers known as liquid biopsies and genomic testing, across cancer services to improve treatment selection and outcomes. In particular, the plan commits that every cancer patient who needs a genomic test to guide their treatment will receive one, with the results returned in time to inform clinical decisions. To achieve this, the National Health Service is integrating testing across pathology networks and the Genomic Medicine Service, ensuring that multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have timely access to test results when determining the best treatment options. Ongoing investments in diagnostic infrastructure, for example, in digital pathology and comprehensive molecular profiling of cancers, will support this integration and enable earlier use of precision medicines in routine pathways. This joined-up approach means that genomic and other biomarker test results will directly inform MDT decision-making and help clinicians match patients to the most effective therapies.
The NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. The Test Directory outlines the nationally commissioned genomic testing offer, including the eligibility for testing, the test method, and target genes. NHS England, supported by a Genomics Clinical Reference Group and expert Test Evaluation Working Groups, reviews the Test Directory to keep pace with scientific and technological advances, while delivering value for money for the NHS. A robust and evidence based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory and ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit.
The National Cancer Plan also confirms that over the next five years, the NHS Genomic Medicine Service will extend ctDNA and other biomarker testing to other cancers beyond lung, colorectal, and breast cancer, subject to efficacy and value for money, further embedding precision diagnostics into routine care.
As part of a new approach to quality in cancer care, the National Cancer Plan introduces the development of new cancer manuals. These manuals will set out national standards for cancer care by tumour type. NHS England is working with clinical experts and stakeholders on the scope of these cancer manuals. Further details on their implementation, including specific guidance on diagnostics and testing, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 February (HL14441), what assessment they have made of the impact of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on generalised anxiety and panic disorder on access to treatment for marginalised groups.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment of the impact of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on generalised anxiety and panic disorder or on access to treatment for marginalised groups.
NICE keeps its published guidelines under active surveillance and decisions on whether they should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE’s prioritisation board will be considering whether the guideline on generalised anxiety and panic disorder should be updated following a letter from the UK Council for Psychotherapy.