Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help support research into cell and gene therapy in Scotland.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK is a world-leader in the development and manufacture of cell and gene therapies thanks to government investment in innovation and skills, including through the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGTC).
DSIT also invested £10 million - alongside £10 million from Scottish Enterprise – to support a new Oligonucleotide Manufacturing Innovation Centre of Excellence in Glasgow.
The Vaccine Taskforce provided funding for a state-of-the art CGTC facility in Braintree to accelerate the development and manufacturing of advanced therapies at clinical and commercial scale.
My department also supported CGTC to establish apprenticeships and training programmes to upskill people across the UK.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to increase Scotland’s (a) manufacturing capacity for and (b) delivery of cell and gene therapies.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is investing significantly to support manufacturing and delivery of cell and gene therapies.
Since 2021, government has launched three UK-wide capital grant schemes – up to £118 million of funds – to incentivise manufacturing investments, including in advanced therapies. Last year, government announced a further £520 million to increase investment in Life Sciences manufacturing.
The UK is a world-leader in the development and manufacture of cell and gene therapies thanks to government investment in innovation and skills, including through the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult which also coordinates the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre network.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
As per paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, it is not possible to disclose whether Law Officers have or have not provided advice on such matters. Paragraph 2.13 states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority”.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the Barnett consequential for Scotland.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As a result of decisions at Spring Budget, the Scottish Government are now receiving around £295 million in additional funding in 2024-25 through the Barnett formula. It is for the Scottish Government to allocate their resources in devolved areas as they see fit.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total revenue raised via the apprenticeship levy from businesses in Scotland for each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Reliable estimates of the revenue raised from businesses in Scotland from the apprenticeship levy are not available as any estimate would need to be based on where employers are registered, and therefore would not necessarily reflect where the liabilities are accrued or where employees are based. Any estimate would not include businesses registered in Wales, Northern Ireland, or England, who have a presence and pay employees in Scotland.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's timescales are for announcing the details of the proposed methodology for the selection of culture projects; and what plans his Department has to publicise this announcement.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 5001 on 11 December 2023.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timescale is for announcing the selection methodology for culture projects in Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We recognise the important role that culture can play in levelling up. That is why we have set aside £100 million for culture through the third round of the Levelling Up Fund. Further details of this funding will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to deliver the (a) commitments made in the Glasgow Declaration for Fair Water Footprints and (b) other commitments on water and climate resilience made at COP26.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK delivery plan for the Fairwater Footprints (FWF) programme will improve the governance of water in supply chains. Already FWF is shaping new investment in collective water action in over 60 UK food and drink retailers in water-scarce regions of Peru, Kenya and Morocco, reforming procurement, regulation and investment policy in Panama, Madagascar, Finland and the Netherlands, and strengthening the voice of vulnerable communities in Malawi. In March 2023 the UK announced £1 million to design the flagship Just Transitions for Water Security programme to support the FWF alongside two other COP26 initiatives: the Water Tracker and the Resilient Water Accelerator.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department submitted a draft Order in Council to a meeting of His Majesty in Council giving effect to new parliamentary boundaries within the four-month statutory period as provided for in section 4 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Following the laying before Parliament of the four reports by the Speaker of the House of Commons on 28 June, the Secretary of State submitted on 27 October a draft Order in Council, giving effect to the new parliamentary constituencies boundaries recommendations, to the Privy Council Office, so that the Order can be considered at the next Privy Council meeting thereafter.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding for the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is coming from his Department's existing budgets.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is backing the plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record £6.1 billion over the next two years.
The education and training budget for 2024-25 was set at the last Spending Review and the Government is working with NHS England to finalise the budget to make sure it reflects recent pay deals.