Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 support research institutions in the period before UK Research and Innovation budget allocations are determined.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In December, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) set out how it will deliver its record £38.6 billion funding allocation over the next four years. This is part of the largest ever investment in R&D made by any UK government (£86 billion up to 2029/30) and will help drive new scientific breakthroughs, help create new industries and grow businesses faster, and deliver the growth we need for good jobs and better lives.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been in active dialogue with UKRI to ensure that any implications from funding decisions are fully understood and that they reflect both the UK’s strategic research priorities and its global commitments. DSIT has asked UKRI to ensure that its final allocations are informed by meaningful consultation with the research community and a robust assessment of potential consequences for the UK’s scientific capability.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their proxies about the registration of international non-governmental organisation activity in Darfur, Sudan, and ensuring humanitarian access.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided by the Foreign Secretary to her question during Topical Questions on 20 January. The UK continues to use all diplomatic channels to maintain pressure on the warring parties to allow unrestricted humanitarian access. The UK Special Representative to Sudan regularly engages with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and regional partners, making clear the UK's demands for urgent humanitarian relief, a civilian-led transition, and adherence to international law.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her international counterparts on the protection of Kurdish civilians in Northern areas of Syria, in the context of reported ceasefire violations in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing humanitarian assistance in Syria in the context of reports of ceasefire violations in the region.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her international counterparts on the protection of (a) Kurdish, (b) Yezidi and (c) Christian communities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Syrian counterpart on the protection of Kurdish civilians in northern areas of that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 28 January 2026.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to assess the need for the provision of the vaccination against Covid for (a) children and (b) adults who are suffers of Long-Covid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 February 2026 to Question 108759.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)'s current Highly Specialised Technologies Guidance, specifically where it does not recommend a treatment for a rare disease where treatment would have a substantial effect of a medicine on quality and length of life, but is not recommended due to cost-effectiveness estimates being higher than what NICE usually considers an acceptable use of NHS resources for Highly Specialised Technologies.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) operates a separate Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) programme to evaluate a very small number of medicines and treatments developed for ultra‑rare, severe and life‑limiting conditions. It uses specific methods and a much higher cost‑effectiveness threshold than standard technology appraisals, enabling NICE to recommend treatments at prices that reflect the complexities of ultra‑rare diseases. The HST programme has secured access for National Health Service patients with very rare diseases to effective treatments that NICE would not have been able to recommend through its standard technology appraisal process, with 33 out of the 35 medicines that it has evaluated through the HST programme recommended for NHS use.
There will unfortunately always be occasions when NICE is unable to recommend a treatment through the HST programme despite the use of a much higher cost-effectiveness threshold. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of a thorough assessment of the available evidence.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the annual meeting held to discuss progress and the role of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and the Innovative Medicines Fund in supporting access to treatments for people living with rare diseases.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework. One of the priorities of the framework is improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs.
We have continued to review the effectiveness of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, and the Innovative Medicines Fund. These access pathways across the regulatory and access system are designed to support innovative treatments being made available earlier to patients who need them, including people living with rare diseases. The last meeting was held in July 2025, and included representatives from the Department, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as well as patient advocacy groups, industry, and clinical researchers. Further detail will be reported in the England 2026 Rare Diseases Action Plan, to be published in spring 2026.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of increasing NICE's cost-effectiveness thresholds used to evaluate Highly Specialised Technologies for rare diseases.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to increase the cost‑effectiveness threshold for the highly specialised technologies (HST) programme. The HST programme already operates at a much higher threshold than standard National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals, reflecting the challenges of bringing treatments for very rare conditions to market, and NICE has been able to recommend nearly all the treatments that have been evaluated through the HST programme for National Health Service use.