Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to plan for development of housing and commercial developments along the route of East West Rail.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
As announced at Spring Budget 2023, the Government is providing up to £15 million to local authorities to enable them to begin planning for growth and development enabled by East-West Rail.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the (a) quality of and (b) availability of the water supply on the viability of the Cambridge 2040 plan.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
At the Spring Budget 2024, the Government published a policy paper setting out its ambition to address water challenges in Greater Cambridge and measures to achieve this. Further information can be found here.
The Government also published a joint statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, and Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, signalling the intention to work together to support successful delivery of these measures.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the use of the capsule sponge test to detect oesophageal cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissioned an evaluation to assess the impact of the capsule sponge test in secondary care, for patients on a routine reflux pathway. The evaluation report was completed in September 2023 and the national pilot will conclude in March 2024.
On 26 February 2024, NHS England published the results of the capsule sponge test pilot for secondary care routine reflux and Barrett’s surveillance cohort, which began in January 2021, and launched at 30 hospitals across England. The pilot tested over 8,500 patients with the capsule sponge test. Evaluation of a cohort of patients showed almost eight out of 10 patients, who completed a test, were discharged without the need for further testing, freeing up endoscopy capacity for higher risk patients and those referred for urgent tests for oesophageal cancer. Patients with positive results from the capsule sponge test who were referred on for an endoscopy had the highest prevalence of Barrett’s oesophagus, at 27.2%, compared to zero patients with negative results who completed an endoscopy.
NHS England has not committed to national uptake of capsule sponge, but will continue to support integrated care boards (ICBs) and local systems to deliver in their area. The evaluation report was published and shared with local National Health Service systems including Cancer Alliances, NHS providers, and ICBs to support with local service provision. The evaluation findings should be interpreted and used locally, based on need.
NHS England is continuing to explore other capsule sponge use cases, including in primary and community care settings jointly funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Cancer Research UK. Separately to this, the CYTOPRIME2 project is funded through the NHS Cancer Programme’s Innovation Open Call and is assessing the feasibility and safety of using capsule sponge in a primary care setting, and evaluating key outcome metrics.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to promote the development of a domestic battery industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We continue to work with industry via the Automotive Transformation Fund to support the creation of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK, including gigafactories. With Government support, completion of AESC’s second Sunderland gigafactory and Tata-Agratas' £4bn gigafactory announcement will increase the UK’s committed battery capacity to over half of estimated 2030 demand.
We are also investing record sums in battery R&D through the Faraday Battery Challenge, to establish the UK as a battery science superpower, with £610m committed since 2017.
In November 2023, the Advanced Manufacturing Plan announced over £2bn of capital and R&D funding over five years to 2030, unlocking investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and the wider supply chain. Alongside the AMP, we published a UK Battery Strategy, which outlined the Government’s vision for the UK to achieve a globally competitive battery supply chain by 2030 that supports economic prosperity and the net zero transition.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking through the planning system to increase the availability of laboratory space.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We have committed to strengthening national planning policy so that it better supports the needs of Research and Development, and will consult on these changes in due course.
We are also working to make investment in this sector more attractive. This includes working with local planning authorities to encourage the use of proactive planning tools, such as Local Development Orders, to make it easier to bring forward development.
To support this, the Autumn Statement announced £5 million of funding to help local planning authorities prepare Local Development Orders for commercial development.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of laboratory space in the UK since 15 March 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
It is for local planning authorities to determine the type of employment land that is needed in their area, and local plans should make sufficient provision for employment and other commercial development. Local policies are expected to be supported by a robust evidence base to understand existing business needs, reflecting local circumstances and market conditions.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions officials in her Department have had with the devolved Administrations on the potential merits of increasing levels of engagement with Horizon Europe in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is undertaking a series of actions to support UK businesses and researchers in re-engaging with Horizon Europe. The Government launched pump-priming schemes and a largescale marketing campaign to support and encourage researchers and businesses to bid for Horizon funding.
My department has established a new forum to engage with R&D sector stakeholders on engagement in Horizon Europe, including measures to boost participation. Officials from all the devolved Administrations attend this network.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the ability of public sector research establishments to recruit and retain talent.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Public sector research establishments are diverse organisations that deliver science and research for public good, often playing a vital role in critical infrastructure and public safety. Around 50 public sector research establishments are sponsored by Government Departments, employing over 50,000 FTE, including more than 17,000 scientists and technologists. The Government’s response to the Independent Review of the UK's Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Organisational Landscape, published in November 2023, acknowledged the challenges faced by public sector research establishments to recruit and retain talent and committed to improving the evidence base of the workforce challenges across public sector RDI organisations.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of the £900m pledged to implement the recommendations in the independent Future of Compute review for an exascale supercomputer has been allocated as of 12 March 2024.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In 2023 the government committed funding of £900m to deliver an Exascale supercomputer and the AI Research Resource (AIRR). In November we confirmed that £300m was being invested in the AIRR, via the Isambard-AI and Dawn facilities. Further details on delivery of the Exascale programme and AIRR expansion will follow in due course.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent funding Sheffield Forgemasters has received from the Nuclear Innovation Programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Sheffield Forgemasters received £4,224,812 of funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sponsored Nuclear Innovation Programme between July 2019 and June 2023.