Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The statement I made on 21st May to Parliament provided clarity on the Government response to the Inquiry’s second interim report. The Scheme responds directly to and is in line with the recommendations made by the Infected Blood Inquiry in its second interim report, which considered the earlier study into compensation by Sir Robert Francis KC.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on the development of the Global Combat Air Program with Japan and Italy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2024 to Question 23110 to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Ms Eagle).
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure the UK remains at the forefront of safe and regulated research and development for (a) artificial intelligence, (b) machine learning models and (c) deep learning algorithms.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In February, the Government’s response to the AI Regulation White Paper set out how it is delivering on our regulatory framework. The AI Safety Institute has built state-of-the-art safety testing capacity - and have just published headline results from a recent evaluation exercise. We have also open-sourced our AI safety testing platform (‘Inspect’), empowering safety researchers to conduct their own evaluations; published the International AI Safety Report on 17 May, promoting a shared understanding of AI’s potential impacts; and are co-hosting the next AI Safety Summit in Seoul this week, convening the international community to strengthen AI safety collaboration.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to prevent the provision of large dinghies by suppliers to people smuggling gangs.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
We are taking a whole-of-route approach from source countries all the way through to the UK and have signed international agreements to enhance co-operation on organised immigration crime.
As announced by the Prime Minister in December 2022, we have doubled funding to the National Crime Agency and other partners to provide £74 million funding to tackle OIC.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing further support to Ukraine, in the context of the latest incursion of Russian forces in the North East of Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government remains steadfast in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Prime Minister has been clear we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. We have a long-established partnership with our Ukrainian friends since before Russia's illegal invasion and will continue to build on this through the historic UK-Ukraine Security Agreement, marking the start of a 100-year partnership.
We recently announced our largest-ever package of equipment to Ukraine, designed to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression. Alongside this the Prime Minister also announced £500 million of additional funding which will be used to rapidly deliver military equipment support to the front line.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of retrofitting Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers with (a) catapults, (b) additional angled decks and (c) arresting wires.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers (QEC) were built to allow for capability changes over the lifetime of these ships. The Royal Navy is committed to developing capabilities that will allow it to build combat mass, whilst remaining at the forefront of technology, and this includes a strong focus on uncrewed air systems. As such, the aviation capabilities of the QEC aircraft carriers will continue to evolve in the coming years and the operation of a wider variety of aircraft is being considered as part of a detailed analysis to scope and assess options. The launch and recovery systems for these new capabilities is currently under review, following the recent successful trials of Mojave and Windracer.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the feasibility of reallocating unspent funds from Levelling Up funding rounds to finance further investment rounds for towns that were successful in Town Deal bids.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The UK Government is committed to levelling up across the whole of the United Kingdom to ensure that no community is left behind. We are investing over £15 billion in a suite of complementary Levelling Up projects to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.
Each fund or initiative has clear aims, objectives and funding which have been designed and allocated as part of a joined-up approach.
The Government recognises that major regeneration projects take time to deliver with important processes involved before they come to fruition - from securing planning permission, to engaging architects and acquiring land.
Decisions on any possible underspends will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for National Statistics' report entitled GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: January to March 2024, published on 10 May 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the growth figures in that report on towns and cities in the North West.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The economy has performed better than expected in the face of unprecedented shocks, and the plan is working. The economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024, the fastest quarterly growth rate in over two years, and growth is forecast to pick up both this year and next.
Subnational GDP figures over the same period are not yet available therefore no assessment has been made of the latest UK GDP growth figure on towns and cities in the North West.
The North West continues to benefit from over £15bn of local growth funding announced since 2019, including over £52m going to the Liverpool City Region through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of deploying battery-powered trains.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government expects electrification to play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target, which is why since 2010, more than 1,250 miles of electrification has been delivered in Great Britain, including over 900 miles in England and Wales in the last 11 years.
Alternative traction technologies, such as battery trains, will also play a key role in our approach to the decarbonisation of the rail network and our transition to net zero.
There are a number of trials by train operators involving battery technology currently underway such as those on TransPennine Express and Great Western Railway that will assess different battery and charging technologies.
New procurements where there is a demand for self-powered trains, such as Northern, will require suppliers to provide battery-electric solutions. Battery-powered trains for Transport for Wales and Merseyrail have been manufactured and are under test for operation on non-electrified parts of their routes.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a National Clinical Director within NHS England for coeliac disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has invested in senior clinical leadership in gastroenterology, which includes coeliac disease, as a priority workstream in the national Getting It Right First Time programme.
To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease, and improve the diagnostic pathway nationally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced the guidance, Coeliac disease: recognition, assessment and management [NG20].
NICE guidelines represent best practice, and both healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, and service commissioners are expected to take them fully into account. Guidelines published by the NICE are not mandatory, and do not replace the judgement of clinicians in determining the most appropriate treatment for individual patients.
To assist with increasing the visibility of coeliac disease, the NICE promotes guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media. It also publishes information for the public, which explains the care people with coeliac disease should receive, as set out in the NICE guideline. Information for the public on coeliac disease is also published by the National Health Service and is available on the NHS website.