Dominic Raab

During the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 there were significant periods of time during lockdown when the Environment Agency eased mooring restrictions and we were not enforcing. The Environment Agency was successful in an enforcement matter in 2019 for a boat owner overstaying on their moorings and had costs awarded for their costs of £20k Kingston boater fined for illegal moorings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Environment Agency have been told there are allegedly 116 unregistered boats moored to their land in Elmbridge but cannot confirm the details of that data. The matter of the use of Article16 of the Inland Waterways Order 2010 has been subject to public consultation on its use. Until the consultation has been reviewed and a response has been published the Environment Agency has not concluded on how the use of Article 16 will be enforced across the country.

The Environment Agency cannot quantify our cost of enforcement of illegal moorings in Elmbridge as the work is river wide. In 2022 the Environment Agency carried out a project to remove wrecks and abandoned boats, but not limited to the River Thames in Elmbridge, at a cost of £280K for the removal and disposal of 41 wrecks. Each and every vessel, if removed from the River Thames will have its own cost for removal.

Operational matters on inland waterways are the responsibility of the relevant navigation authority, such as in this case the Environment Agency’s enforcement of illegal moorings on the non-tidal Thames.

The Environment Agency waterways department as part of Defra is aware of all mooring issues or potential reported issues on its land. The intelligence is captured and collated in the Environment Agency navigation enforcement team’s Tactical Assessment (Thames). The document includes mooring and trespass issues on Environment Agency land only and helps prioritise and deliver outcomes. Trespass and mooring issues not relating to the Environment Agency fall under riparian landowners’ or other navigation authorities’ responsibilities.

The Tactical Assessment is a classified document and deemed as sensitive and would not be shared with the public. The Thames Enforcement Plan for the Environment Agency Non-Tidal Thames, which gives an overview of enforcement actions and priorities for 2023/2024, can be viewed here: Non-Tidal River Thames Regulation and Enforcement Plan 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Environment Agency works with partner agencies to improve compliance on the non-tidal Thames, sharing outcomes with local authority areas and stakeholders alike. However, intelligence and ongoing enforcement actions are not shared with the public due to legal privilege and GDPR rules and regulations. More information relating to enforcement on the non-tidal Thames can be viewed on the Non-Tidal River Thames Regulation and Enforcement Plan 2023/2024: Non-Tidal River Thames Regulation and Enforcement Plan 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)’s infrastructure investment funds the world-class facilities, expertise, and skilled delivery workforce for research across the National Health Service and wider health and care system in England from early translational clinical research through to applied health and care research.

It is difficult to attribute this funding to specific disease and therapy areas as the staff and facilities funded through the NIHR infrastructure support research across disciplines. For example, the NIHR Clinical Research Network supported almost one million participants to take part in health and care research in England in 2022/23 across 5,000 studies and 30 specialties, and the 20 NIHR Biomedical Research Centres supported 8,700 experimental medicine studies in 2021/22.

Whilst audited data for NIHR expenditure for 2022/23 is not yet available, the following table shows the NIHR spend on research infrastructure each financial year between 2018/19 and 2021/22 as well the proportion of spend on research infrastructure compared to overall NIHR spend:

In May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The £40m funding will remain available; if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do. The level of funding for brain tumour research depends on funding applications received. It is worth noting that all applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded and this will continue.

The following table shows NIHR’s committed spend on research into brain tumours in each year since 2018:

Additionally, NIHR research infrastructure supports brain tumour research studies, mainly in the National Health Service. This infrastructure – people and facilities - is instrumental to the delivery of research funded by the NIHR, charities and others. Resources are significant, though it is difficult to disaggregate purely brain tumour spend to add to the figures above.