Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 innovation in novel diagnostic technologies through the Life Sciences Sector Plan, published on 16 July 2025.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Life Sciences Sector Plan focuses on enabling world-class R&D, making the UK an outstanding place to start, scale and invest in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation and reform.
To ensure the NHS is equipped to adopt innovation at pace and scale, we must futureproof our regulatory landscape, streamline procurement and accelerate adoption and spread.
Targeted policies will drive this agenda forward, including the Regional Health Innovation Zones, which will be empowered to experiment, test and generate evidence on implementing innovation. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will accelerate the transition from ideation to commercialisation for novel diagnostic products and provide wraparound support to connect innovators to testbeds, regulators, and procurement processes. We will also further expand our significant investments in UK health data and genomics capabilities.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 and development projects using novel diagnostic technologies.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Life Sciences Sector Plan commits to enabling world class research & development (R&D) within the UK, with specific actions to support Medtech and Biotech companies including those focused on diagnostics. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will deliver on this in parallel, accelerating the transition from ideation to commercialisation for novel diagnostic productions and providing wraparound support that will connect innovators to testbeds, regulators, and procurement processes. We will also further expand our significant investments in UK health data and genomics capabilities.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Department is responsible for operating a total of 18 social media accounts. This includes a number of accounts currently under review and operated by the Government Digital Service, which recently became a part of the department.
The Department has spent £201.60 on (a) subscriptions – two payments of £100.80 in 2023 and 2024.
To date, the Department has spent £450,901.04 on (b) social media advertisements.
The Department spent £386,615.04 on LinkedIn and £64,286.00 on META in the financial year 24/25.
In addition, the Department has a shared HR function with DESNZ which has a contractual arrangement with LinkedIn Hiring Solutions for the period June 2023 to June 2025, for the amount of £425,123.31.
The Department holds no data prior to the financial year 23/24 due to DSIT only being formed in February 2023.
The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact.
Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. The Government remains committed to scrutiny, transparency and best value for taxpayer money.