Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 18 Jan 2022
Gas and Electricity Costs
"It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I congratulate the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) on securing today’s timely and critical debate.
We should soon, hopefully, begin to see some economic recovery at the end of a very long couple of …..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 18 Jan 2022
Gas and Electricity Costs
"The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I think we all find the rise in the use of food banks in our constituencies shocking. As the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris) said earlier, people who would not normally have to attend a food bank who are having to …..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 11 Jan 2022
Reducing Costs for Businesses
"I have raised the case of a certain business in my constituency before. It is a well-known family-run company that is about to reach its centenary. When the time came for the business to renew its energy tariff last year, it was increased by £30,000—almost 500% more than in the …..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Written Question
Monday 22nd November 2021
Asked by:
Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure equitable distribution of funds between the (a) National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research and (b) broader life science and medical-related research sectors.
Answered by George Freeman
The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) receives its core funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and since it was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million through its research, innovation, and early career awards to provide new 3Rs approaches for scientists in academia and industry to use. This funding builds on wider funding by UKRI on development of alternative approaches to the use of animals. UKRI welcomes applications for research into any aspect of human health and is committed to funding excellence.
Between 2015-2019 UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council spent over £7 million on research grants aimed at developing and applying innovative methodologies to studying human and animal physiology, including in silico approaches, organ-on-a-chip, organoid and other advanced cell culture systems. Additionally, UKRI’s Medical Research Council launched a new Precision Medicine Accelerator to take ideas from discovery science into research using humans, focused on early clinical application. The Experimental Medicine Panel has an annual budget of £10 million.
The recent Spending Review set the total amount of funding available for the next three years. Internal business planning is underway to allocate specific funding for life sciences and broader medical R&D which will be announced soon. As part of this process £95 million of new funding has recently been announced which will support the development and use of the most promising new drugs and technologies, as part of the Government’s commitment to the NHS and making the UK a Science and Technology Superpower.
Written Question
Monday 22nd November 2021
Asked by:
Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he is taking steps to contribute to the (a) development and (b) validation of human-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip technologies.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice, and regulations on animal research.
The NC3Rs receives its core funding from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Medical Research Council, and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million in research to develop 3Rs technologies.
In addition to funding the NC3Rs, UKRI also funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. UKRI also encourages grant applicants, including those whose research does not involve animals but could contribute to greater reduction and replacement, to consider further opportunities to advance the 3Rs.
Between 2015-2019, the BBSRC spent over £7 million on research grants aimed at developing and applying innovative methodologies to studying human and animal physiology, including in silico approaches, organ-on-a-chip, organoid and other advanced cell culture systems.
Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 09 Nov 2021
SMEs: Access to Finance
"I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. I recently met representatives of the British Business Bank, who ran through their full range of offerings, including optional learning modules for entrepreneurs, which are an excellent way to mitigate lending risk and provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge they need to …..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 09 Nov 2021
SMEs: Access to Finance
"Does the hon. Member agree that high street banks could benefit from investing more time in understanding the SMEs they lend to, really taking the time to understand the business model and the entrepreneur throughout the whole lending process?..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 09 Nov 2021
SMEs: Access to Finance
"We need to ensure access to affordable finance UK-wide, so can the Minister tell us what steps the Government are taking to make sure that Scottish SMEs have the right level of accessibility?..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 09 Nov 2021
SMEs: Access to Finance
"Government Department procurement processes usually mean that the cheapest quote wins the contract, which might mean that SMEs struggle to compete or operate at greater cost to their business. What steps are the Government taking to level the playing field for these contracts and encourage SMEs to apply?..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Mon 25 Oct 2021
Animal Testing
"It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Elliott. I thank the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day) for opening the debate and congratulate the petitioners on bringing this important topic forward for consideration. Some 810 of my constituents signed e-petition 581641.
Before I begin, …..."Margaret Ferrier - View Speech
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