Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to increase (a) core funding and (b) grant opportunities for universities in the north of England conducting AI and data science research as part of its strategy to support regional growth.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government has committed to invest more than £86 billion on research and innovation over financial years 26/27-29/30, supporting the UK’s scientific excellence and its full economic potential around the country, including in areas such as AI and data science. This funding will support the UK’s top scientists and innovators in business, universities and R&D organisations. DSIT will share further details of how its £58.5bn settlement over the Spending Review period will be invested once multi-year business planning allocations conclude this Autumn.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of people with lower gastrointestinal cancers waiting beyond 62 days from urgent referral for their first definitive treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, including those with bowel cancer. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people, including those with bowel cancer, getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months. We have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with lower gastrointestinal cancers cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve survival rates for bowel cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, including those with bowel cancer. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people, including those with bowel cancer, getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months. We have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with lower gastrointestinal cancers cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
Asked by: Martin Rhodes (Labour - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to help tackle (a) exploitative and (b) environmentally unsustainable purchasing practices in the tea sector.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct across the economy. The Government also supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent human rights abuses and environmental harms across their operations, purchasing practices and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of these existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test examiners have left the DVSA in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last five years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The attached Excel document shows the number of driving examiners that have left and started at driving test centres in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last five years.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) encourage and (b) promote careers in the social care system.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting the professionalisation of the adult social care (ASC) sector by expanding the Care Workforce Pathway (CWP), funding the Learning Development and Support Scheme, and introducing the first ever fair pay agreement for the sector.
In April 2025, we published four additional role categories within the CWP, which is the first universal career structure for the sector providing guidance on career development by outlining the knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours to both encourage and promote care as a long-term career.
The Learning Development and Support Scheme, launched in September 2024, is providing up to £12 million this financial year to support eligible care staff to complete training courses and qualifications. Additionally, a Fair Pay Agreement for the ASC sector will ensure that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Defence AI Investment Fund.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As set out when the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was published, the Government accepts the vision and recommendations of the SDR, including the recommendation to create a protected Defence AI investment Fund. The SDR recommends an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Learning the lessons from Ukraine, this would provide greater accuracy, lethality, and cheaper capabilities-changing the economics of Defence. This shift should be facilitated by the parallel development of a common digital foundation and digital targeting web as well as protected investment in AI research and development.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Israeli Defence Force’s reported use of the ‘Dahiya Doctrine’, the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure; and of whether it is compatible with international humanitarian law.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our International Humanitarian Law (IHL) assessments consider Israel's commitment to and compliance with IHL in a number of areas including compliance with the principle of distinction in the conduct of hostilities. We take any allegations of deliberate or indiscriminate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure very seriously. In the context of Gaza, it is also understood that Hamas has extensively embedded its military assets in Gaza's densely built environment, including civilian buildings.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has his Department has made in developing novel directed energy weapons.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Following the Strategic Defence Review, we have announced nearly £1 billion in further investment for Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) this Parliament. This funding will ensure the DragonFire Laser DEW system enters service with the Royal Navy in 2027 and will enable a DEW capability to enter service with the British Army this decade. Accelerating these capabilities ensures our Armed Forces have access to cutting edge technologies as soon as possible.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the application window for international students to apply for a Graduate visa in the event of their university exam results being delayed.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
If a student’s results are not expected before their current visa expires, and they need more time to demonstrate successful course completion, they may apply to extend their Student visa as set out in the Immigration Rules Appendix Student.