Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the remit of the National Wealth Fund to include defence investment.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published the National Wealth Fund’s new Statement of Strategic Priorities on 19 March. It directs the National Wealth Fund to consider the role it can play in delivery of the wider Industrial Strategy, including in the defence sector.
The National Wealth Fund will also consider investments in dual-use technologies across its priority sectors of clean energy, digital and technologies, advanced manufacturing and transport, to better support the UK’s defence and security.
The National Wealth Fund retains the flexibility to invest where financing gaps emerge to ensure it can respond swiftly to emerging Government priorities.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with the National Wealth Fund on establishing a platform for geothermal investment to commercialise the industry.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor issued a new Statement of Strategic Priorities to the National Wealth Fund (NWF) on 19th March 2025, in which she set out that the NWF is at the forefront of investing public money for our future to help deliver the investment that underpins the Government’s growth and clean energy missions.
The Chancellor made clear that the NWF should prioritise investment into clean energy, digital and technologies, and advanced manufacturing, alongside transport sectors. An NWF investment into any geothermal project would be subject to the investment satisfying the NWF’s normal requirements for investable proposals.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) decentralise the commissioning of radiotherapy and (b) give English regions more control over (i) treatment pathways and (ii) new radiotherapy technologies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is investing £70 million of central funding to replace radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to patients who need it, however since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has been with local systems.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those undergoing radiotherapy treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of artificial intelligence technologies to streamline NHS patient records to allow records to be accessible across different hospitals and practices.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improved digital and data infrastructure, such as Electronic Patient Records, are essential foundations for digital transformation. Many National Health Service trusts currently have out-of-date computers and devices, and poor clinical system interoperability limiting access to clinical information at the point of care.
New tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse text records and make them accessible for hospitals are currently being trialled in several NHS trusts. These tools can analyse patient records, doctors’ notes and letters to recognise their meaning and accurately assign the correct details to the patient record in a more structured and accessible fashion. Early trials have shown positive results, such as helping identify bottlenecks in patient journeys through the system and facilitating recruitment to clinical trials, as well as improved communication between different hospitals and practices.
NHS England is developing guidance for those adopting or considering adopting ambient voice technologies, where the latest generation uses advanced AI technologies to convert spoken words into text used for clinical documentation, such as patient records. This process needs minimal intervention from users, though they still need to review and approve the text produced. They are currently being trialled in several local organisations and early results show they can significantly reduce the time clinical staff need to spend on administration.
The NHS AI Lab and Sciencewise held a public dialogue on how the public feels decisions should be made about access to their personal health data for AI purposes. The NHS AI Lab conducted a discovery exercise to design approaches based on insights from the public, which is now informing broader data stewardship initiatives, including where AI is used in relation to patient records. There are strict safeguards in place throughout the NHS to protect data. All providers of services which handle patient data must protect that data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, and Data Protection Act 2018.
Asked by: Kanishka Narayan (Labour - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the anticipated impact of the growth in artificial intelligence and sovereign compute infrastructure on national energy demand; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK's energy security strategy addresses the power requirements of advanced computing and AI workloads.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Embracing the opportunities that AI can provide to drive growth and productivity in the economy is a government objective. Supporting the development of AI data centres through policies such as AI Growth Zones is a key part of that. The Department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in setting up the AI Energy Council that will have senior representatives from both the energy industry and the AI industry to look at where best to locate AI data centres and proactively manage the energy requirements of AI. Building the low carbon economy of the future will lead to significant increases in electricity demand across many sectors. These projected increases were a key part of the analysis that underpinned the department’s Clean Power Action Plan. This set out how, by unlocking new low carbon electricity generation, improving access to the electricity grid and efficient use and operation of the energy system - which can be supported by new technologies such as AI - we will achieve Clean Power by 2030 and maintain secure, resilient energy supplies.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on delivering on the Action Plan in the Atlantic Declaration (2023) since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Atlantic Declaration was agreed with the Biden Administration under the previous UK government. Since entering office last year, we have taken a case-by-case approach to its initiatives in support of this government's missions. This included a meeting of the UK-US Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation in August 2024 and the second Strategic Technologies Investment Council in November 2024. As the Prime Minister said, we are committed to pursuing an economic deal with the new US administration with advanced technology at its core.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) vocational training and (b) apprenticeship programs in Ashfield constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is working to create a clear, flexible, high-quality skills system that supports people of all ages, breaking down the barriers to opportunity and driving economic growth.
The department has established Skills England to ensure we have the highly-trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. It will ensure the skills system is clear and navigable for both young people and older adults, strengthening careers pathways into jobs across the economy.
The department’s levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at its heart, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers across England, including in Ashfield, and is aligned with our industrial strategy to create routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries. As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, helping more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country and providing high quality entry pathways for young people.
Latest data provided by West Nottinghamshire College confirms a total of 1343 apprentices in learning. Of this, 522 apprentices are either living or employed in Ashfield District, which is around 39% of the total. The sectors with the most apprentices either living or are from Ashfield are Building and Construction (128), Engineering (118), Manufacturing Technologies (93) and Administration (59).
Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) support the department’s long term priority to drive local economic growth by reshaping the skills system to better align provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs and to support learners to gain the skills needed to get good jobs. The LSIP covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, which includes Ashfield, seeks to improve basic literacy and understanding of needs for learners and employees, digital skills as a key component of Technical Education courses, an increase in pre-16 engagement and skills development targeting young people, and basic employability skills that focus on for-work readiness.
West Nottinghamshire College is a large further education (FE) college based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, operating across nine centres and has specialist engineering and building services centres in Ashfield, with a construction skills training centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield. The college’s engineering training centre has been named as the UK’s first Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing in partnership with the Gene Haas Foundation.
The college has a well-established supported internship programme, which includes Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Capita and National Grid amongst its employer partners. The college’s high needs provision was recognised as outstanding by Ofsted in June 2023. Additionally, the college has embarked on a three-year programme to develop programmes further so that local employers, including in Ashfield, can benefit from a more diverse workforce.
The college has strong links with key public sector employers within Mansfield and Ashfield, including both district councils and the local hospital. The college’s principal is chair of the Making Mansfield Place Board and a member of the college’s executive leadership team is vice chair of the Discover Ashfield Place Board.
High-quality careers advice is an essential part of our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. Our ambition is for everyone to have access to impartial careers information, advice and guidance throughout their lives. This will help open up more opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to access the skills and training they need to succeed in the workplace and to advance their careers.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of innovation in Stoke-on-Trent.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I set out in my previous answer to the Honourable Member for Stafford, that we are investing £29.8 million in research and innovation projects in Staffordshire.
For example, through the Strength in Places Fund, we are investing £18 million in the Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0 project. This is a consortium of researchers, manufacturers and end-users led by the Lucideon Group, which has sites in Stoke-on-Trent and Stone. It will develop streamlined processes for proving and bringing new advanced ceramics technologies to market faster, with less energy usage and lower carbon emissions.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) invest in nuclear fusion and (b) expand the use of small modular nuclear reactors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the Autumn Budget the Government announced significant support in 2025-26 for UK fusion energy research, to build on the UK’s position as a global leader in fusion energy. On small modular reactors (SMRs), the government welcomes the opportunity for SMRs to play a wider role in Britain’s clean energy future. In addition to the SMR competition being delivered by Great British Nuclear, the government is considering responses on new uses of nuclear energy as part of the Alternative Routes to Market consultation for Advanced Nuclear Technologies and will publish a factual response in due course.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to encourage (a) innovation and (b) entrepreneurship among SMEs.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Small businesses and entrepreneurs are vital to high streets and communities, and essential to the success of the Government’s growth mission.
At the Budget, the Government announced we would be continuing funding for key business support programmes in 2025-26: Growth Hubs in England, and the Help to Grow: Management programme. We also announced we are extending Made Smarter Innovation with up to £37m funding. Funding for the Made Smarter Adoption programme will double to £16 million in 2025-26, supporting more small manufacturing businesses to adopt advanced digital technologies and enabling the programme to be expanded to all nine English regions.
Prior to the Budget, the Government also extended the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust schemes to 2035. The schemes are designed to encourage investment into new or young companies through tax-relief incentives, encouraging innovation, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.