Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization, what plans they have to ensure sufficient long-term resources for the National Biosurveillance Network to enhance the UK’s early warning systems and improve the biosurveillance evidence available for policy decisions.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Enhancing the UK’s early warning capabilities, including through scoping a National Biosurveillance Network (NBN), was a commitment in the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy - adopted by this Government in October 2024. The Government will work to ensure that it has the capabilities it needs to protect the public from a spectrum of biological threats. Decisions on funding for future years will be made as part of the ongoing comprehensive Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the risks to animal health posed by the H5N1 influenza virus, what resources they have committed to teams responsible for delivering the UK Biological Security Strategy, and how they plan to ensure that there is adequate staffing and funding to meet the strategy's objectives.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy (BSS) sets out that biological threats are more likely, diverse and interconnected. The current avian influenza outbreak is an example of the risks we face from zoonotic diseases. The BSS takes a One Health and National Security approach. There are robust structures in place across government to ensure its implementation - including a lead Minister, a central team in the Cabinet Office to drive delivery, and clear departmental accountabilities. DEFRA is the lead government department for avian Influenza.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of evaluations being proposed or carried out by departments that are not currently registered in the Evaluation Registry; and of those, how many are exempted from registration because of exclusions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since April 2024, it has been mandatory for all Government Departments to register their evaluations with the Evaluation Task Force Evaluation Registry. The expectation is that all Government evaluations should be registered, unless they are exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Since April 2024, the Evaluation Task Force has been notified of one evaluation which has not been added to the Evaluation Registry on the grounds that it meets an exemption outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Registry is scheduled to be launched for public view-only access in the coming months, allowing them to see the number of evaluations in each department. Following public launch, the Evaluation Task Force will report to the Directors of Analysis every quarter on the number of ongoing, planned and complete evaluations registered by each Department.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many evaluations are currently registered in the Evaluation Registry by each government department; and what metrics the Evaluation Task Force reports to departmental directors of analysis regarding the uptake of the Registry.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Since April 2024, it has been mandatory for all Government Departments to register their evaluations with the Evaluation Task Force Evaluation Registry. The expectation is that all Government evaluations should be registered, unless they are exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Since April 2024, the Evaluation Task Force has been notified of one evaluation which has not been added to the Evaluation Registry on the grounds that it meets an exemption outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The Registry is scheduled to be launched for public view-only access in the coming months, allowing them to see the number of evaluations in each department. Following public launch, the Evaluation Task Force will report to the Directors of Analysis every quarter on the number of ongoing, planned and complete evaluations registered by each Department.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that when policy evaluations are commissioned the methods and outcomes are pre-registered, and that the results will be published in a timely manner.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All Government evaluations should be pre-registered on the Evaluation Task Force Evaluation Registry, including methods and expected publication timelines. Registering evaluations has been mandatory for Government Departments since April 2024.
Further information on the Evaluation Registry is available online on the 'Guidance on using the Evaluation Registry' webpage. The Evaluation Registry is due to be launched to the public in the coming months.