Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Freyberg, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Freyberg has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Freyberg has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The R&R Delivery Authority is exploring implementing a shared apprenticeship scheme across heritage client organisations. This scheme is intended to provide small and medium enterprises who may otherwise lack a breadth of work or planned projects the opportunity to engage in the upskilling of an apprentice without the need to commit to the full duration of the programme.
The R&R Programme is intending to provide new pathways into heritage skills, offering vocational training and employment opportunities while safeguarding specific endangered trades and techniques (for example, historic stained-glass window-making). The Programme will also require numerous other heritage trades where there are known skills shortages, for example upholstery, heritage plastering, and heritage carpentry/joinery.
Over 100 organisations and businesses, including many heritage organisations, have attended 13 R&R supplier engagement roundtables held across every UK nation and region of England. Engagement with these heritage organisations has helped to generate a relevant understanding of, and a diverse insight into, the current and future challenges associated with the conservation, rehabilitation and development of heritage buildings.
In addition, the R&R Delivery Authority is assessing the skills needs across the UK and the significant skills shortages in some areas of the construction and heritage industries, in order to target initiatives at key trades and occupations designated as likely “pinch points”.
The R&R Delivery Authority is already collaborating with the heritage and craft industry, for example by forming a London heritage skills network comprising heritage organisations, further education providers, and craft training bodies. This group will feed into a new national heritage skills network as is supported by Historic England. The network is a means to share information between heritage organisations about labour needs and sector skills shortages, as well as identifying opportunities and training interventions and other schemes, such as targeted apprenticeships and traineeships, to support the development of skills required across the sector and on the R&R Programme. The R&R Delivery Authority also sits on a historic environment steering group, which has a nationwide focus and includes a variety of heritage organisations.
The R&R Programme has been engaging with and learning lessons from other major international heritage restoration projects.
Several other parliaments are undergoing or have recently completed renovation programmes of their buildings, for example the Canadian, Dutch, and Austrian parliaments. The R&R Programme maintains a dialogue with these other parliaments to learn lessons for our own restoration programme. One way it does this is through the International Network of Parliamentary Properties (INPP), an umbrella organisation of international parliaments which is dedicated to the conservation, restoration, rehabilitation and development of parliamentary estates. The INPP holds an annual conference and regular online seminars to share key lessons, which R&R officials routinely attend to learn best practice in how to plan, engage on, and deliver complex projects in a parliamentary context.
The R&R Programme has also learnt lessons from other non-parliamentary international heritage buildings, including a visit to the 400-year old stock exchange building in Copenhagen (after it was partially destroyed by a fire during refurbishment in 2024) to learn about matters such as fire risk during renovation and emergency preparedness. R&R officials also held a lessons-learned event about the Notre Dame restoration in May 2025 to understand better how the restoration works to the Cathedral were project managed, the use of technology in the project (such as the creation of a digital model) and the associated public engagement strategy.
Officials and Board members involved with R&R have also visited heritage restoration projects across the UK, such as Buckingham Palace and Manchester Town Hall, to learn lessons that are being practically applied during the planning stages of R&R, for instance in relation to surveys and engaging with the supply chain.
The Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 states that the Corporate Officers must have regard to the need to ensure that opportunities to secure economic or other benefits of the works are available in all areas of the UK. Those responsible for running the R&R Programme are committed to delivering benefits for small and medium enterprises all over the country, for example by creating apprenticeships and skills and training opportunities.
Over 100 organisations and businesses, including many heritage organisations, have attended 13 R&R supplier engagement roundtables held across every UK nation and region of England. Engagement with these heritage organisations has helped to generate a relevant understanding of, and a diverse insight into, the current and future challenges associated with the conservation, rehabilitation and development of heritage buildings.
The R&R Delivery Authority has formed a London heritage skills network comprising heritage organisations, further education providers, and training bodies, which will feed into a new national heritage skills network as supported by Historic England. The network aims to establish a ‘pipeline of work’ model to help the supply chain and training providers understand the future requirements and demand for traditional skills across different organisations and projects, including R&R.
The R&R Programme has also developed and launched a procurement system, in collaboration with Parliament’s heritage team, that enables conservation specialists across the nation to bid for contracts to work on heritage collection objects in the Palace.
To mitigate against the existing skills challenges, the R&R Delivery Authority understands the importance of targeting the recruitment of apprentices and trainees into roles where there are known skills shortages. The R&R Delivery Authority is currently exploring implementing a shared apprenticeship scheme across heritage client organisations. This scheme is intended to provide small and medium enterprises who may otherwise lack a breadth of work or planned projects the opportunity to engage in the upskilling of an apprentice without the need to commit to the full duration of the programme.
Regardless of the delivery option selected, the R&R Programme will entail significant heritage restoration and, due to the age of the Palace and its Grade 1 listed status, will require a variety of specialist heritage and construction skills to be involved with the restoration.
Over 100 organisations and businesses, including many heritage organisations, have attended 13 R&R supplier engagement roundtables held across every UK nation and region of England. Engagement with these heritage organisations has helped to generate a relevant understanding of, and a diverse insight into, the current and future challenges associated with the conservation, rehabilitation and development of heritage buildings.
The R&R Delivery Authority is looking closely into the skills needs across the UK and the significant skills shortages in some areas of the construction and heritage industries, in order to target initiatives at key trades and occupations designated as likely “pinchpoints”. In particular, the R&R Delivery Authority is developing an assessment of the labour skill requirements for the R&R Programme to provide an estimate on the type and number of specialist and heritage and construction skills required for the restoration of the Palace. The exact requirements will partly depend on the decisions taken by the Houses on the preferred way forward for R&R. The labour forecast assessment will help form skills planning and the skills interventions required to support the works on the Palace.
As set out in the Policy paper The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, published on 22 January, the Government will reform the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 to ensure they maintain a high level of fire safety while allowing for manufacturing innovation and facilitating a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants.
The Government is committed to improving the communication of information about chemical flame retardants used in upholstered furniture in order to support more informed consumer choices and more effective enforcement as well as the circular economy.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards is engaging with a broad range of stakeholders to inform policy making, including manufacturers, test houses, charities and consumer groups.
As set out in the Policy paper The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, published on 22 January, the Government will reform the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 to ensure they maintain a high level of fire safety while allowing for manufacturing innovation and facilitating a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants.
The Government is committed to improving the communication of information about chemical flame retardants used in upholstered furniture in order to support more informed consumer choices and more effective enforcement as well as the circular economy.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards is engaging with a broad range of stakeholders to inform policy making, including manufacturers, test houses, charities and consumer groups.
DBT conducted an evaluation of the UK presence at Expo 2020 Dubai. This provided accountability and learning to inform continuous improvements. The lessons are directly feeding into planning and delivery of the UK presence at Expo 2025 Osaka.
DBT have taken lessons learned from previous Expos and other major events (including Commonwealth Games and Investment Summits) to inform the planning and design of the UK Pavilion at Expo Osaka.
The Department of Business and Trade works closely with the sector to understand its challenges and provide support to help its global competitiveness.
Through our continued engagement with Ceramics UK and its membership, we will inquire whether the sector has any thoughts on revitalisation strategies deployed in China.
The government's Plan for Change milestones of 1.5 million new homes over five years and 150 decisions on major infrastructure projects by the end of the Parliament, will see a significant increase in demand for construction materials, that will provide greater certainty for construction material suppliers. Currently 75% of all construction materials used in the UK are made in the UK. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) works closely with the Construction Leadership Council's Materials Supply Chain Group on product availability, and regularly reviews opportunities to address capability and capacity gaps, including through targeted Foreign Direct Investment.
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. We understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
The Government is providing support. We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with online marketplaces and businesses that sell products online on a range of issues to hear their concerns.
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. We understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
The Government is providing support. We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with online marketplaces and businesses that sell products online on a range of issues to hear their concerns.
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. We understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
The Government is providing support. We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with online marketplaces and businesses that sell products online on a range of issues to hear their concerns.
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. We understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
The Government is providing support. We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with online marketplaces and businesses that sell products online on a range of issues to hear their concerns.
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. We understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
The Government is providing support. We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with online marketplaces and businesses that sell products online on a range of issues to hear their concerns.
The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. We understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.
The Government is providing support. We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with online marketplaces and businesses that sell products online on a range of issues to hear their concerns.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan, launched in January, outlines 50 actions to drive AI development. We are committed to strengthening the UK sector and supporting the emergence of leading UK AI companies. A broad programme of engagement is a critical part of this commitment. The sovereign AI team has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including academics, founders, and investors throughout the UK and will continue to do so.
This recent event, focused on building UK capabilities, was part of that ongoing engagement, and participants were invited accordingly.
Ministerial meetings are published according to normal transparency requirements on the GOV.UK website.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan, launched in January, outlines 50 actions to drive AI development and deployment. The government has committed to taking forward all recommendations, including the establishment of a new, sovereign AI unit with a clear mandate to maximise the UK's stake in frontier AI.
Building sovereign capabilities will enable the UK to harness the economic potential of advanced AI whilst safeguarding our national security, in the context of rapid AI development. The government has already partnered with leading AI companies, such as Anthropic, to explore AI opportunities in the UK. More details of the sovereign AI programme will be announced in due course.
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of external stakeholders abroad.
Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders about AI and Copyright issues, including the Tony Blair Institute.
Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on gov.uk.
The Government is committed to hearing a broad range of views to help inform its approach to copyright and AI.
Ministerial meetings are published according to normal transparency requirements.
The current best estimate of the number of meetings involving officials at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (including the Intellectual Property Office) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport between July 2024 and February 2025 is in the table below.
Month | Creative Industries | AI technology companies | Meetings with both sectors represented |
July ‘24 | 3 | 1 |
|
August ‘24 | 2 | 2 |
|
September ‘24 | 6 | 2 |
|
October ‘24 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
November ‘24 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
December ‘24 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
January ‘25 | 9 | 12 | 5 |
February ‘25 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
This includes meetings where officials from both departments attended.
The minutes of official level meetings are not routinely published
As highlighted in the recent debate on support for the crafts sector (12th July), the UK’s craft industry is a custodian of heritage, a source of enrichment, and a powerful driver of growth.
The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The government will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment in the skills system per year by 2028-29, and will set out further detail on its plans in a strategy for post-16 education and skills later in the year.
DCMS ministers will meet with sector representatives to discuss craft skills soon. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government will also work with industry to support creative sector training pathways, including through a new DCMS and Skills England led Creative Sector Skills Forum. We will develop the growth and skills offer to deliver apprenticeships and skills training that recognises the particular needs of the Creative Industries, of which the crafts industry is a vital part.
All charities registered in England or Wales, regardless of their annual income, must send a digital annual return to the Charity Commission. These returns are publicly available in a machine readable PDF format on the Charity Commission's website.
The Charity Commission is committed to further digitalisation of the submission of annual accounts information and will continue to explore solutions which are proportionate, affordable and minimise the regulatory burden on charities.
Currently, there are no steps being taken to standardise full time equivalent employment data across companies, charities and mutuals filed with regulators/registrars.
All charities registered in England or Wales, regardless of their annual income, must send a digital annual return to the Charity Commission. These returns are publicly available in a machine readable PDF format on the Charity Commission's website.
The Charity Commission is committed to further digitalisation of the submission of annual accounts information and will continue to explore solutions which are proportionate, affordable and minimise the regulatory burden on charities.
Currently, there are no steps being taken to standardise full time equivalent employment data across companies, charities and mutuals filed with regulators/registrars.
DCMS is looking more widely into the cultural sector's data needs as the digital data ecosystem grows and evolves. This includes supporting both the Bradford City of Culture team's work on cultural data dashboards and North East Culture Connect, an open access data platform, delivered in collaboration with Northumbria University, North East Combined Authority, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The platform brings together a subset of cultural data from across the North East in a series of dashboards that are intended to be expanded with new data. The data includes information on income streams, funding recipients, and sector economic characteristics, which can support analysis of the financial health of the sector. Furthermore, DCMS is on the Steering Group for the National Cultural Data Observatory project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, led by the Centre for Cultural Value at the University of Leeds, with partners including MyCake, and The Audience Agency. The project aims to develop a blueprint for a national cultural data observatory for the UK, incorporating a range of data.
The Arts Councils of each of the four UK nations are devolved responsibilities.
Ministers have not made an assessment of the case raised in the question. However, we are aware of the need for data collection to be consistent, proportionate, and manageable for publicly-funded arts organisations. Baroness Hodge of Barking has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to conduct a Review of Arts Council England. This includes in its terms of reference to consider how effective the relationships between ACE and the organisations it funds are; and how far ACE cooperates and shares knowledge with the United Kingdom’s Arts Councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Arts Council England publishes an Annual Data survey of its National Portfolio Organisations, which provides a breakdown of expenditure for those organisations. Data from this survey is available on line from the year 2016-17 onwards. ACE also publishes data on its own staff and expenditure in its Annual Report - the latest of which covering 2023-24 can be found on their website.
No meetings took place between Ministers and officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and representatives of the Tony Blair Institute between July 2024 and March 2025.
The Government recognises Stoke-on-Trent’s rich ceramics heritage and its potential for economic growth. While no formal assessment has been made of the potential economic benefits of a dedicated Cultural Heritage Zone, we are continuing to support the city’s creative and heritage sectors through a range of initiatives. Our support includes £370,000 to boost creative industry skills in Stoke-on-Trent College, alongside the Small Community and Heritage Assets Grants Programme which has supported creative businesses in the region.
The Government recognises Stoke-on-Trent’s rich ceramics heritage and its potential for economic growth. While no formal assessment has been made of the potential economic benefits of a dedicated Cultural Heritage Zone, we are continuing to support the city’s creative and heritage sectors through a range of initiatives. Our support includes £370,000 to boost creative industry skills in Stoke-on-Trent College, alongside the Small Community and Heritage Assets Grants Programme which has supported creative businesses in the region.
The government recognises the importance of the UK’s copyright regime to the economic success of the creative industries, one of eight growth-driving sectors as identified in our Industrial Strategy. We are committed to supporting rights holders by ensuring they retain control over and receive fair payment for their work, especially as technology advances to include AI.
This is an area where the Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). We are actively working with stakeholders to ensure copyright protections remain robust and fit for purpose.
As part of this commitment, we have launched a public consultation on Copyright and AI, which opened on the 17 December and closed on the 25 February. This consultation sought to engage stakeholders across AI and the creative industries to assess and address the evolving challenges of copyright regulation.
We will now consider the full range of responses we have received through our consultation on any new approach. No decisions will be taken until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives. We will continue to develop our policy approach with DSIT and the IPO in partnership with creative industries, media and AI stakeholders - supporting our brilliant artists and the creative industries to work together with the AI sector to harness the opportunities this technology provides.
The Government is committed to supporting our heritage, culture and creative industries to thrive for years to come.
We recognise the value of cross-border exchanges for craftspeople, particularly in Europe. The UK has a number of visa routes suitable for people coming to work in skilled trades, or to do training or work experience. More broadly, the Government will work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade.
The Government recognises there are skills gaps and shortages in creative sectors and is working with industry to identify current and future skills needs. Across the economy, the people that create and work in businesses will be central to successful growth, and the Government has already taken some steps to support this, including establishing Skills England. We have heard calls from businesses for greater flexibility in our apprenticeships system, and greater flexibility in how employers spend levy funds. And we are acting. That’s why our reformed growth and skills levy will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers.
The Government is committed to supporting our heritage, culture and creative industries to thrive for years to come, celebrating our nation's wealth of talent and driving economic growth into communities across the country. We want the craft sector and British arts and culture as a whole to thrive.
As a new administration, we are currently exploring a wide range of policy options to support skills development. We are working closely with the Department for Education and engage with the heritage and skills sectors regularly in order to understand and address skills gaps. The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports traditional craft skills and training in a variety of ways, including funding projects that train people in traditional crafts and skills. They also run a Heritage Crafts programme which offers bursaries to help people train in heritage crafts or develop their skills.
The Government is committed to supporting our heritage, culture and creative industries to thrive for years to come.
We recognise the value of cross-border exchanges for craftspeople, particularly in Europe. The UK has a number of visa routes suitable for people coming to work in skilled trades, or to do training or work experience. More broadly, the Government will work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade.
The Government recognises there are skills gaps and shortages in creative sectors and is working with industry to identify current and future skills needs. Across the economy, the people that create and work in businesses will be central to successful growth, and the Government has already taken some steps to support this, including establishing Skills England. We have heard calls from businesses for greater flexibility in our apprenticeships system, and greater flexibility in how employers spend levy funds. And we are acting. That’s why our reformed growth and skills levy will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers.
The craft sector has developed the level 3 craft technician apprenticeship standard, which includes a ceramicist training option. In February 2025 the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the Heritage Crafts Association held a stakeholder engagement event for heritage craft industries promoting the benefits of apprenticeships and technical education qualifications.
The department will continue to support learners who wish to have a career in pottery and ceramic manufacturing through its technical education offer, with a range of high-quality qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities available at all levels. We recognise the crucial role that colleges and providers play in delivering the skills training and innovation needed for our current and future workforce. An example of this is T Levels in Craft and Design, giving 16 to 19-year-olds the knowledge and skills needed for entry to a range of occupations in this sector.
Local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) are an initiative funded by the department to support meeting local skills needs. The Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire LSIP, developed by Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce as the designated employer representative body, includes engineering and advanced manufacturing, including ceramics, in its key sectors and priorities.
Stoke on Trent College’s accountability statement highlights how their strategic aims and objectives align to the LSIP priorities, including ceramics. It delivers ceramics and pottery throwing skills and the adult level 2 award in ceramics together with their apprenticeship provision supports local pottery manufacturing, typically via engineering apprentices for members of their technician staff.
The government’s ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over this Parliament needs a strong, skilled workforce. So far, the government has taken steps to achieving this ambition, including overhauling the planning system and introducing 32 new Homebuilding Skills Hubs. These will deliver fast-track training in critical areas such as bricklaying, groundwork, and site carpentry, to boost housebuilding and drive forward the government’s Growth and Opportunity Missions.
Around 5,000 more construction apprenticeship places will be made available per year by the 2027/28 financial year from £140 million industry investment.
The specific skills needed for retrofit and green construction are increasingly in demand. Green construction skills include heat pump installation and historic building retrofit, as well as a breadth of traditional construction skills such as insulation and electrical. The sector needs a combination of upskilling and new recruits to meet the demand induced by new infrastructure projects, the 1.5 million houses target and ongoing steady-state demand.
As set out in Skills England’s first report, the Construction Industry Training Board (sponsored by but independent of government) forecast that, before any new projects had been factored in, 252,000 extra workers were needed between 2024 to 2028 across the UK. Also as mentioned in report, construction is one of the sectors where upskilling is required to enable workers to use new technology, particularly as pertains to retrofit and green building methods.
The construction sector faces some acute skills and workforce shortages. According to the department’s 2022 Employer Skills Survey, which is the latest available data, construction was the industry with the highest proportion of vacancies due to skills shortages. Roughly a third of construction occupations are in high demand (6% in 'critical demand' by Standard Occupational Classification Code). These include quantity surveyors, groundworkers and crane drivers.
The annual UK REACH Work Programme explains what UK REACH regulatory activity is planned each year. The UK REACH Work Programme for 2025/26 will be published in due course
The Government plans to reform the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 to maintain a high level of fire safety while facilitating a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants as set out in the policy paper, ‘The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture’, published on January 22, 2025.
Officials in the Office for Product Safety and Standards, within the Department for Business and Trade, that are leading the ongoing review of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, are working closely with Defra officials to ensure that consideration is being given to the Government’s commitment to reduce waste by moving to a circular economy.
This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, which we will publish for consultation in the coming autumn. The strategy will be accompanied by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. We are considering the evidence for sector-specific interventions from right across the economy, including extended producer responsibility schemes.
The Environment Agency has just published a flame retardant scoping review, which identifies flame retardant substances that are present on, or relevant to the GB market, including brominated and organophosphate flame retardants used in upholstered furniture. The review carried out a preliminary assessment of their potential impacts on the environment and an initial screen for human health effects (when exposed via the environment).
As set out in the policy paper, ‘The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture’, published on 22 January 2025, the Government plans to reform the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 to maintain a high level of fire safety while facilitating a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants.
The Secretary of State has asked Defra to convene a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis.
Additionally, the Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy that will govern, join up and drive Circular Economy work across government departments to support the government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.
We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed in the construction and waste sectors as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy.
On 7 April 2025, the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.
This groundbreaking initiative will deliver significant health benefits to the UK public and patients across the full spectrum of existing health research, including major public health challenges and diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which we know disproportionately shorten the lives of people in more deprived communities. The service will be designed to support people to get access to clinical trials and outputs from research faster, and the DigiTrials service supports researchers to recruit people to their trials who represent our diverse population.
At the heart of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) is a national network of Secure Data Environments, built on the existing NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network, which have been developed in lockstep with their local communities, and which cover the whole of England. The HDRS will bring services together to support fast and secure access to data for researchers, but there is no intention to move existing data assets which sit in various organisations across the nation and require expertise to process, gather, and use, and work will continue with communities to ensure that the service continues to develop with patient and public trust at its heart. We will also be closely working with the devolved administrations to ensure this is a UK wide service, and with the relevant charities to ensure that people from all backgrounds are represented.
We are committed to designing the service in close partnership with patients, professionals, and the public to deliver a trusted service, providing safe and secure access to health, social care, and public data, and to ensure that the research enables the improvement of local service provision and preventative health measures. Detailed design work for this will begin once we have a Chief Executive Officer in place.
NHS England and the Department are running a major national engagement programme on data with over 4,000 people across England. The initial findings and recommendations from the public are already informing our approach and will continue to shape the design and governance of the HDRS. This will support everyone, from medical researchers to health charities, to develop evidence-based solutions to major public health challenges.
On 7 April 2025, the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.
This groundbreaking initiative will deliver significant health benefits to the UK public and patients across the full spectrum of existing health research, including major public health challenges and diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which we know disproportionately shorten the lives of people in more deprived communities. The service will be designed to support people to get access to clinical trials and outputs from research faster, and the DigiTrials service supports researchers to recruit people to their trials who represent our diverse population.
At the heart of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) is a national network of Secure Data Environments, built on the existing NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network, which have been developed in lockstep with their local communities, and which cover the whole of England. The HDRS will bring services together to support fast and secure access to data for researchers, but there is no intention to move existing data assets which sit in various organisations across the nation and require expertise to process, gather, and use, and work will continue with communities to ensure that the service continues to develop with patient and public trust at its heart. We will also be closely working with the devolved administrations to ensure this is a UK wide service, and with the relevant charities to ensure that people from all backgrounds are represented.
We are committed to designing the service in close partnership with patients, professionals, and the public to deliver a trusted service, providing safe and secure access to health, social care, and public data, and to ensure that the research enables the improvement of local service provision and preventative health measures. Detailed design work for this will begin once we have a Chief Executive Officer in place.
NHS England and the Department are running a major national engagement programme on data with over 4,000 people across England. The initial findings and recommendations from the public are already informing our approach and will continue to shape the design and governance of the HDRS. This will support everyone, from medical researchers to health charities, to develop evidence-based solutions to major public health challenges.
On 7 April 2025, the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.
This groundbreaking initiative will deliver significant health benefits to the UK public and patients across the full spectrum of existing health research, including major public health challenges and diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which we know disproportionately shorten the lives of people in more deprived communities. The service will be designed to support people to get access to clinical trials and outputs from research faster, and the DigiTrials service supports researchers to recruit people to their trials who represent our diverse population.
At the heart of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) is a national network of Secure Data Environments, built on the existing NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network, which have been developed in lockstep with their local communities, and which cover the whole of England. The HDRS will bring services together to support fast and secure access to data for researchers, but there is no intention to move existing data assets which sit in various organisations across the nation and require expertise to process, gather, and use, and work will continue with communities to ensure that the service continues to develop with patient and public trust at its heart. We will also be closely working with the devolved administrations to ensure this is a UK wide service, and with the relevant charities to ensure that people from all backgrounds are represented.
We are committed to designing the service in close partnership with patients, professionals, and the public to deliver a trusted service, providing safe and secure access to health, social care, and public data, and to ensure that the research enables the improvement of local service provision and preventative health measures. Detailed design work for this will begin once we have a Chief Executive Officer in place.
NHS England and the Department are running a major national engagement programme on data with over 4,000 people across England. The initial findings and recommendations from the public are already informing our approach and will continue to shape the design and governance of the HDRS. This will support everyone, from medical researchers to health charities, to develop evidence-based solutions to major public health challenges.
On 7 April 2025, the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.
This groundbreaking initiative will deliver significant health benefits to the UK public and patients across the full spectrum of existing health research, including major public health challenges and diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which we know disproportionately shorten the lives of people in more deprived communities. The service will be designed to support people to get access to clinical trials and outputs from research faster, and the DigiTrials service supports researchers to recruit people to their trials who represent our diverse population.
At the heart of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) is a national network of Secure Data Environments, built on the existing NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network, which have been developed in lockstep with their local communities, and which cover the whole of England. The HDRS will bring services together to support fast and secure access to data for researchers, but there is no intention to move existing data assets which sit in various organisations across the nation and require expertise to process, gather, and use, and work will continue with communities to ensure that the service continues to develop with patient and public trust at its heart. We will also be closely working with the devolved administrations to ensure this is a UK wide service, and with the relevant charities to ensure that people from all backgrounds are represented.
We are committed to designing the service in close partnership with patients, professionals, and the public to deliver a trusted service, providing safe and secure access to health, social care, and public data, and to ensure that the research enables the improvement of local service provision and preventative health measures. Detailed design work for this will begin once we have a Chief Executive Officer in place.
NHS England and the Department are running a major national engagement programme on data with over 4,000 people across England. The initial findings and recommendations from the public are already informing our approach and will continue to shape the design and governance of the HDRS. This will support everyone, from medical researchers to health charities, to develop evidence-based solutions to major public health challenges.
On 7 April 2025, the Prime Minister announced that the Government and the Wellcome Trust will invest up to £600 million to create a new Health Data Research Service, co-designed through engagement with the public and patients, data users, and stakeholder organisations. This service will bring new treatments and cures to patients by safely enabling the use of patient data to super-charge research, attracting investment and making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to conduct ground-breaking medical research.
This groundbreaking initiative will deliver significant health benefits to the UK public and patients across the full spectrum of existing health research, including major public health challenges and diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which we know disproportionately shorten the lives of people in more deprived communities. The service will be designed to support people to get access to clinical trials and outputs from research faster, and the DigiTrials service supports researchers to recruit people to their trials who represent our diverse population.
At the heart of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) is a national network of Secure Data Environments, built on the existing NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network, which have been developed in lockstep with their local communities, and which cover the whole of England. The HDRS will bring services together to support fast and secure access to data for researchers, but there is no intention to move existing data assets which sit in various organisations across the nation and require expertise to process, gather, and use, and work will continue with communities to ensure that the service continues to develop with patient and public trust at its heart. We will also be closely working with the devolved administrations to ensure this is a UK wide service, and with the relevant charities to ensure that people from all backgrounds are represented.
We are committed to designing the service in close partnership with patients, professionals, and the public to deliver a trusted service, providing safe and secure access to health, social care, and public data, and to ensure that the research enables the improvement of local service provision and preventative health measures. Detailed design work for this will begin once we have a Chief Executive Officer in place.
NHS England and the Department are running a major national engagement programme on data with over 4,000 people across England. The initial findings and recommendations from the public are already informing our approach and will continue to shape the design and governance of the HDRS. This will support everyone, from medical researchers to health charities, to develop evidence-based solutions to major public health challenges.
Currently, no assessment has been made on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor the unsupervised use of these medications. However, we recognise the potential of AI and monitoring systems to support people’s health and care, including through the monitoring of vital signs. The United Kingdom has a world-leading regulatory system which ensures that medical technologies on the market are safe for use, including AI technologies. Should the National Health Service begin to assess AI-integrated health monitoring tools, they will be held to the same regulatory standards as other tools used by the NHS.
Medications such as semaglutide are prescription only medicines and should not be used unsupervised. It is illegal to obtain a prescription medicine without a prescription.