Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the economic and employment benefits arising from the Health Data Research Service are distributed equitably across the UK, and not concentrated in existing research clusters such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to involve communities, local authorities, and NHS Trusts in the co-design and governance of the Health Data Research Service to ensure that data use supports locally tailored public health interventions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the £500 million allocated to the Health Data Research Service will be directed specifically towards addressing health inequalities in deprived communities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that the health data of people living in deprived communities will be used for the improvement of local service provisions and preventative health measures.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the design and implementation of the Health Data Research Service includes the active participation of regional and local institutions, including those in areas of high deprivation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the £500 million investment in the Health Data Research Service will be used to support large-scale, evidence-based preventative measures to address major public health challenges such as obesity.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with regulators and the furniture industry on adopting safer fire safety technologies that reduce smoke toxicity; and what measures they are considering, if any, to encourage the use of inherently fire-resistant materials and innovative design solutions in place of chemical flame retardants.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce mandatory chemical labelling and traceability requirements in the furniture supply chain to aid the disclosure and responsible management of chemical flame retardants in consumer products.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent Spending Review, what discussions they have held with further education providers, heritage craft training organisations, and relevant guilds regarding the development of targeted apprenticeships and upskilling programmes to support the transmission of traditional and endangered craft skills to ensure the sustainability of the UK’s heritage craft sector.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to align regulation of flame retardants with the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, particularly regarding the classification and restriction of substances of very high concern that are persistent and bioaccumulative.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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