Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish detailed implementation plans, covering those health missions within the Life Sciences Vision, as undertaken at its launch in July 2021.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Four of the healthcare Missions published in the 2021 Life Sciences Vision: Dementia, Cancer, Obesity and Mental Health, as well as the Addiction Mission (announced as part of the 2021 Drugs Plan, ‘From harm to hope’) have recruited Chairs, have comprehensive delivery plans and objectives, and are beginning to make substantial investments to operationalise these. Progress on the delivery of the Missions, and the related investments, have and will continue to be made available online at a regular cadence.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how they are measuring progress on the respiratory mission, announced as part of the 2021 Life Sciences Vision, and (2) what progress has been made
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has engaged with stakeholders to define and develop the scope of work to be undertaken under the Respiratory Mission.
Meanwhile, the Government has committed funding to support respiratory research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council. This investment is aligned to the aims and ambitions of the proposed Respiratory Mission, outlined in the Life Science Vision, to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with respiratory disease.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will (1) appoint a chair to lead the respiratory mission within the Life Sciences Vision, and (2) provide funding to enable the delivery of the respiratory mission as it has done in the case of the cancer, obesity and mental health missions.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has engaged with stakeholders to define and develop the scope of work to be undertaken under the Respiratory Mission, which aims to reduce the mortality and morbidity from respiratory disease in the UK and globally. At this point a chair of the Respiratory Mission has not been appointed.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of universities in supporting the development of public policy on artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government understands that academic expertise is critical for developing strong public policy on AI and emerging technologies. It is commonplace for teams working on AI and technology policy to consult with academic experts. The AI policy team has engaged with academic experts in many aspects of policy development. This includes, but is not limited to:
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compliance by UK Biobank with NHS England’s assertion that “information is never passed to insurance companies without patient consent.”
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what income UK Biobank has received from the selling of information to insurance companies.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information held by UK Biobank has been sold to insurance companies.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assurances were given, when the establishment of UK Biobank was announced in 2002, that data would not be given to insurance companies after concerns were raised that it could be used in a discriminatory way.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when and how members of the public were informed that the assurance that data held by UK Biobank would not be given to insurance companies would no longer apply.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when a decision was made that the assurance that data held by UK Biobank would not be given to insurance companies would no longer apply.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.