Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to assess the NHS’s capacity for fresh freezing of tumour and other tissue samples, and the impact of this capacity on improving access to innovative cancer testing and treatments.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.
Fresh-freezing, also referred to as snap-freezing, is a standard technique used by pathology networks to preserve tissue architecture without chemical fixatives, allowing for subsequent molecular or histological analysis, typically supporting research or advanced diagnostic applications.
Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.
Information on the number of NHS trusts in England that have facilities for fresh freezing brain cancer tissue samples is not currently collected. However, the extent to which fresh freezing is used across NHS trusts is likely to vary depending on the availability of neurosurgery services.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of current (1) fresh-freezing, (2) snap-freezing, and (3) flash frozen capacity for brain cancer tissue samples across NHS trusts in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.
Fresh-freezing, also referred to as snap-freezing, is a standard technique used by pathology networks to preserve tissue architecture without chemical fixatives, allowing for subsequent molecular or histological analysis, typically supporting research or advanced diagnostic applications.
Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.
Information on the number of NHS trusts in England that have facilities for fresh freezing brain cancer tissue samples is not currently collected. However, the extent to which fresh freezing is used across NHS trusts is likely to vary depending on the availability of neurosurgery services.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS trusts in England have facilities for fresh-freezing brain cancer tissue samples.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.
Fresh-freezing, also referred to as snap-freezing, is a standard technique used by pathology networks to preserve tissue architecture without chemical fixatives, allowing for subsequent molecular or histological analysis, typically supporting research or advanced diagnostic applications.
Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.
Information on the number of NHS trusts in England that have facilities for fresh freezing brain cancer tissue samples is not currently collected. However, the extent to which fresh freezing is used across NHS trusts is likely to vary depending on the availability of neurosurgery services.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any independent assessment has been conducted of the risks associated with continuing to rely on Fujitsu for critical government services, including the Trader Support Service.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a public contracting authority, HMRC follows government procurement rules, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, to ensure value for money and robust risk management. The current Trader Support Service (TSS) contract was procured in full compliance with these regulations, as will the replacement contract. HMRC applies the government’s Sourcing Playbook throughout its commercial activity, which includes rigorous risk assessments and financial due diligence. These processes are designed to ensure that suppliers can deliver critical services and that risks—whether operational, reputational, or legal—are identified and mitigated. HMRC maintains active contract management arrangements to monitor performance and ensure continuity of service.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fujitsu's suitability for the re-tendering of the Trader Support Service contract, given the company's role in the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Trader Support Services contract was procured in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Existing service delivery is managed robustly by contract management teams in compliance with this legislation and to ensure that the requirements of UK traders are met under the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has been issued to departments regarding the awarding of public contracts to suppliers that have caused public harm, with specific reference to Fujitsu.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fujitsu's suitability as a strategic supplier following the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Fujitsu contracts have been extended by HM Revenue and Customs in the past 12 months; and whether ministerial approval was sought.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Seven Fujitsu contracts have been extended by HMRC in the past 12 months to ensure continuity of essential services. These are: the Call-Off Contract for COTS Software (Oracle), Crown Hosting Run, Data Services, Data Project Services, Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) and Vulnerability Managed Service, Pre-Production Environment (PPE) Web Solutions, and the Trader Support Service. As a public contracting authority, HMRC adheres to the procurement rules and spend controls set by the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, obtaining appropriate ministerial approval where required. Of the seven contracts, six had extension values below the Cabinet Office Spend Control threshold of £20 million and were approved internally by HMRC in line with established processes and governance controls. Only one contract—the Trader Support Service—exceeded the threshold (£66.8 million) and therefore required both Cabinet Office Spend Control and Ministerial Approval.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to consult communities and experts on developing a long-term counter-extremism strategy aimed at building democratic and societal resilience, strengthening cohesion and reducing extremism and other societal threats.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all polices relating to national security and public safety under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Polak (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel on the terror attack on 16 February at Re’em Junction that killed two and left four injured.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
This terrorist attack serves as a reminder of the daily security challenges Israel faces. The Government condemns all violence against innocent civilians and, as the Government has stated previously, for there to be a lasting peace, Israel's security must be assured. We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we continue to have regular discussions with Israeli counterparts on all aspects of the conflict.