Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to continue their funding for all local, main and strategic Darwin Plus projects.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government recognises the strong support from the Overseas Territories for the continuation of Darwin Plus.
We will shortly be finalising our plans to fund successful 2025/26 project proposals. For projects extending beyond that, we will update applicants following the completion of the multiyear spending review and internal business planning and publish this on the Darwin Plus website.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the policy of the United States regarding deep-sea mining exploration licences could have on areas owned and licensed by the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government has noted the US Executive Order on 'Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources'. UK Seabed Resources Limited (UKSR), a UK-registered company sponsored by the UK Government, holds two licences for exploration in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) from the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the body mandated under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to organise and control activities in the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond national jurisdiction. The CCZ is an area beyond national jurisdiction and is not owned by the UK or any State. UKSR will continue to hold those licences under the auspices of the ISA.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consulted the Office for Environmental Protection (1) before, and (2) after, the publication of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Whilst the department did not actively consult the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), the government welcomes that the OEP share our view that the Nature Restoration Fund has the potential to secure better outcomes for nature whilst also unlocking and accelerating necessary development.
We are giving careful consideration to the advice the OEP have provided on proposed changes to environmental law contained in Part 3 of the Bill.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include diffuse astrocytoma brain tumours and all grades of brain tumour subtypes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those with brain tumours.
Although low-grade brain tumours are generally non-cancerous, they can have similar, serious symptoms and require surgery or radiotherapy to treat. The Government has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
The plan will include further details on how we will speed up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the last funding reviews of (1) the Medical Research Council, and (2) the National Institute for Health and Care Research, took place, and when the next funding reviews will be undertaken.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 2024 Autumn Budget set 2025/26 departmental budgets, including funding for health and social care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). The current Spending Review, which will conclude in June, will consider levels of Government funding for health and social care research through the NIHR, the MRC, and elsewhere for subsequent years.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the increase of incidents of (1) diffuse astrocytoma and (2) low grade gliomas will be considered when allocating research funding for these conditions to the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Over the last ten years, the Department has invested £407,665 across three projects into research for astrocytoma brain tumours, and £632,742 across four projects into research for low grade gliomas through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
More broadly, in the five years between 2018/19 and 2022/23, the NIHR has directly invested £11.3 million in brain cancer research projects and programmes across 15 awards, with wider investments in NIHR research infrastructure, including facilities, services, and the research workforce, at a value of an estimated £31.5 million 2022/23, and has enabled 227 brain cancer research studies to take place over the same period. In total NIHR investments have enabled 8,500 people to participate in potentially life-changing research in the National Health Service over this time.
Over five years between 2020 and 2024, the Medical Research Council (MRC) also committed £12.6 million to brain tumour research, including £7.4 million for glioma research. This includes two PhD studentships related to low grade glioma. The MRC did not commit any specific funding for astrocytoma research in this period.
In September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. Further details can be found on the NIHR’s website, in an online only format.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including astrocytoma brain tumours and low-grade gliomas. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they have spent and how much funding they have allocated for research into the treatment of (1) astrocytoma brain tumours and (2) low grade gliomas in each of the past 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Over the last ten years, the Department has invested £407,665 across three projects into research for astrocytoma brain tumours, and £632,742 across four projects into research for low grade gliomas through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
More broadly, in the five years between 2018/19 and 2022/23, the NIHR has directly invested £11.3 million in brain cancer research projects and programmes across 15 awards, with wider investments in NIHR research infrastructure, including facilities, services, and the research workforce, at a value of an estimated £31.5 million 2022/23, and has enabled 227 brain cancer research studies to take place over the same period. In total NIHR investments have enabled 8,500 people to participate in potentially life-changing research in the National Health Service over this time.
Over five years between 2020 and 2024, the Medical Research Council (MRC) also committed £12.6 million to brain tumour research, including £7.4 million for glioma research. This includes two PhD studentships related to low grade glioma. The MRC did not commit any specific funding for astrocytoma research in this period.
In September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. Further details can be found on the NIHR’s website, in an online only format.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including astrocytoma brain tumours and low-grade gliomas. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions ministers or officials have had with the operators of Heathrow Airport on their proposal for a third runway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
DfT Ministers and officials engage routinely with Heathrow Airport Limited on a range of issues, including their future growth proposals.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on developing a licensing regime to enable the wild release of beavers in England.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Defra will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions and management in England. This work includes the development of a licensing regime to enable the wild release of beavers in England. Further information on this will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the report of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in released pheasants in Worcestershire resulting in mass mortality, what estimate they have made of the number of pheasants and other birds killed; what assessment they have made of the impact of released pheasants on the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza; and what plans they have, if any, to increase disease surveillance of game birds.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out year-round surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dead wild birds, including wild gamebirds, in Great Britain and publishes results on GOV.UK. These can be explored through APHA’s interactive map and dashboard available at GOV.UK
To ensure our approach to disease control reflects any risk these activities pose, APHA has assessed the impact gamebird releases have on the likelihood of transmission of avian influenza to wild birds, and between wild birds and kept birds. The need to update this risk assessment in response to new scientific evidence or veterinary advice or significant changes in the epidemiological situation is kept under review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza.