Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Alzheimer's Society that (1) spending on dementia diagnosis and treatment is equivalent to just 1.4 per cent of total dementia healthcare costs, and (2) social care costs and unpaid care costs constitute 40 and 50 per cent of the total economic costs of dementia respectively.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Casey’s Commission on the establishment of a new National Care Service continues to look specifically at what can be done to improve the diagnosis and treatment of dementia, and to provide greater support both to individuals living with dementia, and to the loved ones who care for them.
On 8 October, the Government announced the investment of £33 million through the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, alongside funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, and Gates Ventures, to increase the recruitment of people into clinical studies for new dementia treatments, thereby speeding up clinical trials and bringing promising new treatments to patients faster.
We have also committed to deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia which aims to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. We aim to publish the full modern service framework by the end of this calendar year, and appoint a dedicated Dementia Tsar to drive progress in this area, both based on Baroness Casey’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia is sufficiently ambitious and adequately funded to address the scale of the challenge of dementia.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Casey’s Commission on the establishment of a new National Care Service continues to look specifically at what can be done to improve the diagnosis and treatment of dementia, and to provide greater support both to individuals living with dementia, and to the loved ones who care for them.
On 8 October, the Government announced the investment of £33 million through the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, alongside funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, and Gates Ventures, to increase the recruitment of people into clinical studies for new dementia treatments, thereby speeding up clinical trials and bringing promising new treatments to patients faster.
We have also committed to deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia which aims to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. We aim to publish the full modern service framework by the end of this calendar year, and appoint a dedicated Dementia Tsar to drive progress in this area, both based on Baroness Casey’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve diagnostic rates for Alzheimer's disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Casey’s Commission on the establishment of a new National Care Service continues to look specifically at what can be done to improve the diagnosis and treatment of dementia, and to provide greater support both to individuals living with dementia, and to the loved ones who care for them.
On 8 October, the Government announced the investment of £33 million through the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, alongside funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, and Gates Ventures, to increase the recruitment of people into clinical studies for new dementia treatments, thereby speeding up clinical trials and bringing promising new treatments to patients faster.
We have also committed to deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia which aims to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. We aim to publish the full modern service framework by the end of this calendar year, and appoint a dedicated Dementia Tsar to drive progress in this area, both based on Baroness Casey’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure that the proposed devolution of technical educational pathways for young people to mayors and local authorities will retain the same equal access and opportunities for all young people, irrespective of where they reside.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is still at an early stage in developing the new technical education pathways. Our ambition is to ensure every young person has access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14, supporting progression into further study, training and skilled employment.
We will work with the Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local leaders to design locally tailored, vocationally focussed pathways for each region, with rollout beginning from September 2028. This will include co-designing a national framework that provides a recognisable national offer with clear and consistent standards and expectations, while enabling areas to tailor pathways to local labour market needs and growth priorities.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proposed timetable for the introduction of the new level 1 stepping stone qualifications for English and Mathematics.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government response to the consultation on the new 16 to 19 Level 1 English and maths qualifications will be published later this year and will include an update on potential first teach dates. The new qualifications will enable learners with prior GCSE attainment of grade 2 or below to consolidate the key foundational skills and knowledge needed to achieve a GCSE grade 4 and help ensure that students only re-take exams when they are ready to make progress.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is improved educational delivery for young people through collaboration between further and higher educational institutions, private colleges and training organisations
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to improving education and training for young people by strengthening collaboration across the post-16 education and skills system.
Further education colleges, higher education (HE) institutions, sixth-form colleges, independent training providers, employers and local partners all play an important role in ensuring provision is high-quality, coherent and responsive to local and national skills needs.
Accountability statements require colleges to set out how they support local, regional and national skills priorities and encourage them to work with employers, HE institutions and wider stakeholders. Local Skills Improvement Plans also bring employers and providers together to shape provision and improve routes into further study, training and employment.
The department is establishing Regional Improvement Teams to work with local partners, strengthen provider collaboration and support improvement across the system. All publicly funded providers are expected to deliver high-quality education and training, with standards independently assessed through Ofsted or Office for Students arrangements, helping young people progress with confidence into higher-level learning or employment.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for any proposed changes to the qualification routes for young people for level 2 post-16 qualifications.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Education is a devolved matter and this response outlines the information for England only.
The Post-16 Pathways Implementation Plan, published on 20 May 2026, sets out the phased roadmap for post-16 technical and vocational qualifications from 2027.
Occupational Certificates are being developed in Early Years Practitioner and Catering and Hospitality, alongside Foundation Certificates in Digital Systems and Data, and Education, for first teach in September 2027.
From 2028 onwards, additional Occupational and Foundation Certificates will be introduced across a wider range of subject areas, including Health and Care Services, Construction, Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care, and Creative and Design. Subjects planned beyond 2027 remain subject to final content.
We are committed to regularly updating the Implementation Plan over the four-year reform period. The latest update was published on 16 September 2026 with the next update expected in spring 2027.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Leong on 15 September (HL2978) regarding animal experiments, how they intend to measure progress their objective, set out in the Replacing animals in science strategy (November 2025), of increasing and sustaining investment in animal replacement methods, if funding for such methods is not separately identified across Government; and whether they plan to establish a cross-government baseline against which future investment in human-specific research methods and technologies can be assessed.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Progress in delivering the objectives of the strategy will be measured against a set of KPIs developed in consultation with delivery partners. A KPI framework covering the strategy's commitments will be published later this year.
While a unified reporting format that captures investments made through all relevant government departments and regulatory bodies is not yet available, individual delivery partners are developing and refining their reporting methodologies.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total amount of funding provided across all Government departments for scientific research involving the use of live animals.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
His Majesty’s Government has not made an estimate of the total amount of funding provided across all Government departments for scientific research involving the use of live animals. Public funding for research involving animals is provided through a range of organisations and programmes that support broader scientific and medical research objectives. These organisations and programmes have different data collection and reporting systems in place, and therefore this information cannot be consistently identified across Government.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total amount of funding provided across all Government departments for scientific research involving human-specific research methods and technologies.
Answered by Lord Leong - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
His Majesty’s Government has not made an estimate of the total amount of funding provided across all Government departments for scientific research involving human-specific research methods and technologies. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) invests in a range of research that supports human-specific approaches, including organ-on-a-chip technologies, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. These activities are generally categorised within broader research programmes, and funding for human-specific research methods is not separately identified across Government.