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Written Question
Cancer: Research
Friday 2nd December 2022

Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much public funding his Department has spent on cancer research in each year since 2015.

Answered by George Freeman

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a partner organisation of BEIS, funds research relating to cancer across all UKRI councils.

The table below presents spend data for each of the relevant Research Councils for each year from 2015/16 to 2020/21.

Cancer research

Year

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

UKRI spend £m[i]

98.1

116.9

109

114.4

119.1

125.5

MRC spend £m

96.2

102.7

93.4

96.3

101.6

106.6

BBSRC spend £m

Data not available

12.9

14.3

15.2

14.2

15.2

ESRC spend £m

1.9

1.3

1.3

2.9

3.3

3.7

Notes on cancer research figures

  1. Spend figures include data provided by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC).
  2. Spend data for Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK (IUK), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Research England (RE) and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are not provided.
  3. BBSRC spend data for 2015/16 is unavailable.
  4. MRC and BBSRC spend is provided by the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). Spend is based on the percentage of each research project that is relevant to cancer research.
  5. ESRC total spend for each relevant grant is included in the data above.
  6. BBSRC spend figures represent underpinning bioscience research relevant to cancer. BBSRC does not fund research directly to understanding specific human diseases.

Written Question
Energy: Profits
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) capping or (b) greater regulation of the profits of Distribution Network Operators to help give consumers greater confidence in the equity of energy bills.

Answered by Graham Stuart

Ofgem uses the price control process to set the amount that Network Operators can spend and the returns they can make on investment, in a way that allows the funding needed for a more resilient, low-carbon network while protecting consumers from excessive costs. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and the network companies throughout the development of the price controls. The next electricity distribution network price control will commence in April 2023, with Final Determinations from Ofgem expected shortly.

Written Question
Fuels: Prices
Friday 18th November 2022

Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has taken steps to establish an online fuel comparison tool.

Answered by Graham Stuart

The Competition and Markets Authority’s Road Fuel Review published on 8 July, recommended the Government considers an open data scheme to improve consumers’ access to fuel prices.

In response, the Government committed to further work and analysis to assess the feasibility of this recommendation. This includes implementation timescales, legislative vehicles, and its efficacy in delivering fuel price transparency.

The Government will gather evidence of existing schemes in other countries to understand how they work and their impact to date on consumer behaviour and fuel pricing. It will aim to conclude its assessment by Spring 2023.