Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to the letters of 10 April and 12 May 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department of Business and Trade aims to respond to correspondence in 15 working days, but in some instances it can take longer. The Department has conducted a search of its records and has not identified the correspondence referred to, and will respond as soon as possible if it is received.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure reliable and affordable supplies of Helium for MRI scanners in the NHS estate.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is closely monitoring the impacts of the Middle East conflict on the medical supply chain, including on the supply of helium. We have engaged with industry and received assurance on the stability of continued helium supply through contingency planning and sourcing through multiple global routes. We will continue to monitor the supply of helium and other medical products to mitigate any potential impacts on patient care.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she intends to respond to the letter of 14 April 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs on a constituent's complaint about the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The letter of 14 April from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs is currently receiving urgent attention under reference MC2026/08512. HM Treasury will respond in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what consideration he has given to securing reliable supplies of Helium for use in advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defence in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A secure supply of critical minerals, like helium, is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition
Through the 2025 UK Critical Minerals Strategy we are building will build strong partnerships with key markets to diversify production and processing and strengthen our supply chains, alongside working with key existing producers.
At present, in response to the Middle East situation, the Government is assessing supply chain risks and mitigations across a range of key supply chain inputs and the sectors in which they are used. This is an ongoing process and will remain in place if it is needed.
We encourage any business experiencing disruption to visit business.gov.uk to access support and guidance.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans she has to ensure reliable and affordable supplies of Helium in the use of research funded by her department.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of reliable and affordable helium supplies for UK research. We are strengthening resilience across critical supply chains including through diversifying supply sources and supporting domestic capability, where appropriate.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) work closely with the research community and infrastructure providers to monitor emerging risks and is already starting to explore options for continued access to essential materials. Decisions on procurement and use of resources are taken locally by institutions, supported by UKRI funding, while Government continues to engage internationally and with partners to promote stable and sustainable global supply chains for critical research inputs.
In the specific context of Helium for a closed-loop cryoplant (the majority of the large scale cryoplants in use) only a very small fraction of Helium is lost; most of it is actually recycled. Top-up to the systems is therefore minimal.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Department for Business and Trade workforce management information return for March 2026, for what reason the Department recorded consultancy spend of -£20,783,968.13; whether this figure reflects an accounting adjustment, correction, reclassification, refund or data error; and what the Department’s gross consultancy spend was in March 2026 before that negative adjustment was applied.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In March 2026 an adjustment was made to correctly reclassify £14.9m of 2025-26 costs from consultancy to professional services. In addition, there was a correction of a purchase order receipt which had incorrectly recorded £9.5m of consultancy costs in February 2026. These had the effect of artificially lowering the March 2026 consultancy costs. The underlying consultancy costs for March 2026 were £3,674,344.13.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many UK-domiciled students received financial support from Government-backed mobility schemes to undertake a period of study at universities in the United States in 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds data on students at UK higher education (HE) providers who receive Turing Scheme funding for overseas placements. The department does not hold data on student domicile and figures therefore include international students. Students can undertake both study and work placements, and the following information reflects both the overall number of HE placements in each country, with the number of study placements in brackets.
In 2021/22, 2,467 students undertook placements in the United States (of which 2,138 were study placements), 938 in Canada (841 study placements), and 342 in Australia (313 study placements). Fewer than five students went to New Zealand and so these numbers are suppressed.
In 2022/23, 1,900 students went to the United States (1,277 study placements), 948 to Canada (860 study placements), 1,012 to Australia (863 study placements), and 79 to New Zealand (27 study placements).
In 2023/24, 1,610 students went to the United States (1,127 study placements), 700 to Canada (590 study placements), 983 to Australia (775 study placements), and 142 to New Zealand (74 study placements).
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many UK-domiciled students received financial support from Government-backed mobility schemes to undertake a period of study at universities in Australia in 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds data on students at UK higher education (HE) providers who receive Turing Scheme funding for overseas placements. The department does not hold data on student domicile and figures therefore include international students. Students can undertake both study and work placements, and the following information reflects both the overall number of HE placements in each country, with the number of study placements in brackets.
In 2021/22, 2,467 students undertook placements in the United States (of which 2,138 were study placements), 938 in Canada (841 study placements), and 342 in Australia (313 study placements). Fewer than five students went to New Zealand and so these numbers are suppressed.
In 2022/23, 1,900 students went to the United States (1,277 study placements), 948 to Canada (860 study placements), 1,012 to Australia (863 study placements), and 79 to New Zealand (27 study placements).
In 2023/24, 1,610 students went to the United States (1,127 study placements), 700 to Canada (590 study placements), 983 to Australia (775 study placements), and 142 to New Zealand (74 study placements).
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many UK-domiciled students received financial support from Government-backed mobility schemes to undertake a period of study at universities in New Zealand in 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds data on students at UK higher education (HE) providers who receive Turing Scheme funding for overseas placements. The department does not hold data on student domicile and figures therefore include international students. Students can undertake both study and work placements, and the following information reflects both the overall number of HE placements in each country, with the number of study placements in brackets.
In 2021/22, 2,467 students undertook placements in the United States (of which 2,138 were study placements), 938 in Canada (841 study placements), and 342 in Australia (313 study placements). Fewer than five students went to New Zealand and so these numbers are suppressed.
In 2022/23, 1,900 students went to the United States (1,277 study placements), 948 to Canada (860 study placements), 1,012 to Australia (863 study placements), and 79 to New Zealand (27 study placements).
In 2023/24, 1,610 students went to the United States (1,127 study placements), 700 to Canada (590 study placements), 983 to Australia (775 study placements), and 142 to New Zealand (74 study placements).
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many UK-domiciled students received financial support from Government-backed mobility schemes to undertake a period of study at universities in Canada in 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds data on students at UK higher education (HE) providers who receive Turing Scheme funding for overseas placements. The department does not hold data on student domicile and figures therefore include international students. Students can undertake both study and work placements, and the following information reflects both the overall number of HE placements in each country, with the number of study placements in brackets.
In 2021/22, 2,467 students undertook placements in the United States (of which 2,138 were study placements), 938 in Canada (841 study placements), and 342 in Australia (313 study placements). Fewer than five students went to New Zealand and so these numbers are suppressed.
In 2022/23, 1,900 students went to the United States (1,277 study placements), 948 to Canada (860 study placements), 1,012 to Australia (863 study placements), and 79 to New Zealand (27 study placements).
In 2023/24, 1,610 students went to the United States (1,127 study placements), 700 to Canada (590 study placements), 983 to Australia (775 study placements), and 142 to New Zealand (74 study placements).