Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of prioritising frontier life sciences industries in pharmaceuticals on (a) developing non-animal methods of testing and (b) phasing out animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption.
Frontier life science companies are pioneering innovative drug development, including via human-specific targets that require human-based models in their discovery and testing, and alternative technologies that can be used to support this, such as AI and machine learning. Supporting these industries will help advance alternative methods and contribute to the reduction of animal testing, in alignment with the forthcoming government strategy on alternatives.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of quantum computing as a domain of strategic competition on the economy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionise our economy, transforming our ability to drive growth and productivity in key industrial sectors, such as through the acceleration of drug discovery, or optimisation of global supply chains.
Oxford Economics estimate that, by 2045, quantum computing could support up to £11bn in UK GDP as well as up to 126,000 jobs across the economy.
The Government is investing £670m to drive development and adoption of quantum computers in the UK, including 10 year backing for the National Quantum Computing Centre.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of engineering biology as a domain of strategic competition on the economy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Modern Industrial Strategy is founded on supporting high-growth sectors across the UK’s strengths. As part of developing the Digital and Technologies Sector Plan Government assessed a range of technologies to assess those of highest growth to be included as frontier technologies. Engineering biology was selected as a frontier technology as part of this assessment process, backed by £380 million of investment in the Sector Plan.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what proportion of funding for preclinical infrastructure linked to translational research networks will be allocated to (a) developing non-animal methods of testing and (b) phasing out animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption. The majority of the £30 million for preclinical infrastructure linked to translational research networks announced in the Industrial Strategy is expected to support alternative methods, however exact allocations are yet to be completed and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the use of military sites to house asylum seekers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are actively exploring all viable options so we can reduce reliance on hotels, including using modular buildings on industrial sites and ex-military sites, that deliver value for money and meet operational needs.
We continue to work closely cross-government, with local authorities, and property partners to assess feasibility of options and accelerate delivery where possible, ensuring any development is safe, appropriate and compliant.
Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites will be made on a site-by-site basis, and we will continue to work closely with local authorities and in compliance with published policy.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which military sites her Department has assessed for housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are actively exploring all viable options so we can reduce reliance on hotels, including using modular buildings on industrial sites and ex-military sites, that deliver value for money and meet operational needs.
We continue to work closely cross-government, with local authorities, and property partners to assess feasibility of options and accelerate delivery where possible, ensuring any development is safe, appropriate and compliant.
Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites will be made on a site-by-site basis, and we will continue to work closely with local authorities and in compliance with published policy.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the commitment to unleash the economic potential of the life sciences cluster in Cambridge on Huntingdonshire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to working with local partners to unleash the economic potential of Cambridgeshire, helping to drive jobs and growth across the region, including Huntingdonshire. We have not specifically assessed the impact on Huntingdonshire, but through the Life Sciences Sector Plan and broader Industrial Strategy, we will continue to deliver for the region. This includes through investing in flagship infrastructure such as East West Rail, planning reform, and securing partnerships – such as the recent landmark BioNTech announcement, which will see a new R&D hub established in Cambridge as part of a £1 billion, 10-year UK investment programme, creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs in the region.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on streamlining (a) regulation and (b) market access by supporting the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers support to all regulators through its Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, which is used for initiatives which improve the regulatory environment for innovation and investment. DSIT is contributing further to the development of the regulatory framework through its funding, alongside the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council, of the Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation. Finally, the Regulatory Innovation Office has been working with DHSC, MHRA and other regulators to address the regulatory barriers to the development and adoption of AI and digital in healthcare.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, when she plans to implement the reduction in opportunities to challenge consent decisions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces changes to the way judicial reviews are handled for National Policy Statements and development consent orders relating to nationally significant infrastructure projects. It removes the paper permission stage, meaning applications will go directly to an oral permission hearing in the High Court. In addition, where the High Court decides at that hearing that a case is “totally without merit,” the claimant will not have a right of appeal.
The Government intends to commence these provisions as soon as practicable after Royal Assent, once the necessary procedural changes are in place.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many of the investible sites due to be delivered via the Strategic Sites Accelerator are in the Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Strategic Sites Accelerator is a new programme, announced as part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, backed by over £600 million in public funding. The programme is at an early stage of design so the number and we have not yet determined the location of any sites.