Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to support university-partnered venture capital investment companies outside the Oxford, Cambridge and London triangle; and whether Ministers in his Department have met with those companies.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to driving innovation and economic growth across the UK. DSIT Ministers regularly meet with investors in science and technology sectors. Research England’s Connecting Capabilities Fund (CCF) has supported university collaborations, leading to the Northern Gritstone and Midlands Mindforge venture capital funds, and the Northern Accelerator. Innovate UK’s Investor Partnerships programme supports investors like Northern Gritstone and Qantx with R&D funding for their companies. The government supports venture capital through tax reliefs such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme and programmes from the British Business Bank who are an investor in Northern Gritstone. Government continues to assess opportunities to strengthen the UK’s leadership in innovation-led investment.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30737 on AstraZeneca: Merseyside, if he will publish the feedback his Department has received from AstraZeneca on their Merseyside investment withdrawal.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Company feedback on Government grant process continually informs improvements in grant delivery. However, to maintain confidentiality between companies and Government, we do not publish company specific feedback.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has conducted a lessons learned review over negotiations with AstraZeneca on proposed investment in Merseyside.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AstraZeneca’s decision not to invest in Speke is deeply disappointing. The Government regularly reviews it’s grant process and routinely seeks applicant feedback. The Government also continues to engage positively with AstraZeneca, including on the new Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, due to be published in late Spring. This will set out a comprehensive plan of how the Government intends to drive growth in the sector. Support includes the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which will allocate up to £520 million to deliver economic growth and build health resilience.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of rolling out Project Gigabit in Bedfordshire on local economic growth.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, targeted at bringing fast, reliable broadband to premises in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout.
Digital infrastructure is a powerful driver of economic growth. The telecoms services industry contributed around 2.5% to UK real GVA in 2023, up from 0.3% in 2010.
Evidence from Building Digital UK’s earlier Superfast programme showed for every £1 spent on connections to premises left behind by the market, up to £4.57 was generated in economic and social benefits, including economic growth. We expect Project Gigabit to continue to drive local economic growth in areas which stand to benefit from the programme, including Bedfordshire.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support people in areas of poor (a) broadband and (b) mobile phone signal during the switchover to digital alternatives to landlines.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
For current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a general internet connection. Customers will only be offered VoIP if they live in an area with sufficient broadband connectivity.
In areas with insufficient mobile coverage to rely on their mobile as a back-up to VoIP, communication providers are required to comply with Ofcom regulations and provide a battery back-up solution. This ensures customers have a minimum of 1 hour access to emergency services. Major communication providers have signed up to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) charter and the non-voluntary migrations checklist published by the Department on 19 November 2024.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on UK R&D.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Chancellor on a range of issues. In the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that total HMG investment in R&D is rising to a record allocation of £20.4bn in 2025/26, with DSIT's R&D budget rising to £13.9bn, a real terms increase of 8.5%. This investment increases Core Research funding to at least £6.1bn, protecting funding for the UK's world leading research base in real terms, and fully funds the UK's association with Horizon Europe. Further details on how this funding will be allocated will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to support the development of tech clusters for specialist universities.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK tech ecosystem achieved a record combined market valuation of $1.08 trillion in 2023. Supporting its continued development across the UK is a priority for my department, and vital to this government’s mission to kickstart economic growth.
As set out in the industrial strategy consultation, the UK has world-leading innovation and tech clusters across the country. This includes aviation technology around Cranfield, with Cranfield University acting as a magnet for talent and investment and anchor institution for its local innovation ecosystem.
Through the industrial strategy, we will explore how best to continue supporting high-potential clusters across the UK through R&D investment.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy to ringfence Project Gigabit funding for rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
No. Project Gigabit is designed to subsidise the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband to premises that would otherwise not be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans.
These premises will predominantly be in rural areas, but the evidence from our regular engagement with the market indicates that we will also need to intervene in some urban areas in order to achieve the target of full gigabit coverage by 2030.