Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve care for people with arthritis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making.

As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The GIRFT programme is continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high-quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future.

Our recently published 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these will help deliver improvements to arthritis care in all parts of the country.

More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his planned timeline is for the rollout of innovation and growth hubs in London; what level of economic investment is expected to be allocated to those hubs in London over the next five years; and what criteria will be used to determine the location and focus of innovation and growth hubs in the UK.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government is supporting innovation clusters nationwide, including the Department for Science and Innovation and Technology (DIST) led £500 million Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, with at least £30 million allocated to London and additional funding available through competitive bidding for other regions.

The Department for Business and Trade provide core funding to 41 Growth Hubs across England, with £15 million (including £540,700 for Grow London Local) committed for 2025/26. These offer businesses support and advice across all sectors and stages.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the contribution of science and discovery centres to (a) UK STEM education, skills and career pathways, (b) inclusion and (c) public understanding of science.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department has no formal relationship with science and discovery centres and has therefore not made an assessment of their impact on education. We know many schools work with partners to enrich and supplement students’ core curriculum.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the impact of science and discovery centres' on (a) science communication, (b) public engagement and (c) the level of interest in STEM skills amongst school students; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of financial resilience of these centres since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not conducted an assessment of interest in science and discovery centres among school students. The financial sustainability of Science and Discovery Centres was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as entrance fees are a significant income source. Sector surveys by the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, conducted in Spring 2024 and 2025, show that visitor numbers have since increased, with over 5.2 million last year—including school children, families and communities. Science and Discovery Centres engaged 37% of UK schools and offered programmes such as 'Thinking Doing Talking Science' to improve attainment, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department holds data on the number of vacancies in the science and technology sectors in London.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT does not hold vacancy data specifically for the Science and Technology Sectors in London.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) availability and (b) portability of (i) digital infrastructure and (ii) IT services at Jobcentre Plus locations, in the context of support for (A) staff and (B) public users in accessing jobs and careers services through (1) self-service technologies, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) employer suites, (4) self-service screens and (5) other portable access points.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.

Our vision is for a Jobs and Careers service where people can access support through the channels that best meet their needs – digital where possible, human when needed.

We are testing a range of flexible and accessible delivery mechanisms. These include early assessment of user needs, determining the appropriate course of action; Self-service check-in stations; Strategically placed digital screens, displaying local job opportunities; A dedicated customer TechBar, providing digital support; Multifunctional Hubs, supported by conferencing functionality.

We are also testing bringing our core services directly to communities to meet underserved groups using mobile vehicles and pop-ups.

In addition to these wider digital changes are underway that will include the update and rollout of revised customer computer systems.

Furthermore, dedicated funding has been earmarked to support wider proof of concept testing including In-person transcription and summarisation; Real time translation capabilities; Video-based access to providers/suppliers.

The insight gained throughout these tests will help to shape our future service model.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support universities in (a) meeting student recruitment and (b) space targets in the context of current immigration policies.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has been clear that we welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. Higher education (HE) providers in the UK hosted 732,285 international students in the 2023/24 academic year, who come from all over the world and benefit UK HE and our society as a whole, boosting our economy by more than £21 billion a year.

The government is currently reviewing the UK’s International Education Strategy to ensure that it aligns with wider government policy and provides clear direction to the sector, including on international student recruitment.

Further, the department and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are working to ensure that the UK space sector can access the skills and talent needed to grow whilst ensuring long-term investment and growth of the domestic talent pool, in line with the Immigration White Paper and the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.

This may include collaborative working on the 2025/26 Space Sector Skills Survey, or closer engagement in key sector-facing and ministerial forums on space, all of which will be key to advising the government on how to achieve the right balance of international talent and domestic opportunity.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to help tackle pavement parking in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department held a consultation on pavement parking in 2020 and has been considering all the views expressed in response to the consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible. In the meantime, Newcastle City Council can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will steps to ensure that the proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill supports the establishment of common levels of cyber security with the UK's international partners.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will better safeguard UK national security by strengthening our cyber defences and ensuring the essential and digital services people and businesses rely on every day are better protected.

Cyber threats do not respect borders, and the nature of digital technology means we are all fundamentally interconnected. The UK is tackling similar challenges to those faced by governments across the globe. Businesses operating across borders are also reckoning with this threat and adjusting practices to comply with regulation in other jurisdictions as well as in the UK.

The Bill is being designed with these issues in mind and government is continuing to actively engage with our international partners on its development and on our shared cyber issues. We will continue to seek harmonisation and commonality in cyber security and risk mitigation where appropriate through the design and implementation of the Bill.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK’s 2025 Trade Strategy on (a) economic growth and (b) employment in the North East.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government published its Trade Strategy on 26 June, which was positively received by business. The Government will work closely with stakeholders on the implementation of the strategy, to ensure that resources are prioritised to deliver on key commitments to enhance economic growth and employment opportunities right across the UK including the North East, such as opening new export and market opportunities and strengthening our trade defence capabilities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on strategies for reducing child obesity in the North East.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of our Health Mission, the Government is committed to ensuring that people live well for longer. This includes tackling the determinants that underpin stark health inequalities to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions and to create the healthiest generation of children ever.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England outlines a range of actions to address childhood obesity. We will fulfil our commitments to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children, ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16 year olds, and use our revised National Planning Policy Framework to give local councils stronger powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools. We will work with the Department for Education to update school food standards. To support the families most in need, we are expanding free school meals to all children with a parent in receipt of universal credit. The Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy consultation sets out proposals to further drive reformulation, including ending the exemption for milk-based drinks and reducing the minimum sugar thresholds. By the end of this Parliament, we will introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector.

These are national-level policies and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the Government’s approach of moving towards the prevention of ill health, including tackling obesity within its 10-Year Health Plan.

Specifically, in the North East, North East local authorities received a total of £256 million in Public Health Grant funding for 2025/26. Directors of Public Health oversee the use of the Public Health Grant, working in partnership with a range of stakeholders to maximise the health gain associated with local resources, including addressing levels of childhood obesity in the North East. This includes commissioning the National Child Measurement Programme. Additionally, Directors of Public Health from each local authority are working in partnership with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to support action to address childhood obesity through a North East and North Cumbria Healthy Weight and Treating Obesity Strategy.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the importance of industrial heritage to the culture of historically industrial (a) cities and (b) towns.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has not made a formal assessment of the importance of industrial heritage to the culture of historically industrial cities and towns. However, this government is dedicated to supporting Britain's industrial heritage. Historic England, the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment is funded by DCMS and is actively engaged in the protection, conservation, reuse and public presentation of England’s industrial heritage.

As an example, many of Historic England's High Street Heritage Action Zones, funded by DCMS in 2019 -2024 has revitalised 67 historic high streets across England, and focused on industrial heritage, including the 200 year celebration of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Historic England’s Mills of the North project looks to promote textile mill reuse to provide much needed new homes, accommodate businesses and mixed uses playing a positive role in wider regeneration.

Historic England recently acquired Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, a key Industrial Revolution site, and is undergoing a £28.4 million conservation project to bring it back into public use.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support Britain's industrial heritage.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has not made a formal assessment of the importance of industrial heritage to the culture of historically industrial cities and towns. However, this government is dedicated to supporting Britain's industrial heritage. Historic England, the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment is funded by DCMS and is actively engaged in the protection, conservation, reuse and public presentation of England’s industrial heritage.

As an example, many of Historic England's High Street Heritage Action Zones, funded by DCMS in 2019 -2024 has revitalised 67 historic high streets across England, and focused on industrial heritage, including the 200 year celebration of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Historic England’s Mills of the North project looks to promote textile mill reuse to provide much needed new homes, accommodate businesses and mixed uses playing a positive role in wider regeneration.

Historic England recently acquired Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, a key Industrial Revolution site, and is undergoing a £28.4 million conservation project to bring it back into public use.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle health inequalities in the North East.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

This government is working to stamp out this country’s stark health inequalities. The North East has had the lowest healthy life expectancy for over ten years, which is unacceptable.

The Government has put tackling these inequalities at the heart of the 10 Year Plan. We will create a fairer Britain where everyone can access quality care, regardless of background, income or postcode.

We are taking unprecedented action by diverting billions of pounds to working class communities that need it most – prioritising investment in towns with the greatest health needs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how her Department plans to quantify the (a) costs and (b) savings associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence in (i) health, (ii) defence, (iii) education and (iv) other public services; and whether she considered including such an assessment in the recent Fiscal Risks and Sustainability report.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government has committed to invest in upgrading essential digital infrastructure, modernise public services and drive a major overhaul in government productivity and efficiency by harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Spending Review 2025 sets out plans for a step change in investment in digital and AI across public services, including an uplift of £1.2 billion for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to drive forward cross-cutting digital and AI priorities.

HM Treasury has not made a central assessment of AI adoption costs and savings in each public service area. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) provides independent analysis of the UK's public finances and publishes the Fiscal Risk and Sustainability Report and, as such, determine the scope and details within the report. The OBR has full discretion over the judgements underpinning their forecasts.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Government’s free breakfast club early adopter programme on children’s (a) welfare and (b) educational outcomes.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to delivering on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.

Breakfast clubs offer much more than just food, serving as a welcoming space for children, providing valuable opportunities for them to play, learn, and socialise at the beginning of the school day. This will set them up to be ready to learn and supports working parents, boosting household incomes.

Schools running breakfast clubs report improvements in behaviour, attendance, concentration and attainment, and a universal breakfast club offer has been found to be a less stigmatising way to reach those who need it the most.

We are working closely with our early adopter schools during the test and learn phase to understand how schools are delivering the new free clubs, pupil take-up and impact. We will publish findings from the test and learn phase in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish further details on plans to expand the provision of (a) palliative and (b) end of life care in community settings as outlined in the 10-Year Plan for Health.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs, including the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, which covers the Stafford constituency, are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.

The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that, in future, services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department's long-term fiscal modelling includes assumptions on the potential impact of artificial intelligence on levels of productivity.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has produced internal modelling on the potential fiscal impacts of artificial intelligence.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the 10-Year Plan for Health delivers equitable access to (a) palliative and (b) end of life care across all communities.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

One of the three shifts that the 10-Year Health Plan will deliver is the shift of healthcare from the hospital into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative and end of life care, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department are working on (a) promoting and (b) preserving Britain's industrial heritage; and if she will make it her policy to publish a strategy on the restoration of industrial heritage.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Historic England, the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, is responsible for managing and protecting heritage, including industrial heritage, across the country. As well as funding Historic England, the government announced new, additional funding for heritage in 2025/26 - £15m for the Heritage At Risk fund and £4.85m for the Heritage Revival Fund.

Within the Department for Culture Media and Sport, there is a small team that oversees Historic England, a team delivering heritage policy, and the designation of listed buildings and monuments. There are no current plans to publish a strategy on the restoration of industrial heritage but for all these workstands, industrial heritage is an important part of what they do and we will look at what more we can do to preserve and restore significant sites and structures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) training and (b) education pathways align with the skills required in the (i) artificial intelligence, (ii) fintech, (iii) medtech and (iv) green industry.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Through our Industrial Strategy, published in June 2025, this government will ensure the skills system and employment support align with strategic economic priorities, including the needs of priority growth sectors such as digital and technologies, clean energy, financial services and health, and for emerging technologies and transformative opportunities such as artificial intelligence (AI). For example, new short courses in areas such as digital, AI, and engineering will be introduced in England from April 2026, funded through the growth and skills levy. Skills England has been established to identify skills gaps across the economy, including in these priority growth sectors, and use these insights to improve and simplify skills provision so that people and business can best benefit from training. Skills England will work across government to ensure young people starting out in their careers, as well as adults who need to reskill, have clear education and training pathways.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the 10 Year Health Plan supports people with (a) arthritis and (b) other long-term conditions.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The three shifts outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan will support people with long-term conditions, including those with arthritis, to better manage their condition and access services closer to home. For example, it will empower them to access their medical history and allow them to book and manage their appointments and medication.

In addition, by 2028/29, neighbourhood health teams will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings with multi-disciplinary teams who can provide wrap-around support services.

By 2030, one million patients with long-term conditions will be offered Personal Health Budgets, which will enable them to use National Health Service resources and determine the care that best suits their needs.

Patients will be able to self-refer to services where clinically appropriate through the My Specialist section on the NHS App. This will accelerate their access to treatment and support. The NHS App will provide access to advice, guidance, self-care support, and appointment management. Patients will be able to manage their care in one place, giving them direct access to and preference over the services they need.

As part of the NHS App, My Medicines will enable patients to manage their prescriptions, and My Health will enable patients to monitor their symptoms and bring all their data into one place.

Found: With best wishes, Chi Onwurah MP Chair – Science, Innovation and Technology Committee

Found: 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ www.gov.uk/dsit 30th July 2025 Dame Chi Onwurah

Found: With best wishes, Chi Onwurah MP Chair – Science, Innovation and Technology Committee

Found: OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Dame Chi Onwurah Chair, Science, Innovation and Technology Committee House

Found: Protection and Telecoms 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ W: www.gov.uk/dsit Dame Chi Onwurah

Found: Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: Secretary.State@dsit.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/dsit Dame Chi Onwurah

Found: 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: Secretary.State@dsit.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/dsit Chi Onwurah

Found: Clifton-Brown; Dame Caroline Dinenage; Florence Eshalomi; Patricia Ferguson; Helen Hayes; Dame Chi Onwurah

Found: and on report, and it will, of course, go through the same in the other place.102 However, Dame Chi Onwurah

Found: and on report, and it will, of course, go through the same in the other place.102 However, Dame Chi Onwurah

Found: Letter dated 10/07/2025 from Chris Bryant MP to Chi Onwurah MP regarding the publication of the DSIT-funded

Found: Letter dated 10/07/2025 from Chris Bryant MP to Chi Onwurah MP regarding the publication of the DSIT-funded

Found: AI and Digital Government 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ www.gov.uk/dsit Dame Chi Onwurah

No description available