Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to p. 69 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, which innovation partnerships she plans to continue; and what criteria his Department uses to decide which innovation partnerships are effective.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In the English Devolution White Paper, we committed to support more local leaders, working in partnership with businesses and universities, to unlock their regions’ innovation potential.
For example, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is deepening its regional partnerships with Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England and working to extend this to the Devolved Administrations. InnovateUK is working with local leaders across the UK to develop jointly owned local innovation action plans. UKRI is developing a framework to assess the effectiveness of these partnerships, which will help inform the consideration of options for future regional innovation funding as part of the Spending Review.
We are also developing a new, UK-wide regional innovation funding programme as part of the Spending Review. This will help to ensure everyone benefits from innovation-led growth.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the repayment rate for newer medicines under the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth on the UK life sciences sector.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth (VPAG) is a unique partnership between the Government and the pharmaceutical industry and includes a range of commitments to support innovation and improve National Health Service access and uptake of newer medicines. This also includes the novel £400 million investment programme which aims to boost the global competitiveness of the United Kingdom, stimulate economic growth, and support patient access to medicines through targeted investment.
The Department has been engaging closely with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) to understand the potential impact of the higher-than-expected VPAG headline payment percentage in 2025. In recognition of the pressure that the increased headline payment percentage is putting on industry we have committed to bringing forward the mid-scheme review of the VPAG from Autumn 2025 to June 2025.
As part of this review, the ABPI and their member organisations have been invited to put forward their proposals for discussion, as well as suggestions for how the pharmaceutical sector can actively work alongside the Government to increase the UK’s overall share of global research and development activity, and drive economic growth.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the progress on developing new treatments for sickle cell disorder; and whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on taking steps to accelerate the development of new treatments.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as sickle cell disease. Priority four of the framework aims to improve access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs for all rare conditions.
In February 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved exagamglogene autotemcel (Casgevy) for use on the National Health Service in England through the Innovative Medicines Fund, and it is now available for eligible patients. People in England with severe sickle cell disease will be among the first to receive treatment using revolutionary CRISPR gene editing technology, providing a potential cure for some people with severe sickle cell disease.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not discussed steps to accelerate the development of new treatments for sickle cell disease with Cabinet colleagues.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how Innovate UK supports (a) start-ups and (b) scale-ups in meeting the requirements of potential investors.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Innovate UK has several targeted approaches to support innovative SMEs that increase their investment readiness. From 2020-2024, SMEs supported by Innovate UK Business Growth have raised over £9bn in private sector investment. In its current spending review planning, Innovate UK is further prioritising how their overall support is strengthened to provide a smooth innovation journey from start-up to scale-up alongside working in closer partnership with other ecosystem partners such as the Scale-up Institute and British Business Bank.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to encourage the connection of residential developments to district heating schemes.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050.
To deliver this ambition we are transforming the heat network market through policies like heat network zoning, which identifies areas of England where heat networks are expected to be the lowest cost solution for decarbonising heat.
Through heat network zoning, certain types of buildings including communally heated residential buildings could be required to connect to a network within a prescribed timeframe.
This will allow for large-scale strategic heat networks to be built in towns and cities across the country.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 implications for his policies of the pay gap between men and women working at UK Research and Innovation; and what steps he is taking to tackle that pay gap.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UKRI published its sixth Gender Pay Gap report in March 2025. The report describes the steps that UKRI is taking across the organisation, including developing inclusive recruitment and career progression strategies.
UKRI’s mean gender pay gap has narrowed by 0.6 percentage points since 2022. However, the most recent data shows that the gender pay gap widened by 0.7 percentage points in the last year. This change is largely driven by the 2022 pay award, which increased the salaries of employees in research delivery roles to address external pay market pressures. There is a higher proportion of male staff than female staff within this cohort compared to the wider UKRI employee population. Actions to address this disparity are set out in the report; these include reviewing recruitment and selection process to eliminate biases and ensuring that UKRI’s practices are fair and inclusive for all.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of levels of research and development funding for sickle cell disorder.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects and strategic investments, including research into sickle cell disease, for which UKRI had expenditure of approximately £0.2 million in 2023-24. UKRI also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally.
The Department of Health and Social Care funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past five years, the NIHR have awarded over £6 million for research related to sickle cell disease.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on the role women's health hubs in the 10-year health plan of the guidance by his Department entitled Women's health hubs: cost benefit analysis, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving women’s health. This will be taken forward as an important part of the 10 Year Plan. The plan will draw on a range of evidence and analyses when establishing our priorities for rebuilding and reforming our health system over the next ten years.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking with (a) charities and (b) other organisations with expertise in domestic abuse to embed trauma-informed principles into the operation of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 6 March to PQ 33879.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of working days that were lost due to the effects of sickle cell disorder in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Office for National Statistics publish annual statistics on sickness absence in the UK labour market, which includes the reasons for sickness absence. However, the reasons are not provided in this data at the level of detail of specific conditions, such as sickle cell disorder.
The latest statistics for sickness absence in the UK labour market can be found here: Sickness absence in the UK labour market - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)