Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of access to internships and work placements by people from different socio-economic backgrounds.
Answered by Bridget Phillipson - Minister for Women and Equalities
Our Opportunity Mission will break down the barriers to opportunity for everyone, regardless of their socio-economic background. This means ensuring that everyone can access training opportunities, including internships and work placements, that support them to thrive in work and in life.That is why the Government is following through with our manifesto commitment for two weeks’ worth of work experience for all pupils in secondary school and has recently invested £18m in supported internships for those with SEND. We are embedding work placements within T Levels and we’ve also announced funding for 40,000 industry placements as part of the Construction Skills Package
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential risk that the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and Israel may result in Israel firms having access to British public procurement contracts which support Israeli firms involved in human rights abuses.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We remain committed to the promotion of universal human rights. We have taken action in the Procurement Act 2023 to strengthen the rules around excluding suppliers which may be unfit to bid for public contracts due to serious past misconduct.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a ban on data localisation in the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This government is committed to securing the best outcomes for the UK in our Free Trade Agreement negotiations. We are a strong supporter of modern and ambitious digital provisions which prevent unjustified data localisation requirements for UK businesses whilst protecting the UK's high standards for personal data protection.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people that have received negative asylum decisions have subsequently become homeless in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her polices of recent trends in levels of capital provision by US venture capital firms in (a) UK and (b) other markets.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Venture capital (VC) investment from around the world is important to the UK economy, and US investors continue to play a significant role. In Q1 2025, UK innovation businesses raised over £3bn – this is an 8% increase on the same period last year and the highest Q1 total since 2022. The UK ranks third globally for VC investment and has raised more than France, Germany, and Spain combined so far this year.
The Government is taking action to continue attracting international VC investment, including from the US, through the investor relationship work of the Office for Investment and by partnering with industry on international capital roadshows. We are also reviewing how to accelerate the growth of the UK’s domestic VC ecosystem through the public finance institution landscape review.
In addition, the Government recognises the value in growing the UK’s domestic VC investment market and it is taking steps to support this, including through the British Growth Partnership (BGP). This is a commercially driven investment vehicle designed to attract UK pension fund and other institutional capital into venture capital funds and innovative businesses. Last September, the Chancellor also announced an extension of the UK’s generous venture capital tax reliefs, the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Venture Capital Trust scheme which - alongside the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme - offer generous tax reliefs in return for investing in UK business.
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 had made of the effectiveness of the distribution of funding for research and development across different regions.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 11th April to Question UIN 43862.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on levels of upfront visa costs for researchers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Home Office officials and ministers consult widely with their counterparts across government on all aspects of the immigration system.
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's Tech Readiness Levels relate to investment readiness.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Whilst some UKRI councils use Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to determine funding eligibility, Innovate UK takes a more flexible approach, as there is no standardised way of applying them across sectors or non-technological projects. Innovate UK instead uses categories determined by subsidy control regulations: fundamental research, feasibility studies, industrial research, or experimental development. Innovate UK’s programmes support businesses to develop new products and services, which enhances their ability to secure investment. An example of this is the Investor Partnerships programme, which provides grant funding with aligned equity investment. Through this model, £1.44bn of private sector leverage has been achieved from £100m in grant awards.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39835 on Social Media: Regulation, whether (a) his Department and (b) Ofcom has made an assessment of the impact of designating end-to-end encryption as a risk factor in the (i) Illegal Harms Codes of Practice and (ii) illegal content risk assessment guidance on regulated businesses' willingness to offer end-to-end encryption to users in the UK.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for assessing the possible implications of its codes of practice and guidance under the Online Safety Act (OSA).
As previously noted, the OSA does not ban any service design and the European Conventions of Human Rights (ECHR) requires all UK public bodies, including Ofcom, to act in a way that complies with ECHR rights. Companies are legal persons having rights afforded by the ECHR.
DSIT will carry out a Post Implementation Review to assess the effectiveness of the legislation, including how the OSA has addressed harmful online content while protecting UK users’ rights.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Israel on whether (a) digital services, (b) cyber security and (c) Artificial Intelligence products included in a potential trade agreement have been (i) developed and (ii) deployed during military activities in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel is an important trading and bilateral partner for the UK and remains a part of our trade negotiation programme but our Free Trade Agreement negotiations with them have not yet restarted.
In September 2024, we suspended export licenses to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza Conflict. The suspension covers all items that we assess could be used in military operations in Gaza. This does not, however, include exports to the global F-35 programme.
We continue to use our range of diplomatic tools and bilateral dialogues with Israel to discuss issues of concern, including in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict.