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 his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on lives (a) saved and (b) at risk in (i) low- and (ii) middle-income countries due to (A) malaria and (B) other global health diseases.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the recent Spending Review, decisions on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget are being finalised through consultation and impact assessments. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to ensuring every pound delivers maximum impact. Global Health is a top priority reflecting the UK's commitment to strengthening health systems, tackling global health threats, and promoting equitable access to vaccines and treatments. As part of this, the UK's new £1.25 billion investment in Gavi from 2026 to 2030 will support Gavi's goal to immunise up to 500 million children, save 8 to 9 million lives, and generate over $100 billion in economic benefits.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the correspondence to the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of 10 April 2025, for what reason the projected £45 billion in annual savings from the digitalisation of public services was not included in the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The figure of £45 billion in annual savings and productivity gains, published in ‘A blueprint for modern digital government’, represents a long-term estimate of the potential benefits for the digital transformation of the public sector. Spending Review 2025 sets out plans for a step change in investment in digital and artificial intelligence (AI) across public services.
Over the Spending Review period, the government will build strong digital and technology foundations, tackle urgent cybersecurity and technical resilience risks, modernise public service delivery, and drive a major overhaul in government productivity and efficiency. All departments will deliver at least 5% savings and efficiencies by 2028‑29. The Office for Value for Money has worked closely with departments to agree bespoke and stretching technical efficiency targets, underpinned by credible delivery plans.
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 his Department has made an assessment of the (a) data protection and (b) ethical implications of commercial DNA testing services used by minors without age verification.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All companies providing DNA testing kits or DNA testing services must comply with the provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004 relating to consent. This provides the ethical framework for DNA testing. Under the Act, a person who has not attained the age of 16 years old cannot give consent for a DNA test. Any company failing to appropriately verify that a person using a DNA testing service is legally able to give consent, may be liable for prosecution under the act.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing regulatory standards for the marketing of consumer DNA testing kits.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is aware that there are a number of DNA test kits on the market. The majority claim to provide information on ancestry, and in general these would not be regarded as medical devices.
However, those that make medical claims in relation to predisposition of medical conditions would be regarded as in vitro diagnostic medical devices and would require the relevant CE mark or a UK Conformity Assessed marking.
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 steps his Department has taken to coordinate with other (a) donor governments and (b) implementing country partners to mitigate the potential impact of reductions to the (i) United States Agency for International Development and (ii) other global health funds.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and officials regularly meet international partners on a number of global health and international development issues, both in the course of their duties and as part of our role as a board member to a number of global health bodies.
Discussions will continue to take place through bilateral meetings and other key multilateral fora, including with the G20 under the Presidency of South Africa, with whom we will be co-hosting the Global Fund replenishment later in the year, and at the High-Level Summit on 25 June, where the UK announced our new investment in Gavi.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the placement of sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich on (a) Pearson Engineering Limited and (b) other UK-based companies that are (i) owned and (ii) partially controlled by the Israeli Government Companies Authority.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our sanctions are carefully designed to minimise unintended consequences within the UK and globally. The sanctions on Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir apply to them in their personal capacities, and not to their ministries, departments or businesses owned or partially owned by the State of Israel.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the targeting of Iranian scientists by the IDF on British (a) science and (b) scientists.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Science, innovation and technology are inherently international. The UK continues to work closely with international partners to harness the power of science and tech for global benefit.
We remain focused on ensuring stability in the Middle East. It is crucial that we now de-escalate the situation, stabilise the region, and get all parties back around the table to negotiate.
We have taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel, and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well. We urge all British Nationals, including scientists, to register their presence and monitor FCDO Travel Advice.
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, how much of the Official Development Assistance budget is allocated to global health programmes in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's final 2025/26 Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.
Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. We will sharpen our focus on humanitarian, health and climate and nature.
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 steps he is taking to support a just energy transition in Africa.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Promoting access to clean energy in Africa is vital for supporting growth and reducing poverty across the continent. Through British International Investment, the UK has provided access to clean energy for over 26 million people. We support multilateral initiatives like Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million people in Africa by 2030.
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 steps his Department is taking to help tackle the emergence of deepfake videos depicting government ministers; and whether the forthcoming legislation on deepfakes will include specific provisions to protect public figures from impersonation and misinformation online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes very seriously. Deepfakes, and other manipulated media, are regulated by the Online Safety Act where they are shared on an in-scope service and constitute either illegal content or content which is harmful to children. For the largest user-to-user services, AI generated content is captured where it contravenes terms of service. The Data (Use and Access) Act, which received Royal Ascent on 19 June, introduces a new offence for the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfakes. It is already a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, such content without consent.