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.
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 much the Government spends on countering disinformation; and in which Departments this money is spent.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A number of departments, including DSIT, Home Office and the FCDO, work together to address risks to the UK from disinformation. Activities include analysis and policy work to reduce the spread and impact of disinformation online.
We do not share our total spend on information threats publicly because of the risks inherent in revealing the scale of our efforts to adversaries. Components of this spend include £3m invested in media literacy by DSIT to drive critical engagement with online content (2022-24) and £25.5m invested by FCDO in building societal resilience to Russian interference in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (FY24-25).
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with UK businesses on the potential impact of President Trump's executive order on diversity, equality and inclusion practices.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State and Ministerial team engage in regular discussions with UK business on topics including this. Department for Business and Trade ministers have already this year hosted events launching the FTSE Women Leaders and Parker Review 2025 Reports; both of which were attended by senior leaders from across the UK's private sector. Promoting equality of opportunity and business-led initiatives for progress are key parts of this Government's Plan for Change, ensuring fair access to the best jobs for all.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of apprenticeships as pathways into (a) research and (b) innovation careers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are a number of apprenticeships to support careers in research and innovation, including the level 6 product design and development engineer and level 6 materials science technologist.
Apprenticeships deliver strong outcomes and high satisfaction rates for learners and employers.
94% of apprentices go into work or further training, with 93% in sustained employment, and many apprentices remain with the employer following their apprenticeship.
In addition, latest data shows that 83% of employers were satisfied with their apprenticeship programme and 77% of employers reported improved productivity, while 86% of apprentices were satisfied with their apprenticeships and 88% felt their career prospects had improved since starting their apprenticeship.
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of working night shifts on (a) health, (b) safety and (c) productivity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ mental health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256], published in 2006) which includes many factors that are relevant to mental health.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk to mental health, they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of working night shifts on the mental health of workers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ mental health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256], published in 2006) which includes many factors that are relevant to mental health.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk to mental health, they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.
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 effectiveness of the regional distribution of research and development funding.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT's R&D budget is rising to £13.9bn for the 2025/26 financial year, a real terms increase of 8.5% compared to 2024/25. This will include investments in our R&D system in every region of the UK.
There will be a lag in the data showing the exact regional distribution but the latest figures from UKRI show that all regions and nations received an increase in UKRI investment between the financial years 21/22 and 23/24. In 23/24 the greatest absolute increases in investment were seen in the North West, West Midlands and East Midlands.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
o ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on commissioning research into the health and productivity impacts of working night shifts.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research into work and health through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). This includes research into the health and productivity impacts of working night shifts. The Department has recently commissioned research to develop and test an intervention for shift work sleep disorder in National Health Service workers.
To build the evidence base on work and health, last year the NIHR funded the Work and Health Development Awards, leading to four major collaboration awards.
The NIHR launched a second round of Work and Health Awards in November 2024, and will launch a call in Spring 2025 to assess the labour-market outcomes of NIHR-funded health interventions. Alongside these initiatives, the NIHR launched a call in July 2024 to identify the most effective interventions that organisations can adopt to improve the physical and mental health of the United Kingdom’s workforce.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including the health impacts of working night shifts. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on work and health to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.