Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure universal mobile data coverage for for residents in Finchampstead, Wokingham.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In their Connected Nations Spring update, published 8 May 2025, Ofcom reports that 4G geographic coverage is already available across 99% of the Wokingham constituency from all four mobile operators. 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone 5G) is available outside 91% of premises in the constituency from at least one mobile operator, but this falls to 10% from all four operators.
Our ambition is for all populated areas, including the Wokingham constituency, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. While mobile network operator's rollout of 5G is a commercial decision, we continue to work closely with network operators to remove barriers to network deployment to achieve our ambition, to support investment into mobile networks and, drive competition in the market.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure universal mobile data coverage for passengers on the railway network.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. In the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy (June 2025), the Government committed to work with Ofcom and other regulators to assess the telecommunications needs of the transport sector by December 2026. My officials are undertaking this assessment alongside the Department for Transport and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.
The Department for Transport also recently secured funding to introduce low-earth-orbit satellite connectivity on all mainline trains, which will significantly improve both the availability and internet data connection speeds for Wi-Fi connected passengers.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 transitioning to animal free medical research methods on the economy.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year, which will consider economic impacts.
Home to world leading research and pharmaceutical businesses, the UK is well positioned to capitalise on the global non-animal technologies for life sciences market, estimated to be worth $29.4 billion by 2030, and on the scientific and economic advantages of more human-relevant methods applied in product development and testing.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 transitioning to animal free medical research methods on public health.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”.
Recent developments in technology, in particular cell biology, organoids and AI, promise a step-change in the utility of alternatives to animal testing, which are expected to be more accurate than current animal-based approaches. These alternatives have the potential to improve understanding of human disease, reduce research development time and improve efficacy of therapeutics, providing substantial benefits for public health. The Government will publish a strategy for supporting the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to help support a transition to animal-free medical research methods.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. While it is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements, we support the development and application of approaches that replace, reduce and refine animal use in research (the 3Rs). Work to support this transition must be science-led and in lock step with partners.
The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February to Question 29747 on AstraZeneca, if he will place a copy of the requested letter in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Due to commercial confidentiality considerations, we are unable to place the requested letter in the House of Commons Library. As with any application for Government grant funding of this nature, all cases undergo rigorous due diligence, which assesses whether the investment represents good value for money for the taxpayer.
The Government remains committed to improving the business environment for Life Sciences companies. We continue to engage positively with AstraZeneca on the new Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, due to be published in late Spring. This will set out a comprehensive plan of how the Government intends to drive growth in the sector.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy to conduct a lessons learned review following the negotiations with AstraZeneca for investment in Speke.
Answered by Feryal Clark
AstraZeneca’s decision not to invest in Speke is deeply disappointing. The Government regularly reviews it’s grant process and routinely seeks applicant feedback. The Government also continues to engage positively with AstraZeneca, including on the new Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, due to be published in late Spring. This will set out a comprehensive plan of how the Government intends to drive growth in the sector. Support includes the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which will allocate up to £520 million to deliver economic growth and build health resilience.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to incentivise R&D investment in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Feryal Clark
R&D investment in the UK is 2.8% of GDP, ahead of the OECD average of 2.7%. To further incentivise R&D investment, we are supporting innovators with a record £20.4 billion in R&D spending for 2025/26, which on average leverages £2 of private R&D investment for every pound of public investment. The UK is also a leader in attracting international R&D investment, with the second highest number of R&D inward investment projects in Europe. We are backing high-growth firms through reforms to the British Business Bank and pensions to unlock £80 billion of investment. Our generous R&D tax relief rates are projected to support £56 billion of business R&D expenditure annually by 2029-30.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the oral contribution by the hon. Member for Havant of 3 February 2025, Official Report, column 552, for what reason the letter from AstraZeneca of 9 July 2025 to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology received a delayed response.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government has had numerous discussions with AstraZeneca about their proposed investment into Speke. There were minor delays in replying to correspondence following the election period.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have had with AstraZeneca on vaccine production at Speke.
Answered by Feryal Clark
My department and I are closely engaged with AstraZeneca as we develop our new modern industrial strategy, which will focus on the sectors with the highest growth opportunity for the economy, including Life Sciences. As part of our engagement, we have had regular discussions with AstraZeneca on vaccine production in Speke.