Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the UK’s soft power capabilities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Soft power is fundamental to the UK's impact and reputation around the world. It fosters friendships, builds relationships, promotes our values, and drives our own growth and prosperity. But we have not taken a sufficiently strategic approach to our huge soft power assets as a country. This is why we have set up a Soft Power Council to channel British expertise in these areas. Members of the Soft Power Council are establishing working groups to devise ways of deploying our soft power and broadening the reach of key moments in the global calendar. They will also help shape and drive a new Soft Power Strategy for the UK that will deliver on our foreign policy priorities.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of therapy services for children in care.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Children in care and care leavers are significantly more likely to have poor mental health. The latest data shows that two thirds of children become looked after due to abuse or neglect and the department knows that care experienced adults are at four to five times greater risk of attempting suicide than their peers. With consideration for the significant trauma that many of these children and young people have experienced and its lasting impact, providing effective support is crucial.
Since July 2023, the department and NHS England have jointly led a Task and Finish Group to consider how to improve the way system partners work together to support and improve outcomes for children and young people who are deprived of their liberty and who are in the most complex situations.
The department has recently commissioned independent research on how the system works, its current impacts, and how we could do things differently to achieve better outcomes for children and young people. We plan to publish this research in summer 2025 and will draw on these reports to support the development and testing of evidence-based models of safe, therapeutic care that delivers integrated, consistent and collaborative practices for these children and young people.
Drawing on the best evidence, including the voices of children, input from professionals and commissioned research, the department will, in collaboration with NHS England, test a new, community-based approach to pathways and provision, providing treatment and care and bringing in professionals from children’s social care, health, justice and education. This will enable the system to deliver specialist care and accommodation for children who have complex needs.
Given our significant concerns for the health and wellbeing of children in care and care leavers, the department and the Department of Health and Social Care are reviewing and updating current statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children. This guidance sets expectations on local authorities, Directors of Public Health, commissioners of health services for children, the NHS in England, and others, for the promotion of physical, emotional and mental health.
Regulations require an assessment of physical, emotional and mental health needs for every child when they enter care, and a plan to be developed to address their needs.
As part of our statutory guidance review, the department will consider what changes are needed to further ensure that children in care and care leavers receive the support they need for their physical and mental health and wellbeing, including access to any needed treatment or therapy.
Additionally, looked after children attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,570 per year. This is managed by the local authority’s virtual school head and can be used to facilitate a wide range of educational support, including additional mentoring, tuition and therapeutic services.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 effectiveness of LaunchUK in facilitating a small satellite launch.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Government is committed to making the UK a European leader in small satellite launches and delivering a launch capability that brings benefits to communities and organisations across the UK.
We have made significant progress towards this goal. The UK is the only European country with multiple spaceports licensed for orbital launches, and Spaceport Cornwall conducted the first orbital launch from European soil in 2023. Although the satellites carried onboard were not successfully placed into orbit due to an anomaly, the launch showed that the UK is capable of launching satellites into space.
The next UK launches are planned from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, which received its launch licence last year. Several domestic and foreign launch operators are targeting orbital launches from SaxaVord from this year.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 progress towards the CLEAR UK Space Agency Mission de-orbiting two satellites by 2026.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The ‘CLEAR’ debris removal mission, led by ClearSpace UK, passed its Preliminary Design Review in April 2024. Since then, through phase two of the UK Space Agency’s active debris removal (ADR) programme, CLEAR has undergone £2,350,000 of derisking activities to enhance the technology readiness levels of critical mission systems and refine mission costs.
CLEAR’s progress is in line with UK Space Agency (UKSA) mission planning. Subject to the Spending Review outcome, UKSA is developing the business case for phase three of the ADR programme which, if successful, will be published for tender in mid-2025 and awarded to one supplier for mission launch in 2028.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of UK soft power in advancing Britain’s diplomatic interests.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Soft power is crucial to our standing in the world: it fosters friendships, builds relationships, supports efforts to strengthen the rule of law internationally, and drives our own growth and prosperity. But we need to use it more effectively. This is why the Foreign Secretary and Culture Secretary have launched the UK Soft Power Council. The Council will help shape and drive a new Soft Power Strategy that will deliver on our foreign policy priorities, bring momentum to campaigns, and broaden the reach of the major soft power and foreign policy moments in the global calendar. Detailed metrics to measure the impact of soft power on UK priorities will be developed as part of the new UK Soft Power Strategy.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of potential domestic alternatives for future launches of UK Space Command satellites, in the context of the launch of the Tyche satellite.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is developing the UK’s emerging space launch industry, aiming to become a European leader in commercial small satellite launches. This effort involves approximately £111 million being invested in the UK’s launch capabilities, including a recent £20 million investment to enable UK rocket manufacturer Orbex to complete construction of their launch vehicle Prime. Defence supports the UK’s launch ambitions, working with the UK Space Agency to help develop a thriving UK spaceflight sector and with our international partners to assist their launch requirements. This includes involvement in the early development of NATO's STARLIFT programme to enhance space launch capabilities within the alliance, ensuring readiness for future launch needs.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 progress toward the Ten Point Plan in the National Space Strategy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government outlined progress toward the Ten Point Plan in the National Space Strategy in Action - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-space-strategy-in-action/national-space-strategy-in-action.
In addition, a regular Monitoring and Insights workstream is underway, chaired by DSIT, with attendance from the UK Space Agency, the Department of Business and Trade, and the Ministry of Defence, to track progress of the delivery of the National Space Strategy.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 potential economic impact of the UK’s commercial spaceflight programme on the South West of England.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The South West of England is an important part of the UK's spaceflight ecosystem, being home to the UK's first licensed and operational spaceport, Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay. The establishment of the spaceport has been instrumental in catalysing the growth of the Cornwall Space Cluster, which has created high-skilled jobs and facilitated collaboration and innovation in the UK’s space ecosystem.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle (a) online fraud and (b) cyber crime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Measures to tackle online fraud will be set out in the upcoming fraud strategy. The Chancellor, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for DSIT have already written to the tech sector to request that companies go further and faster to fight fraud.
Cyber crime causes immense damage to people and businesses in the UK and is a top priority for the Government. Our approach to tackling cyber crime is set out in the UK Government’s National Cyber Strategy. We work closely with our international partners and law enforcement agencies such as the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), to reduce the harm caused by cyber attacks and bolster our resilience. This is mostly recently underscored by the Home Office’s current public consultation on legislative proposals to reduce ransomware payments to cyber criminals and increase incident reporting.
The Home Office’s cyber crime programme has boosted investment and expanded training to improve the law enforcement response to deliver improvements to the UK’s cyber resilience. We provide law enforcement with the necessary cyber skills and training at the national, regional, and local levels to ensure they have the capacity and expertise to deal with the perpetrators and provide support to the victims of cyber crime.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on achieving Goal 4 of the National Space Strategy, published in September 2021.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has achieved major progress on the 'Protect and Defend' mission in space. This has been achieved through the development of our own capabilities, collaboration with our international partners and across government. The creation of a UK Space Command has brought a renewed focus to the importance of space, delivering new cross-government capabilities such as a National Space Operations Centre. We have committed to the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability alongside the US and Australia as a highly advanced tool to enhance our understanding of this vital domain. This has been underpinned by a £6.5 billion commitment over ten years to develop space capabilities, and through the Strategic Defence Review we are assessing the strategic landscape and threat picture to inform long-term decisions on investment in future capabilities.