Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 September 2023 to Question 195426 on Brain: Tumours, how much and what proportion of the National Institute for Health and Care Research's allocated spend was spent on research infrastructure in each year since 2018.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)’s infrastructure investment funds the world-class facilities, expertise, and skilled delivery workforce for research across the National Health Service and wider health and care system in England from early translational clinical research through to applied health and care research.
It is difficult to attribute this funding to specific disease and therapy areas as the staff and facilities funded through the NIHR infrastructure support research across disciplines. For example, the NIHR Clinical Research Network supported almost one million participants to take part in health and care research in England in 2022/23 across 5,000 studies and 30 specialties, and the 20 NIHR Biomedical Research Centres supported 8,700 experimental medicine studies in 2021/22.
Whilst audited data for NIHR expenditure for 2022/23 is not yet available, the following table shows the NIHR spend on research infrastructure each financial year between 2018/19 and 2021/22 as well the proportion of spend on research infrastructure compared to overall NIHR spend:
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |
| Infrastructure spend | £521,892 | £545,974 | £548,613 | £541,361 | £615,077 |
| Total allocated spend | £1,012,711 | £1,012,920 | £1,036,723 | £1,116,137 | £1,259,436 |
| Infrastructure spend as proportion of total allocated spend | 52% | 54% | 53% | 49% | 49% |
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of the Environment Agency (a) relocating and (b) removing the 116 alleged unregistered vessels moored on Environment Agency-owned land in Elmbridge Borough on 30 July 2023 using powers under Article 16 of the Environment Agency (Inland Waterways) Order 2010.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
During the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 there were significant periods of time during lockdown when the Environment Agency eased mooring restrictions and we were not enforcing. The Environment Agency was successful in an enforcement matter in 2019 for a boat owner overstaying on their moorings and had costs awarded for their costs of £20k Kingston boater fined for illegal moorings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Environment Agency have been told there are allegedly 116 unregistered boats moored to their land in Elmbridge but cannot confirm the details of that data. The matter of the use of Article16 of the Inland Waterways Order 2010 has been subject to public consultation on its use. Until the consultation has been reviewed and a response has been published the Environment Agency has not concluded on how the use of Article 16 will be enforced across the country.
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much from the public purse the Environment Agency has spent on enforcement against illegal river moorings in Elmbridge Borough in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency cannot quantify our cost of enforcement of illegal moorings in Elmbridge as the work is river wide. In 2022 the Environment Agency carried out a project to remove wrecks and abandoned boats, but not limited to the River Thames in Elmbridge, at a cost of £280K for the removal and disposal of 41 wrecks. Each and every vessel, if removed from the River Thames will have its own cost for removal.
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department (a) allocated to and (b) spent on research on brain tumours in each year since 2018.
Answered by Will Quince
In May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The £40m funding will remain available; if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do. The level of funding for brain tumour research depends on funding applications received. It is worth noting that all applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded and this will continue.
The following table shows NIHR’s committed spend on research into brain tumours in each year since 2018:
2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
£2.9 million | £432,000 | £2.1 million | £5.3 million | £746,873 |
Additionally, NIHR research infrastructure supports brain tumour research studies, mainly in the National Health Service. This infrastructure – people and facilities - is instrumental to the delivery of research funded by the NIHR, charities and others. Resources are significant, though it is difficult to disaggregate purely brain tumour spend to add to the figures above.
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Environment Agency’s enforcement of illegal moorings in the non-tidal Thames.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Operational matters on inland waterways are the responsibility of the relevant navigation authority, such as in this case the Environment Agency’s enforcement of illegal moorings on the non-tidal Thames.
The Environment Agency waterways department as part of Defra is aware of all mooring issues or potential reported issues on its land. The intelligence is captured and collated in the Environment Agency navigation enforcement team’s Tactical Assessment (Thames). The document includes mooring and trespass issues on Environment Agency land only and helps prioritise and deliver outcomes. Trespass and mooring issues not relating to the Environment Agency fall under riparian landowners’ or other navigation authorities’ responsibilities.
The Tactical Assessment is a classified document and deemed as sensitive and would not be shared with the public. The Thames Enforcement Plan for the Environment Agency Non-Tidal Thames, which gives an overview of enforcement actions and priorities for 2023/2024, can be viewed here: Non-Tidal River Thames Regulation and Enforcement Plan 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency shares data on the enforcement of illegal moorings in the non-tidal Thames with her Department; and if her Department will publish that data by local authority area.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency works with partner agencies to improve compliance on the non-tidal Thames, sharing outcomes with local authority areas and stakeholders alike. However, intelligence and ongoing enforcement actions are not shared with the public due to legal privilege and GDPR rules and regulations. More information relating to enforcement on the non-tidal Thames can be viewed on the Non-Tidal River Thames Regulation and Enforcement Plan 2023/2024: Non-Tidal River Thames Regulation and Enforcement Plan 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of foreign national offenders have successfully appealed a deportation order under Article (a) 3, (b) 6 and (c) 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in each year since 2010.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Information on how many and what proportion of foreign national offenders have successfully appealed a deportation order under Article (a) 3, (b) 6 and (c) 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in each year since 2010 is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Data on deportation appeal outcomes is published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service on a quarterly basis. A link to the latest published statistics is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018. The data in table FIA_3 of the Main Tables (October to December 2018) is the closest match to the requested information.
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Government plans to publish the outcome of its consultation entitled Planning reform: supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 March 2018, HCWS1408, we intend to implement an immediate package of permitted development right measures in the spring, with the more complex matters, including on upward extensions, covered in a further package of regulations in the autumn.
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to respond to the Green Paper on modernising consumer markets.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to ensuring markets work in the interests of ordinary people and the Consumer Green Paper contained a number of provisions which safeguard consumer rights whilst ensuring competition benefits consumers. We will continue to develop policy options across the range of measures proposed in the green paper and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Dominic Raab (Conservative - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the National Crime Agency (NCA) is taking to investigate the findings made by the US authorities in the case of US V Prevezon et al that funds from the tax fraud against Hermitage Capital, investigated by Sergei Magnitsky, have been transferred to the UK bank account of Renaissance Capital Investment Management Limited; and whether the NCA has been notified or informed that laundered money ending up in that account is estimated to be in excess of $8.3 million.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The NCA does not normally report on the detail of its investigations. It will continue to make inquiries in relation to the Hermitage case.
The UK regulated sector is required to carry out due diligence checks to identify illicit funds and report suspicions of money laundering to the National Crime Agency.
Where illicit funds are identified, then law enforcement agencies have, through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, robust powers to seize and recover these, including on behalf of other countries.
In the Criminal Finances Bill, the Government has introduced an amendment to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) which has widened the definition of ‘unlawful conduct’ within the Act to include the torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of those exposing corruption, or obtaining, exercising, defending and promoting human rights, including in cases where that conduct was not an offence in the jurisdiction in which it took place. This allows for any assets held in the UK, which were deemed to be the proceeds of such activity, to be recovered. This measure makes a clear statement that we will not allow those who have committed gross abuses or violations around the world to launder their money through the UK.