Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40119 on Members: Correspondence, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in access to UK’s National Trails on the work of (a) VisitBritain and (b) VisitEngland.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS has not specifically undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of any potential reduction in access to the UK’s National Trails on the work of VisitBritain or VisitEngland.
However, we recognise that access to National Trails plays a role in supporting rural tourism and promoting the natural and cultural assets of England, which are central to the work of VisitEngland. VisitBritain also promotes outdoor and nature-based tourism as part of its international marketing activity to showcase the UK’s diverse visitor offer.
While responsibility for public access and National Trails policy rests with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), DCMS continues to work closely with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, including Experience Oxfordshire, to ensure England’s natural landscapes can support the growth of a sustainable and resilient visitor economy.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the ringfenced £340 million budget for the Innovative Medicines Fund has been spent in each year since its launch in June 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was established to provide a funding mechanism for promising non-cancer medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a period of managed access to address uncertainties in the evidence base. Up to £340 million has been available each financial year to support funding of medicines through the IMF. Expenditure in 2023/24 was £2 million.
The relatively low level of expenditure within the IMF for 2023/24 reflects the high proportion of topics assessed by NICE as having potential for managed access which have gone on to secure a positive recommendation for routine commissioning, therefore bypassing the need for further data collection and reappraisal through the IMF.
The remainder of the IMF budget is used to support pressures in the overall specialised commissioning budget and is reported as part of the overall financial position.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support British bakeries.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026 - 27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have extended retail, hospitality, and leisure relief for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.
The Government will protect the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all. We are also working with businesses to understand their barriers to growth and High Streets will be a key pillar of our forthcoming Small Business Strategy.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund after March 2026.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty across the UK.
That is why we are providing £742 million in England to extend the Household Support Fund by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will enable Local Authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.
However, no decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward regulations on the composition of bread marketed as sourdough.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has no current plans to introduce regulations to specifically cover the composition of ‘sourdough bread’. The UK maintains high food standards including on requirements relating to food labelling and information. Existing legislation ensures the labelling and marketing of food, including sourdough products, does not intentionally mislead consumers.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient energy supply to meet demand in the next 10 years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great Britain is expected to have sufficient supplies of electricity and gas to meet consumers’ demands over the short and long-term (Statutory Security of Supply Report 2024). The government’s mission is to secure our energy supply with home-grown, clean power – and we have set out the steps to achieve this in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. These include: cleaning up a dysfunctional grid system by prioritising the most important projects; speeding up decisions on planning permission by empowering planners to prioritise critical energy infrastructure; and expanding the renewable auction process to stop delays and get more projects connected.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to dementia research by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Research, (b) UK Research and Innovation and (c) other public bodies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The following table shows NIHR and UKRI spend data for dementia research across five financial years, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:
Year | NIHR | UKRI | Total |
2019/20 | £29,000,000 | £56,600,000 | £85,600,000 |
2020/21 | £21,900,000 | £63,700,000 | £85,600,000 |
2021/22 | £30,300,000 | £56,000,000 | £86,300,000 |
2022/23 | £35,100,000 | £64,800,000 | £99,900,000 |
2023/24 | £42,800,000 | £96,300,000 | £139,000,000 |
Total | £159,100,000 | £337,400,000 | £496,400,000 |
Spend for dementia research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, therefore 2023/24 is the most recent year for which we have data. The Department does not centrally hold data on dementia research funding from other public bodies.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These 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. All NIHR programmes welcoming applications on dementia 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.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many phase (a) one, (b) two and (c) three dementia clinical trials there have been in the UK in each of the last ten years; and how many participants were recruited for each of those trials.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department does not hold information centrally on clinical trials hosted in Wales and Scotland. The Department is therefore unable to provide how many phase one, phase two, and phase three clinical trials for dementia have taken place in Wales and Scotland in each of the last 10 years.
The following table shows the number of phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 |
2014/15 | - | 12 | 17 |
2015/16 | 1 | 15 | 18 |
2016/17 | - | 12 | 24 |
2017/18 | 1 | 14 | 26 |
2018/19 | 1 | 12 | 18 |
2019/20 | 2 | 13 | 6 |
2020/21 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
2021/22 | 2 | 13 | 11 |
2022/23 | 4 | 11 | 11 |
2023/24 | 4 | 13 | 9 |
In addition, the following table shows the number of participants recruited into phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 |
2014/15 | - | 755 | 663 |
2015/16 | 10 | 843 | 1,165 |
2016/17 | - | 464 | 625 |
2017/18 | 3 | 415 | 471 |
2018/19 | 12 | 577 | 7,473 |
2019/20 | 4 | 600 | 440 |
2020/21 | 2 | 48 | 46 |
2021/22 | 6 | 35 | 61 |
2022/23 | 4 | 68 | 75 |
2023/24 | 15 | 123 | 190 |
Note: studies are sometimes conducted across multiple phases, for example a study may cross phase one/two or phase two/three. Therefore, figures cannot be totalled.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the final costs and benefits statement for programmes delivered under the National Programme of Technology, published on 6 June 2013, in his plans for (a) an NHS Federated Data Platform and (b) a single patient record.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are keen to draw on the lessons from the National Programme for IT in delivering the Federated Data Platform and the single patient record.
NHS England publishes information each quarter on the benefits being realised by the Federated Data Platform, with further information available at the following link:
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Macquarie Bank’s involvement in UK infrastructure development; and what steps she plans to take to ensure the stability and sustainability of essential services.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 Year Strategy for the UK’s social, economic and housing infrastructure to support a flourishing modern economy, drive growth, deliver net zero and support improved public services.
The government has been engaging openly with industry as it develops this Strategy to ensure that it is credible and deliverable.