John Milne

The Teesside Carbon Capture and storage cluster includes the projects mentioned below:

NEP (Transport and Storage Network) - New network with Northern Endurance Partnership

Net Zero Teesside (NZT) - New dispatchable gas-fired power station with carbon capture technology

H2 Teesside - New build CCUS-enabled hydrogen production plant

BOC - Existing industrial plant owned by BOC looking to add CCUS technology

The NEP and NZT are included in the current funding envelope related to the funding announcement made in October 2024.

H2 Teesside and BOC are currently a part of the Project Negotiation List (PNL). Following a period of assessment and due diligence, the Track 1 PNL was determined and published in March 2023. Projects that were most likely to be delivered within our required timeframes and budget and storage capacity were selected.

The Government recognises the importance of having robust measures in place to manage battery energy storage system (BESS) safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates BESS under a regulatory regime which requires BESS designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary health and safety measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Office for Life Sciences Officials have met with Dr Michaelis to discuss lobular breast cancer. The Government does not ringfence funding for specific cancer types. DSIT invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, and The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. DHSC is currently developing a new National Cancer Plan which will outline the Government’s strategy to improve patient outcomes for all cancer types, including breast cancer.

The Government doesn’t ringfence funding for specific diseases but is committed to funding cancer research, including lobular breast cancer. The Department of Health and Social Care spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology funds cancer research via UK Innovation and Research (UKRI). UKRI invests approximately £200 million annually into cancer research, of which £10m per year is for breast cancer research.

Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme funds innovations at the earlier stages of the research and development pipeline. Such innovations will have the potential to diagnose multiple tumour types, including breast cancer.

We have allocated £1.3 million of funding for a National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) project that will assess the effectiveness of a new form of MRI scan to detect breast cancers that have been missed by mammograms.

Further NIHR research infrastructure funding supports Biomedical Research Centres and the NIHR Research Delivery Network, which has enabled delivery of 10 lobular breast-cancer studies.

The Government agrees with the need to have robust measures in place to manage the risks associated with facilities that use large numbers of lithium-ion batteries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates grid-scale lithium-ion batteries within a robust regulatory framework which requires Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS) designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning to ensure its health and safety.

Defra is considering further options, including environmental permitting, for managing the environmental and public health risks from fires at BESS sites.

The Government agrees with the need to have robust measures in place to manage the risks associated with facilities that use large numbers of lithium-ion batteries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates grid-scale lithium-ion batteries within a robust regulatory framework which requires Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS) designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning to ensure its health and safety.

Defra is considering further options, including environmental permitting, for managing the environmental and public health risks from fires at BESS sites.

The Government agrees with the need to have robust measures in place to manage the risks associated with facilities that use large numbers of lithium-ion batteries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates grid-scale lithium-ion batteries within a robust regulatory framework which requires Battery Energy and Storage Systems (BESS) designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning to ensure its health and safety.

Defra is considering further options, including environmental permitting, for managing the environmental and public health risks from fires at BESS sites.

The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.

The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the government spending review.

Defra announced on 4 March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.

The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the department’s business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the Government spending review.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

We have heard from pension schemes and industry representatives about the impacts arising from this judgment for pension schemes, their members, and sponsoring employers. Potential impacts are likely to be different for individual schemes.

Where schemes do not have a way to demonstrate that historic benefit changes met the reference scheme test, we recognise that this could lead to uncertainty and additional costs.

No final decisions have been made but we are actively considering our next steps and will provide an update in due course.

We have heard from pension schemes and industry representatives about the impacts arising from this judgment for pension schemes, their members, and sponsoring employers. Potential impacts are likely to be different for individual schemes.

Where schemes do not have a way to demonstrate that historic benefit changes met the reference scheme test, we recognise that this could lead to uncertainty and additional costs.

No final decisions have been made but we are actively considering our next steps and will provide an update in due course.

No assessment has been made. The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review benefit and State Pension rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant benefit or State Pension rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value.

Following this review, benefit and State Pension rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.

Following the Secretary of State’s up-rating decisions for 2025/26, DWP expenditure on state pensions and benefits will increase by £6.9 billion.

No assessment has been made at this point. The Government recognises the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay and has already taken steps to help those in need.

Benefit rates are reviewed each year, increasing by 6.7% in April 2024 and by a further 1.7% from April 2025, in line with inflation.

Around 5.7 million Universal Credit families are forecast to benefit from uprating in financial year 2025 to 2026, with an average annual gain for a family estimated to be £150.

The Fair Repayment Rate, to be introduced from April, will reduce the Universal Credit overall cap on deductions from 25% to 15%. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year.

The policy for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee. That advice is provided to the Government to inform, develop, and make policy.

In 2023, RSV programmes for those aged over 65 years old and those aged over 75 years old were assessed by the JCVI for their potential impact and cost effectiveness. There was more certainty in the data available at the time to support a programme for those aged over 75 years old. Therefore, the JCVI advised a programme for older adults aged 75 years old and above. However, the JCVI did note that as more data accumulated, the impact and cost effectiveness for those aged over 65 years old could be kept under review.

The committee keeps all vaccine programmes under review and will continue to update its advice as new evidence emerges.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS independently, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. The NICE is currently evaluating givinostat, and its Appraisal Committee will meet to consider its recommendations in May 2025.

ITF Pharma UK, the United Kingdom marketing authorisation holder for givinostat, is providing access to givinostat through a type of compassionate use scheme called an Early Access Programme (EAP). NHS England does not have any initiatives to encourage participation in compassionate use schemes, which are the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies. Participation in the EAP for givinostat, which must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the UK, is decided at an individual NHS trust level, although there is general advice that trusts should engage with the relevant commissioner if they choose to participate. A NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, but the trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients aligned to eligibility criteria.

Access to the Early Access Programme (EAP) for givinostat must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the United Kingdom. However, participation in the EAP is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level, and a North Star Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, although the NHS trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients aligned to eligibility criteria.

The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to the Darzi report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts, from hospitals to the community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

In addition, following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will develop a new national cancer plan. The cancer plan will include more details about how to improve outcomes for all tumour types, including lobular breast cancer, and ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and will provide updates on this, including on publication dates, at the earliest opportunity. We would encourage the Hon. Member for Horsham and Dr Michalis to input to the process, which would help to shape the national cancer plan.

The UK National Screening Committee is aware of the Prostate Cancer UK report, and this will be considered as part of its evidence review process, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process

The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) provides general practitioners (GPs) with information and guidance to counsel men who have no symptoms, but wish to have a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. It highlights the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing so that men, including those at higher risk, can make an informed decision about whether to have the test.

Based on the current evidence, the PCRMP guidance is for GPs not to proactively offer a PSA to men without symptoms. This is because of the high level of inaccuracy of the PSA test which could lead to unnecessary tests and treatments that carry risks of life-changing harm, such as urinary and faecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, as well as a smaller but serious risk of sepsis. Additionally, some prostate cancers may not produce elevated PSA levels, leading to false-negative results that provide deceptive reassurance.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office remains committed to helping all British investors affected by the failure of the Paradise Golf & Beach Resort (PGBR) development and will continue in its efforts to work with the Moroccan authorities to help them receive the compensation to which they are entitled. His Majesty's Ambassador to Rabat continues to seek opportunities to raise PGBR with his counterparts and relevant stakeholders in Morocco to encourage a satisfactory resolution to this longstanding issue. FCDO officials in London continue to raise the issue with their counterparts in the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Due to the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in the planning system, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the details of the Horsham Local Plan and its progress through examination. However, I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss general principles in relation to local development plans and water neutrality and I have asked my officials to contact his constituency office with a view to finding a mutually convenient date and time.

Paragraph 60 of the National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local authorities should plan for as much of an area’s identified housing need as possible, including with an appropriate mix of housing types for the local community.

Addressing the impact of ‘water neutrality’ requirements on housing delivery is a cross-government priority. The way that water resources are planned for is being considered as part of a commission recently announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As set out in the King’s Speech, we want to ensure development delivers positive environmental outcomes.

The consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework closed on the 24 September and officials in my department are currently analysing responses with a view to publishing a government response before the end of the year.

The 2023 Housing Delivery Test outcomes will be published by the end of the year.

Existing procedures are designed to support options other than felling. The relevant guidance makes clear that applications to address tree-related subsidence damage are to be supported by appropriate information, and the standard application form requires evidence that the tree is a material cause of the problem and that other factors have been eliminated as potential influences so far as possible.

Where a young adult lacks mental capacity, including due to a disability, the law requires parents or a guardian to have legal authority to make decisions on their behalf about financial assets or property. This includes in relation to accessing funds held in a Child Trust Fund.

On 9 June 2023, the Ministry of Justice published the Making Financial Decisions for young people: parent and carer toolkit explaining the process by which parents and guardians of disabled children are able to obtain legal authority if no other arrangements are in place. This can be done by making an application to the Court of Protection for an order authorising access to monies held in a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA. The toolkit is available on Gov.UK.

We understand that concerns remain. We are considering the options for improving access to matured Child Trust Funds while balancing the need to maintain safeguards and protect the best interests of individuals that lack capacity.

Where a young adult lacks mental capacity, including due to a disability, the law requires parents or a guardian to have legal authority to make decisions on their behalf about financial assets or property. This includes in relation to accessing funds held in a Child Trust Fund.

On 9 June 2023, the Ministry of Justice published the Making Financial Decisions for young people: parent and carer toolkit explaining the process by which parents and guardians of disabled children are able to obtain legal authority if no other arrangements are in place. This can be done by making an application to the Court of Protection for an order authorising access to monies held in a Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA. The toolkit is available on Gov.UK.

We understand that concerns remain. We are considering the options for improving access to matured Child Trust Funds while balancing the need to maintain safeguards and protect the best interests of individuals that lack capacity.