Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reinstate funding for the National Institute for Health and Care Research Bioresource project providing infrastructure for the development of novel non-CFTR treatments for cystic fibrosis.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to establish the Cystic Fibrosis BioResource project, which began recruiting participants in 2021. In October 2024, the NIHR BioResource altered its participant recruitment strategy to focus on two cohorts, and to put greater resources towards its recall strategy.

1,358 participants have been recruited to the Cystic Fibrosis BioResource to date, all of whom will continue to be approached, via recall, to research studies. The NIHR BioResource plans to re-open recruitment to other cohorts, including the cystic fibrosis project, if additional funding can be sourced, for example from industry or charity partners.

The Department does not fund specific disease cohorts within the NIHR BioResource. The Department will be working closely with the NIHR BioResource as they develop their future strategies for participant engagement, recruitment, and retention, to ensure this is appropriate for each cohort and supports the best science.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) fire risk appraisals and (b) EWS1 assessments carried out by an engineer who has been suspended by the Institution of Fire Engineers must be reassessed.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Robust auditing processes are in place to ensure that all Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs) for buildings in the Government’s remediation funding programmes meet appropriate standards before the associated funding application can progress. Where required, feedback is given to allow assessors to make appropriate changes to the FRAEW to address any deficiencies identified. Reassessments of appraisals are not therefore necessary.

EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement. Their use is a commercial decision by lenders and subject to their individual lending criteria. If residents have concerns about the fire safety of their building they should raise this with the building owner or person responsible for fire safety.

The Institution of Fire Engineers is an independent organisation following bespoke reporting and investigation processes. Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Report, the Department is reviewing the findings and recommendations in relation to the fire engineering sector.

Found: This position was held by Julia Lopez other than May to December 2023 where it was held by Sir John