Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a breakdown of approved asylum claims by country of origin since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims by nationality is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to year ending September 2024.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum claims have been approved since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims by nationality is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to year ending September 2024.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many new hotels she has awarded contracts to for housing asylum seekers since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Honourable Member to my response to the Urgent Question tabled by the Right Honourable Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge on 20 November, which can be found at – Asylum Seekers: Hotel Accommodation - Hansard - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to maintain the £35 million investment in grassroots cricket facilities announced on 4 April 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government believes that grassroots sports facilities are crucial in supporting people to be more active up and down the country and the power of creating a lasting legacy from events such as the upcoming World Cups.
The funding arrangements for the Future of Cricket Fund will be considered as part of the Spending Review. We continue to engage with the England and Wales Cricket Board on this matter.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Prime Minister announces multi-million pound boost for grassroots cricket, published on 4 April 2024, what progress has been made on delivering new cricket domes to host the (a) 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup and (b) 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government believes that grassroots sports facilities are crucial in supporting people to be more active up and down the country and the power of creating a lasting legacy from events such as the upcoming World Cups.
The funding arrangements for the Future of Cricket Fund will be considered as part of the Spending Review. We continue to engage with the England and Wales Cricket Board on this matter.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has commissioned the use of hotel accommodation in the London Borough of Havering for the purpose of housing asylum seekers since 29 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
No new hotels have been commissioned to accommodate asylum seekers in the London Borough of Havering in this period. The Home Office keeps its accommodation estate under constant review.
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as we continue to identify a range of options to end the use of hotels to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to alter the membership of the Expert Panel for her Department's BBC Funding Model Review.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to the licence fee for the remainder of the current Charter period. The Government will keep an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and will engage with the BBC and other relevant stakeholders before deciding on next steps.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on (a) legislation to govern artificial intelligence models and (b) the impact of that legislation on the creative industries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Discussions between and within the two departments have been ongoing since the General Election, based on the Government’s belief in both human-centred creativity and the potential of technology to open up new creative frontiers. The whole government is committed to ensuring AI development supports, rather than undermines the power of human creativity, innovation and the provision of trustworthy information.
The Secretary of State also intends to meet with counterparts across government to discuss a range of issues to ensure the continued growth of our world-leading creative industries. This will include artificial intelligence models and their impact on the creative industries, which will require close collaboration between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Intellectual Property Office.