(3 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberI pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has been a phenomenal champion of science and technology in space. I am delighted to say that the Government are very shortly to publish our national space strategy, into which we put a huge amount of work. In addition to the £1.4 billion that we spend on defence space activities in our innovation strategy, we are looking to make sure that we boost the wider science and technology applications of our £16.4 billion space sector.
(8 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberMy hon. Friend raises an important point. NHS England is currently unable to take final decisions on this year’s new treatments, including this particular drug, until the courts have decided whether pre-exposure prophylaxis HIV prevention should compete with other candidate drugs. She makes an important point about timeliness, and that is why I am leading an accelerated access review to speed up the way in which such decisions are taken.
T4. In March, the Scottish Government made a commitment to substantially increase the financial support for the victims of contaminated blood. Initially, that will have to be administered through the current system, but the Department of Health appears to be dragging its feet. Will the Secretary of State explain the cause of the hold-up and say how he plans to expedite these payments to people with life-threatening illnesses?