Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the policy paper entitled Licensing taskforce report and government response, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the licensing taskforce recommendations on public health.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on public health. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding his Department plans to provide to (a) transport and (b) storage companies to help support their carbon capture, usage and storage business models in the next 12 months.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the 2025 spending review, the Government allocated £9.4 billion over the Spending Review period.
The bulk of public funding for Track 1 is only provided once projects are operational. Transport & Storage Companies (T&SCos) operate a Regulated Asset Base model regulated by Ofgem. This allows them to recover costs during operation by charging connected capture projects - expected from 2028 onwards.
The government has announced its support for the Acorn and Viking clusters and is providing development funding to advance their delivery, including approximately £200m for Acorn. The exact amounts for each cluster and funding schedule will be subject to negotiations, value for money and deliverability assessments.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the policy paper entitled Licensing taskforce report and government response, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the licensing taskforce recommendations on violence against women and girls.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on violence against women and girls. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the policy paper entitled Licensing taskforce report and government response, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the licensing taskforce recommendations on anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on anti-social behaviour. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the establishment of Commercial Research Delivery Centres.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Significant progress has been made in establishing the United Kingdom-wide network of Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs). Since 1 April 2025, 21 CRDCs have been operating across all four nations of the UK, 15 in England, four in Scotland, and a one-nation approach in both Wales and Northern Ireland. These have been funded through the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth Clinical Trials Investment Programme, alongside National Institute for Health and Care Research funding in England.
A UK-wide CRDC Network was launched on 1 September 2025 to coordinate activity, provide strategic leadership, and support consistency across the centres. To expand commercial research into out-of-hospital settings, 14 Primary Care CRDCs will begin on 1 November 2025 in England. These will be hosted by general practice-led NHS primary care organisations and fully integrated into the CRDC Network. Together, these initiatives will enhance the speed, consistency, and inclusivity of commercial clinical research delivery, strengthening the UK’s position as a global life sciences leader.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized (a) biotechnology and (b) pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials in the UK.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade is committed to making the UK an outstanding place for life sciences companies to start and scale. The Office for Life Sciences has a target to see more scale-up finance raised by life sciences businesses in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. A dedicated stream of work is being delivered to support small and medium-sized biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
The Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Science, Innovation and Technology are developing tailored approaches for SMEs in parallel, to ensure that they can access the UK’s research infrastructure effectively.