First elected: 6th May 2010
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Stephen Metcalfe, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Stephen Metcalfe has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Stephen Metcalfe has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to make provision about lasting powers of attorney; to make provision about proof of instruments creating powers of attorney; and for connected purposes
This Bill received Royal Assent on 18th September 2023 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to require the provision of automated external defibrillators in all new housing developments of ten dwellings or more; to require developers to provide funding for the maintenance of such defibrillators for a period of ten years after installation; and for connected purposes.
Roadworks (Regulation) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Mark Francois (Con)
Lithium-ion Battery Storage (Fire Safety and Environmental Permits) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Maria Miller (Con)
Consumer Telephone Service Standards Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Robert Halfon (Con)
The creative industries are an economic powerhouse, and one of my priorities is to continue this growth.
My Department will publish a Creative Industries Sector Vision in the coming months, which will set out how we will work together with industry to drive the sector’s growth between now and 2030.
My Department is investing £50 million into creative businesses up and down the country to help them grow, in addition to more than £100m from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
While there are currently no plans to appoint a Chief Mathematical Adviser, we consult a wide range of advisers on a regular basis, including those with mathematical expertise.
The Government is working to better understand the impacts the operation of the current Voluntary Scheme and the accompanying Statutory Scheme on investments in the UK. We are therefore in direct conversations with companies to understand these impacts. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is in close discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department responsible for the Voluntary Scheme and Statutory Scheme, about the business environment for life sciences and its impact on investment.
The UK is a world leader in Mathematics. British mathematicians publish a large volume of highly regarded work. When compared to international colleagues, British mathematicians have the 5th largest share of publications in the world. When looking at the top 1% of most cited publications, UK mathematicians are responsible for the third largest share.
Since January 2020, UKRI has awarded £104 million of additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, over and above EPSRC’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional funding has funded institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships, and postdoctoral awards.
Following the SR, BEIS will set R&D budgets through to 2024/25. Further details of how this funding will be allocated will be announced in due course.
Most government departments have a Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to provide scientific advice. A CSA is typically a distinguished scientist or engineer, recruited externally from academia or industry. Of the current cohort of CSAs, two have a purely mathematical background (FCDO CSA & MOD CSA).
However, all CSAs bring deep science and/or engineering knowledge and are able to work fluently across a range of sciences including mathematics.
All current departmental CSAs have their academic background published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/chief-scientific-advisers.
We have committed to investing £14.9 billion in R&D in 2021/22, meaning Government R&D spending is now at its highest level in four decades.
We are working to ensure the benefits are felt nationwide, with our UK Innovation Strategy and R&D Places Strategy due to be published this summer.
The BBC's funding model faces major challenges to its sustainability due to changes in the way people consume media.
We remain committed to reviewing the licence fee model ahead of the next Charter period to explore the potential for alternative ways to ensure the BBC remains appropriately funded over the long-term.
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the honourable member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the honourable member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Defra took early steps to support farmers, by designating them as key workers and temporarily relaxing drivers’ hours rules. We have worked with banks to help farmers access financial support measures outline by the Chancellor, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
We have supported dairy farmers by announcing a fund in England to help those affected by the loss of the food service sector. We have also temporarily relaxed competition law rules. We are working with AHDB and Diary UK, who have launched a new £1 million campaign to drive consumption of milk. A similar campaign is promoting beef. We are also ensuring that farmers and growers are able to recruit the workers that they require as we approach the busy harvest months.
We have committed to start negotiations on a new upgraded trade deal with Mexico this year. Discussions will commence later in the year and will aim to secure even more benefits for British industries and go further in areas of mutual interest such as procurement, digital trade and service.
Earlier this month I visited India to deepen trade ties and agree a pathway towards a future FTA with the world’s biggest democracy. A closer partnership with India will help us lead the world in areas like science, tech and the green economy, driving jobs and growth across the UK.
The Department has been consulting on a proposed update to the statutory scheme for branded medicines and the life sciences industry has been able to give evidence as part of this consultation process.
The Government remains firmly committed to the statutory and voluntary schemes for branded medicines and to working with the pharmaceutical industry to deliver on the ambitions set out in the Life Sciences Vision to create an environment that facilitates innovation for the development of medicines in the UK.
The Department of Health and Social Care commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) which, with UK Research and Innovation, has co-funded an Imperial College London study worth £580,000 looking specifically at the safety and effectiveness of two COVID-19 vaccines administered via the respiratory tract.
The study is ongoing but in later stages and results will be made public in due course and following peer review.
The NIHR is also providing infrastructure support to an Oxford University study looking at safety and effectiveness of intranasal administration of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) plans to open a three-month public consultation on the evidence for lung cancer screening in the coming weeks.
The Department will receive the UK NSC’s recommendation on lung cancer screening in individuals at an increased risk following its June meeting.
Up to £70 million of targeted funding under the National Health Service Cancer Programme’s Service Development Funding budget has been made available to support the running of Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) in 2022/23. This will include the expansion of the programme to ensure a project in each Cancer Alliance.
NHS England and NHS Improvement also supports the delivery of the TLHC programme with standard protocols, expert advice, and nationally procured and coordinated quality assurance and training.
There are currently nine Cancer Alliances without a TLHC project. NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to expand the TLHC programme in 2022/23 to ensure that each of these Cancer Alliances has at least one TLHC programme. We estimate an additional eight computerised tomography (CT) scanners will be needed to facilitate this expansion.
Up to £70 million of targeted funding under the National Health Service Cancer Programme’s Service Development Funding budget has been made available to support the running of Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) in 2022/23. This will include the expansion of the programme to ensure a project in each Cancer Alliance.
NHS England and NHS Improvement also supports the delivery of the TLHC programme with standard protocols, expert advice, and nationally procured and coordinated quality assurance and training.
There are currently nine Cancer Alliances without a TLHC project. NHS England and NHS Improvement plan to expand the TLHC programme in 2022/23 to ensure that each of these Cancer Alliances has at least one TLHC programme. We estimate an additional eight computerised tomography (CT) scanners will be needed to facilitate this expansion.
Those affected by sodium valproate may be in receipt of Continuing Healthcare where individuals with long-term complex health needs qualify for free social care arranged and funded solely by the National Health Service. Personal Health Budgets are also available to support health and wellbeing needs, which is planned and agreed between the individual or their representative and the local clinical commissioning group.
The first four phases of the Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care award included innovations in remote diagnostics, including the Neuronostics Limited smartphone-based app which can receive EEG recordings from wireless headsets to assist with assessing epilepsy treatment; Senti Tech Limited’s project enabling remote chest examination for respiratory patients through sensors embedded into a jacket; and Healthy.io (UK) Limited’s smartphone albuminuria self-test, which uses a home test kit and a mobile app to allow patients to self-test at home with clinical grade results.
The National Health Service Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratory was set up in 2019 to support the safe and ethical development and deployment of AI across health and care. The AI in Health and Care Awards will channel £140 million of funding to AI innovation.
The NHS AI Laboratory, is also developing the evidence base for technologies and providing guidance on best practice.
The Public Health England (PHE) diagnostic urinary tract infection (UTI) guidance was last updated in October 2020 and will be reviewed again in November 2021. The current guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/urinary-tract-infection-diagnosis
PHE recommends dipstick testing in patients with one or fewer of the key UTI diagnostic symptoms (new nocturia, dysuria, or cloudy urine). The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network approach recommends using dipsticks in a slightly larger subset of patients. PHE will keep the emerging evidence on dipstick use within UTI diagnosis under review in order to inform future guidance updates.
In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use attracts the reduced rate of VAT (five per cent).
Electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT (twenty per cent). The Government has not specifically introduced a reduced rate for charging EVs at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes, and electricity used to charge EVs currently mean that the reduced rate is effectively being applied to EV home-charging.
Applying the reduced rate of VAT to electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019/20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.
The Government has no current plans to review the current rate of VAT applied to EV charging.
The domestic use of fuel (including electricity that may be used to recharge vehicles) is subject to the reduced rate of VAT of 5%. As set out in Paragraph 5 of Schedule 1, where a supply to a person at their premises does not exceed 1000 kilowatt hours per month, this is deemed to be domestic use.
However, for this provision to apply, the supply of electricity must be to a customer’s house or building. Where this is not the case (such as where a vehicle is recharged at a public charge point), the electricity is standard rated.
Further clarification can be found in HM Revenue and Customs Brief 7 (2021): VAT liability of charging of electric vehicles.
The government is increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour from April 2022, which keeps us on track to meet our target to end low pay by 2024-25.
We have taken decisive action to make work pay by cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63p to 55p and increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 p.a.
These measures will help us to build a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy.
Small boats crossings perpetuated by evil people-smuggling gangs are illegal, life-threatening, and unnecessary.
New legislation will make it crystal clear that if you enter this country illegally you will not be allowed to stay and will instead be detained and promptly removed.
I am clear that the British public want us to stop the boats, and I call on Honourable Members opposite to back our proposals, instead of siding with criminal people smuggling gangs.