Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Secretary of State, please. I am sure you want me to get to the other questions. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

Many of the companies I have spoken to who are supporting technological innovation in the NHS and beyond talk about their frustration at the comparative difficulty of getting funding in the UK and say that the British Business Bank could do much more to de-risk investment and unlock innovation. What are the Government doing to reform funding and provide an oasis in what has become known as the funding valley of death?

[Peter Kyle]

The first thing that we have done is increase to record levels overall the Government’s investment in R&D. Pioneering work is also going on through Innovate UK, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency and the different funding bodies that are available to take different levels of risk when it comes to supporting, creating and upscaling innovation. The work that the Chancellor is doing to reform our pension system will unlock capital, because fundamentally we must get more domestic capital into the venture capital community so that we can get domestic innovation supported by domestic capital to upscale and solve the challenges that the hon. Member talked about.

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[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. Antisemitism is completely abhorrent and has no place whatsoever in our society. I recently met Jewish community leaders in Downing Street to discuss what further we can do to combat antisemitism, and that includes allocating £54 million for the Community Security Trust to continue its vital work, committing to building a new Holocaust memorial and learning centre and providing at least £2.2 million to continue the funding for Lessons from Auschwitz. I look forward to working with others on those important proposals.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

Q4. Businesses such as Hicks in Harpenden, charities such as the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, and health and social care providers such as the Elms medical practice in Harpenden, are among those up and down this country that are warning the Government about the negative impact of the proposed changes to national insurance contributions. When will the Prime Minister heed those warnings and, at the very least, look at exemptions for health and social care providers, as has been done for the NHS?

[The Prime Minister]

We had to deliver a Budget to wipe the slate clean, to deliver a stable basis for our economy and, at the same time, to repair our public services. That is why we invested £25.6 billion over two years in the NHS, including additional funding for GPs and hospices. We are taking measures to ensure that funding is there to support our vital services.