Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress his Department has made on Project Gigabit since April 2024.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Since April 2024, three new Project Gigabit contracts covering Lincolnshire and East Riding, Cheshire, and North Yorkshire have been signed.
A cross regional framework agreement with Openreach, has also been signed. The first two call-off contracts under the framework have been awarded, covering large parts of Wales and rural parts of England from Devon to Staffordshire. The first Project Gigabit procurements have also been launched in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the development of (a) a breath test to identify pancreatic cancer and (b) technologies to aid early detection of all cancers.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The project to develop a breath test to identify pancreatic cancer is funded via the NIHR i4i/OLS: Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation Call. This £11 million programme funds 6 projects that aim to develop technologies to aid early detection of cancer. This is one strand of the Office for Life Sciences’ (OLS) Cancer Programme, which supports the development of technologies that enable earlier, more effective cancer diagnosis and improved treatment. OLS is a joint Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) unit, ensuring both departments are involved in this work.