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 assessment he has made of the trends in the level of foreign acquisition of UK technology companies in the last five years.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
International deals have remained constant at around 60% of total merger and acquisition activity since 2021, with a greater concentration in innovation-driven fields.
Whilst this brings significant inward investment and unlocks funds to be reinvested back into our innovation ecosystem, Government is also taking steps to increase capital available from UK sources so that companies have the option to scale, grow and list in the UK. Measures taken to support this include increasing capitalisation of the British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund, launching a new Listings Taskforce, ongoing pensions reforms, and wider measures set out in the Entrepreneurship Prospectus.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, further to the three month consultation announced by the government on further measures to keep children safe online, how many full-time equivalent officials she has assigned to this consultation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to ensure that the consultation considers all arguments and views, we are drawing on expertise from across the department and from a variety of different teams as necessary. This means that an accurate estimation in terms of FTE is not possible.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what operational savings his Department has identified from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital that may be applicable to schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The New Hospital Programme (NHP) continues to learn lessons from early schemes that were delivered through the programme, including the Royal Liverpool Hospital (RLH) scheme. Lessons are embedded into the standardised approach of the NHP, Hospital 2.0, to ensure we provide health infrastructure that is fit for the future.
The RLH scheme was designed without the assistance of our standardised approach, Hospital 2.0. We have learnt from the initial challenges that the scheme faced upon opening, specifically the workforce adjusting to the 100% single rooms. We have factored this into our standardised approach, ensuring that in future, digitisation and the use of technology can mitigate and support the workforce in new models of care.
The programme continues to collect data, including on workforce, to inform our standardised approach. RLH have also reported their most improved survey results since moving into their new facility and a significant reduction in hospital acquired infections.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support research institutions in the period before UK Research and Innovation budget allocations are determined.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In December, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) set out how it will deliver its record £38.6 billion funding allocation over the next four years. This is part of the largest ever investment in R&D made by any UK government (£86 billion up to 2029/30) and will help drive new scientific breakthroughs, help create new industries and grow businesses faster, and deliver the growth we need for good jobs and better lives.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been in active dialogue with UKRI to ensure that any implications from funding decisions are fully understood and that they reflect both the UK’s strategic research priorities and its global commitments. DSIT has asked UKRI to ensure that its final allocations are informed by meaningful consultation with the research community and a robust assessment of potential consequences for the UK’s scientific capability.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to promote media literacy among child users.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Supporting parents and children is central to our media literacy approach. On 10 February, DSIT launched a pilot media literacy communications campaign to give parents tools to help children build resilience and critical thinking skills online. A new Online Safety hub, developed with DfE, will provide everyone in the UK with clear guidance on media literacy and online safety.
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has a media literacy strategy that prioritises support for children and families, especially those with additional needs.
In formal education, the Department for Education has committed to strengthening media literacy in the updated national curriculum.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his expected timetable is for the implementation of measures to expand access to talking therapies, assertive outreach, and digital access to mental health support through the NHS App under the 10-Year Health Plan.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To deliver the shift from analogue to digital that is set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will create a digital front door for mental health care through the NHS App to boost access to early support and to empower people to take steps to manage their symptoms.
This has already started, with mental health appointment management now available in eight National Health Service trusts, with a further 18 trusts now funded to come online soon. Underserved groups will be able to find and access Talking Therapies through targeted messaging from next year as well.
We have also been making improvements to the self-referral pathways between NHS 111 online and NHS Talking Therapies, meaning that the 20,000 people with mental health queries who go to NHS 111 online are now better served. This is in addition to supporting people in crisis through the 111 online symptom checker that advises on what to do next.
We are also planning to move all direct-to-patient communication services to NHS Notify and use NHS App-based ‘push’ notifications as the preferred method of contact so that patients can access referral and appointment details, and share and update information with ease.
More widely, we support the adoption of digital technology across the NHS Talking Therapies pathway. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provide assurance around Digitally Enabled Therapies with a strong evidence base, and 7% of NHS Talking Therapies treatments are delivered via these tools. More recently, NICE has provided assurance around Digital Front Doors into NHS Talking Therapies services and we are seeing rapid adoption of these tools, which use artificial intelligence and can improve the quality and accuracy of the assessment.
The NHS 10-Year Health Plan committed to improving assertive outreach care and treatment to ensure 100% national coverage in the next decade. Following the 2025/26 Planning Guidance, systems have reviewed their provision and developed local action plans to strengthen care and treatment. This has been supported by national guidance on intensive and assertive community mental health treatment which helps local areas assess and enhance their services. Recognising all the hard work and improvements systems have already made, we will continue working with regions and integrated care boards to ensure this remains a local priority.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department (a) maintains and (b) plans to maintain a register of AI systems across government.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government Digital Service is implementing the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS), which provides a standardised way for departments and arm’s length bodies to publish information about algorithmic tools they use that significantly influence decisions or interact with the public. ATRS records are published in a central repository on GOV.UK, and more records are being added regularly as part of a phased mandatory rollout across government, providing a cross‑government mechanism to maintain and expand transparency over these systems.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Oral Statement on 26 March 2025 entitled Spring Statement, Official Report, whether any programmes in existence prior to 26 March 2025 will be included in the 10% committed to be spent on novel technologies from the MOD equipment budget.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including directing at least 10% of our equipment procurement annually on novel technologies, which will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
That will include a mixture a significant number of existing defence programmes which are already at the cutting edge, as well as new initiatives like directed energy weapons, AI and autonomous platforms.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to support the development of satellite based internet to help improve rural broadband connectivity in West Sussex.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government is committed to delivering gigabit coverage to 99% of UK premises by 2032 and will continue to consider what it can do to further enable alternatives to fibre connections for premises located in very hard-to-reach areas.
The Government also works closely with Ofcom to ensure that spectrum management and licensing arrangements support the deployment of satellite broadband services, including through appropriate authorisation of satellite networks and earth stations.
The Government Alpha trials, which ended in March 2025, tested the capability of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity in remote locations. The Government also ran a pilot through the Rural Connectivity Accelerator which combined satellite and wireless technologies to support connectivity needs in remote areas.
The satellite market is developing at pace, with further entrants and significant changes to terminal equipment, speeds and the cost of service packages. We continue to monitor and support the development of this market.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology about the potential merits of a respiratory Modern Service Framework to improve the UK’s life sciences ecosystem by scaling up the adoption of new medicines and innovations for lung conditions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider the long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including for respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.
NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.
Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the emergency FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ in Mid Sussex and for England overall, in English National Health Service hospitals and for English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and 2025/26:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
Mid Sussex | 885 | 555 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Note: the data for 2025/26 is provisional.
The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our NHS needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.
Through the community diagnostic centres, we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get tested closer to home. Earlier diagnosis of conditions will help prevent deterioration and improve survival rates. We are also focused on expanding capacity and improving quality in pulmonary rehabilitation delivery to support patients living with respiratory conditions. We are also taking action to reduce the causes of respiratory conditions such as enabling a smoke free generation and cross Government action to improve air quality.