Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on developing tech skills in the workforce.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent and skills are a vital strand of the government’s UK Science and Technology Framework, published in 2023, which aims to cement the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower by 2030.
The department is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, including through government-industry groups such as the Digital Skills Council. This brings together government and industry to address current and future demand for digital skills, including promoting routes into digital careers and the range of opportunities to re-skill and up-skill.
The department is making it easier for people of all ages and backgrounds to access the STEM training they need through the ladder of opportunity provided by our skills system reforms, including:
There are over 350 high-quality, employer-designed STEM apprenticeships and from 2024 students will be able to apply for apprenticeships on the UCAS website. The number of digital, ICT practitioner apprenticeship starts have increased year-on-year since 2019/20, with 24,140 starts in the 2022/23 year (over 40% increase compared to starts in the 2019/20 year).
Over 1,000 Skills Bootcamps are available across the country, offering training in tech subjects such as software development, cyber security and data analytics.
The introduction of a Lifelong Learning Entitlement will transform access to FE and HE, offering all adults the equivalent of four years’ worth of student loans to use flexibly on quality education and skills training over their lifetime.
These programmes are achieving the vision set out in the UK Science and Technology Framework to boost the supply of tech skills.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 15 September 2023 (198696), whether they will make the Uptake Improvement Plan for the breast screening programme public.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Demos and Breast Cancer Now report The Cost of Breast Cancer: Modelling the economic impact to the UK, published on 22 January, what assessment they have made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, based on the current speed of recovery, what estimate they have made of when breast screening uptake in England could reach the achievable target of 80 per cent.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State at the Department for Health and Social Care on 15 September 2023 (198696), what actions are included in the Uptake Improvement Plan for the breast screening programme; and what are the recommended timeframes for those actions.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no assessment has been made of the economic benefits of increasing breast screening uptake or the timescales for reaching the achievable target of 80%, the Government continues to be committed to supporting and improving uptake the NHS breast screening programme.
A national plan has been developed by NHS England in collaboration with key stakeholders such as cancer alliances, to improve uptake in the breast screening programme from 2023 and beyond; this is in line with the Long Term Plan commitment that by 2028, 75% of cancers will be diagnosed at stages one and two.
The improvement plan is not set to be published, but covers the priorities and interventions needed to increase uptake. This includes expanding access to screening, reducing inequalities, continuing to develop IT systems to improve data analytics, and ensuring communications are inclusive and accessible to all.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to integrate advanced technologies and data analytics into the NHS to improve patient care and operational efficiency.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2023, the Government published its first strategy for Medical Technology, outlining the priority to ensure patients have fast and safe access to the most innovative technology that deliver the best outcomes. We are implementing solutions to streamline the innovation adoption pathway: from providing clear signals to industry on the innovation we need, to reforming regulation, comparative assessment, and improved procurement. A Copy of the strategy is attached.
This will complement the investment in upgrading the analytical capability of the National Health Service, through the provision of the Federated Data Platform, which will allow trusts and integrated care boards to access software which allow them to draw together diverse operational data sets, to improve outcomes for patients. The federation aspect means that every trust and integrated care board will have access to their own version of the data platform, over which they will have complete control.
In addition, a single combined programme called ‘Data Capabilities’ is underway bringing together the several strategic strands of transformation. The programme is designed to achieve a strong data and technological architecture to enable the development of high quality and efficient data flows. Significantly it will also ensure that confidential patient data can be collected, processed, deployed, and disseminated securely. This will improve the quality, availability, and interoperability of data to support multiple use cases in health and social care.
The combined aims of the Data Capabilities programme are to improve the timeliness and quality of data collection, changing the way we collect data to reduce burden on the frontline; ensure the highest standards are applied to the safe handling of patient data; harmonise the data and technical architectures of the main data platforms used in NHS England so that data is being collected, curated and made available in the most secure and efficient way; expand the range, quality, and utility of data, including linked data assets; provide appropriate and timely access for users including providers, commissioners, policy makers, researchers, and patients to support the four use cases of data, namely Direct Care, population health and proactive care, planning oversight and service improvement, and research and innovation.
The role data professionals play in the health sector is vital and we fully recognise the need to ensure that this important part of the workforce receives the support it needs. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) set out our ambition to ensure that the wider workforce has the skills it needs to deliver care in future.
NHS England also intends to publish a workforce plan that will encompass the information, digital, data and technology professions. This plan will supplement the actions in the LTWP and ensure that, collectively, we are taking the actions that will put the whole NHS workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2023 to Question 4062 on Armed Forces, how the Pan Defence Skills Framework will improve transparency in appraisal and promotion processes.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Pan Defence Skills Framework (PDSF), as a modernized approach to skills management, has the potential to enhance transparency in appraisal and promotion processes; the exploitation of the PDSF for the military is closely linked with the Future Appraisal review work which is taking place. Some areas being explored are:
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 101 of the publication entitled Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23, how much his Department has spent on developing whole force people data analytics solutions as of 28 November 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has spent a total of £300,000 on a whole force workforce people data project. The development of whole force data analytics will support the development of the strategic workforce planning capability. It will enable us to better understand and manage the Defence workforce to ensure we have the right people, at the right time, in the right location to deliver Defence outputs.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 101 of the publication entitled Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23, what outcomes his Department plans to achieve from the development of whole force people data analytics solutions.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has spent a total of £300,000 on a whole force workforce people data project. The development of whole force data analytics will support the development of the strategic workforce planning capability. It will enable us to better understand and manage the Defence workforce to ensure we have the right people, at the right time, in the right location to deliver Defence outputs.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding was made available through the British Business Bank's National Security Strategic Investment Fund in each industrial sector in each year since its establishment.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of June 2023, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) has committed £220m to British Business Bank backed funds, of which £92m has been invested in 217 companies across twelve areas of interest. Private sector investors have invested £718m alongside NSSIF. The sectoral breakdown across the twelve areas of interest is as follows: Audio and Visual Processing £1.1m, Biorisk and Medtech £10.8m, Commercial Space, Platforms and Robotics £1.6m, Computational Behavioural Analysis £1.3m, Cyber Security £14.0m, Data Analytics and AI £28.6m, Financial Technologies £21.7m, Identity Technologies £6.8m, IOT and the Evolving Environment £1.0m, Novel Data Transport £0.1m, Quantum Technologies £2.1m, Sensors, Novel Materials and Power Sources £2.9m