Written questions by Onwurah.

What the planned timetable is for the UK National Screening Committee review of its advice on screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The UK National Screening Committee last reviewed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2018, and recommended against a national screening programme for three reasons:the lack of an accurate test to detect the condition at an early stage;it is not known if medicines for COPD are effective in people with mild symptoms; andthe best treatment for early COPD is to stop smoking, but people with few or no symptoms may not be willing to do this.The Secretariat hopes to be able to commission a further evidence update within the next three years.

With reference to the Full government response to the Lord O'Shaughnessy review into commercial clinical trials, published on 8 December 2023, if he will publish an assessment of progress on implementing the review’s recommendations.

The Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full, in order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient, and accessible clinical research system.The Department will publish progress against the commitments, aiming to align with the upcoming publication of the 10-Year Health Plan.

With reference to Great British Energy's press release, Negotiations begin for UK’s small modular reactor programme, published on 11 November 2024, what steps he is taking to help ensure decisions on the UK small modular reactor programme are not delayed beyond spring 2025.

As announced at the Autumn Budget, Great British Nuclear is driving forward the small modular reactor competition for UK deployment and is negotiating with four shortlisted companies. Once negotiations have concluded, the companies will be invited to submit final tenders, which GBN will then evaluate. Final decisions will be taken in the spring. GBN is resourced to deliver the SMR competition and is working to a timeline that enables a robust process underpinned by fairness and transparency, to ensure any selected technology provides best value for money.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits nuclear fusion as a future energy source.

Fusion has the potential to provide virtually limitless, low-carbon, safe, baseload energy which could revolutionise global energy production. The UK is at the forefront of commercialising fusion technology and is building a strong fusion industry which already supports thousands of high-quality jobs and will create thousands more. The opportunities inherent in fusion development, including transfer of technology like robotics and advanced materials to adjacent energy sectors and inward investment, contribute strongly to the Government’s missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 20613 on UK Research and Innovation: Staff, what are the duties of regionally-organised business growth advisers; and who pays their salaries.

Regionally organised business growth advisors (also known as innovation and growth specialists or scaleup directors) provide a comprehensive spectrum of innovation and commercial expertise to high-potential small to medium-sized innovation-driven companies. They help clients tackle priorities such as improving the innovation process, forging international business collaborations, becoming investment ready, and structuring for growth. Additionally, they act as a gateway to UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) range of support and significant regional, national, and international innovation resources.The salaries of these business growth advisors are funded by Innovate UK, which is part of UKRI.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 19688 on Food Supply, if he will take steps to include alternative proteins in the proposed food strategy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 December 2024, UIN 19689.

If he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential for small modular nuclear reactors to power datacentres in the UK.

DESNZ and DSIT officials are already working together on the potential for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to power data centres in the UK and will continue to do so. The recently announced AI Energy Council is also an avenue for DESNZ and DSIT SoS to discuss this topic further with the AI industry.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the SEPs Resource Hub launched by the IPO in October 2024 on small and medium enterprises.

From its launch on 22 July 2024 to 15 January 2025, the Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) Resource Hub has been accessed by 869 unique users. The IPO has sought feedback from stakeholders to assess whether they have accessed, understood, and implemented the Resource Hub’s guidance. Stakeholders have indicated that the Hub has helped to reduce uncertainty around FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing, particularly for small and medium enterprises, and encourage more informed negotiations between SEP holders and implementers. Further evaluation is being undertaken, both to help make improvements to the Hub and assess whether intended impacts have been achieved.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Government’ press release of 25 September 2024 entitled PM tells US investors Britain is open for business as he secured major £10 billion deal to drive growth and create jobs, what the evidential basis is that the investment in the Blyth data centre will create 4,000 jobs.

Northumberland County Council expect this project to deliver over 1,600 direct jobs, including 1,200 long-term construction jobs, and over 2,700 indirect and induced jobs over the course of the development.

How many and what proportion of full-time equivalent members of staff in Great British Nuclear work on the UK’s small modular reactor programme.

Great British Nuclear is driving forward its small modular reactor competition for UK deployment. To deliver on this mission, GBN has grown rapidly as an organisation and as of January 2025, GBN has c.145 FTE in total, of which c.90 FTE are focused directly on delivering the SMR programme.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 18934 on Government Departments: ICT, what the total value of the spend requests considered against the Digital Assurance Gateway is; and what the average time taken to consider them was.

The total value of the spend requests considered for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and its Arm’s Length Bodies against the Digital Assurance Gateway as at the date of answering question 18934 was £98.2m. Consideration against the Gateway has been incorporated into a pre-existing weekly liaison meeting between Integrated Corporate Services and the Central Digital and Data Office and is dealt with via short discussions.

How many and what proportion of full-time equivalent members of staff in his Department work on supporting (a) advanced and (b) small modular nuclear reactors.

Advanced nuclear policy which includes Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) is administered by the Net Zero, Nuclear, and International (NZNI) Group within the Department. This includes an advanced nuclear policy function, a sponsorship interface with Great British Nuclear, which is delivering the SMR competition for UK deployment, and a science and innovation function as part of the Department’s wider Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. While staff numbers will fluctuate in accordance with Department priorities, as of January 2025, the team is made up of c.50 officials. The Department's activities are also supported by independent technical experts.

Innovation and Technology, whether it remains his policy to invest £2 billion over 10 years in engineering biology.

The government remains committed to supporting the UK Engineering Biology sector. DSIT will set out its spending plans in line with the Spending Review timelines set by HM Treasury, with departmental funding settlements being announced in the Spring

What his Department's target is for nuclear capacity in gigawatts by (a) 2030, (b) 2040 and (c) 2050.

Nuclear power currently provides ca. 15% of the UK’s electricity (6GW). As the current fleet retires, the Clean Power Action Plan anticipates a drop in capacity to 3-4GW in 2030.We see nuclear as an important part of the mix going forward and are pushing ahead with building new nuclear. We have committed to getting Hinkley Point C over the line and will take final decisions on Sizewell C and the Great British Nuclear-led Small Modular Reactor programme at the Spending Review.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Intellectual Property Office publication entitled Standard Essential Patents: 2024 forward look, published on 27 February 2024, what his planned timetable is for the launch of the public technical consultation.

The Government recognises the importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the UK economy and the objectives published in February 2024 continue to underpin the Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) work. Delivering against those objectives, the IPO launched its SEPs Resource Hub on 22 July 2024 to help UK small and medium enterprises navigate the SEPs ecosystem.The IPO continues to consider options that could help improve the functioning of the SEPs ecosystem. Any options requiring regulatory change would be part of a full, formal consultation. A final decision on holding a consultation would rest with Ministers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to reform the regulation of Standard Essential Patents to support innovation and growth among UK technology small and medium enterprises.

The Government recognises the importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the UK economy and the objectives published in February 2024 continue to underpin the Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) work. Delivering against those objectives, the IPO launched its SEPs Resource Hub on 22 July 2024 to help UK small and medium enterprises navigate the SEPs ecosystem.The IPO continues to consider options that could help improve the functioning of the SEPs ecosystem. Any options requiring regulatory change would be part of a full, formal consultation. A final decision on holding a consultation would rest with Ministers.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 18934 on Government Departments: ICT, which companies were contracted to provide IT services after consideration of spend requests against the Digital Assurance Gateway.

Contracts awarded for the activities in scope for Question 18934 as at the time of providing this response include Microsoft, Convergence/Extreme, Objective, IBM, Dextrous Web/Thoughtworks, Kerv, AWS and IBL.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of building repair costs on inner-city congregations of listed places of worship.

The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship across the UK. The scheme has supported both rural and city based places of worship, and places of worship of a range of denominations. As well as making awards to Christian places of worship, since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 19693 on Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence, on what date her Department decided not to publish that equality impact assessment.

Machine learning is currently used to flag cases requiring further examination. Our equality analysis found no issues of concern as set out in the Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent consideration of the release of this information took place following receipt of Question 19693 on 13th December 2024 where the department considered the balance between releasing information and protecting the effectiveness of our fraud prevention and detection methods.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on religious minority groups.

The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship across the UK. The scheme has supported both rural and city based places of worship, and places of worship of a range of denominations. As well as making awards to Christian places of worship, since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations.