Every parliamentary written question tabled by Laurence Turner this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 141–160 of 308 · this parliament
Innovation and Technology, what the (a) total and (b) per capita public expenditure on life sciences was in each of the last five years by region.
Public expenditure on life sciences is funded by various public organisations. The Government does not aggregate data from these organisations regarding their total, regional and per capita expenditure.
Communities and Local Government, what the process is for amending an enterprise zone's boundaries.
Enterprise Zone sites were carefully selected and are designated in law. We currently have no plans to allow for boundaries to be redrawn
Whether (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's advisory bodies have made comparative assessments of the efficacy of (i) natalizumab Tysabri and (ii) natalizumab Tyruko for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Tyruko and Tysabri are United Kingdom licensed medicines. Tyruko is a biosimilar to the originator Tysabri. A biosimilar is a biological medicinal product that contains a version of the active substance of an already authorised original biological medicinal product. The guiding principle of authorising a biosimilar is to establish similarity between the biosimilar, Tyruko, and the originator, Tysabri, based on a comprehensive comparability exercise, ensuring that the previously proven safety and efficacy of the originator also applies to the biosimilar. This is assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) during the process of obtaining a marketing authorisation.Following the introduction of Tyruko to the UK, the MHRA has investigated reports of increased disability associated with suspected allergic reactions, known as immunogenicity, following treatment with Tyruko, mainly in patients who were switched from Tysabri. The majority of these reports originated from a single National Health Service centre and only a few patients had residual symptoms after stopping Tyruko or transferring back to Tysabri. The assessment noted that more reassuring real world data has been described by other centres, which indicates some heterogeneity in the experience. The MHRA’s review was considered by the Commission on Human Medicine’s Neurology, Pain and Psychiatry Expert Advisory Group, which concluded that there was no corroborative evidence that allergic reactions are associated with progressive disability or any lack of efficacy for Tyruko when compared with Tysabri. The group recommended enhanced pharmacovigilance measures, including a specific follow up questionnaire, and that the marketing authorisation holder should review the risk of allergic reactions every four months or so and submit their data to the MHRA for monitoring, until greater experience with Tyruko is gained. The MHRA communicated the findings and outcomes of this review to clinicians at an NHS England webinar on 2 May 2025.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 46451 on Birmingham City Council: Finance, whether her Department has made an inexact estimate of the cost of providing central support to that intervention.
It is established practice for MHCLG to provide a Chief of Staff function to support Commissioners appointed to local authorities in statutory intervention. In line with normal practice, the Department does not comment on the detail of civil service staffing or pay arrangements.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 46451 on Birmingham City Council: Finance, what the estimated cost of providing central support to that intervention was in (a) 2023-2024, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26 to date.
It is established practice for MHCLG to provide a Chief of Staff function to support Commissioners appointed to local authorities in statutory intervention. In line with normal practice, the Department does not comment on the detail of civil service staffing or pay arrangements.
Pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 45320 on Employment: Disability, how many complaints have been made against employers in each year for which figures are available.
The number of complaints received by the Disability Confident scheme made against employer members are as follows: 2020 – 35 (part year from June to December)2021 – 652022 – 502023 – 542024 – 962025 – 21 (part year from January to March)
What plans he has for the future composition of the Steel Council.
Following the publication of the Strategy, the Secretary of State intends to continue to convene the Steel Council throughout this Parliament, so we can make sure we drive implementation of the Strategy. Discussions will be held with members of the Council regarding its future composition.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of remodelling Manchester Oxford Road railway station on rail capacity.
Improving rail capacity and performance are key aims of the Government’s investment programme for Manchester, hence the prioritisation of improvements to Oxford Road station which is a key constraint on the network. As the Oxford Road project develops over the next couple of years, further timetable and station capacity studies will be made.
What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the additional time taken to introduce the South Western Railway Arterio rolling stock fleet.
Arterio delays were initially caused by manufacturing and software issues, the responsibility of Alstom. There have been a number of more recent issues including driver training and platform infrastructure readiness, the responsibility of South Western Railway, which have impacted the ability to bring further units into passenger service as envisaged. My officials are actively engaged in ensuring all appropriate actions are being taken in the interests of passengers and taxpayers. The Rail Minister has asked FirstGroup and MTR, the current owners of SWR, to meet with me urgently to explain what they are doing to address these issues as a priority.
What her timetable is for appointing a new Chair of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
The government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce. School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and are crucial to ensuring we give children the best possible life chances.The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) will mean that employers and employee representatives come together to negotiate terms and conditions and pay for school support staff, to ensure that support staff are properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education plans to follow the usual public appointments process and appoint a Chair for the SSSNB after primary legislation receives Royal Assent.
With reference of the oral contribution by the Rt hon. Member for North West Essex of 12 April 2025, Official Report, column 846, what estimate his Department made of the potential impact of the proposed commercial deal with Jingye on (a) jobs and (b) cost to the public purse.
This Government has not been able to assess the potential impacts of the last Government’s proposed commercial deal with Jingye given it does not exist. We do know there had been a lack of progress before this Government took office. This Government has worked intensively with Jingye to try and reach a co-investment deal that met our public accountability and legal requirements, worked for local people and UK taxpayers, safeguarded as many jobs as possible, and put British Steel on a sustainable footing for the future. When Jingye rejected an offer of substantial financial support and took steps to enact pre-emptive blast furnace closures, we took prompt action which resulted in British Steel cancelling the consultation on a potential 2,700 redundancies.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43306 on Birmingham City Council: Finance, whether Birmingham City Council has reimbursed her Department for any costs associated with that intervention; and if she will publish details of any such costs, broken down by heading.
It is established practice for MHCLG to provide a Chief of Staff function to support Commissioners appointed to local authorities in statutory intervention. There are currently two full-time equivalent roles attached to the intervention in Birmingham City Council. These costs are contained within existing departmental budgets, and in line with standard practice. No separate estimate of exact costs has been made.As is standard practice for Councils under intervention, Birmingham City Council has not reimbursed the department for any costs associated with the Chief of Staff function, but does cover the Commissioners’ fees.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43306, on Birmingham City Council: Finance, how many officials in her Department provide support to that intervention on a (a) headcount and (b) full-time equivalent basis; and if she will make an estimate of the cost of departmental support to the intervention since October 2023.
It is established practice for MHCLG to provide a Chief of Staff function to support Commissioners appointed to local authorities in statutory intervention. There are currently two full-time equivalent roles attached to the intervention in Birmingham City Council. These costs are contained within existing departmental budgets, and in line with standard practice. No separate estimate of exact costs has been made.As is standard practice for Councils under intervention, Birmingham City Council has not reimbursed the department for any costs associated with the Chief of Staff function, but does cover the Commissioners’ fees.
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April to Question 40395 on Further Education: Special Educational Needs, whether any ringfenced capital grants have been made to the SEND-specialist further education sector in the last ten years; and what information her Department holds on capital expenditure by SEND-specialist further education providers.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides funding to local authorities to support them to meet this duty. Local authorities can spend their funding across the 0 to 25 age range, including in special post-16 institutions or other further education settings. The need for investment across this age range will differ between different local authorities, dependent on local circumstances, and it is therefore for local authorities to determine how best to prioritise available funding to address their local priorities.The department has published £740 million of local authority high needs capital allocations for the 2025/26 financial year. Although this funding is not ringfenced and local authorities have discretion over how they spend their funding, we do ask local authorities to complete and return a grant assurance data return each year to provide details on the projects they intend to fund using their high needs provision capital allocation funding.Whilst local authorities are not required to publish these returns, the department does encourage them to consider doing so to aid local transparency.
How many employers have had Disability Confident status rescinded in each of the last five years.
To date the Department has not suspended any employer from the scheme. We have worked with several employers who have been the subject of a complaint to improve their compliance with the scheme criteria.There is a Disability Confident complaints process in place that sets out the steps that should be taken to address and resolve any concerns raised that an employer is failing to comply with Disability Confident criteria. More information is available here: Disability Confident complaints process.If an employer has failed to take adequate steps to resolve an issue, and there is unambiguous evidence the employer is not adhering to the principles and criteria of the Disability Confident scheme, DWP has the right to suspend the Disability Confident status of the employer until they have taken the necessary action.
Pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 42342 on Railways: Public Expenditure, if her Department will make the calculations for each of the last five years for which figures are available.
It is possible to reproduce English regional railway expenditure excluding HS2 for the last five years using the Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) dataset. The table below shows the impact for the most recent CRA publication from November 2024:Railway spending for English regions in £s per capita, excluding HS2ITL Region2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24North East118224188239255North West171222206203202Yorkshire and the Humber124239197196214East Midlands102197160156159West Midlands160238226216221East of England215423342308325London528687633683665South East235433333301299South West142222165149168England226353301298302
What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of prescribing medical cannabis to treat Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend the use of any cannabis-based medicines to manage chronic or neuropathic pain in adults and that cannabidiol (CBD) only be offered as part of a clinical trial.NICE recognises the lack of evidence to support the use of these medicines and recommends that further research is carried out on the clinical and cost effectiveness of CBD as an add-on treatment for adults with fibromyalgia or for persistent treatment resistant neuropathic pain.The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. As for all other medicines, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to generate the evidence required for assessment by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
What recent progress she has made on the appointment of a new Chair of Network Rail.
The Department plans to launch an open and fair recruitment to appoint a new permanent Chair of Network Rail and has appointed an Executive Search Agency to run the recruitment.
Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of her Department's intervention at Birmingham City Council since October 2023.
The Commissioners’ fees and expenses are published on Birmingham City Council’s website at regular three-month intervals. There are additional costs associated with the admin support team provided by Birmingham City Council. Commissioners’ fees and expenses for one year were just over £1.3m.
If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled Impact of Changes to the Ukraine Visa Schemes on Ukrainians in the UK, published by the University of Birmingham in March 2025.
The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, referenced by the report, continues to provide certainty and security for Ukrainians, allowing those with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes to apply for a further 18 months to stay in the UK. This will allow a continuation of rights to work, live and study as well as access to healthcare and welfare support in the UK.We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and keep the schemes under review in line with the ongoing conflict.