Written questions by Khan.

What steps his Department is taking to invest in new technologies and innovations to enhance the efficiency and resilience of the UK’s blood supply chain.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. The baseline price charged by NHSBT to hospitals for the blood they use is negotiated annually between NHSBT, NHS England, and the Department. This reflects the investments that NHSBT has made in blood supply in the previous year.The Department provided seed-funding to support NHSBT’s work to increase collection capacity and resilience, including the new Brixton Donor Centre which opened in December 2024. A further donor centre will open in Brighton later this year, and NHSBT is developing business cases for additional mobile capacity across the West Midlands and North London. Plasma is collected as part of whole blood collection, as well as through dedicated plasma collection centres. Therefore, plasma collection will also be supported by this resilience work.NHSBT, the Department, and NHS England are working together to ensure that hospitals are practicing effective stock management and resilience in order to respond to incidents through the Joint Blood Stocks Working Group. NHSBT plans to improve the efficiency of donor collection processes via the development of a Donor Session Platform, as this technology will improve the ability to “on board” donors and reduce deferrals.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on aligning the UK-wide bottle return scheme with the planned scheme for Wales.

The Government is committed to deliver a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in England in October 2027 and to realise its benefits of reducing litter, increasing recycling, and creating high quality recyclate that will support the transition to a circular economy. Following a period of joint development of DRS across all four nations, the Welsh Government made the decision to withdraw from this approach in November 2024. Defra Ministers remain in close contact with Welsh Government counterparts through bilateral meetings, calls, and written correspondence. Officials remain in close working partnership with the Welsh Government as they take the decisions regarding a DRS in Wales. The UK Government is keen to keep the door open to provide as much interoperability of schemes across the UK as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing extended producer responsibility collection targets for glass bottles to 90%.

Collection targets are not a feature of the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging (pEPR). However, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which implement pEPR, set challenging, but achievable, recycling targets for all glass packaging which rise year on year to 85% by 2030.

Whether he has conducted a risk assessment on the potential impact of (a) future pandemics and (b) geopolitical disruption to the UK's blood stocks; and what contingency plans are in place for these scenarios.

There are four blood services within the United Kingdom, namely the Welsh Blood Service, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, the Northern Ireland Blood Service, and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). In England, NHSBT moves blood around the country to balance blood stocks in all areas, and works closely with the other UK blood services.The risks and impacts posed by pandemic disease is closely monitored by NHSBT through a risk assessment and a pandemic disease contingency plan. NHSBT is largely self-sufficient in the supply of whole blood to hospitals in England, and isn't reliant on supplies from other countries. Beyond its ability to move blood stocks to where they are needed across the country, NHSBT mitigates geopolitical risks to blood stocks through commercial arrangements with suppliers of vital consumables from overseas, for instance by sourcing blood bags from multiple supply regions and flexing stock holdings.

What her Department's planned timetable is for the completion of the migration of casework operations to the new ATLAS system.

Since mid-2024, Atlas has been the primary caseworking system for operational teams across Migration & Borders with the legacy CID (Case Information Database) caseworking system only being used for very small volume case types. Work to migrate legacy CID ‘work in progress’ cases across to Atlas has been in progress since late 2024, and the capability to handle those small volume case types is due to be completed by the end of April 2025, when it is currently scheduled to decommission CID.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the total cost to the public purse of local authorities providing crisis support to families affected by No Recourse to Public Funds conditions.

The majority of funding in the local government finance settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities. It is at the discretion of each local authority as to how much is allocated to the packages of support they provide to families in crisis, including those impacted by No Recourse to Public Funds conditions.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on local authority budgets of providing crisis support to families impacted by No Recourse to Public Funds conditions.

The majority of funding in the local government finance settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities. It is at the discretion of each local authority as to how much is allocated to the packages of support they provide to families in crisis, including those impacted by No Recourse to Public Funds conditions.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the work produced by the University of Manchester’s Unit M initiative.

Officials from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have met the University of Manchester to understand how its new Unit M functions, and intends to help the university to support the region’s innovation economy. We look forward to learning from its insights as it delivers its activities.This is an example of how universities are working collaboratively within their regions to deliver economic growth, supporting the government’s mission to kickstart the economy. The importance of developing regional innovation ecosystems in this way is why we have extended the Innovation Accelerator pilot programme into 2025/26.

Whether her Department is taking steps to make (a) blood, (b) plasma, (c) platelet, (d) organ, (e) stem cell and (f) tissue donation a mandatory part of the curriculum for primary and secondary school children.

The teaching of blood, tissue and organs is covered in the biology national curriculum at key stage 3, so is taught to pupils aged 11 to 14. While organ donation is not specifically mentioned, schools may choose to cover it here.At primary level, schools can talk about blood and organ donation more generally, in an age-appropriate way, as part of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, which includes content on physical health and mental wellbeing. Blood and organ donation can be covered in more detail in secondary RSHE, within the context of healthy lifestyles and the choices that individuals make in adulthood.The Oak National Academy, an arm's length public body responsible for creating free curriculum resources, has produced a lesson that can be taught to pupils between the ages of 7 and 11 (key stage 2). This includes a section on organs, the transplant waiting list and the relevant legislation.The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum, which includes considering whether any additional content is needed. Separately, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will consider how RSHE fits into the wider curriculum.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to provide financial incentives for businesses engaged in (a) upcycling and (b) the sustainable production of textiles.

The Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from across the Government, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organisations. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a ...

If he will promote the use of (a) sustainable and (b) reusable medical garments in the NHS.

The National Health Service has committed to reaching net zero by 2045 for the emissions it influences through the goods and services it buys from its partners and suppliers. This includes a greater focus on procuring and using sustainable and reusable me...

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Sweden on reducing plastic waste.

The Secretary of State has not held discussions on plastic waste with his counterparts in France, Germany, and Sweden. However, officials have had discussions with their counterparts in other countries to learn lessons on tackling waste, including plastic...

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing teachers in sixth form colleges with the same pay increases as those agreed with school teachers.

The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE), including in sixth form colleges. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers who are free to implement pay arrangements in line...

When she plans to announce whether her Department will provide funding for (a) BTEC and (b) Alternative Technical Qualification courses in the (i) 2025-26 and (ii) 2026-27 academic year.

In July 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced a short pause to the defunding of qualifications to enable a review of post-16 qualification reforms at Level 3 and below. This was followed by a Written Ministerial Statem...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of the SSC-Khaatumo region in supporting stability, development and growth in Somalia.

The UK has not made a specific assessment of the role of the SSC-Khatumo area in supporting stability, development and growth in Somalia. We engage closely with all parties in Somalia and are a core security and development partner to the country.

How many prisoners are being held under Imprisonment for the Public Protection sentences in HMP (a) Buckley Hall, (b) Forest Bank, (c) Hindley and (d) Manchester.

The number of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) in HMP Buckley, HMP Hindley, HMP Forest Bank and HMP Manchester, as at 30 June 2024, are set out in the table below.PrisonNumber of IPP PrisonersBuckley Hall49Forest Bank27Hindley18Manchester24 Please note:(1) Figures for the IPP population include both unreleased and recalled IPP prisoners.(2) The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.This Government believes it is right that these sentences were abolished and is determined to make further progress towards a safe and sustainable release for those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that impacts public protection.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to meet President Abdikadir Ahmed Aw-Ali of the SSC-Khaatumo region in Somalia.

The Foreign Secretary has no current engagement plans with Abdikadir Ahmed Aw-Ali. The UK Ambassador to Somalia engages regularly with a wide range of contacts in Somalia, including those from the SSC-Khatumo area.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing the tax regulations for Sharia-compliant mortgages in line with conventional mortgages.

The Government is committed to the continued strength of the UK Islamic Finance sector, both as an important part of the UK’s overall financial ecosystem and as an instrument of financial inclusion.The alternative finance tax rules aim to provide a level playing field for tax purposes across alternative and conventional financing arrangements.On 16 January 2024, HM Treasury published a consultation proposing changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rules that apply to alternative finance arrangements. The proposed changes seek to amend those rules so that where property is used as collateral for the purposes of raising finance, the CGT outcome is the same whether alternative finance or conventional finance is used. The consultation also asked whether there are any implications for capital allowances. The consultation closed on 9 April 2024 and the Government is considering responses. Next steps will be set out in due course.

Whether her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Tax Simplification for Alternative Finance, which closed 9 April 2024.

The Government is committed to the continued strength of the UK Islamic Finance sector, both as an important part of the UK’s overall financial ecosystem and as an instrument of financial inclusion.The alternative finance tax rules aim to provide a level playing field for tax purposes across alternative and conventional financing arrangements.On 16 January 2024, HM Treasury published a consultation proposing changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rules that apply to alternative finance arrangements. The proposed changes seek to amend those rules so that where property is used as collateral for the purposes of raising finance, the CGT outcome is the same whether alternative finance or conventional finance is used. The consultation also asked whether there are any implications for capital allowances. The consultation closed on 9 April 2024 and the Government is considering responses. Next steps will be set out in due course.