Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what the projected expansion is of the AI Research Resource in each year from 2025.

The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy referenced the Government’s commitment to expand the Government’s AI Research Resource (AIRR) by at least 20x by 2030, accelerating AI innovation through significantly increased compute capacity and support for start-ups. The subsequent Compute Roadmap detailed how the Government intends to invest up to £2 billion to deliver a diverse, joined-up and user centered compute ecosystem. This includes over £1 billion to expand the AI Research Resource (AIRR) 20x by 2030 and up to £750 million for a new national supercomputer service in Edinburgh.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what proportion of funding for Genomics England will be allocated to (a) developing non-animal methods of testing and (b) phasing out animal testing.

Genomics England, Our Future Health and UK Biobank contribute important human data to the UK’s diverse research portfolio that supports alternative method development, including organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. The Health Data Research Service will also contribute in future, However, this research is not categorised by application, so calculating funding for alternative methods specifically is not possible. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), with future investment under review.The Government will publish a strategy to support alternative methods later this year.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what proportion of funding for UK BioBank will be allocated to (a) developing non-animal methods of testing and (b) phasing out animal testing.

Genomics England, Our Future Health and UK Biobank contribute important human data to the UK’s diverse research portfolio that supports alternative method development, including organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. The Health Data Research Service will also contribute in future, However, this research is not categorised by application, so calculating funding for alternative methods specifically is not possible. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), with future investment under review.The Government will publish a strategy to support alternative methods later this year.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what proportion of funding for the Health Data Research Service will be allocated to (a) increasing development of non-animal methods of testing and (b)phasing out animal testing.

Genomics England, Our Future Health and UK Biobank contribute important human data to the UK’s diverse research portfolio that supports alternative method development, including organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. The Health Data Research Service will also contribute in future, However, this research is not categorised by application, so calculating funding for alternative methods specifically is not possible. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), with future investment under review.The Government will publish a strategy to support alternative methods later this year.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what proportion of funding for Our Future Health will be allocated to (a) developing non-animal methods of testing and (b) phasing out animal testing.

Genomics England, Our Future Health and UK Biobank contribute important human data to the UK’s diverse research portfolio that supports alternative method development, including organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. The Health Data Research Service will also contribute in future, However, this research is not categorised by application, so calculating funding for alternative methods specifically is not possible. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), with future investment under review.The Government will publish a strategy to support alternative methods later this year.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how many (a) gigafactories, (b) laboratories and (c) data centres have opted in to being designated as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

No gigafactories, data centres or laboratories have yet opted into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) consenting process. Regulations which will enable large-scale data centres to ‘opt in’ to the NSIP consenting process are intended to be laid in Parliament for approval later this year and we anticipate a number of applicants will make use of the process once they are able to do so. Gigafactories and laboratories can already request to ‘opt in’ to the NSIP consenting regime under existing prescriptions of types of business or commercial projects in the Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) Regulations 2013.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on bringing globally mobile manufacturing investments to the UK via the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.

The up to £520m Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund was launched in 2024 to incentivise commercial-scale manufacturing of medicines and medical devices. The fund aims to drive economic growth and build UK health resilience. There have been four application rounds to date and we expect to announce the first set of grant winners in the coming month. In addition, we have recently invested £30 million in a new UK RNA Biofoundry, and we continue to work on our long-term partnerships with Moderna and BioNTech, which will grow the UK’s manufacturing and R&D capabilities for the benefit of UK patients.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on reducing trial approval times to under 150 days.

The Department is committed to cutting the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up, to under 150 days by March 2026 with the aim of making the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical trials. We are streamlining the set-up and delivery of clinical research through the UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) programme as set out in our recent publication, Transforming the UK clinical research system: August 2025 update, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-the-uk-clinical-research-system-august-2025-updateThe UKCRD programme has rapidly implemented a Study Set-Up Plan, co-led by the Department and NHS England to address the delays affecting clinical research set-up through reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, by standardising commercial contracts and removing duplicative steps at sites to create a standardised pathway, for example in pharmacy set-up, to free up workforce capacity. The second phase of the Plan was completed in June 2025, with mandatory use of the new processes and templates for commercial trials by October 2025. The successful implementation of the Plan will be closely monitored for impact.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on doubling commercial interventional trial participants by the end of 2025.

The Department is monitoring progress on commercial interventional trial participation via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The number of participants recruited to commercial interventional trials in the United Kingdom was 21,108 in 2024/25 and 4,635 in the first quarter of 2025/26.To ensure the UK’s international competitiveness and to attract more commercial interventional trials to the UK, the Government has implemented a Study Set-Up Plan through the 4-nation UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) programme. The second and final phase of the UKCRD Study Set-Up Plan was completed in June 2025, as part of efforts to cut clinical trials study set up times to 150 days by March 2026.The NIHR is also supporting increased participation in clinical trials with the online service 'Be Part of Research', making it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research and for researchers to recruit suitable participants.

Which units are using FV433 Bulldog vehicles; and how many each unit has.

The FV430 Bulldog series is distributed to the units below in line with the Army’s fielding plan and Defence priorities. The Department does not release detailed information on unit equipment holdings below top-level figures. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. Unit1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers1 Armoured Medical Regiment1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment1st Battalion The Royal Welsh1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery1 Signal Regiment12 Regiment Royal Artillery14 Regiment Royal Artillery15 Signal Regiment19 Regiment Royal Artillery2 Medical Regiment2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment21 Signal Regiment22 Engineer Regiment26 Engineer Regiment3rd (United Kingdom) Division Signal Regiment3 Armoured Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery32 Regiment Royal Artillery4 Armoured Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers5 Regiment Royal Artillery5th Battalion The Rifles6 Armoured Close Support Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersHousehold Cavalry RegimentThe King’s Royal HussarsThe Queen’s Royal HussarsThe Royal Dragoon GuardsThe Royal LancersThe Royal Tank RegimentStorage FleetsIndustryTraining FleetsOperationsTotal 750

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 48996 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Decommissioning, what progress he has made on procuring a replacement for the Bulldog Armoured Personnel Carrier.

The Bulldog Armoured Personnel Carrier replacement is being considered as part of the Heavy Protected Mobility project, within the Land Mobility Programme. This project is currently in the Concept Phase and investment approval and procurement timelines are yet to be determined.

What progress she has made on apprehending Kevin Thomas Parle.

Kevin Thomas Parle features on the NCA’s Most Wanted List. As this is a live investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Whether the Afghan Response Route was included within data published on the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

Data on arrivals through the Afghan Resettlement Programme is published in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics. The first arrivals under the Afghan Response Route (ARR) came to the UK in July 2024. Data on the ARR was previously included as a subset of the ARAP data in the publication. As of the August 2025 release, the publication has included a separate breakdown for ARR arrivals, in table Hum_01 of the ‘Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes summary tables’. The latest data relate to June 2025. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

How many FV433 Bulldog vehicles are in service.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 September 2025, to Question 74743, where it states the total number of FV433 Bulldog vehicles in service is 750.

With reference to the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published in June 2025, what progress he has made in launching an alliance with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published in June, announced the formation of an Alliance between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVM Catapult) to leverage HVM Catapult’s cross sector experience and world-leading research and development facilities. The MOD and HVM Catapult, with Innovate UK as its sponsoring authority, are working collaboratively on the scope of the Alliance. This includes setting the vision and objectives, identifying opportunities for Defence within existing HVM Catapult programmes, developing a joint roadmap for delivery, and appointing a senior departmental sponsor to lead the work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 48996 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Decommissioning, what progress he has made on procuring replacement for the Viking Personnel Armoured Vehicle.

Currently there are no direct replacements planned for the Viking Personnel Armoured Vehicle.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 48996 on Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Decommissioning, what progress he has made on procuring a replacement for the Jackal 2 Reconnaissance Vehicle.

The Light Protected Mobility project, within the Land Mobility Programme, will determine the future Light Protected Mobility fleet. The project is in its Concept Phase, as such investment approval and procurement timelines are to be determined.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 70001 on Voting Rights: Cambridgeshire, whether the Impact Assessment to be published alongside forthcoming legislation will be published before the introduction of new unitary authorities in Cambridgeshire.

An Impact Assessment will be published alongside forthcoming legislation in due course.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on tackling high industrial electricity costs.

Our modern Industrial Strategy will make British industrial electricity costs cheaper with unprecedented new support.The British Industry Supercharger reduces electricity costs for energy-intensive businesses by c.£24 – £32/MWh, fully exempting them from certain policy costs and offering 60% compensation for Network Costs through the Network Charging Compensation scheme. We have recently consulted on increasing the level of support available through the NCC scheme to 90% compensation, and the Government will respond shortly.The Government will also continue support for the Energy-Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme to support energy efficiency, decarbonisation, and technological innovation. The scheme offsets 75% of the indirect costs of carbon emissions from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Price Support Mechanism.The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will be implemented from 2027, reducing electricity costs by approximately £35-40/MWh for eligible manufacturing businesses captured by the Industrial Strategy. A consultation on eligibility for the scheme is planned for later this year.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on strengthening connections to the EU energy market.

The Common Understanding between the European Commission and the United Kingdom, agreed at the UK-EU Summit on 19 May 2025, sets out the progress made on strengthening connections to the EU energy market. Both sides have committed to exploring the UK’s potential participation in the EU’s internal electricity market, including access to trading platforms across all timeframes. Discussions are ongoing to define the parameters of such an arrangement. The UK and European Commission also agreed to continue technical regulatory exchanges on new energy technologies such as hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and biomethane.