I thank and congratulate my hon. Friend on his many years of campaigning on this terrible issue. He will know about the Prime Minister’s personal involvement in and commitment to this issue, about his personal experience of campaigning alongside the victims, and how important he and the Department consider the matter. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority has now paid out over £2.2 billion in final compensation payments, but we are very aware that there is much more to do. The Minister in the other place will be happy to meet my hon. Friend’s APPG.

I understand the concern that my hon. Friend is raising about data centres. I have to say to him that at this point, I will not go as far as a moratorium, but I agree that it is important that communities see the benefits of AI and data centre investment. I can say from experience that the data centre can be the magnet that clusters in other investment over time; that needs to be remembered. This Government have a policy that AI growth zones will allow local authorities to retain 100% of business rate growth, so that they can benefit communities.

In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government committed £11.8bn in compensation to people who were infected and affected as a result of the Infected Blood scandal. We estimate that the specific changes announced following the public consultation on the infected blood compensation scheme will cost in the region of £1bn in compensation payments.

These figures are a broad estimate, which reflects the inherent uncertainty in predicting the exact number of eligible claimants who will come forward. This estimate is neither a target nor a limit, and every eligible person will get the compensation they are due.

The revised service specification for haemophilia and related bleeding disorders has been developed through NHS England's established governance process, including stakeholder testing, public consultation, and consideration by the relevant specialised commissioning governance groups. Following completion of these governance steps, the specification has been progressing through NHS England's approval processes prior to release.

NHS England expects publication to take place once these final internal publication arrangements have been completed.

I pay tribute to the business in my hon. Friend’s constituency that he advocates for. Businesses around the country are paying the price of, and having to adapt to the challenges posed by, the Iran war. It is a good job that we have a Prime Minister who kept us out of the war—those on the Conservative Benches would have plunged us into it and made things even more difficult for businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country. On his specific question, I can tell him that we are engaging regularly with refiners, importers and distributors to ensure that any emerging risks are identified and managed properly.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. I know that Members across the House have raised issues with the organisation directly. It is imperative that these communities are listened to. I understand that the Charity Commission has opened a compliance case, but I will get that confirmed for him. I am proud that this Government have stood up for mining communities, including ending the injustice of coal pension schemes, increasing the pensions of more than 150,000 former British Coal employees. I thank him for raising this case.

Since entering Government, we have turned the tide on the teacher retention and recruitment crisis left behind by the Tories. We have achieved over 70% of our 6,500 additional teachers target. There are now over 4,600 more teachers in our secondary and special schools, as well as our colleges, compared with when Labour entered Government. We are also keeping our brilliant teachers in place, with the latest statistics showing one of the lowest leaver rates on record.

I know that my hon. Friend values the contribution of our teachers as much as I do. High-quality teaching is the single biggest factor in good educational outcomes for our children. We are improving pay and taking action on workload. I am also proud that we are doubling maternity pay—the first major change in maternity pay for teachers in more than 25 years. That is essential in a profession that is primarily female. By ending the Tories’ two-child limit and lifting half a million children out of poverty, we will ease the strain on teachers, who for too long have had to step in where Governments have failed.

We took a very different view from that of the US and Israel at the start of this conflict, and we were right to do so, and also a very different view from that of the Conservatives. However, we also believe in working internationally to bring this securely to an end, to support the further negotiations that are now needed, and, alongside France, to lead efforts to establish a defensive multilateral maritime mission to reassure international shipping and support the mine clearance to enable the reopening of the strait.

The closure of the strait of Hormuz has hit the global economy and prices at the pump here at home. No country should be able to hijack the global economy in this way. That is why we welcome the announcement of the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, and why the UK has been leading diplomatic work across the world to maintain the consensus behind the crucial principle of freedom of navigation and international maritime law, without tolls, restrictions or the threat of attack in the strait of Hormuz.

The Department for Business and Trade is committed to supporting economic growth and job creation across all parts of the United Kingdom, including in communities historically affected by deindustrialisation. The key objective of the Industrial Strategy is to drive up business investment, increase growth and create high quality jobs.

Across Government we are helping to ensure that local people have the skills that employers need, including through programmes focused on apprenticeships, skills bootcamps, and sector-based work academies.

The Government is committed to improving economic growth and living standards across every part of the United Kingdom, including in communities affected by the long-term decline of industry. We are moving away from a model where growth is concentrated in a few places to one that unlocks investment in every region.

At the March 2026 Mais Lecture, the Chancellor set out plans to empower regional growth, including establishing City Investment Funds with an additional £2.3 billion of grant, loan and patient capital funding for major city regions, with up to £1.7 billion going directly to mayors in the North. Over £150 million will also be invested through the IS8 cluster (Industrial Strategy growth driving sectors) programme into five areas across the North and North East, backing growth-driving sectors where places already have strengths, to grow firms and create good local jobs. This builds on the £15.6 billion confirmed at the Spending Review for Transport for City Regions settlements, and the £5.8 billion being provided for deprived neighbourhoods across the UK through the Pride in Place Programme.

Alongside investment, the Government is tackling economic inactivity directly. We have announced further investment to unlock up to 200,000 new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for young people, including a new Youth Jobs Grant and an expanded Jobs Guarantee, taking total investment in the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. Through the National Wealth Fund, the Government has invested £3.8 billion across a number of projects, creating or supporting 20,300 jobs in its first year.

Taken together, these measures are designed to raise investment, create more jobs and improve living standards in the places that have too often been left behind.

The Government is committed to improving economic growth and living standards across every part of the United Kingdom, including in communities affected by the long-term decline of industry. We are moving away from a model where growth is concentrated in a few places to one that unlocks investment in every region.

At the March 2026 Mais Lecture, the Chancellor set out plans to empower regional growth, including establishing City Investment Funds with an additional £2.3 billion of grant, loan and patient capital funding for major city regions, with up to £1.7 billion going directly to mayors in the North. Over £150 million will also be invested through the IS8 cluster (Industrial Strategy growth driving sectors) programme into five areas across the North and North East, backing growth-driving sectors where places already have strengths, to grow firms and create good local jobs. This builds on the £15.6 billion confirmed at the Spending Review for Transport for City Regions settlements, and the £5.8 billion being provided for deprived neighbourhoods across the UK through the Pride in Place Programme.

Alongside investment, the Government is tackling economic inactivity directly. We have announced further investment to unlock up to 200,000 new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for young people, including a new Youth Jobs Grant and an expanded Jobs Guarantee, taking total investment in the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. Through the National Wealth Fund, the Government has invested £3.8 billion across a number of projects, creating or supporting 20,300 jobs in its first year.

Taken together, these measures are designed to raise investment, create more jobs and improve living standards in the places that have too often been left behind.

We are strengthening the skills system so people of all ages can gain the qualifications needed for jobs in a changing economy.

Skills England leads on work to identify skills needs, simplify the system, and align training with labour‑market demand. It also works with the both the Department for Education and Department for Business and Trade to ensure skills provision supports the government’s Industrial Strategy and key growth sectors. Additionally, Strategic Authorities have a key role in skills in their areas, and Local Skills Improvement Plans create frameworks for local collaboration between employers and providers.

The Post‑16 Education and Skills White Paper, published in 2025, sets out a vision for a world‑leading system that widens access, meets employer needs, and supports innovation. Reforms by the department include new V Levels and two clear Level 2 pathways, expanding apprenticeships, the introduction of foundation apprenticeships and a new growth and skills levy, as well as investing in higher‑level technical qualifications and providing support for priority sectors.

The British Business Bank seeks to improve access to finance for businesses across the UK through both national and regional interventions. The former includes the Start Up Loans scheme, where loans have been issued in every UK parliamentary constituency, while the latter includes the Nations and Regions Investment Funds.

The Bank’s latest Impact Report found that in 2024/25, 84 per cent of businesses supported by the Bank were based outside London. Each UK nation and region is expected to benefit from an estimated additional Gross Value Added impact of at least £100 million over the lifetime of the finance provided.