The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to tackle homelessness.
Mr Marcus Jones
This Government is clear one person without a home is one too many. Despite the need to take tough financial decisions we have increased central funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with local authorities in Scotland on City Deals.
David Mundell
I have had very useful discussions with almost every local authority in Scotland since last May, where I have discussed a range of matters, including City Deals and their equivalents.
My officials also work closely with bidding authorities to refine proposals and I was delighted to sign the £250 million Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire deal on 28 January.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the future of the steel industry in Scotland.
Anna Soubry
The problems affecting the steel industry apply across the UK. As does the action we have been taking to help the steel industry on electricity costs and unfair imports.
We will work with the Scottish Government, Scottish Development International and the industry to ensure a sustainable future for UK steel.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with ministers of the Scottish Government and women’s organisations on devolving competence for abortion legislation to Scotland.
David Mundell
I have discussed the issue of devolution of competence for abortion law in Scotland with representatives of several women’s organisations and I have a regular dialogue with the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister on all aspects of implementation of the Smith Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Crawley on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effects of the Government’s welfare programme on social and economic inequalities in Scotland.
Priti Patel
I refer the hon Lady to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon Members for Glasgow North East and Angus.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with ministers of the Scottish Government and women’s organisations on devolving competence for abortion legislation to Scotland.
David Mundell
I have discussed the issue of devolution of competence for abortion law in Scotland with representatives of several women’s organisations and I have a regular dialogue with the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister on all aspects of implementation of the Smith Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 26 January (HL4928), whether any assets linked to North Korean individuals or organisations that are not associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear programmes are held in the UK; and what steps they are taking to freeze assets held by individuals or organisations that are not associated with the DPRK nuclear programme that they suspect to be linked to weapons proliferation, smuggling, money laundering, or human rights abuses in North Korea.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Existing UN and EU sanctions against North Korea, which include measures such as asset freezes, are based upon UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting the further development of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Therefore, the current requirement to freeze funds or economic resources only occurs in circumstances where the funds and economic resources are controlled by the persons and entities designated by the Sanctions committee, the Security Council or the EU council as being engaged in North Korea’s nuclear-related, ballistic missile related, or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes.
The UK is currently discussing a response to the nuclear test of 6 January with key allies and partners. We want the response to be robust and send North Korea a clear signal that it must change its approach to international peace and security, We are also using our position as a member of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to discuss ways in which the international community can increase the pressure on North Korea to improve its appalling human rights record. North Korea will be discussed during the forthcoming March session of the HRC.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health, Melanie Johnson, on 11 May 2004 (HC Deb, col 315W), by Lord Darzi of Denham on 21 April 2008 (WA 235) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether it remains the case that lay summaries of research proposals submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) are placed on its website with an invitation to the public to submit comments; if so, when the last licence applications and lay summaries were placed on its website; where and when the title of the licence application to use CRISPR-Cas9 and the lay summary submitted by the applicant were published on the HFEA website; and why the section of the HFEA website that describes human embryo research awaiting approval (http://www.hfea.gov.uk/167.html) has continued to state that there are currently no research projects awaiting approval”.”
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that lay summaries of research proposals submitted to the Authority are no longer placed on its website prior to consideration by a HFEA Licence Committee. Lay summaries are, however, available on the website in the inspection report for each research project, linked to a list of all licensed research projects.
The noble Lord is correct that the HFEA website still mistakenly refers to past practice. We are advised that this will be rectified shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has received that bona fide trophectoderm stem cells have already been successfully derived and propagated from human embryos; whether any such stem cell lines have been deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank; and if so, when.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it holds information on the number of stem cell lines derived in each licensed research project and checks for compliance (on inspection) with the requirement for stem cell lines to be deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank. However, this information does not differentiate between stem cells derived from the inner cell mass and those from trophectoderm.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 July 2015 (HL1524), how many modifications can be made to an existing research licence previously approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority before it can no longer be legitimately considered as essentially the same research project as that for which a licence was originally sought; and what sort of modifications can be made to an existing research licence before it is no longer considered to have exactly the same aims as those in the initial licence application that were originally deemed to fulfil the purposes specified in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 as amended.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that there are no fixed number of modifications that can be made to an existing research licence project. Such questions are considered on a case by case basis with reference to the statutory tests.