Category: Speeches

  • Lord Hoyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hoyle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many experiments were carried out on animals in the United Kingdom each year from 1997 to 2014.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The following table contains information on the number of procedures undertaken for the years 1997 to 2012.

    The Home Office expects to publish, for Great Britain, 2013 statistics on 10 July 2014 and 2014 statistics in summer/autumn 2015.

    The publication of 2013 and 2014 statistics for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland (DHSSPSNI), which separately publishes Northern Irish statistics.

  • Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the number of properties in (a) Rossendale and Darwen constituency and (b) the North West which do not have mains gas access and which use domestic heating oil.

    Michael Fallon

    Estimates for the number of households which do not have mains gas and which use domestic heating oil are not available. However, the number of households that did not have access to a mains gas supply in the Rossendale and Darwen constituency can be estimated by combining figures for the lower layer super output areas that most closely match this area.

    In 2012, there were approximately 1,100 households (three per cent) which had no access to mains gas. The number of households that did not have access to mains gas in the North West is estimated to be 156,000 (five per cent of households within the North West).

    These data are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lsoa-estimates-of-households-not-connected-to-the-gas-network.

    “

  • (4) in local authority schools – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    (4) in local authority schools – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by (4) in local authority schools on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 14 May (WA 532) stating that the Ofsted Report for 2013 found there were 700,000 pupils in schools where behaviour is just not good enough”

    Lord Nash

    Ofsted’s annual report (2012/13) indicates that around 700,000 pupils are in schools where behaviour needs to improve.

    This figure is based on Ofsted’s behaviour inspection judgement for 2013, which shows that nationally 8 per cent of schools in England are rated less than ‘good’, and the number of pupils on roll in schools taken from the rounded January 2013 School Census Data. Information in the form requested is not held by the Department.

  • Ms Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ms Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Diane Abbott on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by the Refugee Council, When Maternity Doesn’t Matter, what steps her Department has taken to reform the dispersal policy of the former UK Border Agency.

    James Brokenshire

    The report covers procedures for accommodating pregnant asylum seekers who are destitute. The Home Office has been consulting about changes to these procedures and is considering some detailed suggestions by the Refugee Council and Maternity Action. Once that is completed we will move towards finalising and publishing revised guidance on the procedures.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are taken to verify the competence of (a) doctors and nurses and (b) staff of pharmaceutical companies involved in the conduct of clinical trials.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) expect everyone involved in a clinical trial to be qualified and trained to perform their tasks (as per Schedule 1, part 2 (2) of the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations(SI 2004/1031).

    Staff of pharmaceutical companies are not “conducting” a trial as defined in the clinical trial regulation (SI 2004/1031 Reg 2 “interpretation”). However, the same Good Clinical Practice principles apply to those involved in clinical trial activities; i.e. they should be qualified and trained to perform their tasks. At sponsor site inspection, inspectors will verify the training records, CV, and job description of selected employees to confirm adequate training has been given.

    Sponsors are expected to carry out checks in audits or monitoring to ensure that on completion of training, staff are indeed carrying out their duties according to requirements and/or procedures (these checks should be documented in monitoring/audit reports). Inspectors check the monitoring visit reports to determine non-compliances are adequately followed up and re-training is given to site personnel when necessary.

    The voluntary MHRA Phase 1 Accreditation Scheme requires that a Principal Investigator (PI) for a First in Human study has relevant experience and a post graduate qualification in pharmaceutical medicine (such as a Diploma in Pharmaceutical medicine, Diploma in Human Pharmacology, MSc in Clinical Pharmacology or equivalent). An exemption to this requirement has been issued for PI’s that do not have a post graduate qualification but are able to demonstrate that they have a significant amount of experience in this field (and are often involved in teaching the post-graduate courses). An application for an exemption is assessed independently by the Faculty of Medicine.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2014, Official Report, column 655W, on electoral register, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the reasons for the increase between December 2000 and April 2011 in the proportion of eligible people not registered at their current address.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it has set out its analysis of the key reasons for the decline in levels of registration in this period in two reports – ‘The completeness and accuracy of electoral registers in Great Britain’ and ‘Great Britain’s electoral registers’.

    Both reports can be found here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 66W, on asylum: children, which local authorities have been granted extra funding because of their special circumstances.

    James Brokenshire

    The following local authorities receive additional funding due to special
    circumstances:

    Croydon, Kent, and Hillingdon local authorities have been granted additional
    funding which in the past was part of the "Gateway" arrangements, that has been
    superseded by enhanced rates. This is due to the larger than normal volumes of
    care leavers received in those local authorities, in comparison to other local
    authorities.

    Solihull local authority were not part of the "Gateway" arrangements but have
    since been granted additional enhanced payments for the same reasons.

  • Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Bryant on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people paying the under-occupancy penalty who have fallen into rent arrears.

    Esther McVey

    In order to monitor the long term effects of the policy the Department has commissioned an independent, two year evaluation. The research will cover the full range of responses by claimants including the the issue of rent arrears. The final report will be published in 2015

  • Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many animals have experienced severe suffering in scientific research funded by the Government since 2010; and if he will provide funding aimed at developing scientific advances allowing the reduction or avoidance of severe suffering of animals used in procedures.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Government does not hold the information you have requested. The Home Office has published advisory notes on recording and reporting actual severity. From data collected, the Home Office will provide clarity on the burden of harm and, over time, should give an indication of the effectiveness of refinement methods, particularly for the most severe procedures.

    It is important to note that procedures classified as severe represent only a small percentage of the total.

    The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) was established by the Government in May 2004 to advance and promote the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of animals used in research and testing (the 3Rs). The NC3Rs primarily receives Government funding through BIS from the science and research ring-fenced budget via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The projected budget for the NC3Rs is £7.88m in 2014/15 and £7.84m in 2015/16.

    BBSRC also provides further funding for the 3Rs under its responsive mode schemes, and the MRC and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council support research projects which contribute to the development of new knowledge and new methods that help replace or refine animal use. However, figures on future spend are not available.

    For a detailed breakdown of past funding I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 11 March 2014, Official Report, column reference 167W.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the corporate plan of the Defence Equipment and Support Organisation relating to its new bespoke trading fund status.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Copies of the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Corporate Plan and the Framework Document will be placed in the Library of the House in due course, and published on the gov.uk website and the Defence Intranet. The Corporate Plan sets out the DE&S strategic objectives and timelines for the next three years. The Framework Document includes the function and governance arrangements for the new DE&S, including the freedoms and benefits.