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  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 March (HL6323), how licence conditions R18-R27 and T97 have been specifically reflected in the patient information and consent forms submitted to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority by the person responsible in order to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it carried out an audit of the patient information relating to the research project involving genome editing against the requirements of R19 and R20. T97 is not relevant, as it refers to the use of embryos in training, not research. The audit was completed as part of the inspection and feedback provided to the person responsible during the inspection. An assessment was made against the other licence conditions referred to during the inspection. The HFEA does not interpret the requirements to mean that each specific technique that might be used in the research must be specified in the patient information. In this case, the patient information, which is not yet finalised, makes it clear that genes may be altered but does not specifically refer to CRISPR-Cas9.

  • Marcus Fysh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Marcus Fysh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marcus Fysh on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the contribution of farmers and landowners to supporting bees and pollinators.

    George Eustice

    Farmers and other land managers make a vital contribution to supporting pollinators through management and creation of beneficial habitat features. This is reflected in Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy implementation plan.

    Well over one thousand applications for the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which funds environmentally beneficial land management, contained the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package. As part of our monitoring and evaluation programme, we will assess the effectiveness of the Scheme in supporting bees and other pollinators.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to put in place a blue belt to protect marine habitats and species.

    George Eustice

    Since 2013, we have designated 50 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which protect a range of habitats and species. A third tranche of MCZs will be designated in 2018.

    We are currently undertaking work to identify a complete network of Special Protection Areas for seabirds, and consulting on five Special Areas of Conservation for harbour porpoise.

    Over 17% of UK waters and almost a third of English inshore waters are now within Marine Protected Areas.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent floods on small businesses.

    Anna Soubry

    The most recent available data indicated that 4,940 businesses across northern England had been flooded following this winter’s exceptional rainfall. The vast majority of these will be small and medium size businesses. Impacts included flooded property, loss of stock and equipment and interruption to trading.

    Our interventions, include business recovery grants (a total of £11 m from BIS, of which £4,572,000 has been paid out), business rate relief (£4.26 m from DCLG), and property level resilience scheme (£5,000 per household or business, to incorporate greater flood resilience into property repairs).

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are employed by the EU, including the European Court of Justice; and at what annual cost.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In 2015, the EU and its institutions including the European Court of Justice employed 40,106 permanent members of staff. Further information on staff levels and administrative expenditure is available on the European Commission’s website.

    In 2013, the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), delivered a real-terms cut to the seven year EU budget framework for the first time in history and this deal continues to bring discipline to annual EU spending. As part of this deal, the UK secured some important reforms to administrative expenditure, including: a cash freeze to EU institutions staff salaries in 2013 and 2014, an increase in the retirement age for EU officials and a commitment by all EU institutions to reduce headcounts by 5% by the end of 2017.

  • Lord Horam – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Horam – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Horam on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the £20 billion they plan to spend on housing investment during this Parliament will be broken down between the various categories including affordable homes for rent and starter homes to buy.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The £20 billion of housing investment announced in the last Spending Review includes:

    • £8 billion to deliver 400,000 affordable housing starts;
    • £8.6 billion to extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2021 – supporting 145,000 families into new homes;
    • £1 billion fund for small and custom builders to support delivery of up to 25,500 new homes;
    • £1.1 billion public sector land programme to support release of land for 160,000 homes delivering a mix of housing; and
    • £2 billion for infrastructure support and other long-term investment to unlock or accelerate a pipeline of 160,000 to 200,000 homes, included within the £12 billion Local Growth Fund, and delivering a mix of housing.
  • Lord Horam – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Horam – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Horam on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the one million new homes they aim to deliver during this Parliament are estimated to be for (1) owner occupation, (2) shared ownership, and (3) rent; and how many of those homes for rent are expected to be for (a) affordable, and (b) social, rent.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not publish forecasts of house building.

  • Lord Horam – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Horam – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Horam on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the one million new homes they aim to deliver during this Parliament are expected to be built by (1) housing associations, (2) local authorities, and (3) private housebuilders.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not publish forecasts of house building.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iraq and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in relation to defending Turkmen civilians.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports that Turkmen civilians have been targeted by Daesh in Iraq, as well as Christians, Yazidis, Muslims and others. In October the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met the President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front to discuss the situation for Turkmen in Iraq.

    We condemn in the strongest terms the targeting and persecution of all communities by Daesh. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional government to do all they can to ensure the security and rights of all Iraqis.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reports of  the use of chemical weapons against the Turkmen village, Taza in Southern Kirkuk, killing children and injuring 617 people, including 17 who are in critical condition.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of allegations that Daesh attacked the village of Taza on the morning of 8 March 2016 with a chemical agent, possibly sulphur mustard. There have been reports of multiple casualties, including the death of a young girl. We unreservedly condemn the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is supporting the Government of Iraq to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Iraq by non-state actors. The UK is at the forefront of pressing for an effective international response to the use of chemical weapons through the UN Security Council and the OPCW.