The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mims Davies on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Institute for Health Research.
George Freeman
The effectiveness of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is subject to continuous review. The NIHR annual report details some of the activities that have had the most significant impact during 2014/15. The NIHR annual report is available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of young people who own their own home since 2010.
Brandon Lewis
The Government is committed to increasing the number of first time buyers. Action taken in support of this Includes:
– extending the Right to Buy – which has supported council tenants into home ownership for decades – to housing association tenants. This will give another 1.3 million families the chance to purchase a home at right to buy level discounts;
– Help to Buy schemes, targeting those wanting to get onto the housing ladder with 80% of sales going to first time buyers, which have so far enabled over 130,000 families to purchase a home;
– launching, on 1 December 2015, the Help to Buy: ISA which will help first-time buyers save for their first deposit. The Government will top up savings by 25%, up to a maximum top-up of £3,000; and
– a £2.3 billion fund to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, to be exclusively offered to first time buyers under 40 at a 20% discount on market value.
Information on housing tenure and the age of the household reference person in England, based on data from DCLG’s English Housing Survey, can be found (in Annex Table 1.4) at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to implement the family test; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Home Office follows that guidance. The guidance can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf
The Family Test is also being integrated within the Department’s impact assessment process to ensure it is addressed consistently.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which memoranda of understanding have been agreed with the French government in support of Project Teutates.
Michael Fallon
The UK has three arrangements with France in support of the Teutates programme. The first is between the UK and French Nuclear Safety regulators to ensure safety of operations, and the second and third are between the Ministry of Defence and the Commissariat l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) to support the construction of the Epure facility at Valduc.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average cost to a local authority of taking in a Syrian refugee under the UNHCR VPR scheme in year (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five; and how much additional central government funding has been made to local authorities to help meet those costs per refugee for each of those years.
Richard Harrington
The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 refugees brought to the UK by Christmas.
The first 12 months of a refugee’s resettlement costs will be funded by central government from the Overseas Development Aid budget. The Government has also committed to providing additional funding to local authorities to assist with costs incurred for years 2 to 5. This funding package forms part of the forthcoming Spending Review and full details will be confirmed shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is negotiating for a UK support element within the contact negotiations for the P8; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 3 December 2015 to Question 17838.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of his Department’s policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments; and if he will make a statement.
Caroline Dinenage
The Family Test was introduced in October 2014 and can be located at the following link Family Test Guidance
The Family Test is part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of new policy in line with the guidance. Potential impacts of policy on family functioning and relationships are identified and brought to the attention of Ministers where appropriate.
There is no requirement to publish the Family Test assessments. The Ministry of Justice does not collect information on the number of full Family Test assessments completed.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria will need to be satisfied for sites to qualify for inclusion in a list of potential new build nuclear sites for the development of a small modular reactor.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government is currently undertaking a techno-economic assessment of SMRs which will provide a detailed analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing SMRs. The recent announcement by my Rt. Hon Friend Mr Chancellor of a competition to identify which SMR would offer the best value for development in the UK is a further demonstration of the Government’s commitment to exploring the potential of SMRs for the UK. As Government develops SMR policy further, we will address the issue of site identification for SMRs. No potential sites or siting criteria specifically for SMRs have currently been agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he had with women’s organisations in Scotland prior to his proposal to devolve responsibility for abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.
David Mundell
The Smith Commission considered the issue of the devolution of abortion carefully and was ‘strongly of the view to recommend the devolution of abortion’ and regarded it as an ‘anomalous health reservation.’ The Smith Agreement said that ‘further serious consideration should be given to its devolution and a process should be established immediately to consider the matter further.’ That process took place between the UK and Scottish Governments and resulted in an amendment to the Scotland Bill to devolve responsibility for abortion law to the Scottish Parliament. Since laying that amendment the Government has been engaging with interested parties about how the process of devolution will work and it will be for the Scottish Government to set out what approach it will take once responsibility for abortion law rests with the Scottish Parliament. The 1967 Act will continue to apply in Scotland unless and until the Scottish Parliament chooses to legislate in this area, and the First Minister recently confirmed that the Scottish Government have no plans to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the UK has provided to interfaith peace-building initiatives in Nigeria; and what assessment he has made of the outcomes of such initiatives.
James Duddridge
We recognise the important role that interfaith understanding has to play in peace building in Nigeria.
The Department for International Development (DFID) supports a range of initiatives and economic projects to build bridges between Muslim and Christian communities across Nigeria and break the cycle of conflict. For example, through DFID’s Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) religious, traditional and community leaders meet monthly with NGOs, the police, security services and civil society actors to discuss and act on conflict issues.