The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department invested in research using adult stem cells in 2015.
George Freeman
The information requested is not available. Spending on research is not categorised by specific technology type.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sheikh on 2016-07-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to promote stronger educational and cultural links between the UK and Sudan.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Council already has a number of projects in Sudan which aim to strengthen cultural and educational relations. They have over 200 partner schools, engage with over 250,000 people in a national English teacher training programme and have provided English language training to 500 leading journalists. Sudan has also been added as a priority country for the British Council’s new £30m Cultural Protection Fund, and the British Council office in Khartoum is in discussion with a range of partners to develop proposals. Our Embassy in Khartoum also oversees the Chevening scholarship programme for highly talented Sudanese with leadership potential to pursue masters degrees in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Access to Work; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) deafblind people and (b) people with complex needs receive the appropriate levels of support to help them into work.
Penny Mordaunt
The Government wants all disabled and people with a long term health condition to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations. Every individual should to have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings, regardless of their health condition or disability.
Deafblind customers and customers with complex needs are not recorded separately in Access to Work data, so it is not possible to assess the scheme’s performance with them. However, Access to Work has specialist teams to provide a dedicated service to particular groups of customers including both deaf customers and customers with a visual impairment. People who are deafblind are normally assisted by the Visual Impairment team
Last year, Access to Work helped over 36,000 people to take up or remain in employment. Access to Work figures may be subject to change. Official Statistics have recently been subject to a detailed methodology review which identified some technical issues. We will release a revised publication once these issues have been resolved.
We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health and conduct a consultation aimed at disabled people, their representative organisations and a wide range of other stakeholders, who all have an important part to play in making the transformative changes needed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the procurement process for legal aid duty solicitor contracts; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
13 temporary staff were employed through the Brook Street Agency and a Crown Commercial Services Recruitment framework and were selected by the Legal Aid Agency and interviewed by permanent members of staff to ensure their suitability. These individuals made up 19% of the overall assessment team. In addition contracts were entered into with legal practices to provide additional resource.
The key criteria for employment were analytical skills and the ability to conduct a qualitative assessment. A legal or procurement background was considered an advantage but not essential, given that they would be supervised by permanent staff from the Legal Aid Agency.
The procurement was undertaken in line with the Public Contract Regulations and applicant organisations were required to pass a number of stages of assessment in order to be considered suitable to hold a duty provider contract. The criteria against which organisations were assessed is set out in the Information For Applicants which govern this procurement process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will assess the extent to which grants made by his Department to third parties are used for activities designed to influence his Department, other departments or Parliament.
Joseph Johnson
Grants made by my Department and its partner organisations can only be used for lawful activities and for purposes which have been approved by Parliament – for example to promote business, research and innovation. Any unauthorised activities should not attract grant support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to reform the (a) work allowances and (b) taper rate within universal credit during the current Parliament.
Priti Patel
There are no plans to amend the work allowances and taper rates beyond those set out by the Government at the 2015 Autumn Statement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will list by title the documents requested and not released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 relating to (a) nuclear power and (b) Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant since May 2010.
Andrea Leadsom
The information requested is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions custody nurses were not available in police stations when required in each year since 2010.
Mike Penning
The provision and commissioning of police custody nurses is the responsibility of individual Police and Crime Commissioners, and police custody nurse staffing and availability levels are an operational policing matter in conjunction with the custody healthcare service provider. Information on these issues is not held centrally by the Home Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the value of the assets held by the Air Cadet Organisation; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Julian Brazier
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The capitalisation threshold to be recorded on an asset register is £25,000, so assets held which do not meet that threshold will only appear on unit inventories across the entire Air Cadet Organisation
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to his Answer of 3 March 2016, Official Report, column 1102, when he expects the review of English votes for English laws procedures to take place.
Chris Grayling
The Government has committed to reviewing the procedures for English votes for English laws after they have been in place for twelve months and after the Procedure Committee completes the technical evaluation which it is currently undertaking. As part of the review we will also take account of the recent report published by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.