The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of embryonic stem cell research for the development of treatments for patients.
George Freeman
Treatments based on the use of stem cells including those obtained by embryos must be demonstrated to be both safe and effective before they can receive authorisation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Rwanda about the visit to that country by Omar al Bashir, President of Sudan, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Rwanda is not a State party to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is important that fugitives from international justice do not enjoy impunity and we note the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1593) has urged all States to cooperate fully with the ICC and its Prosecutor with regards to the situation in Darfur. We continue to follow closely developments in the ICC, including the level of States’ cooperation with the Court, and will consider further measures as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has carried out a (a) policy equality statement, (b) equality impact assessment or (c) any equality monitoring on its contracts with Compass to provide accommodation to asylum seekers since those contracts were signed in 2012.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Home Office is currently considering any equality impacts as part of the wider considerations as to whether to extend the asylum support and accommodation contracts for the period from 2017-19.
The Home Office takes its equality duty seriously and engages regularly with Non-Governmental Organisations and its contractors to ensure that support and accommodation for asylum seekers meets the needs of individual service users.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings her Department has had to ascertain whether birds of prey predate on other birds of prey in order to inform her policies on bird conservation.
Rory Stewart
Bird of prey predation on other birds of prey is considered rare, occurring occasionally through territorial contact or nest defence where there is inter-species competition for space. Consequently no Department meetings have taken place to discuss the matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many visits have been made by one or more children to a parent in custody in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what cross-departmental structures her Department has established with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport since May 2015 to ensure progress on meeting the EU target of 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Andrea Leadsom
My rt. hon Friend has regular meetings with colleagues from all Departments with an interest in Climate Change and Energy policy.
The 2020 renewables target is relevant to a number of government policies, and my Department ensures that all views across government are taken into account.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to impose large extra tax rises or spending cuts at short notice in order to meet their target of cutting the deficit by 2019–20.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government has set out a fixed target to achieve a surplus on the headline measure of public sector net borrowing by the end of 2019-20. This is a transparent commitment showing the government’s resolve to complete the repair of the public finances. The Spending Review and Autumn Statement set out the action required to return the country to surplus over the course of this Parliament and on the basis of the latest Office for Budget Responsibility forecast in their November 2015 ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’ the government is forecast to achieve a surplus of £10.1bn by the end of 2019-20.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to update the Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014, so as to reduce the amount of a drug that can be detected in blood for the purposes of the definition of that offence.
Andrew Jones
The Department is evaluating the new specified limits drug driving offence and a final report from the researcher is due at the end of 2016. The Department will consider its findings and assess whether there is any requirement to change the legislation, but currently there are no plans to amend the regulations. Thanks to the tougher law, police are catching and convicting more drug drivers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 34106, occupational health, if he will make it his policy to collect the information referred to.
Alistair Burt
We do not have any plans to collect this data.
We do not collect data on the number of organisations that have mental wellbeing policies in place.
Organisations may take a number of different approaches to ensuring the wellbeing of their workforces, which would make measurement very complex, with an absence of communications standards. However, the issue remains of importance to the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department provided for research into treating motor neurone disease in each of the last three years.
George Freeman
Spend by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health category ‘neurological’ has increased from £29.9 million in 2010/11 to £46.7 million in 2014/15 (the latest year for which data is available). There are no HRCS health sub-categories such as for motor neurone disease or other specific neurological conditions, and information on total annual NIHR spend on research into treating motor neurone disease is not held.