Written Answers
Thursday 16 October 2014
Combined Cadet Force
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact that their funding changes will have on the number of school Combined Cadet Forces.[HL1959]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) (Con): The Government wants to bring the cadet experience to as many young people as possible. That is why we have introduced the Cadet Expansion Programme, which is on track to deliver 100 new cadet units in state-funded secondary schools in England by 2015.
We are now looking at the best way of funding Combined Cadet Forces and are running a consultation to gather information from schools. No decisions have yet been made, and we will consider carefully the response to this consultation before deciding on future funding arrangements.
Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the principles in the Luxembourg Rail Protocol; and when they will ratify it.[HL2006]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Kramer) (LD): The Government supports the principles in the Luxembourg Rail Protocol which it believes would be advantageous to the UK and European rail industry, and will ratify the Protocol once the procedures around the European Union acceding to it have been concluded.
Copyright
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the effect of recent legislative and regulatory changes on contractual relationships between collecting societies in the visual arts sector; and whether they will issue appropriate guidance in cases where there is a contractual dispute between such societies.[HL1955]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Neville-Rolfe) (Con): The Government has not assessed the effects of recent legislative and regulatory changes on contractual
relationships between collecting societies. This is because the policy objective of the regulations is to improve collecting societies’ conduct, rather than to regulate their contractual relationships. However, the impact of the regulations on the conduct of collecting societies will be assessed as part of the usual post-legislative process, which is scheduled for late 2015/ early 2016.
There are no plans for the Government to issue guidance where there is a contractual dispute: Government does not usually interfere in contractual matters between private commercial entities such as collecting societies.
Defence Equipment
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the Defence Equipment Plan 2013, how much of the £4.7 billion contingency provision and the £8.4 billion headroom is allocated for (1) equipment procurement and (2) equipment support.[HL1910]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) (Con): As set out in the Defence Equipment Plan 2013, the £4.7 billion contingency provision available at the end of Annual Budget 13 is intended to provide protection for the core equipment programme. This means the funding would be released to wherever it was required, whether for equipment procurement or equipment support projects, against unexpected cost growth in addition to the financial risk provision held in individual equipment project budgets. The £8.4 billion headroom described in the plan allows the Department to fund additional equipment procurement or equipment support programmes that are a high priority for Defence when they are required and we can be sure that they are affordable.
In Vitro Fertilisation
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role played by mitochondria in the development of an organism; and what they consider to be the implications of that assessment for mitochondrial replacement techniques.[HL1963]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): As the noble Lord is aware, the Government commissioned the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to convene an Expert Panel to review the science related to mitochondrial donation and the proposed donation techniques. The Panel produced reports on this in April 2011, March 2013 and June 2014. A description of the role of mitochondria can be found at paragraph 2.1 of the Expert Panel’s April 2011 scientific report. This can be found on the HFEA’s website at:
The latest assessment of mitochondrial replacement techniques, carried out earlier this year by the Expert Panel, can be found at:
Iraq
Question
Asked by The Marquess of Lothian
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance was given by British armed forces in the training of Sunni fighters in Iraq during the so-called Sunni Awakening between 2005 and 2008.[HL1933]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) (Con): The information is not held centrally. A review of readily available sources has not indicated that any such training was undertaken. A wider search could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.
Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme
Questions
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme on small and medium-sized biopharmaceutical enterprises. [HL1939]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the protection afforded to small and medium-sized enterprises with sales between £5 million and £25 million under the previous Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme has not been carried forward into the new scheme.[HL1940]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme on future research and development investment by small and medium-sized biopharmaceutical enterprises.[HL1941]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): The 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) was agreed with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. It
did not include the exemption from certain requirements for companies with health service sales of between £5 million and £25 million a year that were a feature of the 2009 PPRS. However companies with sales of health service medicines of less than £5 million a year (not counting global sales) are exempt from making any payments under the 2014 PPRS scheme.
The PPRS benefits businesses making new medicines. A company that develops and brings a new medicine (new active substance) to the market from 1 January 2014, does not have to make PPRS payments to Government on the sales of these new medicines for the lifetime of the 2014 scheme. This particularly helps companies which only have new, innovative medicines in their portfolio.
The Government remains committed to ensuring that the United Kingdom is a world leading place for life science research and investment through the Strategy for UK Life Sciences. The Department has assessed the impact of the PPRS and does not believe that there will be any significant impact on research and development investment in the UK.
Prisons: Employment
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what future plans they have to support prison initiatives such as The Clink restaurants that provide a programme to increase the qualifications and communication skills of prisoners when working with members of the public.[HL1727]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Faulks) (Con): There are a number of initiatives, including The Clink restaurants, which are available to help prisoners prepare for working with the public. These include work with retailers Timpsons, Max Spielman and Halfords who are able to offer work opportunities in prison and on release. There are also a number of locally run initiatives such as cafes and shops across the prison estate. In addition Customer Services skills and qualifications are available as part of the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) in prisons.
The National Offender Management Service is working with the Clink charity to open another training restaurant in the New Year at HM Prison Styal, a prison for women. We are always keen to explore innovative ways of working to give prisoners real work experience.