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1-20 of 1,739 results for answeredby:"Lord Drayson"

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To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 19 May 2009 (WA 290), how the statement in that Answer that the aim of the research at Newcastle funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) is to "develop a reproducible method of generating human embryonic...

Asked by
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
23 March 2010
Reference
2955; 718 c277-8WA
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Health, Mr Kenneth Clarke, on 4 December 1984 (Official Report, Commons, col. 172–4W) regarding 15 grant-aided scientific studies of the side-effects of benzodiazepines, whether the results of those studies were published; if so, whether copies are...

Asked by
Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
23 March 2010
Reference
2833; 718 c279-80WA
House
House of Lords
My Lords, the Government recognise the concerns surrounding the use of pre-pack administrations and foreign companies relocating to the United Kingdom. It is important that we rigorously monitor the system and root out any abuse.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c342
House
House of Lords
My Lords, we are aware of the concerns that were raised by the Wind Hellas case. It is important to note that that case went before a High Court, which determined that what had happened was properly carried out and in the interests of creditors. However, our monitoring of pre-packs is thorough. Since 1 January 2009, we have been monitoring all pre-pack administrations, whether coming from a foreign firm or otherwise. We will be announcing the results of those data shortly. If we find that we are not seeing appropriate compliance with SIP 16, we are minded to take strong action.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c342
House
House of Lords
My Lords, we monitor this very closely. We have noticed the very high profile in a small number of cases, but we are not seeing any significant trend relating to foreign firms. However, we monitor all pre-pack administrations and we are not complacent. One important fact is that, in this recession, we are seeing a marked reduction in the overall level of insolvencies in the corporate world compared to what happened in the last recession; although we are not complacent, at this stage in the economic downturn we are seeing about one-third of the number of businesses going into insolvency compared to the third quarter of 1992. That is a reflection of the measures that we have taken to dampen the significant impact of this recession.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c343
House
House of Lords
I thank my noble friend for raising that point. Sound business practices apply to football clubs as they apply to all businesses and I will ensure that they are made fully aware of the potential of the pre-pack approach.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c343
House
House of Lords
My Lords, we have to recognise that the legislation relating to this matter is governed by European law. Our policy as a Government is to be as open as possible, to encourage businesses to relocate to the United Kingdom and not to put up any unnecessary barriers to that investment. However, it is also vital that our Insolvency Service is rigorous. Independent studies by the World Bank have shown that the United Kingdom’s insolvency framework is highly regarded—above that of the United States, Germany and France—particularly on the basis of its protection to creditors, the costs of proceedings and the speed with which the process is able to be carried out.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c342-3
House
House of Lords
The noble Lord makes a very good point, with which I agree. The important advantage of a pre-pack, particularly in people-type businesses such as an advertising agency or a football club, is that in a difficult insolvency situation it enables the value of the business and, most particularly, the jobs to be retained. Up to 91 per cent of pre-packs lead to a situation where all the jobs in that business are preserved. We need to make sure that pre-packs are properly enforced through the regulations, but they are not the problem; the problem is the insolvency.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c343
House
House of Lords
If the noble Lord would like to write to me to make me fully aware of the proposals that he heard on the telephone, I will look into it.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c344
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to prevent foreign companies using "pre-pack" insolvency laws to avoid debts.
Asked by
Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Conservative)
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Date
11 March 2010
Reference
718 c342
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patient-specific human pluripotent stem cells have been derived in the United Kingdom by means of (a) direct reprogramming with Yamanaka's factors to yield induced pluripotent stem cells, (b) embryonic stem cell derivation following somatic cell nuclear transfer, and (c) traditional Chinese medicine; and...

Asked by
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
10 March 2010
Reference
2446; 718 c73-5WA
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 14 December 2009 (WA 178) and the letter by the chief executive of the Medical Research Council on 19 February 2010, whether the need for an additional year "to allow recruitment targets to be reached" reflects...

Asked by
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
10 March 2010
Reference
2539; 718 c75WA
House
House of Lords
My Lords, first, I am sure that the whole House will wish to join me in offering sincere condolences to the families and friends of Senior Aircraftman Luke Southgate, II Squadron RAF Regiment, Rifleman Martin Kinggett, 4th Battalion The Rifles, Sergeant Paul Fox, 28 Engineer Regiment, Rifleman Carlo Apolis, 4th Battalion The Rifles, as well as a soldier from 3rd Battalion The Rifles, who died recently while on operations in Afghanistan. I turn now to the Question. We have eliminated the need for paperwork by making the licensing process fully electronic via the online SPIRE system, introduced in September 2007. Exporters also benefit from an open general export licence which allows, subject to certain conditions, military goods to be exported to the government of, or NATO headquarters in, specified countries.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
3 March 2010
Reference
717 c1447-8
House
House of Lords
My Lords, we recognise that the defence industry is very important to the United Kingdom. It contributes about £12 billion to our GDP. I certainly give him that assurance. If he would like to provide me with any more detailed information about any concerns that companies have, I will follow them up. We are undertaking a customer satisfaction survey right now about the department in this matter. It is open until the end of March and we encourage people to participate in that survey.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
3 March 2010
Reference
717 c1448
House
House of Lords
I am very happy to give the noble Lord that assurance.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
3 March 2010
Reference
717 c1448
House
House of Lords
That really is a matter for France.
Answered by
Lord Drayson (Labour)
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
3 March 2010
Reference
717 c1448
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have for reducing the amount of paperwork associated with granting licences for the export of military components to NATO allies.
Asked by
Lord Astor of Hever (Conservative)
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Date
3 March 2010
Reference
717 c1447-8
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals for the single European patent to be available in only one international and one country of origin language.

Asked by
Lord Dykes (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
22 February 2010
Reference
1891; 717 c242WA
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Truscott on 25 June 2007 (WA 96–8) and by Lord Drayson on 15 January 2010 (WA 197), how the research councils have engaged with concerns raised by Professor Robin Lovell-Badge and Professor Austin Smith about the use of...

Asked by
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
22 February 2010
Reference
717 c212WA; 1804
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to support the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership; and what assessment they have made of the programme.

Asked by
Lord Dykes (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
4 February 2010
Reference
1596; 717 c62WA
House
House of Lords