The results of the initial phase of the Human Brain Project (HBP) will provide more detail on how it will address its objectives. The UK Research Councils, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) will hold discussions with UK researchers at that point to decide on any future involvement.

The UK makes no current financial contribution to the HBP. However, the project includes the expertise of some key UK researchers and is making use of the hardware platform, SpiNNaker, which was previously developed with £2.7 million of support from the EPSRC.

The results of the initial phase of the Human Brain Project (HBP) will provide more detail on how it will address its objectives. The UK Research Councils, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) will hold discussions with UK researchers at that point to decide on any future involvement.

The UK makes no current financial contribution to the HBP. However, the project includes the expertise of some key UK researchers and is making use of the hardware platform, SpiNNaker, which was previously developed with £2.7 million of support from the EPSRC.

There is a range of support available under the four disabled students’ allowances (DSAs) (specialist equipment, non-medical help, travel, general). It is expected that students will in future receive a different balance of support between HEI reasonable adjustments and funding via DSAs. For example, some may receive all of their non-medical help support via their HEI rather than via DSAs, but still receive some DSA-funded support towards specialist equipment or travel costs.

Data on all of the different types of support provided to individual students under DSAs are not readily available under current record keeping arrangements. The Equality Analysis will contain an estimate of the number of students who would not be eligible for any support under DSAs following any changes. I will have due regard to this Analysis before regulations are laid before the House.

The information for Oxbridge is not held centrally.

Figures published by UCAS in July 2013 show that, in 2010, the application rate of 18-year-olds in state schools in England who had received free school meals at age 15 was 13.2%, compared to 32.2% for those who had not received them. In 2013, the rates were 14.8% and 32.9% respectively. The application rate measures the percentage of 18-year-olds who apply to enter full-time undergraduate courses in the UK. UCAS is an organisation independent from Government.

There is a range of support available under the four disabled students’ allowances (DSAs) (specialist equipment, non-medical help, travel, general). It is expected that students will in future receive a different balance of support between HEI reasonable adjustments and funding via DSAs. For example, some may receive all of their non-medical help support via their HEI rather than via DSAs, but still receive some DSA-funded support towards specialist equipment or travel costs.

Data on all of the different types of support provided to individual students under DSAs are not readily available under current record keeping arrangements. The Equality Analysis will contain an estimate of the number of students who would not be eligible for any support under DSAs following any changes. I will have due regard to this Analysis before regulations are laid before the House.

The Government remains committed to making publicly funded and published research freely and openly available. In the long term we believe the most effective form of Open Access (OA) will be Gold OA. I last commented on this subject in November 2013 in the Government’s response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report on OA and this answer updates on progress since that statement.

I was very pleased that in May 2014 the Institute of Physics (IoP) Publishing, a major publisher of academic papers, introduced an ‘offsetting’ arrangement that will allow institutions to publish more open access papers without incurring additional costs. I strongly encourage other publishers to follow the IoP Publishing’s lead.

Further, the ‘Access to Research’ initiative was launched in February 2014 through the support of the publishing community. It allows students, independent researchers and small businesses to access many of the world’s best academic papers through their local libraries.

We intend to maintain this level of progress and I am pleased that Universities UK (UUK) have agreed to take on a co-ordinating role for the continued implementation of OA policy in the UK. This follows a recommendation in the Finch Group’s report “Review of progress in Implementing the Recommendations of the Finch Report”, UUK are in the process of setting up a group which will consist of key stakeholders similar to that of the Finch Group.

Additionally, the Research Sector Transparency Board (RSTB) which I chair advises Government on how to increase access to research data. My intention is that the RSTB will also continue to play a role in OA and preservation of scientific data.

In relation to confidentiality clauses, this Department continues to monitor the situation and is encouraged by recent developments in this area.

Finally, I wish to record my appreciation for the achievements of Ron Egginton, our lead official on OA who sadly and suddenly died on 8 June 2014. His expertise and commitment was instrumental in the progress that has been achieved in making the UK the leading major nation on OA.

The Government remains committed to making publicly funded and published research freely and openly available. In the long term we believe the most effective form of Open Access (OA) will be Gold OA. I last commented on this subject in November 2013 in the Government’s response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report on OA and this answer updates on progress since that statement.

I was very pleased that in May 2014 the Institute of Physics (IoP) Publishing, a major publisher of academic papers, introduced an ‘offsetting’ arrangement that will allow institutions to publish more open access papers without incurring additional costs. I strongly encourage other publishers to follow the IoP Publishing’s lead.

Further, the ‘Access to Research’ initiative was launched in February 2014 through the support of the publishing community. It allows students, independent researchers and small businesses to access many of the world’s best academic papers through their local libraries.

We intend to maintain this level of progress and I am pleased that Universities UK (UUK) have agreed to take on a co-ordinating role for the continued implementation of OA policy in the UK. This follows a recommendation in the Finch Group’s report “Review of progress in Implementing the Recommendations of the Finch Report”, UUK are in the process of setting up a group which will consist of key stakeholders similar to that of the Finch Group.

Additionally, the Research Sector Transparency Board (RSTB) which I chair advises Government on how to increase access to research data. My intention is that the RSTB will also continue to play a role in OA and preservation of scientific data.

In relation to confidentiality clauses, this Department continues to monitor the situation and is encouraged by recent developments in this area.

Finally, I wish to record my appreciation for the achievements of Ron Egginton, our lead official on OA who sadly and suddenly died on 8 June 2014. His expertise and commitment was instrumental in the progress that has been achieved in making the UK the leading major nation on OA.

Yes, public sector organisations from the devolved administrations have been invited to participate in Healthcare UK's Business Forum for stakeholders on 24 July 2014.

The UK Cyber Security Strategy, published in November 2011, sets out how the UK will support economic prosperity, protect national security and safeguard the public’s way of life by building a more trusted and resilient digital environment. A £860 million National Cyber Security programme is in place to 2016 to deliver the objectives of the strategy. These objectives include making the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business in cyberspace, and making the UK more resilient to cyber attack and better able to protect our interests in cyberspace.

Government is working closely with industry to address the threat and impact of cyber attacks. These measures include:

Creating a National Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT UK which works closely with industry, Government and academia to enhance UK cyber resilience. It provides support to Critical National Infrastructure companies to handle cyber security incidents. The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP), part of CERT UK, enables companies to share information and intelligence on cyber security threats.

The creation of a Government approved list of Cyber Incident ‘Clean Up’ companies which can help companies respond effectively to incidents and get them up and running as soon as possible.

Advice and guidance resources including the ’10 Steps to Cyber Security’ guidance, the CyberStreetwise behaviour change campaign:

www.cyberstreetwise.com

and the Government and industry funded GetSafeOnline:

www.getsafeonline.org.

The Government-backed and industry approved Cyber Essentials scheme, which enables businesses to certify themselves against core technical cyber requirements and implement a basic level of cyber hygiene against cyber threats.

Practical support for small businesses with the Cyber Security Innovation Vouchers Scheme to enable individual businesses to receive £5,000 to increase their cyber security.

Support for industry initiatives such as Nominet’s ‘Cyber Assist’ pilot service for small and medium-sized enterprises experiencing cyber attacks.

The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. It is too early to provide impact data for the whole network, but data for the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle, based on user feedback, shows that:

Almost 50% of users increased their awareness of the importance of intellectual property

Over 40% were helped to develop their ideas

Over 40% were able to understand their customers and markets better

Almost a third acquired new skills through workshops

Close to a quarter were helped to write their business plan

Over 20% were helped to protect and exploit their novel ideas/designs

In total the two centres helped to create approximately 2,800 businesses and have further created approximately 3,500 additional jobs in new and existing businesses.

The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. To date performance data is only available from the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle. This shows an average turnover increase of £8.80 in London and £6.23 in Newcastle per £1 of public money invested.

In addition £47.1 million in London and £2 million in Newcastle of net gross value added has been generated, equating to £8.13 in London and £4.11 in Newcastle of GVA per £1 of public money invested.

The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. It is too early to provide impact data for the whole network, but data for the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle shows that since they opened these two centres have helped to create approximately 2800 businesses and 3500 jobs in new and existing businesses.

Higher education institutions are independent, autonomous bodies. As such, they are responsible for their own procurement policies and the transparency of their processes. Universities are able to draw upon the Higher Education Procurement Academy, a sector-led initiative to improve expertise and capacity in UK university procurement.

The Government is committed to protecting all Intellectual Property rights and has taken a number of steps recently to help rights holders protect and enforce their intellectual property. These include funding a dedicated police IP Crime Unit within the City of London police; making the intentional copying of registered designs a criminal offence; and introducing reforms to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, including the introduction of a 'small claims track' to help businesses gain access to justice at proportional cost to what is at stake.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) provides support and information on how to make the most of all forms of intellectual property (IP) to businesses on a national basis. In 2013 the IPO launched IP for Business, a set of online training tools and advice to help businesses understand IP and how it can be used within a business to generate revenue. The IPO also funds 300 IP audits, targeted through partners at high growth businesses across the UK. Over the last year the IPO has spoken to 18000 people through seminars, workshops and events; since October 2013, 276 businesses have benefited from face-to-face information and support from the IPO at seven events in the Brighton area—including Brighton, Lewes, Crawley and Bognor Regis. In addition, the IPO has a national consumer's campaign focussing on awareness raising and encouraging respect of IP.

The Information Economy Strategy published in June 2013 sets out the Government's plans to help digital technology-based businesses start up and thrive throughout the UK.

This Department is supporting Tech City UK's work with the UK Tech Cluster Alliance network. A key role of the Alliance which currently contains 13 clusters located throughout the UK, is to promote and facilitate connections and identify common barriers to growth.

The Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction survey showed that contract research from business carried out by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) amounted to £441 million in 12-13. However, information is not held on the precise terms of these contracts or the physical locations in which they are fulfilled.

Where an HEI is in receipt of research grants from the science budget and HE funding bodies, a requirement of the funding is that the outcomes are made publicly available, although HEIs are also encouraged to secure necessary intellectual property protection to enable subsequent exploitation. The Government is also implementing a policy of “Open Access” to the published findings of this publicly funded research. In the case of research consultancy, where the research is entirely funded by business, then the outcome would normally be owned by the business.

Government is committed to ensure the application of research and getting universities and business working more closely together. World Economic Forum evaluation now ranks UK among the top five in the world for university-industry collaboration in R and D. Individual institutions have obligations under State Aid regulations and under their Charity status to ensure that their contract work with business is managed appropriately.

We have and continue to actively engage with a wide range of stakeholders following the laying of a written ministerial statement on disabled students’ allowances on 7 April 2014, Official Report, columns 1-2WS. A list of those who have submitted information or evidence for the Equality Analysis and Disabled Students’ Allowances Guidance for 2015-16 will be published as part of this document.

Information on students awarded and paid Disabled Students’ Allowance is published annually by Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education England’. The latest statistics are available at the following link:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/694170/slcsfr052013.pdf

A further breakdown for England, Cumbria and South Lakeland has been provided in the table for the academic year 2012/13. The effective date is that of the November 2013 Awards Statistical First Release. These figures are therefore provisional and do not include students who were awarded DSA after November 2013.

Equivalent figures for the academic year 2013/14 will be available from November 2014.

Information on Scottish domiciled students awarded and paid Disabled Students’ Allowance is published by the Student Award Agency for Scotland. A comparable figure for the UK is unavailable.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, works with industry to support growth in the thriving UK creative industries, including through the Creative Industries Council. On 2 July 2014, industry published the Creative Industries Strategy, available at

www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk

which the Government has welcomed.

Recent publications of relevance to the sector include: details of £16 million funding from the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot to boost skills in the sector; the UKTI Creative Industries International Strategy, developed with industry, to increase exports and inward investment; the Technology Strategy Board’s strategy for innovation in the sector from 2013 to 2016; information for creators and intellectual property rights owners from the Intellectual Property Office; also two statistical publications from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Creative Industries Economic Estimates and Creative Industries: Focus on Employment.