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45978

registered interest
date	31/03/2014
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific training is received by Ministry of Defence officials in negotiating equipment and services procurement contract terms and conditions effectively and in guaranteeing best value for money.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL6456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2014 answer text <p>Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurement activity ranges from the purchase of low value consumable items through to complex equipment acquisition, support and services. These activities involve multi-disciplinary teams, including engineering, technical, finance, project management and procurement staff. There is clear separation of responsibilities between those authorising the initial requirement, those giving financial authority and those empowered to place contracts.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD currently has around 1,700 civilian staff in the commercial function of which 1,200 are in active commercial roles and are authorised to sign contracts with suppliers.</p><p> </p><p>Commercial staff must demonstrate the necessary levels of functional competence and experience to be licensed and receive a formal commercial delegation. Some 60% of commercial staff currently hold, or are working towards, qualifications in the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). This is expected to rise to around 75% in 2015. The MOD is also developing an advanced commercial skills programme to provide additional training relevant to the MOD complex acquisition process, which goes beyond standard CIPS training.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Astor of Hever question first answered 09/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3428 label Biography information for Lord Astor of Hever
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

45729

registered interest
date	27/03/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of the financial settlement paid to the Department for Work and Pensions by Atos upon their withdrawal from the Work Capability Assessment Scheme.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL6378
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2014 answer text <p>Information regarding the financial settlement between the Department and Atos Healthcare for early exit from the contract to deliver Work Capability Assessments is commercial in confidence.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 04/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

45730

registered interest
date	27/03/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to the Howard League for Penal Reform's request to the Ministry of Justice to reverse their ban on family and friends sending books to prisoners.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL6379
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>There are important reasons why we have restricted the sending in of parcels by families and friends of prisoners and we do not intend to withdraw those restrictions. The changes we introduced last year in relation to parcels were to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners' welfare. <em>Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Prisoners may hold up to 12 books in their cell at any one time, and additional books can be stored locally at the prison. </em>The National Offender Management Service also works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as 'Toe by Toe', which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.<em> </em></p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

45731

registered interest
date	27/03/2014
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people (1) displaced, and (2) facing a humanitarian crisis, in the northern Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa as a result of the insurgency by Boko Haram; and what assessment they have made of the needs of those people for aid.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL6380
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The UK Government supports the assessment of humanitarian needs in Northern Nigeria through OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Although figures are difficult to quantify, OCHA estimate 5.9 million people have been affected by the insurgency in northeast Nigeria and an estimated 350,000 people have been displacedsince May 2013, both within Nigeria and across the borders into Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Most displaced people are living in host communities, although around 5,000 are in camps. OCHA has assessed the priority needs of affected people as food, water, health and shelter.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

44598

registered interest
date	24/03/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the recovery of benefits through the Mesothelioma Support Scheme will yield; and what assurances they can give that some of this money will be spent on research for a cure for mesothelioma.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL6255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2014 answer text <p>Benefit and lump sum payments that were made in respect of mesothelioma will be recovered from the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) payment in the same way as they would be recovered from other compensation payments. The latest Impact Assessment for the DMPS dated 10 March 2014 estimates that the recovery of benefits in the first 10 years of the Scheme, to 31 March 2024, will be £72m.</p><p> </p><p>The issue of research is not directly a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions; however we have worked closely with the Department of Health to make progress in this area. This work has included setting up a partnership to identify mesothelioma research priorities which will lead to the National Institute for Health Research turning priorities into fundable research questions and to encourage applications from the research community. In addition the National Cancer Research Institute has a workshop planned on 02 May 2014 to discuss and develop new proposals for mesothelioma studies. The Government has established robust systems to ensure that funding is provided to the highest quality research bids. The work that the Department of Health is taking forward will support researchers in producing these bids and ensure that funding is allocated in a way that best supports sufferers of this terrible condition.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 01/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool