Asked by: Martin Horwood (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what reasons there are for the time taken to give serving police officers information about the New Police Pensions Scheme for which the regulations were laid before Parliament on 5 March 2015 and will take effect on 1 April 2015.
Answered by Mike Penning
Information about the main elements of the reform has been in the public domain for some time. This includes: the Reform Design Framework which was published
on the Home Office website on 3 September 2012; an online calculator which allows officers to determine what benefits they might receive under the new
arrangements, published on 3 September 2012; and further detailed questions and answers which were published on 19 November 2013.
The Police Pensions Regulations 2015 were laid after extensive consultation with partners including police officers’ representatives. Members’ guidance was published on Friday 6 March, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-police-pensions-scheme-2015-members-guide.
This provides police officers with all the information they need to seek the necessary independent financial advice on the scheme.
Asked by: Martin Horwood (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police officers have sufficient time to consult financial advisers about the effects of the New Police Pensions Scheme before that scheme takes effect on 1 April.
Answered by Mike Penning
Information about the main elements of the reform has been in the public domain for some time. This includes: the Reform Design Framework which was published
on the Home Office website on 3 September 2012; an online calculator which allows officers to determine what benefits they might receive under the new
arrangements, published on 3 September 2012; and further detailed questions and answers which were published on 19 November 2013.
The Police Pensions Regulations 2015 were laid after extensive consultation with partners including police officers’ representatives. Members’ guidance was published on Friday 6 March, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-police-pensions-scheme-2015-members-guide.
This provides police officers with all the information they need to seek the necessary independent financial advice on the scheme.
Asked by: Martin Horwood (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department gives to research councils for the purpose of conducting non-animal tests or research.
Answered by Norman Baker
The Home Office does not provide any direct funding to Research Councils for the purposes of non-animal tests or research, or tests or research involving animals as it performs predominately a regulatory function. Significant Government funding is deployed to encourage the development and uptake of non-animal tests, largely through the Department for Business, Innovation and Science.
The Home Office does however provide £250,000 per year to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to fund its activities, which include developing and promoting alternatives to the use of animals in research. Some research into non-animal methods requires the use of animals for validation and other purposes. It is therefore not possible to state definitively how much of this contribution has been used for the purpose of conducting non-animal tests or research, to fund tests or research involving animals, or for the purpose of promoting the uptake of alternatives.
Asked by: Martin Horwood (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department gives to research councils to fund tests or research involving animals.
Answered by Norman Baker
The Home Office does not provide any direct funding to Research Councils for the purposes of non-animal tests or research, or tests or research involving animals as it performs predominately a regulatory function. Significant Government funding is deployed to encourage the development and uptake of non-animal tests, largely through the Department for Business, Innovation and Science.
The Home Office does however provide £250,000 per year to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to fund its activities, which include developing and promoting alternatives to the use of animals in research. Some research into non-animal methods requires the use of animals for validation and other purposes. It is therefore not possible to state definitively how much of this contribution has been used for the purpose of conducting non-animal tests or research, to fund tests or research involving animals, or for the purpose of promoting the uptake of alternatives.