Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to impose sanctions on (a) officials and (b) entities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for supplying weapons to Russia.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) export and Russia's procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles and Russia's decision to use DPRK-supplied missiles in recent attacks against Ukraine, as fifty Foreign Ministers made clear in their 9 January joint statement. The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia's war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. It also violates multiple UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) - which Russia itself voted for. On 22 February the UK designated a number of targets including Azia Shipping Company and Ibex Shipping INC, involved in the transfer of weapons from the DPRK to Russia. The UK will continue to work with our partners to hold the DPRK to account for supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. We keep all evidence and potential designations under close review. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to make an autism assessment on employment rates.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no plans for DWP to make this specific assessment. Whilst we recognise the importance of early identification of autism, a diagnosis is not required to be eligible for reasonable adjustments and the provision of workplace support. These are made, in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, based on functional need.
We are, as you know, encouraging employers to adopt more neuro-inclusive working practices, which benefit neurodiverse employees irrespective of whether they have a diagnosis.
The SoS and I were delighted to see the launch of your excellent Review into Autism Employment on the 28th of February, which has created a focus for action to improve the recruitment and retention of autistic people. It has identified workplace barriers, and the working practices and initiatives that can reduce them, to create a more inclusive working environment for autistic employees and autistic jobseekers.
We now look towards supporting how the 19 recommendations in the report can be implemented to encourage a more neuro-inclusive culture in the workplace.
This is supported by Disability Confident, our scheme to increase employers’ understanding of how to recruit, retain and support disabled employees and the Support with Employee Health and Disability online service which guides employers through health and disability scenarios at work, including making reasonable adjustments.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how she plans to promote research into new models of (a) assessment and (b) support.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government’s November 2023 ‘Response to the Independent Review of the RDI Organisational Landscape’ announced the creation of a new Metascience Unit, jointly run across the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), with an initial funding commitment of £10m. The unit will deliver a competitive grants programme and will also conduct experiments to test and robustly evaluate the effectiveness of changes in the funding processes delivered by UKRI.
This programme of work is intended to generate evidence on more effective ways of funding and supporting scientific research.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken to make an autism assessment on educational attainment.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my right hon. Friend, the Member for South Swindon, to the answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 18946.