This House of Lords Library Briefing Pack contains a selection of material relevant to the forthcoming debate in the House of Lords on 1 April 2019 on the report from the European Union Committee 'Brexit: The Erasmus and Horizon Programmes'.
On 2 April each year the UN observes World Autism Awareness Day; this year’s theme is ‘Assistive Technologies, Active Participation’. This House of Lords Library briefing summarises some of the challenges faced by people with autism and examines how assistive technology can enable independence for people with the condition.
This Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate due to take place in the House of Lords on the motion moved by Lord O’Shaughnessy that “this House takes note of the steps being taken to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices”. It outlines the current regulatory regime, which is based on EU law, and the roles of the main European and UK agencies. It then describes an ongoing independent review into medicinal product safety, which is tasked with recommending improvements to responses to patient reports about harmful side effects. The Briefing then considers the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU, both under the draft withdrawal agreement and if the UK leaves with no deal. Finally, it discusses ongoing developments in medicine safety, such as the greater use of technology, and sets the issue of medicine and medical product safety within the context of wider patient safety initiatives in the NHS.
On 11 February 2019 the UN marks the fourth annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This House of Lords Library Briefing provides a brief background to the day and examines the representation of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and maths in the UK.
This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate in the House of Lords on the motion scheduled to be moved by Baroness Deech (Crossbench) on the “40th anniversary of the first baby born using in vitro fertilisation”.
This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate in the House of Lords on the motion moved by Lord Freyberg (Crossbench), “that this House takes note of NHS and healthcare data and how that data could be used to improve the health of the nation”. It describes what healthcare data is, the uses to which it might be put and the challenges in doing so. It also outlines the main organisations involved in the area and recent developments in public policy.
This House of Lords Library Briefing presents recent developments in UK and EU strategies to address antimicrobial resistance, and examines three areas in which the UK’s exit from the EU may affect the addressing of antimicrobial resistance.
This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading of the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill [HL] in the House of Lords on 11 July 2018.
This House of Lords Library briefing provides information on the role played by social media and online platforms as news and content publishers ahead of a debate on this topic scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on Thursday 11 January 2018.
This House of Lords Library briefing has been produced in preparation for the debate on 8 January 2018 on the Government's Industrial Strategy and the case for boosting earning power and productivity across the United Kingdom with investment in the skills, businesses and infrastructure of the future.
This House of Lords Library briefing provides overall information on the demographics and earnings of those participating in the gig economy, on gig economy working practices in each sector, and on the potential effects to be seen in the wider economy.
This Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of a debate scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on 7 September 2017 about the importance of digital understanding at all levels of society. It provides an overview of what is meant by ‘digital skills’ and surveys recent literature on access to, and use of, the internet across society. It then considers digital skills in relation to the economy and sets out key proposals contained in the Government’s UK Digital Strategy 2017. It concludes with an exploration of the term ‘digital understanding’ and highlights recent Ofcom findings on adults’ media use and attitudes.
This Lords Library briefing provides information about the work of the House of Lords Digital Skills Committee; its conclusions and recommendations; the government’s response; and a summary of the debate held in the House of Lords.
The Government has stated that leaving the EU also means leaving the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). This Lords Library briefing examines what Euratom does and the possible implications of leaving Euratom for the future of the nuclear industry and nuclear research in the UK.