House Of Commons Committee On Standards Mr Tim Yeo Hc 849

This case arises from two articles published by the Sunday Times on 9 June 2013, which detailed the results of a "sting" conducted by two reporters, Ms Heidi Blake and Mr Jonathan Calvert, who posed as representatives of a strategic consultancy recruiting a group of expert consultants to launch a solar technology developer. In their article the reporters alleged that Mr Tim Yeo, the Member for South Suffolk, had "told the reporters he could advocate for their company behind the scenes, introduce them to Ministers and guide them on submitting evidence to his own Committee". Mr Yeo referred himself to the Commissioner, who decided to investigate whether he had breached the rules in that he had: offered to make approaches to Ministers and/or servants of the Crown on behalf of a company in which he expected to have a financial interest; and told the managing director of a company which was a subsidiary of a company in which he had a financial interest what to say when giving evidence to the Select Committee of which he was chair. The Commissioner did not uphold either complaint. The Committee agrees with the Commissioner. Mr Yeo made no improper commitments, despite the tone of the Sunday Times articles, and the energetic attempts of the journalists concerned to draw him into doing so. Media investigations can have a role to play in ensuring high standards of public conduct but in this case Mr Yeo has broken no rules and the only misrepresentation has been that of the journalists themselves

Patrick Mercer, the MP for Newark, was approached by a journalist purporting to be a public affairs consultant representing a group called 'Friends of Fiji', who wished to campaign for the readmission of Fiji into the Commonwealth, and sought to do so by hiring people to use influence on its behalf. Between the initial approach from the 'consultant' on 6 March and the last meeting between them on 25 April, Mr Mercer tabled five Parliamentary questions and an Early Day Motion (EDM), and actively sought to set up an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fiji. On 31 May 2013 articles appeared in the Daily Telegraph about the case, and a Panorama programme was broadcast on 6 June 2013. As a result, Mr Mercer referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Commissioner found that Mr Mercer had: failed to register monies received for the provision of consultancy services; failed to deposit an agreement for the provision of services; failed to declare a relevant interest when tabling five parliamentary questions, when tabling an early-day motion, when making approaches to other Members, and, most probably, at a meeting of a prospective All-Party Parliamentary Group; and tabled parliamentary questions and an early-day motion, and taken steps to establish an All-Party Parliamentary Group, at the request of paying clients. The Committee recommend that Mr Mercer be suspended from the House for a period of six calendar months. [Note: Mr Mercer resigned on 29 April 2014, before publication of this report.]

Includes a foreword by Major General David A. Rubenstein. From the editor: "71F, or "71 Foxtrot," is the AOC (area of concentration) code assigned by the U.S. Army to the specialty of Research Psychology. Qualifying as an Army research psychologist requires, first of all, a Ph.D. from a research (not clinical) intensive graduate psychology program. Due to their advanced education, research psychologists receive a direct commission as Army officers in the Medical Service Corps at the rank of captain. In terms of numbers, the 71F AOC is a small one, with only 25 to 30 officers serving in any given year. However, the 71F impact is much bigger than this small cadre suggests. Army research psychologists apply their extensive training and expertise in the science of psychology and social behavior toward understanding, preserving, and enhancing the health, well being, morale, and performance of Soldiers and military families. As is clear throughout the pages of this book, they do this in many ways and in many areas, but always with a scientific approach. This is the 71F advantage: applying the science of psychology to understand the human dimension, and developing programs, policies, and products to benefit the person in military operations. This book grew out of the April 2008 biennial conference of U.S. Army Research Psychologists, held in Bethesda, Maryland. This meeting was to be my last as Consultant to the Surgeon General for Research Psychology, and I thought it would be a good idea to publish proceedings, which had not been done before. As Consultant, I'd often wished for such a document to help explain to people what it is that Army Research Psychologists "do for a living." In addition to our core group of 71Fs, at the Bethesda 2008 meeting we had several brand-new members, and a number of distinguished retirees, the "grey-beards" of the 71F clan. Together with longtime 71F colleagues Ross Pastel and Mark Vaitkus, I also saw an unusual opportunity to capture some of the history of the Army Research Psychology specialty while providing a representative sample of current 71F research and activities. It seemed to us especially important to do this at a time when the operational demands on the Army and the total force were reaching unprecedented levels, with no sign of easing, and with the Army in turn relying more heavily on research psychology to inform its programs for protecting the health, well being, and performance of Soldiers and their families."

Regenerative medicine is broadly defined as the repair or replacement of damaged cells, tissues and organs. It is a multidisciplinary effort in which technologies derive from the fields of cell, developmental and molecular biology; chemical and material sciences (i.e. nanotechnology); engineering; surgery; transplantation; immunology; molecular genetics; physiology; and pharmacology. As regenerative medicine technologies continue to evolve and expand across the boundaries of numerous scientific disciplines, they remain at the forefront of the translational research frontier with the potential to radically alter the treatment of a wide variety of disease and dysfunction. This book will draw attention to the critical role that pharmacological sciences will undeniably play in the advancement of these treatments. This book is invaluable for advanced students, postdoctoral fellows, researchers new to the field of regenerative medicine/tissue engineering, and experienced investigators looking for new research avenues. The first state-of-the-art book in this rapidly evolving field of research.

Biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from road transport-but most first generation biofuels have a detrimental impact on the environment overall. In addition, most biofuels are often not an effective use of bioenergy resources, in terms either of cutting greenhouse gas emissions or value-for-money. The Government must ensure that its biofuels policy balances greenhouse gas emission cuts with wider environmental impacts, so that biofuels are only used where they contribute to sustainable emissions reductions. The Government and EU's neglect of biomass and other more effective policies to reduce emissions in favour of biofuels is misguided. The current policy and support framework must be changed to ensure that sustainable bioenergy resources maximise their potential to generate energy for the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions. In general biofuels produced from conventional crops should no longer receive support from the Government. Instead the Government should concentrate on the development of more efficient biofuel technologies that might have a sustainable role in the future. The Government should seek to ensure that EU policy changes to reflect the concerns raised in this report. This means implementing a moratorium on current targets until technology improves, robust mechanisms to prevent damaging land use change are developed, and international sustainability standards are agreed. Only then might biofuels have a role to play. In the meantime, other more effective ways of cutting emissions from road transport should be pursued. It will take considerable courage for the Government and EU to admit that the current policy arrangements for biofuels are inappropriate. The policy realignments that are required will be a test of the Government's commitment to moving the UK towards a sustainable low carbon economy.

Using case law from multiple jurisdictions, Stephen Mason examines the nature and legal bearing of electronic signatures.