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  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will meet representatives of Norway and Switzerland to discuss the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held discussions with European counterparts and a range of other partners to explain the result of the referendum and next steps. Officials continue to be in frequent contact with their Norwegian and Swiss counterparts and have discussed a range of topics since 24 June, including the outcome of the EU referendum.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to meet the President of the European Council to discuss the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and the former Minister of State, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), have held discussions with EU counterparts and partners in the EU institutions to explain the result of the referendum and next steps. The former Foreign Secretary had discussed the outcome of the EU referendum with European Parliament President Martin Schulz and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) baby changing at (i) Richmond House, London, and (ii) Quarry House, Leeds.

    Jane Ellison

    Richmond House and Quarry House both have a nursing mothers room and no facilities for the changing of babies. The Department also has a Parents’ Network which aims to support staff, both men and women, with their parental responsibilities.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of proposed insurance-based reimbursement funding models, including cap and collar models, on the UK’s ability to appropriately reward innovation whilst also tackling antimicrobial resistance.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department is in discussions with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry regarding possible future approaches to the pricing and reimbursement of new antimicrobial products, including insurance-based reimbursement arrangements such as ‘cap and collar’ models.

    These discussions are not yet at a point where an assessment of their effect can be made. However there is potential for such models to reconcile the current contradiction between conservation goals and industry revenue, facilitating appropriate stewardship of antibiotics.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS maternity units have been closed in each of the last six years.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not held centrally.

    The Government is clear that the redesign of front-line health services, including maternity services, is a matter for the local National Health Service, where clinicians are best-placed to make the decisions in the best interests of their patients.

    All such decisions are locally led and any proposed changes to services are subject to meeting the four tests for service change: they must have support from general practitioner commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS maternity units are under consideration by his Department for (a) downgrading and (b) closure.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not held centrally.

    The Government is clear that the redesign of front-line health services, including maternity services, is a matter for the local National Health Service, where clinicians are best-placed to make the decisions in the best interests of their patients.

    All such decisions are locally led and any proposed changes to services are subject to meeting the four tests for service change: they must have support from general practitioner commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consultant-led NHS maternity units have been downgraded in each of the last six years.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not held centrally.

    The Government is clear that the redesign of front-line health services, including maternity services, is a matter for the local National Health Service, where clinicians are best-placed to make the decisions in the best interests of their patients.

    All such decisions are locally led and any proposed changes to services are subject to meeting the four tests for service change: they must have support from general practitioner commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve access to consultant-led maternity services in (a) Cumbria, (b) Devon and (c) Essex.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government is clear the configuration of services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population.

    As of June 2015, three local health economies, Mid and South Essex, Northern, Eastern and Western Devon and West, North and East Cumbria entered the Success Regime. The purpose of the regime is to improve and promote health and care services for patients in local health and care systems that are struggling with financial or quality problems, or sometimes both. The regime is tailored to local circumstances, and will develop and implement plans to ensure that the people of these regions are able to access high quality, sustainable services. The provision of maternity services will be considered as part of the work of the Success Regime.

    No decisions have yet been made and the input of local communities will remain important throughout the process. Any significant service change proposals will go through formal public consultation.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing GP waiting times.

    Alistair Burt

    There is no national standard for waiting to see a general practitioner (GP) and data on waiting times is not collected centrally. To implement the Government’s commitment to transform GP access however, £175 million has been invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients – a third of the population – have benefited from improved access and transformational change at local level. This includes more appointments being made available, especially at times more convenient for patients, such as weekday evenings and weekends. It also includes different approaches like telephone consultations and better use of the wider primary care workforce (such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, pharmacists, the voluntary sector, physiotherapists and paramedics) to deliver improved access to patients. These approaches have helped release local GP capacity and more appropriately matched the needs of patients with the most appropriate professional to care for them. In addition to Access Fund sites, other clinical commissioning groups may offer local initiatives for improving access to GPs.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to announce the rate for the NHS-funded nursing care for residents of care homes in 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    Mazars LLP were appointed to carry out an independent review of the costs of nursing care by a registered nurse. Mazars’ report[1] recommends that the National Health Service-funded nursing care rate should be £156.25 – 40% higher than the 2015/16 rate. The Government has taken on board Mazars’ recommendation, meaning the rates paid by clinical commissioning groups for eligible care home residents assessed to require the help of a registered nurse are now as follows:

    ― standard rate – £156.25 per week; and

    ― higher rate – £215.04 per week (this is only relevant for those people who were already on the higher rate in 2007 when the single band was introduced).

    These rates will be backdated to 1 April 2016 for individuals who were in receipt of NHS-funded Nursing Care from that time and paid on an interim basis whilst regional variation and the element of the rate for staff working on an agency basis are reviewed.

    [1] http://www.mazars.co.uk/Home/Our-Sectors/Public-Services/Health/NHS-Funded-Nursing-Care-Review

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