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  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    David Mowat

    Nationality and identity details of appointees to the Department are thoroughly checked at the time of recruitment. However, ’nationality’ is not a mandatory field in the Department’s Business Management System where the details of staff are registered. This means that some staff have not declared with respect to nationality.

    All the figures given in the table below are of those civil servants employed by the Department in the Westminster area as of 6 October 2016. These figures do not include contractors, consultants and temporary agency workers or the staff of the Department’s service companies.

    Nationality

    Headcount

    Proportion

    British

    771

    80%

    Other nationalities

    60

    6%

    Not declared

    132

    14%

    Total

    963

    100%
  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are non-UK nationals.

    David Mowat

    Nationality is not a mandatory field in the Department’s Business Management System where the details of staff are registered. This means that a fraction of the workforce are ‘undeclared’ with respect to nationality.

    All the figures given in the table below are as of 6 October 2016. These figures do not include contractors, temporary agency workers or the staff of service companies.

    Nationality

    Headcount in category

    Proportion of workforce in category

    British

    1,572

    82%

    Non-UK

    104

    2%

    Undeclared

    247

    13%

    Total employed

    1,923

    100%
  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many newly qualified GPs are waiting to be added to the national list for medical performers.

    David Mowat

    NHS England advises that, currently, there are approximately 720 applications for general practitioner (GP) trainees to be added to the performers list.

    The processing of applications to join the National Performers List was taken over by Capita in September 2015, and there have been some delays in Capita’s processing of applications. NHS England is working closely with Capita to identify all cases which may be affected by delays in processing applications, and those identified are being investigated and urgent cases prioritised. NHS England expects all GP trainees to be on the performers list by the end of October when their grace period for inclusion ends.

    The decision to admit a GP trainee to the performer list is the sole responsibility of NHS England rather than Capita. There have been some instances where Capita have informed GPs that they cannot practice because their application to the performer list has not been completed. Where we are aware of such instances, those GPs have been contacted by NHS England and provided with the correct advice relating to their individual circumstances. Where necessary, NHS England has taken further action to expedite the performers’ list process.

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the article in The Lancet, Adjuvant bisphosonphate treatment in early breast cancer: meta-analyses of individual patient data from randomised trials, published in July 2015, what steps he has taken to ensure that bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer are routinely available to the patients who need them.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Independent Cancer Taskforce report included a specific recommendation on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for treating people with breast cancer. We understand that NHS England is working to realise the ambitions set out in the report and will publish an update on progress made soon.

    National prescribing arrangements already allow for bisphosphonates to be prescribed for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.

    Updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss, taking into account the latest available evidence, is expected in July 2018.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other cancers for which symptoms can be non-specific and have similarities to other benign conditions.

    David Mowat

    Public Health England’s (PHE) Be Clear on Cancer campaigns are designed to raise the public’s awareness of specific cancer symptoms, encourage people with those symptoms to go to the doctor and diagnose cancer at an earlier stage. An early visit to a general practice can make a cancer more treatable, and thereby improve cancer survival rates. These campaigns are delivered by PHE in partnership with the Department and NHS England. There are a number of cancers, including those where symptoms can be non-specific, which are not covered by ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ explicitly.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many audiology services there are in England.

    David Mowat

    Comprehensive data on the number of audiology services in England is not collected.

    NHS England has no current plans to introduce financial incentives for the achievement of Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation.

    As of 1 September, there are 39 organisations with IQIPS accreditation for audiology, covering 28 adult and 21 paediatric audiology services. If an organisation is accredited for both adult and paediatric audiology, United Kingdom Accreditation Service considers that one accreditation.

    In Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups, published in July, NHS England strongly encourages clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.

    In the contract for Genomics Medicines Centres, Annex M requires National Health Service trusts nominated as Lead Organisations and Local Delivery Partners to be working towards diagnostic accreditation across all available schemes, including IQIPS.

    NHS England is also working with the Care Quality Commission to agree the use of scientific and diagnostic schemes as an information source for inspection purposes, as set out in their latest strategy.

    We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the drug used in HIV PrEP, Truvada to come off patent.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a new medicines evidence summary for Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in October 2016. According to this summary, Truvada, compound patents for tenofovir disoproxil and salts expires in July 2017, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate expires in July 2018. A supplementary protection certificate has also been granted in relation to Truvada which expires in February 2020.

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints NHS England has received in each year since 2010 on services in the NHS provided by Capita.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS England was established on 1 April 2013. NHS England does not receive or record complaints about services in the National Health Service provided by Capita. It does record complaints relating to NHS England and primary care services. We have not recorded any complaints about Capita services between 2013 and 2015. However, NHS England has found that 79 formal complaints, as classified under NHS Complaints Regulations, have been logged about the Primary Care Support Services provided by Capita since 1 September 2015.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding his Department has provided for research on pancreatic cancer in each of the last three years.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The information requested is not available. Spend on research funded directly by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories including ‘cancer’. There are no HRCS health sub-categories, such as for pancreatic cancer or other cancer sites.

    Investment in cancer research by the NIHR has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £135 million in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). The NIHR works closely with patients, charities and our world-leading life sciences industry to support further research into pancreatic cancer.

  • Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors from (a) EU countries and (b) countries outside the EU have applied to practice medicine in the UK in each year since 2000.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information on doctors applying to practice medicine in the United Kingdom is not held centrally; this is collected by the General Medical Council.