The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have met the administrator of Norfolk Island since 1 July 2016.
Alok Sharma
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have not met the Administrator. The Department’s officials have met the Administrator of Norfolk Island, most recently on 7 October.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the possible diplomatic benefits of recommissioning HM Yacht Britannia.
Alok Sharma
The Government is determined to make a success of our global role in the world, but re-commissioning the Royal Yacht Britannia is not on our agenda, nor is commissioning a new yacht. There was a debate in Westminster Hall about this very topic on 11 October which aired a range of issues including feasibility and cost. My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson MP), the Foreign Secretary, also told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on 13 October that he hoped a consortium of philanthropists would come forward to finance the cost of a new yacht.
The former Royal Yacht was used on just 37 occasions for trade promotion and signing trade deals during the last seven years of its commission (1989-1997) and only 27 trips were made overseas – four times per year. There is no evidence that the yacht made a difference to the trade deals secured in these years and this level of use would not represent a good return on investment.
The Government does not have potential costs for the reintroduction of the Royal Yacht Britannia or building of a new royal yacht because neither a feasibility study nor a review has been carried out since the decommissioning of the Britannia in 1997.
We shall continue to make full use of the FCO global network of nearly 270 embassies, high commissions and consulates to promote UK interests overseas. We shall also continue to make full use of existing Royal Navy ships for promotional purposes when they are in foreign ports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2016 to Question 44301, United Nations: finance, how much his Department contributed voluntarily to the missions referred to in each of the last five years.
Alok Sharma
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays the UK’s assessed contributions for Special Political Mission thematic cluster I, which covers special and personal envoys and advisers of the UN Secretary General. This is paid as part of our contribution to the UN Regular Budget, which is mandatory under the UN Charter.
The UK Government has also, on occasion, provided additional targeted voluntary funding. Information about these discretionary payments is not held in a single consolidated form, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Government identifies and monitors the value and impact of providing the voluntary funding on a case-by-case basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent in England on NHS Continuing Healthcare in each of the last five years.
David Mowat
Primary care trusts held statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare until 31 March 2013 and the cost of funding such packages was not captured specifically in their audited accounts. From 2009, the Department collected information on the total cost of NHS Continuing Healthcare packages through a financial information management system1. The annual costs (England total) from that date were as follows:
2011/12 – £2,324,655,000
2012/13 – £2,762,532,000
From 1 April 2013, statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare transferred to clinical commissioning groups and to NHS England. The annual costs from that date (England total) are as follows:
2013/14 – £2,647,176,411
2014/15 – £2,824,041,529
2015/16 – £3,062,102,151
Note:
1 This is management information and is not audited for Departmental accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35653, how much Public Health England plans to spend on campaigns promoting the cessation of smoking in 2016-17.
Nicola Blackwood
Public Health England took over all the public health campaigns formerly run by the Department on 1 April 2013, including smoking cessation.
Campaigns for 2016-17 promoting the cessation of smoking are currently ongoing. Final media costs will be available only after the 2016-17 financial year end, when spend has been confirmed and completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to encourage local communities to input into individual sustainability and transformation plans; and if he will publish contact details for lead officers co-ordinating proposals on the way maternity services are delivered in each NHS area.
David Mowat
NHS England, with other national health and care bodies, released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. Local proposals for health and care transformation are not expected to have gone through formal local National Health Service or other organisations’ board approval and/or formal public engagement or consultation at this early stage. We expect that areas will publish a version of their Sustainability and Transformation Plans between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will undertake public engagement during this period, building on the engagement they have already done to shape thinking. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.
As with the current arrangements for planning and delivery, there are layers of plans which can sit below STPs, with shared links and dependencies. STPs act as an umbrella, holding underneath them a number of different specific plans to address key local issues. Clinical commissioning groups remain accountable for securing high-quality healthcare services for their local populations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of recently published research from Breast Cancer Now on the availability of bisphosphonates.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that repurposed, off-patent drugs are consistently available to NHS patients where evidence supports their use.
Nicola Blackwood
Current prescribing arrangements already allow off-patent drugs that are found to have new uses to be prescribed to patients.
The Government and medical research charities are working together to ensure that robust evidence showing new uses for existing drugs can be brought more systematically into clinical practice to benefit patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on encouraging young people in deprived communities to pursue a career in medicine.
Mr Philip Dunne
We are increasing the number of medical training places available to students each year. Beginning in September 2018, the Government will fund up to 1,500 additional student places through medical school each year. Students will be able to apply for the extra places from next year in order to take them up from the academic year 2018/19.
This increase will provide more opportunities for people from all backgrounds to study medicine, and will ensure the National Health Service will continue to have the right workforce to provide safe and effective patient care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to analyse and expand health service capacity in areas of expected high population growth.
David Mowat
Neighbouring National Health Service providers, commissioners, and other health and care services are currently developing strategic plans across 44 sustainability and transformation ‘footprints’ to deliver a sustainable NHS. These are geographic areas in which people and organisations are collaborating to develop plans to improve the way that health and care is planned and delivered in a more person-centred and coordinated way for local people. In places where high population growth is identified as a need it is expected that the plans will contain a locally developed approach to ensure the service can manage demand.