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  • Robert Neill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Neill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Neill on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which organisation provides the secretariat for the NICE Implementation Collaborative; what the Collaborative’s current priorities and work programmes are; what funding the Collaborative has received from the public purse since it was established; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it has provided the secretariat function for the NICE Implementation Collaborative (NIC) since January 2014 as part of a wider memorandum of understanding with NHS England. This year, the NIC agreed to undertake work in the following four areas, each of which was agreed because of their potential to generate learning about how to support uptake of NICE guidance:

    – Improving patient outcomes for patients with non ST Elevation acute Coronary Syndromes;

    – Improving Tuberculosis screening and data collection across health and social care;

    – Identifying appropriate treatment pathways for people with moderate alcohol consumption across health and social care; and

    – Increasing the knowledge base about the factors that increase use of technologies building on previous National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) research.

    NHS England has responsibility for funding any project costs and projects liaise with NHS England to access these funds.

    NHS England has advised that it provided £4,000 in 2014-15 and up to £10,000 in 2015-16.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in each Parliamentary constituency to whom the cap on care costs would have applied in 2016-17 if brought into force.

    Alistair Burt

    We remain committed to the implementation of the cap on care costs, which will offer financial protection and peace of mind. The decision to delay followed careful consideration of feedback from stakeholders that April 2016 was not the right time to implement these significant and expensive reforms. The benefits of the cap have had to be weighed against the need to focus on supporting local authorities in caring for the most vulnerable.

    Information regarding how many people will be affected by the delay by constituency is not held in the format requested.

    Means-tested financial support remains available for those who cannot afford to pay for care to meet their eligible needs.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start children’s centres offer perinatal mental health support for new and expectant mothers.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Department for Education does not routinely collect the information requested. While perinatal mental health is important to the government, we believe that children’s centres are best placed to decide which services to offer, based on an assessment of local needs.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) doctors and (b) nurses have been signed off work due to (i) stress and (ii) other mental illness in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not collect centrally data on how many doctors and nurses have been signed off work due to stress and other mental illness.

    Employers across the National Health Service are responsible for reducing staff absences due to stress and mental illness through local sickness absence policies.

    NHS England recently launched "A healthy NHS workforce"[1], a commitment in its Five Year Forward View[2] "to ensure the NHS as an employer sets a national example in the support it offers its own staff to stay healthy".

    Working with Public Health England and NHS Employers, NHS England aims to improve NHS staff health spearheaded by a group of provider and commissioner organisations. Work will include ensuring board level leadership and engagement as well as line manager training to increase awareness of mental health issues, helping them manage staff in a way which is supportive to health and wellbeing.

    The Department continues to commission NHS Employers to help trusts improve staff mental health and wellbeing through advice, guidance and good practice[3].

    The launch in July of NHS Employers’ How are you feeling NHS? Toolkit[4] enables staff to talk more openly about their emotional health, helps trusts improve the assessment of the impact emotional wellbeing has on staff and patients and supports action planning to improve staff emotional health and wellbeing.

    [1] https://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/09/02/nhs-workplace/

    [2] https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf

    [3] http://www.nhsemployers.org/search-results?q=supporting+staff+who+are+experiencing+mental+health+issues

    [4] http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/retain-and-improve/staff-experience/health-work-and-wellbeing/protecting-staff-and-preventing-ill-health/how-are-you-feeling-nhs-toolkit

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Department for Work and Pensions on the time taken to discharge patients from mental health inpatient care due to delays in the payment of benefits.

    Alistair Burt

    There have been no discussions between the Department and the Department for Work and Pensions at either ministerial or official level about the time taken to discharge patients from mental health inpatient care due to delays in the payment of benefits.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what public information campaigns his Department funds on perinatal mental illness; and how much such campaigns cost.

    Alistair Burt

    Perinatal mental illness is an important topic area covered by the Start4life NHS Information Service for Parents (ISP) which is led by Public Health England. The service includes information about health and wellbeing and includes short videos on how to spot the signs of perinatal mental illness and how to seek further help.

    Advice is also included in emails at key stages of pregnancy and post birth for both parents.

    The Start4Life ISP was developed as a universal NHS-branded resource to help provide support and advice for expectant and new parents. The service provides regular emails and text messages during pregnancy and for the first three years of a child’s life.

    The total Start4life ISP programme budget in 2014/15 was £2 million and in 2015/16 it is £2.3 million. This is used to promote a range of relevant health messages for new parents and parents to be through the Information Service for Parents, the Start4Life website and other channels including materials for healthcare professionals to use with families, online advertising and social media.

    Information is also available online via NHS Choices and can be found here:

    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/feeling-depressed-after-birth.aspx

    “

  • Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation; which non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and agencies overseen by his Department will be affected by that regulation; and what estimate he has made of the potential liability of his Department, its agencies and NDPBs in connection with that proposed regulation.

    George Freeman

    Officials from the Department of Health are working closely with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which leads on the negotiations with the European Union on the United Kingdom’s behalf, ensuring that stakeholders are engaged on the key issues.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11221, how many prosecutions or fixed penalty notifications have occurred for non emergency vehicles displaying static blue lighting in the last three years for which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation; which non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and agencies overseen by her Department will be affected by that regulation; and what estimate she has made of the potential liability of her Department, its agencies and NDPBs in connection with that proposed regulation.

    Karen Bradley

    Negotiations on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation are still continuing and we have taken into account the likely impact on Government Departments, NDPBs and agencies. Once the outcome of trilogue negotiations between the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission are complete, and the Regulation has been adopted, the liabilities will be further assessed. There will then follow a minimum implementation period of 2 years. Between now and then, Government departments who will be affected by the Regulation are closely involved in work led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to consider the implications of the text as it develops through the negotiating process.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that adequate financial resources were allocated to investigations into cases of historical child sexual abuse in (a) the London Borough of Lambeth, (b) London and (c) England and Wales.

    Karen Bradley

    No case of child abuse is ‘historical’ for victims and survivors. They must live with the consequences of their abuse each and every day of their lives. The allocation of resources on investigations into cases of child sexual abuse, including abuse that has taken place in the past, is an operational matter for the police and law enforcement.

    We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat which means that police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners must have in place the capabilities they need to protect children from sexual abuse. In 2015/16 we provided an additional £10 million to the National Crime Agency for the creation of more specialist teams to tackle online child sexual exploitation. We have also made available £1.7 million to fund Operation Hydrant, which coordinates the handling of multiple historical child sexual abuse investigations specifically concerning institutions or persons of public prominence, and up to £1.5 million to support regional coordinators and analysts to oversee the implementation of the National Policing Plan for tackling Child Sexual Exploitation.