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  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the same standard of care across the country for those diagnosed with prostate cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    To help reduce regional variations, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is increasingly incorporating information from accreditation and peer review programmes into its assessments of National Health Service trusts’ services, including the National Cancer Peer Review Programme. The CQC also intends to use data from the national clinical audit which is being developed for prostate cancer. In addition, national statistics on waiting times experienced by patients with suspected and diagnosed cancers continue to be collected, monitored and published in order to improve equity of access to cancer services and to contribute to an improvement in survival rates.

    The results of the latest national Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) from 2013 show that, whilst variations between trusts still exist, the overall range of variation for many indicators has narrowed. For example, in 2010 the proportion of patients saying that they had been given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist ranged from 92% in the highest performing trust to 59% in the poorest performing trust (33 points); by 2013 this had reduced to 97% to 76% (21 points).

    NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) will be doing a suite of work across all surveys to understand what the barriers are to implementing change and to showcase best practice where real improvements can be demonstrated.

    NHS England is working with NHS IQ to develop better ways of using the CPES data within the NHS in order to maximise the impact of the survey, to be able to work with successful and struggling organisations to spread best practice for example.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include prostate cancer in the next Be Clear on Cancer awareness campaign; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England.

    Public Health England is actively considering potential local pilot activity specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, due to their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for appointments at GP surgeries.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Government recognises the importance of timely access to general practice. The Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund has allocated £50 million to pilot ways to improve access around the country, to give general practitioners (GPs) the flexibility to meet the needs of the local population. These pilots will benefit more than 7.5 million patients across more than 1,110 practices.

    In addition, changes to the GP contract in April 2014 introduced a new Enhanced Service, which includes a commitment to same day telephone consultations with a professional in the GP surgery, where necessary, for the most at risk in the population.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adults with autism in England receive support having previously been identified by a local authority as being at risk of abuse or neglect.

    Norman Lamb

    This information is not kept centrally.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that national guidelines on asthma care are implemented; what data his Department is gathering to improve asthma care; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve the care and management of people with asthma.

    It is supporting clinical commissioning groups to improve out of hospital treatment for those with asthma by giving doctors more control over the commissioning of asthma services and improving information links between general practitioners and hospitals. The implementation of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) asthma quality standard, which sets out what good quality care looks like, will also raise the standard of care people with asthma receive.

    The National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, Professor Mike Morgan, is responsible for working across all five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework in NHS England in tackling asthma issues, and Dr Jacqueline Cornish, the National Clinical Director for children, young people and transition to adulthood, is working with the Strategic Clinical Networks for maternity, neonates and children and young people, to improve clinical outcomes for children and young people with asthma. NHS England also continues to work with Asthma UK and professional groups in both primary and secondary care to improve outcomes for all those with asthma. It is also working to ensure that everyone with a long-term condition is offered a personalised care plan and an asthma action plan should form part of that.

    In terms of data collection on asthma, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership is considering with NHS England, a national clinical audit of asthma services across the country against NICE quality standards for asthma.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications have been processed by the passport office in Belfast in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below shows the number of passports processed by the Passport Office
    in Belfast.

    Year

    Number of passports processed

    2010

    364,688

    2011

    408,628

    2012

    427,422

    2013

    433,530

    2014 (until 31 May)

    294,998

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with the Lord Chancellor on the introduction of section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 in relation to data protection offences; and if she will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    I am not aware that any discussions have taken place between the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary on the introduction of s77 of the Criminal Justice Act 2008 (CJIA). The Ministry of Justice will liaise with all interested Government Departments before deciding whether to consult on introducing section 77 (CJIA) and commencing the enhanced public interest defence under section 78 (CJIA).

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to establish a statutory system of guardianship to support victims of child trafficking.

    Karen Bradley

    The Modern Slavery Bill, published on 10 June 2014, includes an enabling clause
    which provides a statutory basis for child trafficking advocates and their
    functions including the circumstances and conditions under which a person may
    act as an advocate.

    The clause provides the Secretary of State with a power to make arrangements so
    that specialist child trafficking advocates are available to support and
    represent children who there is reason to believe may be victims of
    trafficking. It also allows for requirements on public authorities to
    co-operate with and provide information to these advocates.

    Trials of the child trafficking advocates scheme will commence in summer 2014.
    The trials will be independently evaluated both at six months and on
    completion. A report on the findings will be laid before Parliament.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to recognise child trafficking as a separate offence to adult trafficking.

    Karen Bradley

    The most effective way to protect child victims of trafficking is to have a
    general offence, which applies to both adults and children. The Modern
    Slavery Bill contains a general human trafficking offence, which does not
    require prosecutors to prove the age of the child, as this can lead to practical
    problems during prosecutions. Targeting a child will, however, be an
    aggravating factor for sentencing purposes, and the human trafficking
    offence in the Modern Slavery Bill will carry a maximum sentence of life
    imprisonment.

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made by the Cyber Crime Reduction Partnership over the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The UK Cyber Security Strategy, which includes a commitment to develop a
    partnership group with industry on cyber crime, was published in November
    2011.
    My Rt Hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, gave the second annual
    report on progress against objectives set out in the strategy on 12 December
    2013 (Official Report, Columns 43 to 47 WS). The Minister for the Cabinet
    Office also placed before Parliament a list of achievements over the preceding
    year and a document that outlines its future plans. The documents can be found
    at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-security-strategy-2-ye
    ars-on
    The Partnership, one of a set of engagement points with industry on Cyber
    Security, provides an opportunity to raise awareness of cyber crime amongst
    members, helping them to become more resilient to the threat. To date, it has
    provided a forum for partners to share views on key changes to the law
    enforcement landscape on cyber and contribute to key actions in the Strategy.
    This includes work to coordinate cyber security messages to the private sector.