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  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking and what budget he has allocated to help tackle youth unemployment in (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire.

    Esther McVey

    The Government are aware of the problems facing young jobseekers in the labour market and have put in place a substantial menu of provision to help them move into work.

    The Youth Contract provides intensive support for all 18-24 year olds. Extra funding is being made available to support the most vulnerable 16 and 17 year olds not in education, employment or training into learning, an apprenticeship or job with training.

    This comprehensive package of support is enhanced by the Flexible Support Fund, which Jobcentre Plus District managers can use to address locally identified skills needs. Also, the Work Programme provides tailored support to those claimants furthest from the labour market.

    Additionally, on the 14th of November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that funding of £50m Youth Contract under spend would be made available to cities.

    For the Sheffield City Region they received £5m to offer intensive adviser and mentor-led support for young people alongside a specialist training programme aimed at equipping young people with the right skills to match local employer needs.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what operational contingency plans he has made for future capability requirements in the event of further flooding.

    Mr Mark Francois

    This winter’s severe weather and consequent flooding represented a significant test of the nation’s civil resilience framework and demonstrated the effectiveness of military contingency planning. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) was able to generate a 5,000-strong taskforce and engage our specialist capabilities to fill gaps without detrimental impact to operations or significant training disruption. The MOD continues to plan against a broad range of civil emergencies in support of wider Government contingency planning.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new jobs have been created in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 in (i) Barnsley central constituency, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Nick de Bois – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nick de Bois – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick de Bois on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will invite the Sentencing Council to consult and report on the adequacy of current sentences available for killing with one punch.

    Jeremy Wright

    Manslaughter has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Whilst sentence lengths for manslaughter have increased by almost 50% since 2008 there remains clear public concern about the sentences imposed in so called “one punch” manslaughter cases.

    Clarification of the sentencing of these difficult cases would assist the courts and be helpful to the public. The Secretary of State therefore wrote to Lord Justice Treacy, the Chair of the Sentencing Council on 8 May 2014, to make a formal request that the Council gives consideration to producing guidance on the sentencing of these cases.

  • Simon Reevell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Simon Reevell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Reevell on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence there is of contamination of the bacterial pathogen, Melissoccocus plutonius, from countries within the EU.

    Dan Rogerson

    Melissococcus plutonius is the causative agent of European foulbrood. In 2012 the Dutch reported the results of a survey that used sensitive detection methodologies to suggest a 35 percent apiary prevalence of Melissococcus plutonius across the Netherlands.

    But a 2012-13 pan-European epidemiological study on honey bee colony losses found a low prevalence of European foulbrood across 15 Member States:

    http://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/live_animals/bees/docs/bee-report_en.pdf.

    “

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by how much each ambulance trust in England underspent or overspent their budget in each year since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts do not receive funding directly from the Department of Health and therefore do not have budgets against which they underspend. They are semi-autonomous organisations whose income derives from the provision of services to NHS England and clinical commissioning groups, through what might be described as trading activity.

    The NHS trust and foundation trust regime has similarities to the regime for Government Trading Funds, where expenditure for Government activity is met from income from third parties, rather than direct funding from resources voted to the Department.

    The equivalent “underspend” would be where the trust spends less than the income it receives as a result of its activity. This is referred to as a “surplus”.

    The following table summarises the year-end surpluses for each NHS Ambulance trust in the financial years 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    £000s

    £000s

    £000s

    £000s

    Isle Of Wight NHS Trust1

    543

    East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    2,016

    467

    2,409

    30

    East Of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    757

    2,364

    3,121

    4,175

    London Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    1,425

    1,002

    2,751

    262

    North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust2

    4,736

    3,120

    2,312

    2,340

    North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    1,041

    2,065

    1,558

    2,707

    South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust3

    602

    1,383

    2,049

    1,560

    South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust4

    1,130

    3,153

    3,486

    3,055

    South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust5

    511

    890

    1,645

    36,934

    West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    255

    99

    925

    5,797

    Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

    518

    237

    428

    2,223

    1Isle Of Wight NHS Trust established April 2012

    2North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust – FT status established November 2011. 2009-10 to 2011-12 figures – as NHS Trust

    3 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust – FT status established March 2012. 2009-10 to 2011-12 figures – as NHS Trust

    4South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust – FT status established March 2011. 2009-10 to 2010-11 – as NHS Trust

    5South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust – FT status established March 2011. 2009-10 to 2010-11 – as NHS Trust

    “

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise public awareness of transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) and of the need to seek immediate treatment for TIAs; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    There are no plans for any specific marketing activity around raising public awareness of transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs). However, Public Health England continues to run the highly impactful Act FAST stroke awareness campaign that covers very similar signs with a message to call 999 if these signs are witnessed. Two new television executions ran in March 2014 with plans to run them again later in the current financial year.

    NHS England produced a resource for clinical commissioning groups (CCG) to support them in setting and delivering on a level of ambition to reduce premature mortality. The resource included information on high-impact interventions that CCGs could consider commissioning to reduce premature mortality. One of these is to increase the proportion of patients with TIA treated within 24 hours from 71% to 100%.

    The resource is available here:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/sop/red-prem-mort/

  • Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Annette Brooke on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals for regulations to ensure that ME and chronic fatigue syndrome are included in all pre- and post-registration training of (a) GPs and (b) other healthcare professionals.

    Norman Lamb

    In 2007, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the clinical guidance, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children. This guidance set out best practice on the diagnosis, treatment care and support of children and adults with CFS/ME. Information on CFS/ME diagnosis and treatment can also be accessed via the NHS Evidence and NICE Clinical Knowledge summaries websites.

    The content and standard of healthcare professional training is the responsibility of regulators, such as the General Medical Council, which are independent statutory bodies. They have the general function of promoting high standards of education, working with the Royal Colleges, and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that students and newly qualified professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.

    The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. HEE is responsible for ensuring that the future workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours to meet patients’ needs today and tomorrow, and will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.

  • Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Annette Brooke on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to improve information and support for GPs regarding ME or chronic fatigue syndrome; and if he will take steps to improve access to specialist services for people with those conditions.

    Norman Lamb

    In 2007, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the clinical guidance, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children. This guidance set out best practice on the diagnosis, treatment care and support of children and adults with CFS/ME. Information on CFS/ME diagnosis and treatment can also be accessed via the NHS Evidence and NICE Clinical Knowledge summaries websites.

    The content and standard of healthcare professional training is the responsibility of regulators, such as the General Medical Council, which are independent statutory bodies. They have the general function of promoting high standards of education, working with the Royal Colleges, and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that students and newly qualified professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.

    The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. HEE is responsible for ensuring that the future workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours to meet patients’ needs today and tomorrow, and will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.

  • Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Annette Brooke on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is in place to help people with ME or chronic fatigue syndrome who are well enough to consider a return to work.

    Mike Penning

    We do not target our employment programmes exclusively at individuals with particular conditions such as M.E. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The Department’s programmes, including its specialist disability employment programmes, aim to identify and meet the needs of the individual, including those with M.E. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

    Access to Work provides additional support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. It provides individuals and their employers with advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of an individual’s needs. Access to Work does not replace the duty an employer has under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments.

    Work Choice is a specialist disability employment programme that provides tailored support to help disabled people who face the most complex barriers to employment, find and stay in work and ultimately help them progress into unsupported employment, where it is appropriate for the individual.

    Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers can provide support and advice for disabled people who need help finding and retaining employment. They can refer individuals to specialist programmes, including Work Choice, and can use the professional expertise of Work Psychologists, who specialise in working with disabled people. Disability Employment Advisers can advocate with employers on the individual’s behalf and help employers to explore job solutions such as the restructuring of a job’s tasks/environment, or the provision/change of equipment.

    The Government published ‘The disability and health employment strategy: the discussion so far’ on 17 December 2013. This paper sets out a range of proposals to further improve our employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions.

    The Government recognises that getting the right support at the right time is particularly important for disabled people and those with a health condition so as part of our vision for future employment support we are developing a new Employment Gateway. This will be a light-touch process based on an individual’s strengths and needs and will direct people to the most appropriate support.

    In order to support individuals to stay in work where possible we are putting in place a new Health and Work Service (HWS).The HWS will provide occupational health advice and support for employees, employers and GP’s to help individuals with a health condition to stay in or return to work.

    The intention is to introduce the service by the end of 2014.