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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 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects the Pension Regulator to conclude its investigation into the Carrington Wire pension scheme.

    Steve Webb

    This is a matter for the Pensions Regulator which has operational independence.

    Inevitably in complex cases involving foreign companies where it appears that scheme abandonment may have taken place, it can take some time for the Regulator to complete the thorough investigations needed to establish whether the legal tests in relation to its ‘anti-avoidance’ powers, including the power to issue contribution notices, are met.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the findings of the recent Global Forum on Incontinence into improving health and social care in incontinence.

    Norman Lamb

    No assessment has been made of the findings of the recent Global Forum on Incontinence (GFI) into improving health and social care in incontinence. However, we applaud the work of the GFI and the work it is doing to improve the health and social care provisions for incontinence, giving patients and care givers a better quality of life.

    Responsibility for continence services sit with NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCG). CCGs are responsible for commissioning high quality continence services based on an assessment of local need and performance managing their providers in the delivery of high quality services.

    The Mandate to NHS England requires it to deliver continued improvements in relation to enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions, including those suffering incontinence, across the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework. NHS England will be taking forward a major programme of work through the Primary Care Strategy; it has established a working group on continence care and will provide an update for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Continence Care on 24 June.

    To improve standards in continence care, the Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop clinical guidelines on the management of urinary incontinence in women (issued in 2006) and faecal incontinence in adults (issued in 2007), which are supported by commissioning tools to support CCGs. In February, NICE published a clinical Quality Standard on Faecal Incontinence, QS54, which describes high-priority areas for quality improvement in this area. NHS England continues to champion the use of Quality Standards with both commissioners and providers.

    We believe all patients have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion.

    We recognise that continence can impact on every aspect of peoples’ lives and that it often requires a joined approach from both health and social care services. That is why in April the Department published the policy paper, Transforming Primary Care: safe proactive, personalised care for those who need it, which focuses on improving and individualising the management of out of hospital care, directly supporting those with continence problems by creating more integrated health and social care services. This paper has been placed in the Library.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists the decision of its faculty of sexual and reproductive health not to allow doctors and nurses who have a conscientious objection to supplying contraceptive drugs or devices which act after fertilisation to receive its diploma in sexual and reproductive health.

    Jane Ellison

    The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare is responsible for decisions on the syllabus of its Diploma, the requirements for entry to the Diploma course, and the award of a Diploma qualification.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to reorganise its funding model to ensure that it is encouraging service delivery for complex multiple needs, in line with an intregrated model of healthcare solutions.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID supports work to strengthen health systems and deliver health programmes, helping developing countries to assess and provide for the health needs of its people. This will enable countries to make sound decisions about the delivery of the promotion, prevention and treatment services that are needed.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on (a) the fairness of the hearing of Asiya Noreen Bibi who was sentenced to death in 2011 at the provincial Lahore High Court and (b) providing adequate protection to judiciary officials to allow a further hearing to take place.

    Hugh Robertson

    We regularly raise the issue of blasphemy laws, and their misuse against both Muslims and religious minorities, at the highest levels in Pakistan and press the government to ensure fair trials.We remain concerned about the case of Asia Bibi and would urge the courts in Pakistan to ensure a fair and swift hearing of her appeal due later this month. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised our concerns regarding these laws and the need for reforms during the recent visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the fairness of the hearing of Asiya Noreen Bibi sentenced to death in 2011 at the provincial Lahore High Court.

    Hugh Robertson

    We receive regular reports on the case of Mrs Bibi and others facing charges of blasphemy in Pakistan and we are aware that a numbers of NGOs and other governments follow her case closely. We remain concerned about the case of Asia Bibi and would urge the courts in Pakistan to ensure a fair and swift hearing of her appeal due later this month.

  • 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 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to consult on the introduction of custodial sentences under section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 relating to data protection breaches; and if he will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government is currently reviewing the sanctions available for breaches under the Data Protection Act 1998. This includes considering whether to consult on introducing section 77 (CJIA) and commence the enhanced public interest defence under section 78 (CJIA).

  • Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Steve Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what steps he is taking to advance equal rights for LGBT citizens in the EU; and if he will make a statement.

    Jenny Willott

    The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) continue to recognise the UK as the highest ranking country for human rights protection of LGBT people in Europe.

    The UK Government is a member of the European Network of Governmental LGBT Focal Points which enables us to disseminate good practice and insight from the UK. Other members include European Union member states.

    The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 will recognise legally valid marriages of same sex couples formed in other European countries as legal marriages in England and Wales. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in liaison with the Government Equalities Office, is also carrying out an exercise to gain recognition of marriages of same sex couples formed in England and Wales overseas, including in other European Union member states.

  • 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 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research he has commissioned on the effect of patients receiving urgent investigations and treatment following a transient ischaemic attack on reducing (a) the risk of future strokes and (b) the cost to the NHS of treating strokes; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Funding from the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has supported the EXPRESS (Early use of eXisting PREventive Strategies for Stroke) study led by the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. The aim of the study was to measure the effect of more rapid treatment after transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke in patients who were not admitted directly to hospital. Findings have been published in the journals Lancet and Lancet Neurology. These include findings on the effect of urgent treatment for TIA and minor stroke on early recurrent stroke, and on disability and hospital costs.

    An NIHR-funded project commissioned by the former Service Delivery and Organisation programme studied the optimum model of service delivery for TIA. A report of the study is available in the NIHR Journals Library at:

    www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/64505/FR-08-1504-112.pdf

    The study included consideration of the cost-effectiveness of different patterns of service provision for patients who have had a TIA.

  • 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 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on ways of improving awareness of transient ischaemic attacks on the part of (a) GPs, (b) staff in A&E departments and (c) other health staff.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is responsible for improving awareness of transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) amongst front-line health staff. In addition, both the recent Act FAST campaign conducted by Public Health England and the Stroke Association campaign launched last week will improve awareness of TIAs amongst professionals and the public alike.

    The provision of timely access to TIA clinics has greatly improved over recent years and more patients are having carotid surgery in a timely fashion than ever before. However, we recognise that there are still improvements to be made and part of the work of reorganising and modernising stroke services involves ensuring that TIA care is of the highest quality.