The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were employed in the Passport Office in Belfast in each of the last five years.
James Brokenshire
The table below shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed
in the Belfast Passport Office in each of the last five years.
|
Mar-10 |
Mar-11 |
Mar-12 |
Mar-13 |
Mar-14 |
|
|
FTEs |
171 |
163 |
160 |
182 |
205 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports were processed by the Belfast Passport Office in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those passports were processed within three weeks.
James Brokenshire
Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) does not collect performance data at this
level. HMPO monitors performance at national level as it distributes work across the
UK estate to manage any variation in local levels of passport demand.
The cost of identifying information in the format requested would be disproprtionate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that hospitals do not discourage whistleblowing by staff; and if he will take steps to issue a UK NHS-wide policy on that matter.
Dr Daniel Poulter
We have been absolutely clear that National Health Service staff who speak out in the interests of patient safety must be protected and listened to and that we expect all NHS organisations to have whistleblowing policies in place that are compliant with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. On 5 March this year, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Chairs in NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England to express his strong views on this matter and to reiterate the vital importance of fostering a culture of openness and transparency in the NHS.
In addition, the Department recently commissioned the Whistleblowing Helpline to update whistleblowing guidance for the NHS. This revised guidance “Raising Concerns at Work – Whistleblowing Guidance for workers and employers in Health and Social Care” was published on 17 March 2014. This guidance transparently sets out the policies and processes for staff and employers in a single document and is available via their website or as a hard copy. This guidance can be found on their website.
www.wbhelpline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Raising-Concerns-at-Work.pdf
Employment law and policy (of which whistleblowing law and policy is a part), and health law and policy, are devolved matters in Northern Ireland. In Scotland and Wales employment law is not devolved, but health law is. Decisions about implementation of whistleblowing policy in the NHS in each part of the United Kingdom are therefore a matter for each of those areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that ambulance crews and dispatch staff are able to access meaningful supervision; and if he will assess the merits of introducing rapid response units similar to those operating in Northern Ireland.
Jane Ellison
Decisions about workforce issues, such as the supervision of ambulance staff, are a local matter and it remains up to ambulance trusts to decide how this is managed.
However, the Department expects trusts to ensure all their staff are supported in their roles and for there to be effective management arrangements.
Ambulance services, including emergency response services, are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, which have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate services are provided to their populations.
It is the decision of individual ambulance trusts as to how resources are used to meet local demand.
The Department recognises that having a rapid response vehicle (RRV) to carry clinical equipment and get a clinician to the patient as quickly as possible is beneficial to the care of a patient.
In addition, clinicians using RRVs to arrive first on the scene are able to conduct an assessment of the patient to determine how they should be managed or may be in advance of an ambulance to begin treatment and stabilisation prior to transport.
We are aware that most ambulance trusts utilise RRVs daily as part of their emergency response.
As part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review, being led by Sir Bruce Keogh, an Ambulance Task Group has been established to look at new models of delivery of care. The first phase of the Review was published last November; and we expect NHS England to be publishing further reports later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Albumin Bound Paclitaxel, Bevacizumab and Cabozantinib since the introduction of those drugs; and what discussions on this matter he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Assemblies.
Norman Lamb
We have had no such discussions.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has appraised the use of bevacizumab (Avastin) for a number of cancers including colorectal, breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancer and kidney cancer and has not been able to recommend the drug’s use as a clinical and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources in any of these appraisals.
NICE is currently appraising the use of paclitaxel albumin-bound nanoparticles (Abraxane) in treating advanced pancreatic cancer with final guidance expected in January 2015. NICE is also appraising this technology for use in the first-line treatment of metastatic melanoma, with final guidance expected in May 2015.
There are no plans for NICE to appraise cabozantinib (Cometriq) for the treatment of thyroid cancer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to train and recruit more GPs in (a) Linton and Walton and (b) nationally.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Department set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing workforce, the impact of technology, and new drugs.
The Department has recognised the need to increase the general practitioner (GP) workforce and between September 2010 and September 2013, the number of full time equivalent GPs has risen by 1,051. Additionally, the Department has included in the HEE mandate a requirement that “HEE will ensure that 50% of trainees completing foundation level training enter GP training programmes by 2016”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests in the UK have resulted from Operation Rescue; how many charges were brought following those arrests; how many open investigations remain from those identified; and if she will make a statement.
Damian Green
Operation Rescue was an investigation into a website that promoted the distribution of Indecent Images of Children. From 2007 to 2011, 240 intelligence packages were disseminated by the SOCA affiliated Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to Police Forces across the UK.
At the end of the intelligence dissemination phase of the operation in 2011 CEOP had been notified of 121 arrests; of these 33 individuals were convicted and 7 cautioned.
Further information regarding charges, convictions and open investigations is handled at a local level by the relevant police force and is not recorded centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will review the effectiveness of Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to extend the scope of these provisions to include complaints on high hedges.
Nick Boles
Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (‘High hedges’) addresses private disputes about tall evergreen hedges adversely affecting neighbouring homes and gardens. We have no current plans to undertake a specific review of this part of the 2003 Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the TecSOS system for high risk victims of domestic abuse; and what plans she has to rollout the programme to other areas of the country.
Norman Baker
The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) on the police
response to domestic abuse, published in March 2014, clearly set out the
importance of using new technology to help protect victims of domestic abuse.
Whilst it is an operational matter for chief constables on procuring
technology, we are aware that the TecSOS system is used by 16 police
forces across England and Wales.
Through the National Oversight Group, set-up and chaired by the Home Secretary
to drive delivery against the HMIC recommendations, the Government is ensuring
that best practice on the use of new technology, like TecSOS, is identified and
shared so that the policing of domestic abuse is robust.
As part of its commitment to support high risk victims of domestic abuse, the
Government part-funds 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and 54
Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference co-ordinator posts. This funding
amounts to £3.4 million per year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the processing of passport applications from abroad since 1 January 2014.
James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues and
others. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the government’s
practice to provide details of all such meetings.