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  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of Public Health England’s marketing budget has been allocated to each of the six Big Ambitions referred to in its 2014-15 business plan.

    Jane Ellison

    The core Public Health England (PHE) marketing budget for 2014-15 is £53 million. The allocation to each of the six big ambition areas is as follows:

    Ambition

    Campaign

    Budget for 2014-15

    Percentage of total budget

    Tobacco

    Smokefree

    £11,689,200

    21.72

    Obesity

    Change 4 Life

    £9,360,000

    17.39

    Dementia

    Vascular dementia programme and dementia friends

    £5,460,000

    10.14

    Best start in life

    Start4Life and Information Service for Parents

    £3,450,000

    6.41

    Alcohol

    Alcohol

    £2,000,000

    3.72

    Tuberculosis (TB)

    £0

    0.0

    £31,959,200

    59.38

    The current assessment of the evidence shows that a national marketing campaign on TB would not be a cost effective investment so there is no marketing budget allocation to this ambition area.

    In addition to the individual campaign costs stated above an additional £3.3 million is also spent on call centres and £2.6 million is also spent on infrastructure costs such as evaluation. The final budget will be subject to clearance by the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group.

    PHE’s 2014-15 Marketing strategy is due for publication in early July and will provide more detailed information on the full marketing programme.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of Public Health England’s total budget has been allocated to (i) tobacco, (ii) obesity, (iii) alcohol, (iv) TB, (v) dementia and (vi) the Best Start in Life strategy for 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s (PHE) financial reporting is currently based upon the Directorates and teams around which their work is focused. The six areas of focus identified in the Parliamentary Questions are currently supported by individuals and teams across PHE’s various directorates (Operations, Health Protection, Health and Wellbeing, Knowledge etc.), so the total cost of each of the above areas cannot currently be accurately provided.

    During the course of 2014-15, one of the priorities identified by PHE’s Finance team is to enhance and tailor their inherited financial reporting arrangements so that it can report on their activities and priorities as well as its Directorates and teams. PHE will be able to provide this information in the future, but it is unfortunately not available now. Once PHE has developed new financial reporting arrangements they will ensure that this is published transparently.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage the uptake of chlamydia screening.

    Jane Ellison

    The Public Health Outcomes Framework includes a chlamydia diagnosis rate indicator – one of three sexual health indicators in the framework. Public Health England (PHE) encourages local authorities to work towards achieving a rate of 2,300 diagnoses per 100,000 young adult populations.

    The National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) supports this aim through:

    – Publishing chlamydia screening standards, to form the basis of local screening planning, delivery and quality assurance;

    – Producing guidance to support local commissioners and providers in the delivery of chlamydia screening, including forthcoming publication ‘Achieving the diagnostic rate indicator’;

    – Reviewing and summarising the latest evidence to inform evidence-based and cost-effective approaches to chlamydia screening;

    – Collecting and publishing chlamydia data, at a national and local level, to monitor screening and detection activity;

    – Providing information to young adults on chlamydia, chlamydia screening and wider sexual health matters (e.g. condom use, contraception), including via a website;

    – Supporting the implementation of specific programmes to increase chlamydia screening rates, such as the ‘3Cs & HIV Programme’. This is currently being piloted across England to encourage the routine offer of chlamydia screening, alongside information on contraception and condoms, to young adults during primary care appointments;

    – A team of PHE sexual health facilitators, who are linked closely into local commissioner and provider sexual health networks, with a focus on promoting chlamydia screening; and

    – Evaluating the impact of the NCSP, including development of different approaches to estimate and monitor prevalence, such as mathematical modelling.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2014, Official Report, column 281W, on food banks, whether (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department plan to visit a food bank in order to assess the contribution of food banks to public health and nutrition.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    There are nocurrent plans for ministers in the Department to visit a food bank, but this does not preclude planned visits in their wider capacities or as constituency MPs. We would consider undertaking an official visit, if an invitation was received.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) number and (b) proportion of adult cystic fibrosis centres in England have (i) reached and (ii) exceeded the maximum capacity of 250 patients recommended by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in each of the last four years.

    Norman Lamb

    Information concerning the number of adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients cared for by CF centres in England in each of the last four years is not available. This data has only been collected since the introduction of the tariff for CF services in 2011.

    In the attached table we have provided the number and proportion of CF centres treating 250 patients or more in each of the last three years.

    It should be noted that theStandards of Care, updated by CF Trust in 2011 does not state that 250 patients is the maximum number a CF centre should treat, but rather that when a centre reaches 250 patients, and anticipates that numbers will continue to rise, the development of alternative specialist centres should be considered.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what criteria his Department differentiates a food for special medical purposes and a food supplement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s role and the definition of these products are set out in legislation. Information on this legislation is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-supplements-guidance-and-faqs

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/infant-formula-and-foods-for-particular-nutritional-uses-parnuts-notification-requirements

    Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of the legislation and provide advice to businesses on compliance with legislation.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered nurses were made redundant by each NHS health trust in England in 2013.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The number (Headcount basis) of Qualified Nursing Staff made redundant, from National Health Service trusts, during 2013 is estimated in the attached table.

    In November 2013 there was a record full time equivalent number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the NHS of 312,900.

    The 489 redundancies represent just 0.14 % of the total Qualified Nursing workforce in Hospitals and Community Health Services.

    The data used in this reply has been extracted from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse which is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system. This is the Human Resources and payroll system that covers all NHS employees other than those working in General Practice, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and organisations to which functions have been transferred, such as local authorities. ESR was fully rolled out across the NHS in April 2008. The ESR data used in this response is not centrally validated and its reliability is subject to local coding practice.

    Redundancies are identified as those individuals with a reason for leaving of either voluntary or compulsory redundancy. Only those individuals coded as Qualified Nurses, Midwives or Health Visitors are included in the figures. Only redundancies from NHS Trusts are included in these figures, it is possible that Qualified Nurses were also made redundant from other NHS bodies.

    ESR reports based on the current organisation structure. This means that if organisations merged during 2013 it is possible that redundancies from, now defunct, organisations are recorded as being from the newly created organisation.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to financially assist nurses employed by the NHS to pay the increased fee for the Nursing and Midwifery Council when they come into force later in 2014.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent body and it is therefore for the NMC Council to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration. On 26 March 2014, the NMC Council reviewed the level of this fee and agreed a proposal to increase it from £100 per annum to £120 in March 2015. The NMC is running a public consultation between 8 May and 31 July 2014, where its proposal is open to scrutiny. No decision on the proposed fee increase has been made at present.

    Ministers keep the issue of professional regulation under regular review and the Department has frequent contact with professional regulators, including the NMC. On 12 March 2014, I met with representatives of the NMC for a regular update meeting. This meeting was not specifically set up to discuss the NMC registration fee, but during this meeting the NMC provided information about its fee review process.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will outline the process, criteria and guidelines that his Department follows to evaluate foods for special medical purposes for the UK market; what criteria his Department uses for such evaluations; and what guidance his Department issues on foods for special medical purposes.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s role and the definition of these products are set out in legislation. Information on this legislation is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-supplements-guidance-and-faqs

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/infant-formula-and-foods-for-particular-nutritional-uses-parnuts-notification-requirements

    Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of the legislation and provide advice to businesses on compliance with legislation.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on its proposals to increase professional fees for nurses by £20 per annum later in 2014.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent body and it is therefore for the NMC Council to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration. On 26 March 2014, the NMC Council reviewed the level of this fee and agreed a proposal to increase it from £100 per annum to £120 in March 2015. The NMC is running a public consultation between 8 May and 31 July 2014, where its proposal is open to scrutiny. No decision on the proposed fee increase has been made at present.

    Ministers keep the issue of professional regulation under regular review and the Department has frequent contact with professional regulators, including the NMC. On 12 March 2014, I met with representatives of the NMC for a regular update meeting. This meeting was not specifically set up to discuss the NMC registration fee, but during this meeting the NMC provided information about its fee review process.