The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many men take their own lives in the first year after the birth of their child.
Alistair Burt
We do not collect this information centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prevent the spread of the Zika virus in the UK.
Jane Ellison
Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) have been carefully monitoring the Zika virus outbreak in the Americas since it was first reported in Brazil during May 2015. PHE has reviewed evidence on the transmission of Zika virus and PHE mosquito experts have provided advice to Government and the public that neither the main vector of Zika virus Aedes aegypti, nor other species of Aedes mosquitoes, including Aedes albopictus, that may have the potential to transmit this virus, are established in the United Kingdom.
The risk to the UK population is related to travel to countries where Zika virus outbreaks are currently ongoing, and NaTHNaC and PHE have published updated advice for travellers to South and Central America and the Caribbean, including specific advice for pregnant women. The risk of onward spread within the UK is very low and PHE has again provided this advice to government, and the public.
PHE has also been working with appropriate professional groups to develop information and guidance on Zika for clinicians. This advice can be accessed through the PHE website and has been cascaded by organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Together with the Royal College of General Practitioners PHE has developed guidance specifically targeted at primary care which will be available shortly. PHE has also produced regular briefing notes for local health protection teams who have been asked to share this with the local National Health Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the criteria are for making a ministerial directive against the closure or downsizing of a hospital.
Ben Gummer
The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are (i) support from general practitioner commissioners (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.
A local authority has the power to refer NHS substantial reconfiguration proposals to the Secretary of State if they consider:
― the consultation has been inadequate in relation to the content or the amount of time allowed;
― the NHS body has given inadequate reasons where it has not consulted for reasons of urgency relating to the safety or welfare of patients or staff; or
― a proposal would not be in the interests of the health service in its area.
Upon receipt of a local authority referral, the Secretary of State can refer the matter to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for its advice. The Panel will consider whether the proposals will provide safe, sustainable and accessible services for the local population, taking account of factors including: clinical and service quality, patient and public involvement, the surrounding local services and national policies.
On receipt of IRP advice, the Secretary of State would then decide whether or not to accept it. Since its inception in 2003, all Secretaries of State have used the IRP advice to inform their decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to amend social care charging guidance so that compensation awarded to military veterans injured before 6 April 2005 is fully disregarded from financial assessments for support.
Alistair Burt
Armed forces veterans injured in service receive payments either through the War Disablement Pension (WDP) or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS applies to veterans injured from 6 April 2005. These payments are divided into a personal injury compensation element and other payments. Traditionally, only the personal injury compensation payment has been fully disregarded.
Since October 2012 Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the AFCS have been disregarded. The Department has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how WDP payments are treated. Currently the first £10 per week of WDP payments is disregarded. The Government is considering how WDP payments to veterans should be treated in the financial assessment for social care charging in future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS’ budget is spent on research and campaigns on (a) gender-specific cancers and (b) fertility treatment.
George Freeman
National Health Service revenue expenditure was £110.6 million in 2014/15.
The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to provide a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public. Information on total NIHR spend on research on gender-specific cancers and on fertility treatment is not available. Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR is categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories including ‘cancer’ and ‘reproductive health and childbirth’. There are no HRCS health sub-categories, such as for gender-specific cancers or fertility treatment.
NHS England has advised that information on campaigns spending by NHS organisations is not collected centrally.
Public Health England (PHE) has run gender-specific campaigns on breast cancer in women over 70, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer in black men as part of Be Clear on Cancer. Information on media spending for these campaigns in each of the last three complete financial years is shown in the table.
|
2012/13 £ million |
2013/14 £ million |
2014/15 £ million |
|
|
Breast 70+ |
0.50 |
1.48 |
– |
|
Ovarian |
0.44 |
0.57 |
– |
|
Prostate |
– |
– |
0.07 |
Source: PHE
Notes:
Figures are net plus agency fees and commissions (rounded to nearest £10,000). Figures exclude VAT and Central Office of Information fees.
Media spend includes expenditure for advertising on Television, Radio, National Press, Regional Press, Out of Home (Outdoor), Cinema and Digital.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of additional dialysis beds and staff costs to the NHS in the event of NICE’s review of TA 85 [ID456] of immunosuppressant agents for kidney transplant is upheld.
George Freeman
We have made no such estimate.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its technology appraisal guidance on immunosuppressive therapy for kidney transplant in adults. NICE consulted on its draft recommendations in August 2015 and published its final draft recommendations in December. NICE currently expects to publish its final guidance later this year.
It will be for local National Health Service organisations to consider the impact of the NICE recommendations following guidance publication. NICE will publish a resource impact assessment alongside its guidance to support local implementation of its recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assistance his Department has offered to Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group to help it avoid its projected deficit of £116.4 million by 2018-19; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
We are advised by NHS England that the projected deficit figure for 2018/19 dates from November 2013, and was included in a potential “downside case” modelled as part of Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) sustainability plan which was submitted to NHS England.
We understand that the sustainability plan also included an “upside case” and a “mid case” and that all three cases were modelled according to varying projected levels of Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) savings.
The joint financial strategy agreed with the seven other CCGs in north-west London, combined with higher than average growth in allocations and delivery of its QIPP programme, has enabled Harrow CCG to improve its financial performance, as a result of which it is now reporting a surplus of £2 million for 2015/16.
For 2014/15, Harrow CCG received one of the highest funding increases in the country, amounting to 4.2% on the previous year. For 2015/16, the CCG received another above average increase in allocation and will receive a funding increase of 6% in 2016/17, compared to an average CCG growth figure in London of 3.6%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that injured military veterans do not have to pay social care costs out of their military compensation; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
Armed forces veterans injured in service receive payments either through the War Disablement Pension (WDP) or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS applies to veterans injured from 6 April 2005. These payments are divided into a personal injury compensation element and other payments. Traditionally, only the personal injury compensation payment has been fully disregarded.
Since October 2012 Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the AFCS have been disregarded. The Department has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how WDP payments are treated. Currently the first £10 per week of WDP payments is disregarded. The Government is considering how WDP payments to veterans should be treated in the financial assessment for social care charging in future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the information that a person has been arrested and bailed and subsequently released without charge by the Police is required to be provided to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); how long such information is required to remain on that individual’s DBS records; and for how long the DBS is required to disclose that information to enquirers.
Karen Bradley
A chief police officer should only provide such information to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for inclusion in an enhanced criminal record certificate where they believe it is relevant to the purpose of the certificate and, in their opinion, it ought to be included.
The DBS does not maintain a record itself for disclosure purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from Bangladesh to the UK in each of the last five years.
James Brokenshire
Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 the UK has extradited two people from Bangladesh. These extraditions occurred in 2010 and in 2011.