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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what statistics his Department collects on the body mass index of patients admitted as in-patients or out-patients at hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is not collected centrally. The Health and Social Care Information Centre does not collect body mass index details as part of the accident and emergency or Hospital Episode Statistics datasets.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of clinical trial capacity at muscle centres.

    George Freeman

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 13 January 2016 to Question 21102.

    “

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to integrate standards for specialist neuromuscular care within the paediatric neurology service specification.

    Jane Ellison

    Children with neuromuscular conditions are included within the current service specification for paediatric neurology:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

    “

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to help alleviate the work pressures placed on A&E departments as a consequence of the number of admissions which relate to excessive drinking.

    Jane Ellison

    Alcohol-related attendances in accident and emergency (A&E) are a matter of concern. We are taking action, for example, by encouraging better sharing of anonymised data on these attendances between National Health Service bodies and the police. This can provide intelligence for licensing decisions, enabling targeting of premises who are contributing to irresponsible sales and drunkenness.

    The NHS constitution makes clear that abusive or violent behaviour would be reasonable grounds to refuse access to NHS services. That would include a small minority of people who are drunk and abusive to staff.

    In addition, accredited hospital staff have powers to issue fines to individuals whose drunkenness could cause harassment, alarm or distress (Penalty Notices for Disorder – £80 fines).

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on adult loneliness.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department of Health does not collect data on adult loneliness but a range of other national collections do address this issue.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) collects information on social care activity and expenditure. In 2015 the type of data the HSCIC collects was changed and for the first time it now captures information on social isolation.

    The Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity 2014/15 show that local authorities in England met the needs of 56,000 adults where the primary support reason was support for social isolation. The Personal Social Services: Expenditure and Unit Costs England 2014-15, show that local authorities spent £81 million in meeting the needs of adults whose primary support reason was social isolation/other. The HSCIC does not collect data on the numbers of adults or expenditure spent where local address social isolation through preventative measures.

    The HSCIC run an annual Survey of Adult Social Care users and a biennial Survey of Adult Carers covering all Local Authorities in England. Both surveys contain questions on users and carers satisfaction with their levels of social contact. This data feeds into the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework indicators which are also published by HSCIC.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the public health and public order effects of excessive drinking.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government, through the Public Health Outcomes Framework, measures alcohol harm and the impact of local authorities’ actions on public health. Public Health England (PHE) produces local alcohol profiles which provide local authority level data to enable professionals and the public to see the harms that alcohol contributes to in their area.

    PHE has recently run a campaign, Health Matters, aimed at public health professionals and others to highlight the costs of harmful drinking and dependent use of alcohol, and the benefits that come from local areas investing in interventions to reduce those harms.

    For the last two years, PHE has worked with the charity Alcohol Concern, in promoting the ‘Dry January’ campaign. This mass participation event encourages people to ‘go dry’ for a month. In 2015, 50,000 people signed up, with 67% of participants reporting lower drinking levels six months later. PHE has continued to support Dry January in 2016.

    PHE also offer specific marketing programmes aimed toward young people to reduce the uptake of risky behaviours, including alcohol consumption.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to collate and share cholesterol data across the NHS in order to improve cholesterol testing and management.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health Survey for England is an annual survey of the general population which has included measurements of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol every year since 2008. The data is publically available from the UK Data Service.

    Cholesterol testing in primary care is included in the Quality Outcomes Framework for people diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and this is published every year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

    In addition, the National Cardiovascular Health Intelligence Network within Public Health England is working closely with organisations concerned with cardiovascular disease to take forward the recommendations in the recent Heart UK report ‘Helping Us to Beat Cholesterol’. This report focusses on the importance of data in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report of the Independent Healthcare Commission for North West London, published in December 2015.

    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 (iv) support for patient choice.

    It is right that reconfiguration is led by the local NHS, working closely with the support of commissioners including NHS England, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor.

    We are advised that on 14 January 2016, the North West London Clinical Board considered the Independent Healthcare Commission report for North West London and its recommendations of the Shaping a Healthier Future programme.

    We understand that the board welcomed this public scrutiny of the plans and agreed with the report that the programme should continue to engage with the public, local authorities, patient groups and other partners. The unanimous conclusion of the board’s clinicians was that the report offered no substantive evidence or credible alternative to consider that would lead to better outcomes for patients in North West London above the existing plans in place, which are designed by doctors based on significant clinical data, evidence and experience.

  • Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account her Department will take of women (a) with mental health needs, (b) who are homeless, (c) who are living in poverty and (d) who have other complex needs in its Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government will shortly publish an updated Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy which will set out how we will support all victims of VAWG, including those with mental health needs, those who are homeless or living in poverty and those who have other complex needs, by doing more to prevent these crimes from happening, intervening earlier, and continuing to improve the protection for victims and to bring offenders to justice.

    The Government has already committed £40m for domestic abuse services including refuges between 2016 and 2020, provided a £2m grant to Women’s Aid and SafeLives to support a new domestic abuse early intervention project, protected funding of over £6.4m to 86 female Rape Support Centres for 2016/17, and committed to a further year of funding to support the local provision of 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers for 2016/17.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she has not yet brought forward proposals to include the names of mothers on their children’s marriage certificates.

    James Brokenshire

    There is agreement that the names of both parents should be included in the marriage entry. The Home Office has, therefore, been working with all interested parties to consider the most efficient and effective way to achieve this. Doing so is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes.

    A timetable will be confirmed for changes as soon as there is an opportunity to legislate on this matter.