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  • Baroness Howells of St Davids – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Howells of St Davids – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howells of St Davids on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the treatment of prisoners with mental health conditions, and in particular to increase the number of staff available to escort them to treatment.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England’s national specifications for prison health services are improving standards of mental health services across all prisons in England. Clear commissioning models, focusing on outcomes specific to custodial settings for improving mental health, include improving the provision of support for common mental health conditions within the prison, earlier identification of prisoners who require transfer to secure hospitals and effective communication and planning with secure hospitals to enable safe transfer.

    NHS England is working closely with the National Offender Management Service to consider the demand for escorts and identify options for improvement.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether planting more trees in England is one of their policies and what assessment they have made of whether planting more trees constitutes a public benefit.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government is committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, primarily through the Rural Development Programme’s Countryside Stewardship scheme.

    In July 2012 the Independent Panel on Forestry reported to the Government that England’s woods and forests provide significant public benefits, including through improving water quality and biodiversity as well as access and recreation.

    The Government recognised these benefits in its Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement of January of 2013 which included the response to the Independent Panel Report.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any studies that have been conducted in the UK about integrating the cultivation of trees, crops and livestock on the same agricultural area, and of the conclusions of those studies.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Natural England commissioned a report from the Organic Research Centre and Abacus Organics considering the potential for agro-forestry options in the Countryside Stewardship scheme. The Land Use Policy Group commissioned an independent review of the evidence on agro-ecology including a consideration of agro-forestry, which was published in June 2015.

    The Government has not yet made an assessment of these studies but officials will be exploring the evidence base for agro-forestry and how this measure might operate in practice within the Rural Development Programme.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the only current option for English farmers who wish to plant trees with CAP support is to have forestry as a separate enterprise on their holding, with densities of around 400 trees per hectare, rather than integrate the trees into their arable or livestock areas in a less dense planting.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    English farmers can plant trees with Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support either to create woodland habitat under the forestry measure of the Rural Development Regulation or to deliver a range of benefits such as landscape or the provision of nesting and habitat for farm wildlife under its agri-environment measure. Both these measures are available to farmers and other land managers as part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme. Tree-planting options do not require a minimum density (or number) of trees to be planted except when used to create new woodland.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical examples of agroforestry have been visited by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs staff in England, and what assessment they have made of whether, in the light of the fact that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have recently included agroforestry options into their rural development schemes, doing so would be an effective measure for England.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Officials from Defra and Natural England have recently visited an example of agro-forestry near Peterborough funded in part from organic and agri-environment measures in Environmental Stewardship.

    This was a very positive and valuable visit. Officials will be exploring the evidence base for agro-forestry and how this measure might operate in practice within the Rural Development Programme. However, the budget for Pillar 2 is finite and funding agro-forestry may have opportunity costs for other measures.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they have received about the benefits of agroforestry in other European countries for soil conservation, biodiversity, productivity and the reduction of flooding.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Evidence and advice on agro-forestry is summarised in the Land Use Policy Group commissioned study “The Role of Agroecology in Sustainable Intensification (2015)” which reviewed the evidence on productivity, soils, biodiversity, etc. from other European countries (notably France and Germany) and North America.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether agroforestry measures under the CAP could help provide an incentive for farmers to plant some trees on pasture as opposed to clearing scrub and trees from pasture, and what assessment they have made of whether CAP Pillar 1 Ecological Focus Areas or Pillar 2 Article 23 measures would be more appropriate for English needs.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Countryside Stewardship scheme provides options for farmers to manage both grassland and scrub in environmentally beneficial ways. Countryside Stewardship also provides opportunities to plant trees. These options can be used to deliver environmental enhancements and could contribute to agroforestry without needing to apply the Article 23 measure.

    CAP Pillar 1 Ecological Focus Areas can only include agroforestry where this is supported under Pillar 2 Article 23 measures (agroforestry). We have not implemented the agroforestry measure in England.

  • Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the discovery in the UK of the tick-borne canine parasite Babesia canis and the associated disease babesiosis in dogs; what action they are taking to provide information to dog owners, breeders, vets and others who come into contact with dogs, including those who deal with stray dogs; and what assessment they have made of the possible introduction into the UK of species of Babesia that may also infect humans, and of the possible presence of, and risks presented by, ticks that can host and spread both Babesia and Borrelia pathogens.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Experts at the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Public Health England (PHE) are working together to investigate the locally acquired cases in Essex and this will include providing advice to the local authority, vets, pet owners and the public on what to do in the event of finding ticks on animals or observe clinical signs in pet dogs, through specialist press and public messages from the Defra, APHA and PHE communications teams.

    On the risks of introduction of pathogens such as Babesia and Borrelia to humans and potential spread by ticks, PHE is responsible for the monitoring of Lyme disease through surveillance of reference laboratory diagnosed cases and provides guidance on avoiding tick bites. PHE runs a “Tick Surveillance Scheme” for ticks found by members of the public, general practitioners, vets and those working with wildlife, so PHE can map tick species across the UK and monitor changes in distribution.

    Humans can be infected by Babesia microti, a rodent pathogen, and by Babesia bovis and Babesia divergens. Very few human cases have been reported in Europe or the UK, but virtually all have been related to B. divergens. In the US, human cases are caused by B. microti linked to white footed mice, a common rodent host of Borrelia burgdorferi in N. America. There are no reports of human infection with B. canis.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why special financial provision is having to be provided by the Department of Health, and not NHS England, for the treatment of people infected with hepatitis C through contaminated blood when the treatment of all patients is covered by mandated NICE guidance.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are currently consulting on a number of proposals to reform the current payment schemes for those infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C through National Health Service-supplied blood/blood products. As part of that consultation, we are keen to hear views on whether those infected with hepatitis C and whose infections have yet to progress to advanced stages would be interested in receiving enhanced access to the new effective drugs sooner than is currently available to them on the NHS following publication of the latest National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) treatment guidance for hepatitis C. The NHS is prioritising access to the new treatments for all patients with hepatitis C on the basis of clinical need and not on the route of transmission. There are three NICE Guidance documents attached:

    1. Ledipasvir–sofosbuvir;

    2. Daclatasvir; and

    3. Ombitasvir–paritaprevir–ritonavir with or without dasabuvir for treating chronic hepatitis C.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether people continue to have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE technology appraisals for use in the NHS if their doctor says they are clinically appropriate.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Yes. The NHS Constitution for England affirms, “You have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for use in the NHS, if your doctor says they are clinically appropriate for you”.