The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.
Jane Ellison
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 11 May to Question 36288.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect of proposed reforms to the Cancer Drugs Fund on the provision in the NHS of (a) Avastin and (b) other drugs currently approved for off-licence use.
George Freeman
NHS England has advised that Avastin is currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) for three indications, all of which are off-label. It is also in the process of reviewing and setting up a system for assessing off-label drug indications. Each of the three off-label indications for Avastin will remain funded within the CDF until they have been assessed through the new process.
Clinicians can prescribe any treatment, including an unlicensed product or a product not licensed for a particular indication, which they consider the best available medicine to meet the individual clinical needs of their patient, subject to their primary care organisation agreeing to fund this treatment.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produces Evidence Summaries which critically review the best available evidence for significant uses of unlicensed or off-label medicines. They help commissioners and clinicians to make evidence-based prioritisation, treatment and funding decisions where there are no clinically-appropriate licensed alternatives.
Ensuring that patients get timely access to any new treatment, including off-label medicines in new indications, is complex and the Department is committed to working with stakeholders including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the General Medical Council, patient and professional groups, and charities to co-ordinate activities and set plans in place that will make this easier. This includes work to look at more systematic inclusion of off-label uses of drugs in the British National Formulary and development of case studies looking at re-purposed medicines and their pathways from research results into clinical practice.
Alongside these, the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act will, in due course, provide the National Health Service with a newly created database which will provide a mechanism for collecting and sharing information on innovative treatments including off-label drugs and medicines in development. Now that the Act has received Royal Assent the work to implement its provisions can begin.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35252, what the total amount paid to off-payroll staff was by (a) NHS trusts in 2014-15 and (b) NHS foundation trusts in 2013-14.
Alistair Burt
This information is not held centrally. Amounts paid to Board members engaged off-payroll are disclosed in individual annual reports of National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts but amounts paid to other off-payroll workers within the scope of the HM Treasury guidance cannot be separately identified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 29900, on tuberous sclerosis, for what reasons the policy statement for the commissioning of Everolimus for treating angiomyolipomas has not yet been published; and when he plans to publish that statement.
George Freeman
The policy statement for the commissioning of Everolimus for treating angiomyolipomas has not yet been published owing to delays experienced when incorporating the needs of children into the policy.
Those issues have now been resolved and the policy is due to be published imminently on NHS England’s website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department had with (a) Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, (b) NHS Improvement and (c) the Care Quality Commission, prior to the announced merger of Colchester General Hospital and Ipswich Hospital.
Ben Gummer
The Care Quality Commission’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, and the Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, Jim Mackey, decided jointly upon the recommendation for a long-term partnership between Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust and The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust. A merger has not been announced.
The Department has regular conversations with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission about trusts in special measures such as Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust. I also spoke with the Chair and Chief Executive of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, scheduled at their request, on 15 March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps with the Department of Education to introduce a counselling strategy for schools.
Alistair Burt
This is a matter for the Department for Education (DfE).
Schools can play an important role in supporting pupils with mental health issues. We want them to decide how best to meet the needs of their pupils. DfE has taken a range of actions to help them build a whole-school approach to good mental wellbeing, including the recently revised and updated blueprint for effective school-based counselling. This provides practical, evidence-based advice, informed by experts on how to ensure school based counselling services achieve the best outcomes for all students, including vulnerable children and young people. The weblink to the guidance, Counselling in schools: a blueprint for the future – Departmental advice for school leaders and counsellors is:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse is of provision of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey; and for what reasons an updated survey has not been published since 2012.
Jane Ellison
The total cost of the current contract for the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), covering four years of fieldwork from 2013/14 to 2016/17 and including analysis and reporting, is £15.4 million.
The most recent NDNS report, covering diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status in United Kingdom adults and children, was published in May 2014. This report was based on data collected under the previous contract for NDNS covering fieldwork from 2008/09 to 2011/12.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
George Freeman
The Department has taken steps to increase public awareness of all rare diseases including conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, through the implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases. The Strategy includes specific commitments to raise awareness of rare diseases.
The Strategy is currently being implemented across all four countries of the United Kingdom with progress monitored by the UK Rare Disease Forum. The first progress report by the Forum was published in February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average rota gap is for junior doctors in NHS foundation trusts in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the effect on services of the size of that gap.
Ben Gummer
The Department does not collect this information. Rota arrangements for junior doctors are a matter for individual National Health Service foundation trusts.
Contact details for NHS foundation trusts and all other NHS authorities can be found on the NHS Choices website:
http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/thenhs/about/pages/authoritiesandtrusts.aspx
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions officials of his Department have had with external bodies on the development of a national liver strategy or liver framework; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
Public Health England (PHE) is producing a liver disease framework which will outline PHE’s wide range of work contributing to the prevention of liver disease and improved wellbeing for patients with liver disease. PHE is working closely with NHS England, The Lancet Commission and liver disease charities to support improvements in the quality of care for liver disease patients through the provision of information to support decision making.