The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to respond to the letter to his Department from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 23 December 2015, on reform of UK surrogacy law, reference ZA2272.
Jane Ellison
A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 19 February, in response to his letter of 21 January, which was transferred from the Ministry of Justice on 26 January.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis have their first specialist appointment within the three weeks recommended by NICE.
Jane Ellison
National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Audits help drive improvement by providing local trusts with individual benchmarked reports on their performance against a range of measures, feeding back comparative findings to help participants identify necessary improvements for patients
The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:
www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory
To help clinicians to identify the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and make prompt referrals to specialists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in 2009. This best practice guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and emphasises the need for early diagnosis with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of RA. For those diagnosed with the condition, the guidance also recommends they should be offered the opportunity to take part in educational activities, including self-management programmes.
The NICE RA quality standard (QS), published in 2013, is based on the NICE guideline, and one of the seven quality statements recommends that people with suspected RA are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral. However, whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to these standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.
Regarding the establishment of early arthritis clinics, the configuration of services, including decisions to such arthritis clinics, is a matter for the local National Health Service.
The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that, as of November 2015, there were 563 full time equivalent rheumatology consultants employed in the NHS. This is an increase of 119 (26.8%) since May 2010. The recruitment and retention of staff is matter for local NHS services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.121 of Budget 2016, HC 901, when his Department will commence working with local authorities to release land capacity for at least 160,000 homes; and when such houses will be built.
Brandon Lewis
A guidance document for local authorities was published shortly after Budget. It set out how the Government will support and empower local authorities to dispose of assets that could be made surplus. This includes a broad range of policy measures, including: the expansion of the One Public Estate programme, funding for Starter Homes, flexibility in the spending of capital receipts, support for new Garden Villages, Towns and Cities, and support from the Homes and Communities Agency. The document can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-assets-disposal-guidance.
“The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Gracious Speech is printed on vellum.
Matthew Hancock
According to long standing practice the copy of the speech printed for the State Opening of Parliament is printed on high quality archival paper.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the cost-effectiveness of the National Citizen Service programme compared with other youth social action programmes.
Mr Rob Wilson
National Citizen Service (NCS) is a unique programme for young people focused around adventure, discovery and giving back to communities. Robust, independent evaluations show that NCS delivers positive impacts for young people and value for money. For every £1 spent, it generates up to £3.98 of social benefits.
Government has evaluated the impact of investment in a range of youth social action opportunities as part of Step Up To Serve’s #iwill campaign. Funding has also been provided to the Centre for Youth Impact to develop the youth sector’s capability to design, deliver and commission costeffective services for young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much in compensation payments has been paid by Govia Thameslink Railway to customers since the start of that franchise.
Paul Maynard
The delay repay compensation figures for all Train Operating Companies covering the years 2009-10 to 2014-15 are published on the GOV.UK website at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/train-operating-companies-passenger-charter-compensation-between-2009-to-2015. Figures for the 2015-16 financial year for all Train Operating Companies are expected to be published on the GOV.UK website later this year. Releasing all the figures at the same time will allow everyone to see them together which will provide a clear and consistent publication and help avoid misinterpretation and confusion.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to promote the safety of students in Ethiopia who are campaigning for democracy and human rights.
Grant Shapps
We remain deeply concerned about the deaths that followed the student protests in early May 2014 in Oromiya State in Ethiopia, and have raised our concerns with the authorities at the highest levels. We sought assurances that any members of the security forces who are found to have used excessive force are held to account, and that measures will be put in place to avoid further such incidents.
The UK Government takes allegations of human rights abuses very seriously. We regularly raise democracy and human rights concerns , including at the highest level of the Ethiopian Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to IR35 tax regulations on (a) self-employed people and (b) people who own small businesses.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is considering responses to the discussion document published in July on how to improve the effectiveness of the existing intermediaries legislation (IR35). As set out in the discussion document, the Government’s objective is to find a solution that protects the Exchequer and improves fairness in the system without creating disproportionate burdens on business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps his Department took to ensure accuracy of the £2 billion quoted as the cost to insurers of whiplash claims; and if his Department will conduct its own estimate of that cost.
Dominic Raab
The Government received and analysed data from numerous sources when formulating the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The quoted figures were arrived at by combining published industry estimates along with data from government and other sources.
Government data, compiled by the Compensation Recovery Unit at the Department for Work and Pensions, indicates that claims volumes remain at historically high levels, some 50% higher than in 2006. Over the same period accident rates have fallen by around 26%. This is clear evidence that the system is in need of further reform, which is why on 25 November, in his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced tough new measures to control costs and reduce the number of unnecessary whiplash claims.
The Government will consult on the detail of the new reform package in due course and the consultation document will be accompanied by an impact assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what use is made of correspondence from GPs in undertaking personal independence payments assessments.
Justin Tomlinson
Atos and Capita Healthcare Professionals and DWP Decision Makers give full consideration to all information provided by GPs when assessing Personal Independence Payment claimants.