Category: Speeches

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many transit visas her Department issued to Syrian nationals in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is provided in the table below:

    Entry clearance transit visas granted to Syrian nationals

    Year

    Granted

    2010

    72

    2011

    42

    2012

    50

    2013

    41

    2014

    20

    2015 January-June

    9

    Source: Immigration Statistics April-June 2015, Home Office, tables vi_06_q_o.

    The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, April-June 2015’, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) how much (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Sweden, (e) the Netherlands, (f) France, (g) Denmark, (h) Belgium, and (i) Italy, spent per capita on cancer services, and (2) the national one-year cancer survival rates as a percentage of new patients for each of those countries, for the most recent year for which comparable data is available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are not aware of any comparable international data on per capita spending for cancer services. The National Audit Office estimated that the cost of cancer services to the National Health Service in 2012-13 was £6.7 billion, although precise figures are not available.

    The Eurocare-5 study, published in 2014, compares cancer survival rates across Europe, and includes all patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2007. These are the most recent available comparable data for the countries requested. Therefore, these comparisons are not a measure of current NHS performance and practice, but should be regarded as a long-term benchmark.

    Age-standardised, one-year, all-cancer survival rates for the requested countries are as follows:

    Country Age-standardised rate, one-year all-cancer survival (95% Confidence Interval) for patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2007

    England 67.6 (67.5-67.7)

    Scotland 67.5 (67.3-67.7)

    Wales 66.3 (66.0-66.6)

    Sweden 75.1 (75.0-75.3)

    Netherlands 71.9 (71.8-72.0)

    France 75.1 (74.9-75.4)

    Denmark 69.2 (69.0-69.4)

    Belgium 76.4 (76.3-76.6)

    Italy 75.2 (75.1-75.3)

    Source: Baili, P., et al. (2015). "Age and case mix-standardised survival for all cancer patients in Europe 1999–2007: Results of EUROCARE-5, a population-based study." European Journal of Cancer 51(15): 2120-2129.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has sent a letter of request to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency for the purchase of P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a letter of request has been sent to the appropriate United States authorities for the procurement of the P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft and its associated support systems.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the East Midlands Strategic Clinical Network is taking to diagnose atrial fibrillation and prevent atrial fibrillation-related strokes.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England’s Sustainable Improvement Team, which has taken over the work of NHS Improving Quality, is taking action to promote the use of GRASP-AF (Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation) within general practitioner (GP) practices in England. GRASP-AF is an audit tool developed by and trialled in the National Health Service, which greatly simplifies the process of identifying patients with AF who are not receiving the right management to help reduce their risk of stroke. The Sustainable Improvement Team is currently collaborating with partner organisations, including charities, to support the nationwide roll-out of GRASP-AF.

    To support this work, an analysis of the costs and benefits of using the anticoagulant drug warfarin to help prevent stroke in people with AF was recently published. A copy of this analysis is attached.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also published a Quality Standard on AF in July 2015, which sets out what a high quality AF service should look like and will help drive improvement locally. A copy of this Quality Standard is attached.

    There is also a wealth of information available on the detection and management of people who have AF. The NHS Atlas of Variation includes such data and similarly Public Health England (working with stakeholders) has produced information for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to enable them to identify and encourage poorly performing areas to improve their detection and management of people with AF. The Atlas is an online tool and therefore it is not possible to attach a copy.

    These resources are available to Strategic Clinical Networks to help them with their work to improve the prevention and diagnosis of AF locally.

    AF related stroke prevention has been a significant area of focus for the East Midlands Cardiovascular Strategic Clinical Network in recent years. Actions include:

    – providing individual advice to CCGs in the area, supporting CCGs to implement AF training for GPs;

    – supporting CCGs to implement GRASP-AF;

    – developing a non-valvular AF anticoagulation algorithm which has informed updates to local AF guidelines;

    – developing an electronic clinical template for the diagnosis and management of AF; and

    – promoting the use of the warfarin patient safety audit tool.

    AF is also covered as in the National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network’s masterclass programme aimed at all NHS health professionals within CCGs, local authorities and clinical services with an interest in cardiovascular disease data tools and information.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 20697, on national insurance: EEA Nationals, when HM Revenue and Customs will publish the information referred to in that Answer.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the honourable members to the recent HMRC release.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-credit-statistics-on-eea-nationals

    “

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of upgrading the M56 to a smart motorway between junctions 12 and 14.

    Andrew Jones

    No work has been done to estimate the costs of upgrading the M56 to a smart motorway between Junctions 12 and 14 as this scheme is not within the first Road Investment Strategy (RIS). Highways England is working hard to deliver the schemes set out in the RIS in the first Road Period 2015-20.

    Future investment in the strategic road network is currently being developed through Highways England’s Route Strategies process, which will be used to plan new investments in the second Road Period 2020-25.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what work her Department is carrying out using its funding priorities to encourage gender equality around the world.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Promoting the rights of girls and women is a priority for the UK’s development programme. The UK Aid strategy states that ‘Throughout all its development spending, the government will continue to prioritise the needs of girls and women, which has been fundamental to the UK’s approach to development’ (para 3.2.1).

    DFID’s Strategic Vision for Girls and Women (published in 2011, refreshed in 2013) sets out how UK Aid is being used to unlock the potential of girls and women, to stop poverty before it starts. To reinforce this, the Gender Equality Act was passed in the UK law on 13th May 2014. Through the Act there is a legal requirement to consider, before providing development assistance and alongside other considerations, how the assistance will contribute to reducing gender inequality.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Government Minister will have responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the new anti-corruption strategy.

    Matthew Hancock

    Building on the UK’s Anti Corruption Plan and the Prime Minister’s successful summit, the UK has committed to develop a new national anti-corruption strategy which will provide a vision and framework for our domestic and international policy priorities. We are reviewing the governance arrangements for the strategy and will announce them in due course.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) ability and (b) willingness of police forces to catch those using their mobile phone while driving.

    Brandon Lewis

    There has been no assessment made of the enforcement by the police of the offence of driving whilst using a mobile phone. The enforcement of this offence is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police.

    The attached table, “Fixed Penalty Notices” includes figures for Fixed Penalty Notices for use of mobile phones whilst driving, broken down by Police Force Area and by Year.

    Based on information provided by the Ministry of Justice, statistics on offenders found guilty and sentenced, including sentence outcomes, for using or causing others to use a mobile phone whilst driving, at all courts in England and Wales, by police force area, from 2005 to 2015, can be viewed using the ‘Motoring data tool: with criminal justice area’ in the annual publication, linked below:- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is paid to GP practices for (1) advising a person to have a flu jab, and (2) giving a person the flu jab.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Under the General Medical Services contract, general practitioners (GPs) are paid £9.80 for each dose of influenza vaccination that they administer to patients who are eligible for the vaccination. GPs are not paid for advising patients to have the influenza vaccination.