The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on the level of VAT on energy saving materials.
Andrea Leadsom
Decisions on VAT are led by HM Treasury, and the Department has been in regular contact with them regarding the consultation on changes to the application of VAT on energy saving materials.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hoare on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26606, whether it is his Department’s intention that all patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis will have access to the drugs previously covered by the Risk Sharing Scheme (a) until and (b) beyond the conclusion of the NICE Multiple Sclerosis MTA in 2017.
George Freeman
The Multiple Sclerosis Risk-Sharing Scheme will remain in place until the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) final updated technology appraisal guidance on disease modifying therapies for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
As long as they are clinically eligible, new and existing patients can continue to access these therapies as part of the Scheme.
Once NICE’s appraisal has been completed, the normal access arrangements will apply. National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE within three months of NICE’s guidance being published. In the absence of a positive recommendation from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund treatments based on an assessment of the available evidence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of reform of access to legal aid in cases of domestic violence on children; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
When reforming legal aid the government was careful to protect legal aid for the highest priority cases, including those relating to domestic violence and child abuse.
The government is committed to undertaking a post-implementation review of the reforms within 3 to 5 years of their implementation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure continued cooperation with EU member states to prevent money laundering after the UK leaves the EU.
Simon Kirby
Money laundering is a global problem that can undermine the integrity and stability of our financial markets and institutions. The UK was a founding member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which sets the global standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and the EU Commission and a majority of EU Member States are also FATF members. The UK will continue to play a leading role in tackling illicit financial flows through working with the FATF to ensure that standards are implemented effectively and through engaging bilaterally with countries on operational issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using blockchain and distributed ledger technologies in the public sector.
Ben Gummer
Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) and blockchain are exciting new developments. The Government is open minded about their potential, along with other emerging technologies, to help better meet user needs. At this stage more research is needed in order to determine their potential uses and whether the technologies are appropriate as a vehicle for public service delivery. The Government will be guided by the Chief Scientific Adviser’s 2016 report on the topic available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/distributed-ledger-technology-beyond-block-chain
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to introduce a separate planning category for hostels.
Brandon Lewis
Hostels are considered to be a class of their own. It is for the local planning authority to consider the use of a particular property based on the specific details of the individual case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the contribution of recreational spaces to local sporting and community life.
Tracey Crouch
The government is committed to supporting recreational spaces across the country. Our new sport and physical activity strategy recognises that these spaces can be crucial in getting people active and are an important part of the nation’s sporting infrastructure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the size is of the area of land available for the direct commissioning site for housing at Old Oak Common.
Brandon Lewis
The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure opportunities for diagnosis and intervention in sepsis are detected.
Ben Gummer
NHS England is undertaking a number of steps to improve diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, which have been coordinated through a cross-system programme board run by NHS England.
In April 2015 NHS England introduced a new national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation measure (financial incentive) to incentivise hospitals accepting emergency admissions to screen eligible patients for sepsis when they arrive, and to administer intravenous antibiotics within one hour for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.
Additionally NHS England has made available a voluntary audit tool for general practitioners (GPs) enabling them to assess their care of children with a fever under five years old against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, which can be a pre-cursor to sepsis. Primary care IT suppliers have provided data entry templates for the tool which prompts GPs to enter the appropriate observations thereby improving the quality of the patient care record, as well as promoting the use of the NICE guidance.
NICE is currently consulting on a new Sepsis Clinical Guideline that will be published this year, which will make recommendations about the assessment, diagnosis and initial management of patients with sepsis.
The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service in England.
It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care.
HEE will work with bodies that set curricula such as the General Medical Council and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.
HEE is currently developing an awareness video that will target primary care staff on recognising sepsis in children. A separate piece of work involving the RCGP is focusing on an e-learning package on sepsis in primary care, to ensure that the primary care workforce is ably equipped to deal with sepsis in the general population, including children.
HEE is currently undertaking a scoping exercise on training available for health professionals to recognise and manage sepsis in all patient groups. This survey scoped HEE local offices, NHS organisations, Academic Health Science Network, Ambulance Trusts and Royal Colleges on the resources currently available, which are being reviewed, and recommendations will be made in March 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department expects hospitals to catch up with any backlog caused by the junior doctors’ strike on 12 January 2016.
Ben Gummer
The National Health Service is making every effort to reschedule treatment as quickly as possible and according to clinical priority for those patients whose operations or appointments were cancelled as a result of the industrial action on 12 January 2016.