Category: Speeches

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the reference in the Prime Minister’s speech on life chances of 11 January 2016 to health liaison psychiatry services in A&E departments includes provision for paediatric mental health liaison psychiatry services in A&E departments.

    Alistair Burt

    Yes. The Secretary of State’s speech of 11 January does include these provisions, as new investment will apply to all age groups.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the rail network that will be driver-only operated by (a) 2020 and (b) 2025.

    Claire Perry

    Staffing levels are generally a matter for railway operators, as we believe that they are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers. Therefore, no such estimate has been made.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many UK applicants were rejected for a training place for new entrants to nursing in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for workforce planning in the National Health Service and their recently published HEE commissioning and investment plan 16/17 forecasts an additional supply of 40,000 nurses by 2020. Moving new nursing students on to the student loans system in August 2017 will allow universities to offer up to a further 10,000 nursing, midwifery and allied health degree places by 2020/21.

    The HEE commissioning and investment plan 16/17 forecasts demands for additional nurses and midwives in the health and care sector in the next five years will rise by around 16,800.

    The Department does not collect data on the numbers of applicants who were not successful in gaining a nurse training place.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of metro-mayors since May 2015.

    James Wharton

    The Government considers that, where areas choose to introduce a directly-elected, region-wide Mayor as part of a devolution deal, this will provide a mechanism to strengthen local accountability and strategic leadership and drive local economic growth. No region-wide elected Mayors are yet in place under the provisions of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act; the first elections for the new Mayors are being planned for May 2017, subject to Parliamentary approval.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what services are currently provided for prison inmates with dementia.

    Ben Gummer

    Prisoners with dementia should be offered the treatment and care they require, equivalent to that provided to people with similar needs in the community.

    Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England to meet the health needs of prisoners. Every person entering a prison will have an initial health screen at reception where health needs are assessed and where appropriate referrals are made to other services. Prisoners with dementia who also have care and support needs will have these assessed and any eligible care needs will be met by the local authority in which the prison is situated.

    The budget for treating dementia in prisons cannot be reported separately, as the prison healthcare budget is not disaggregated into specific treatment provision or diagnoses.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff employed by his Department have been (a) seconded to and (b) directly recruited by the Department for Exiting the EU.

    Boris Johnson

    ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has seconded 39 positions including 30 officials on loan to the Department for Exiting the EU. This figure includes ten officials who were on loan to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from other government departments. No staff have been directly recruited by the Department for Exiting the EU from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The UK’s Representation in Brussels will report jointly to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Exiting the EU.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    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.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which charities her Department has funded to assist people affected by the Syria crisis since 2012.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    As part of the our response to the Syria Crisis, the UK is supporting a range of implementing partners working in Syria and neighbouring countries, including United Nations agencies, international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the Red Cross and other international organisations. NGO partners include CARE International, the Danish Refugee Council, Handicap International, the International Rescue Committee, Islamic Relief, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision. Due to security reasons, some of our International NGO partners working in Syria have requested to remain undisclosed.

  • Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on safe staffing levels for qualified nurses in the NHS and other health and care establishments subject to Care Quality Commission or Monitor inspections.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government is committed to supporting National Health Service trusts to put in place sustained safe staffing by using their resources as effectively as possible for patients.

    Hospitals should be able to demonstrate that they are able to ensure safe, quality care for patients and that they are making the best use of resources. This should take account of patient acuity and dependency, time of day and local factors. It is therefore important for providers to take a rounded view, looking at staffing in a flexible way which is focused on the quality of care, patient safety and efficiency rather than just numbers and ratios of staff.

    The responsibility for both safe staffing and efficiency rests, as it has always done, with provider Boards.

    Comprehensive lists of research commissioned and published, of criteria in all European Union countries, Australia and the United States, each of which have a variety of systems in operation, and of discussions held by United Kingdom officials to compare patient outcomes in those countries with outcomes in England, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    However, the 2013 National Quality Board (NQB) guidance on safe staffing issued in 2013 How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time: A guide to nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability, referred to a number of sources of evidence on this issue. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) safe staffing guideline Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals, July 2014 set out the evidence and expert papers, including international evidence, that was considered in preparing the guideline. A copy of the NQB guidance and the NICE guideline are attached.

    In addition, The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commissions research evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health services through the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research programme. Current research of particular relevance to the relationship between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes and mortality includes:

    – a study on nurse staffing levels, missed vital signs observations and mortality in hospital wards; and

    – a study on the future of 24/7 care: investigating the links between staffing levels, patient access and inequalities in health outcomes.

    As announced by the Secretary of State on 16 July 2015, Dr Mike Durkin, National Director for Patient Safety, is working with the Chief Nursing Officer to complete the work started by NICE on safe staffing levels. Their work will draw on evidence and expert advice from England and internationally, and will be reviewed independently by NICE, the Chief Inspector of hospitals, and Sir Robert Francis to ensure it meets the high standards of care the NHS aspires to.

    The programme includes revision of the NQB 2013 guidance to take account of further developments in the evidence base, the need to look beyond acute settings, new models of care leading from the Five Year Forward View and the need for providers to secure both safe staffing and greater efficiency.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of additional jobs and (b) amount of additional housing resulting from a Victoria High Speed 2 station location.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Analysis of the Sheffield City Region station options was published in the ‘Engineering options report; West Midlands to Leeds’ dated March 2012. This included analysis of several station sites around the city centre.

    The current estimated difference in cost between locating a High Speed station at Victoria and Meadowhall is £680m. Previous work on the cost of options at Victoria and other city centre sites are not comparable to the current estimate given above. With regards to the Meadowhall station, following the 2013 public consultation, no significant changes have been made to the original station design therefore there have not been any changes in cost.

    When recommending a station location HS2 Ltd. uses a number of criteria, including;

    1. engineering and construction feasibility;
    2. sustainability;
    3. demand considerations, including journey times;
    4. cost; and
    5. wider impacts

    Potential options were sifted by HS2 Ltd. according to these criteria. To support and challenge this approach, external stakeholders and advisors from the Department’s Project Representative Team were involved in reviewing the process and outcomes where appropriate. Further information about the appraisal process can be found in the 2012 ‘Options for phase two of the high speed rail network’ report and 2013 ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’ report. Both of these documents are available on the government website.

    Analysis undertaken by HS2 shows that the introduction of the Sheffield Meadowhall HS2 station could support up to 5,400 jobs and up to 300 residential units, while a HS2 station at Victoria could support an estimated 9,000 jobs and 900 housing units.

    Finally, I can confirm that Department for Transport officials have received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria which Network Rail was involved in.