Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people by age have been diagnosed with sepsis in the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Public Health England does not hold data in the format requested.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is able to provide a count of the number of Finished Discharge Episodes (FDEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis of sepsis, split by age band for providers in England for the years between 2010-11 and 2014-15.

    Information is not held centrally on patients diagnosed in the primary care setting.

    Table 1: A count of the number of FDEs with a primary or secondary diagnosis of sepsis, by age band for providers in England for the years between 2010-11 and 2014-15.

    Age Bands

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    0-4

    18,417

    20,080

    22,915

    23,840

    26,725

    5-9

    577

    648

    790

    853

    1,010

    10-14

    446

    415

    523

    461

    635

    15-19

    814

    778

    926

    980

    1,094

    20-24

    1,220

    1,246

    1,490

    1,770

    1,899

    25-29

    1,373

    1,499

    1,843

    2,032

    2,478

    30-34

    1,510

    1,701

    2,142

    2,540

    2,924

    35-39

    1,697

    1,849

    2,230

    2,319

    2,601

    40-44

    2,213

    2,403

    2,711

    2,988

    3,223

    45-49

    2,775

    3,123

    3,661

    3,937

    4,385

    50-54

    3,462

    3,890

    4,459

    4,942

    5,702

    55-59

    4,130

    4,829

    5,694

    6,115

    6,826

    60-64

    6,162

    6,835

    7,592

    7,893

    8,706

    65-69

    6,624

    7,790

    9,619

    10,805

    12,079

    70-74

    7,766

    8,667

    9,623

    10,458

    12,066

    75-79

    8,955

    9,815

    10,654

    11,793

    13,862

    80-84

    9,427

    10,079

    11,009

    11,584

    13,789

    85-89

    8,340

    8,756

    9,088

    9,739

    11,876

    90+

    5,553

    6,054

    6,740

    7,156

    9,173

    Unknown

    420

    558

    576

    617

    719

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital

    Notes:

    1. Finished Discharge Episode – A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. Discharges do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one discharge from hospital within the period.
    2. Number of episodes in which the patient had a primary or secondary diagnosis – The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.
    3. ICD-10 codes for Sepsis include – “A02.1 Salmonella sepsis, A20.7 Septicaemic plague, A21.7 Generalized tularaemia, A22.7 Anthrax sepsis, A26.7 Erysipelothrix sepsis, A28.0 Pasteurellosis, A28.2 Extraintestinal yersiniosis, A32.7 Listerial sepsis, A39.2 Acute meningococcaemia, A39.3 Chronic meningococcaemia, A39.4 Meningococcaemia, unspecified, A40.- Streptococcal sepsis, A41.- Other sepsis, A42.7 Actinomycotic sepsis, B37.7 Candidal sepsis, O85.X Puerperal sepsis, P36.- Bacterial sepsis of newborn,
      The following pair of codes is a dagger/asterisk code pair (D and A) which must be present together: A39.1 Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, E35.1 Disorders of adrenal glands in diseases classified elsewhere.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the importance of landscape quality when new housing is built on greenfield sites.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government is very clear that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people. It wants to see new developments that function well and add to the overall quality of the area, that establish a strong sense of place by using streetscapes and buildings to create attractive and comfortable places to live, work and visit.

    The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should take account of the different roles and character of different areas and recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13325, how many bursaries his Department offered people to become mathematics teachers in the further education sector in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15; and how many such bursaries he estimates his Department will offer in 2015-16.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) began offering bursaries to graduates to train to teach maths in the academic year 2013/14. 61 and 136 people took up such bursaries in 2013/14 and 2014/15, respectively. It is estimated that 167 maths bursaries will be taken up in 2015/16.

    The maths enhancement is a joint BIS/Department for Education supported programme and commenced in the academic year 2013/14. During 2013/14 and 2014/15 over 2,450 existing further education teachers participated in the maths programmes. During 2015/16 we are continuing to support access to a pipeline programme to enhance the maths skills of existing teachers. This is being delivered by the Education and Training Foundation. We have not made an estimate of the number of programmes that will be taken up in 2015/16.

    Emerging findings from the evaluation of the further education (FE) workforce programmes have shown a positive impact on the confidence and effectiveness of FE teachers delivering maths either as a core subject or in vocational context. The evidential basis for intervention in maths teaching was based on the clear need to raise the Maths attainment rates of students in further education; and improve the quality of Maths teaching as identified by Ofsted inspection reports.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to require improvement of the punctuality and reliability of Govia Thameslink train services.

    Claire Perry

    I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

    GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

    Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much companies contracted by his Department to operate (a) detention centres, (b) prisons, (c) young offender institutions and (d) secure training centres have paid in fines in each of the last five years; and what the reason was for each such fine imposed.

    Andrew Selous

    This department does not hold information relating to (a) detention centres as these are managed by the Home Office.

    Information regarding (b) prisons, (c) young offender institutions can be located in PQ answer 24385 which was answered on 4 April 2016.

    Information on (d) Secure Training Centres can be located in PQ answer 26793 which was answered on 9 February 2016.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to help to ensure that women have access to safe and legal abortion services throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the spread of the Zika virus and its potential link to birth defects.

    Baroness Verma

    As the main public health threat of Zika is to the unborn babies of infected pregnant women in affected countries it is important that responses to Zika include vector and infection control with a focus on pregnant women or women of child-bearing age and strengthened reproductive and sexual health services (for women who do not want to get pregnant). The importance of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all women is brought home by the emergence of Zika. There may be increased demand for voluntary rights based family planning from women in affected countries seeking to avoid pregnancy, and there is a risk of a rise in unsafe abortion in some countries. DFID has a track record of promoting rights based family planning and in highlighting the contribution safe abortion makes to saving women’s lives. We are in close contact with DFID-funded partners, including in the UN system and civil society, active in affected regions although DFID has not been asked to provide specific sexual and reproductive health and rights assistance to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the Zika virus.

    New guidelines covering maternal surveillance and neonatal health are being rolled out across the region, developed by the Latin American Centre for Perinatology, Women and Reproductive Health.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s submarine fleet is not detected by unmanned underwater vehicles deployed for anti-submarine warfare purposes.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence places a high priority on assuring the effectiveness of our submarine fleet and countering threats to our submarine operations. We continue to monitor and evaluate capabilities and technologies that could threaten submarines, including cyber and unmanned vehicles. It would not be appropriate to go into specific detail of the steps taken to mitigate against these threats. We assess, however, that the ocean will remain a complex and challenging environment in which to conduct large scale anti-submarine warfare, despite advancements in technologies. We are therefore confident that our submarine fleet remains safe and secure.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 to Question 30330, if he will publish examples of the feedback received on the placing of work coaches in foodbanks.

    Priti Patel

    The Department has shared findings from the food bank initiative with Jobcentre District Managers. There are no plans to publish the Lalley Community Centre findings externally.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effects on wider biodiversity of commonly used pesticides; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Strict regulation is in place to reduce the risk of environmental damage by pesticides. A pesticide may only be placed on the market if and when the product has been authorised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Following a thorough risk assessment, HSE imposes conditions on the way pesticides are used, to ensure there is no harm to human health and no unacceptable effect on the environment. Pesticides that pose unacceptable risks are not authorised.

    Assessments by Defra and others identify three types of impacts on biodiversity:

    • General impacts of past agricultural intensification. The 2011 UK National Ecosystem Assessment identified significant biodiversity loss over the last 50 years, with pollution and land use change on farmland as major drivers. Land use change includes the loss of flower-rich habitat, changes to cropping types and timings, drainage, hedge management, and pesticide use. It is not simple to disentangle these impacts;

    • Direct impacts on non-target organisms, including insects and aquatic species. For example, Defra-commissioned research on the status of UK pollinators identified some correlative evidence of reduced species richness at the landscape-scale associated with more intensive use of pesticides, but concluded that further research on direct empirical evidence of field-scale impacts was required. Further research is ongoing; and,

    • There is evidence on indirect impacts of pesticides on species such as birds or bats that feed on invertebrates or plants. This is an area of active research in the UK, Europe and North America, with population impacts recorded for some species such as grey partridge.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mandatory reconsiderations of jobseekers’ allowance sanctions there have been in each of the last five years; and what the total cost was of processing such reconsiderations in each of those years.

    Priti Patel

    Mandatory Reconsiderations were introduced in October 2013. There were 1,100 decisions made from October to the end of 2013; 54,100 in 2014; and 18,500 in 2015.

    This is the latest data available. The total cost of processing those reconsiderations is not available at the level of detail requested.

    These figures are published here https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/