The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider introducing the national interest test for mergers and acquisitions that was part of the brief of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into the brief of the Competition and Markets Authority.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
As we build an economy that works for all, the Government will keep the law on mergers and acquisitions under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Survey and Inspection Transformation Programme.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has had discussions with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on the potential role of that organisation in advising the UN and other institutions on desertification.
Mr Nick Hurd
The UK Government maintains a close dialogue with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew on tackling international environmental and conservation issues, with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) leading HMG’s relationship with Kew. As a world leading organisation and a holder of the Red List for Plant species, Kew Gardens is already providing valuable information which supports action on desertification, including work by the UN in relation to the Global Goal indicators. Kew Gardens has received funding from the UK government’s Darwin Initiative to improve understanding of the link between conservation and poverty alleviation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in his Department have applied for special leave to carry out work for non-governmental departments in the last 12 months.
Matthew Hancock
The information requested is not held.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to include students from other EU countries in the eligibility criteria for student loans in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 admissions years.
Joseph Johnson
The UK has a long-established higher education system that supports, and therefore attracts, the brightest minds, at all stages of their careers. Existing rules on EU and other EEA students remain in force. Future arrangements for EU students wishing to study in the UK will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-10-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their intention to amalgamate local primary care centres into larger units; and if so, when.
Lord Prior of Brampton
As part of the New Care Models Programme, NHS England is supporting local health and care commissioners and providers to come together to improve the health and care they provide. This includes the development of population-based care models known as integrated Primary and Acute Care Systems and Multispecialty Community Providers (MCPs). Where and how to develop new care models are decisions taken by local partnerships, in response to local conditions. The Programme is not directing or requiring the amalgamation of primary care centres.
There are 14 MCP vanguards, with a single organisation accountable for joined-up General Practitioner (GP) and community services and some specialist care, mental health services, and social care for a defined population. The building blocks of a MCP are the ‘care hubs’ of integrated teams. Each typically serves a community of around 30,000-50,000 people. These hubs are the practical, operational level of any model of accountable care provision. The wider the scope of services included in the MCP, the more hubs you may need to connect together to create sufficient scale. All 14 MCP vanguards now serve a minimum population of around 100,000.
The majority of GP practices are already working in practice groups or federations. This provides opportunities to expand services, stabilise practice income and work at scale, which has benefits for patients, practices and the wider system. These include economies of scale, quality improvement, workforce development, enhanced care and new services, resilience and system partnerships.
A new voluntary MCP contract will be introduced from April 2017, to integrate general practice services with community services and wider healthcare services. Measures from the GP Access Fund and vanguard sites that are currently piloting this approach, will be learned from to support mainstreaming of proven service improvements across all practices, and funding will be provided for local collaborations to support practices to implement new ways of working.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s definition is of an advanced nurse practitioner.
Ben Gummer
An advanced nurse practitioner is generally accepted to be a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context of practice. A Master’s Degree is recommended for entry level to an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANPs) role. This role is not defined by the Nursing Midwifery Council or the Department.
Today ANPs work in a variety of health care settings and in a number of different roles, which range from a nurse consultant managing a specialist service in a hospital to being a nurse partner within a general practice.
Information on how many ANPs are employed by the National Health Service in each region of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is not held by the Department.
We have made it clear that we are not planning to impose a ‘one size fits all model’ for our plan to provide a seven-day NHS. It will be for local commissioners and providers to decide how best to deliver seven day services in hospitals and for them to work with their Local Education and Training Boards to develop workforce plans to support this.
Although not explicitly mentioned in NHS England’s Five Year Forward view, ANPs are part of the solution to addressing the health and well-being gap; care and quality gap; and funding gap. For example, ANPs are involved in the new care models such as in Derbyshire. The Derbyshire Vanguard site will develop a prevention team made up of health and care professionals including general practitioners (GPs), ANPs, mental health nurses, extended care support and therapy support.
Seven day access does not mean that every GP must work every day or that all practices must open at evenings and weekends. Through schemes such as the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, practices are encouraged to collaborate together in delivering more convenient and accessible services for patients in the evenings and weekends through multiple methods including innovative use of technology, working together at scale, and better use of skill mix to both improve patient care and release GP capacity.
The recent independent evaluation of the first wave of the PM’s GP Access Fund reported that “evidence to date suggests that the strategy of making more use of nursing staff, particularly Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), is resulting in benefits including released GP capacity…”
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Luce on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering recognising Palestine as a state.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is a longstanding supporter of seeing a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel, and continues to be one of the largest donors to Palestinian state building efforts to that end. We reserve the right to recognise a Palestinian state at a time of our choosing and when we judge it will best help bring about peace.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason his Department sets an age limit for the receipt of funding for Masters degrees; and if he will make a statement.
Joseph Johnson
The new loan to support Master’s study has an upper age limit to ensure the scheme overall is affordable and offers value for money. The new postgraduate loan will be repaid from earnings on an income contingent basis, in this case 6% of earned annual income above the threshold of £21,000. We are therefore limiting eligibility to cover those likely to continue in employment and enter repayments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the grant awarded to Action on Smoking and Health for 2015–16 relates to activities to be delivered beyond the end of the financial year; and, as the grant conditions stipulate that such activities must be delivered prior to that day, whether they will investigate.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The proposed budget estimates received from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for each of the last five years for a Section 64 grant is attached. Commercially sensitive information has been redacted.
As the agreed project outputs make clear, the 2015-16 Section 64 grant funding awarded to ASH will be spent in the current financial year, including work relating to preparation for legislation coming into force later in 2016.