Category: Speeches

Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of whether local provision through clinical commissioning groups and local authorities is ensuring that high-quality, personalised services are being delivered for young people with dementia and their carers.

Jane Ellison

The Government is clear that all types of dementia remain a priority and will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020. Under the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, we want to see:

– Every person diagnosed with dementia having meaningful care following their diagnosis, which supports them and those around them, with meaningful care being in accordance with published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality Standards.

– Information on what post-diagnosis services are available locally and how these can be accessed, through for example an annual ‘information prescription’.

– Access to relevant advice and support to help and advice on what happens after a diagnosis and the support available through the journey.

– Carers of people with dementia being made aware of and offered the opportunity for respite, education, training, emotional and psychological support so that they feel able to cope with their caring responsibilities and to have a life alongside caring.

Under the 2020 Challenge, we wish to encourage greater personalisation in the provision of post-diagnosis services – this means building support around the individual with dementia, their carer and their family.

It is for clinical commissioning groups and local authorities, working together, to ensure that high quality, personalised services are delivered for people with dementia including younger people and their carers.

01/01/2023
Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 11 January 2016, Official Report, column 238WH, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of unsuccessful applicants for nursing training courses who met the entry criteria.

Ben Gummer

Information relating to the number and proportion of unsuccessful applicants is not collected by the Department.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service collect and publish figures on the number of applications and the number of applicants accepted by subject for full-time undergraduate courses. However this data does not provide information on how many of the unsuccessful applicants to nursing would meet the entry criteria.

The existing cap on the number of student places imposed by Health Education England means universities are limited to only offering places made available within the cap, plus a percentage above this to account for applicants offered places choosing other universities. Universities cannot accept more candidates who may meet entry criteria places as the number of places is capped.

As part of the reforms to health higher education we are abolishing this cap, enabling universities to recruit as many eligible applicants as they choose.

01/01/2023
Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that councils do not discriminate against people for whom British Sign Language is their first language in the provision of council services.

Mr Marcus Jones

The responsibility for providing appropriate support to enable meaningful communication with deaf people by local authorities lies with the local authorities themselves.

All local authorities have a legal responsibility under sections 20 and 29 of the Equality Act 2010 not to discriminate against disabled people in the provision of services and to make ‘reasonable adjustments’, which means for example providing information in an accessible format to allow deaf people to have equal access to their services.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to the Lebanese government to create employment in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We continue to encourage the Lebanese Government to ensure better access to employment for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. We support the Government of Lebanon to implement commitments made at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference in providing access to education and jobs for refugees and host communities. We will continue to advocate for a non-exclusive approach, reaching all vulnerable groups. In addition, we have provided £1.9 million to United Nations Relief and Works Agency this year to support over 1,000 Palestinian youth across Lebanon with vocational and English skills training, as well as apprenticeship and job placement services.

01/01/2023
Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of humanitarian conditions inside the town of Daraya in Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The United Nations has been unable to deliver assistance to the 4,000 people besieged by the Syrian Regime in Darayya since November 2012, despite repeated requests for permission. The UN report that humanitarian conditions there are dire, with reports of severe shortages of food, clean water, medicines, electricity and basic commodities. The United Nations stands ready to deliver assistance to Darayaa as soon as access is granted by the Syrian regime.

Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis. It is unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war. We have given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to these areas and are pushing for humanitarian access to be granted to all besieged and hard to reach places in Syria through the International Syria Support Group Humanitarian taskforce and our position in the UN Security Council.

01/01/2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on medicines policy and management of the reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologist posts within the NHS.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that there has not been a reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologists employed in the National Health Service in England.

As part of its workforce planning, Health Education England (HEE) take account of a range of factors including forecast rates of retirement. HEE has recently undertaken a review of the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics workforce, the findings of which will contribute to future workforce planning for this specialty in England.

It is for the respective Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to consider workforce planning for their health system.

01/01/2023
Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on the prison sentence handed down to Sheikh Ali Salman; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are concerned about the recent extension of the imprisonment of Al Wefaq’s Secretary-General, Sheikh Ali Salman. We continue to raise his case with the Government of Bahrain, including most recently on 30 May when The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised his case at the highest levels during a visit to Manama. We understand there is a further stage in the legal process.

01/01/2023
Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to work with NHS health trusts to identify and resolve problems in recruiting the required number of doctors, nurses and other health professionals necessary for the effective delivery of services.

Mr Philip Dunne

The ultimate responsibility for recruitment and staffing rests with National Health Service organisations as they are best placed to ensure they have the right staff, in the right place, at the right time to provide safe and effective care for their patients.

Health Education England was established in 2012 to undertake responsibility for the forecasting and planning of future workforce supply, working with NHS organisations to meet their needs. On 4 October the Secretary of State announced that the number of medical training places available to students each year will be expanded to ensure the NHS has enough doctors to continue to provide safe, compassionate care in the future. From September 2018, the Government will fund up to 1,500 additional student places through medical schools each year.

The latest workforce data for June 2016 published by NHS Digital in September showed that there are almost 22,700 more professionally qualified clinical staff working within the NHS than in May 2010. Health Education England data shows that more than 86,000 professional staff were in training as of March 2016.

01/01/2023

Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of homes and businesses that will not benefit from the roll-out of superfast broadband in each of the 11 Cheshire parliamentary constituencies.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government’s is committed to achieving the availability of superfast broadband to 95% of UK premises by December 2017. Broadband Delivery UK’s (BDUK) modelled estimates of the currently planned superfast broadband coverage for the 11 Cheshire constituencies predict 96% coverage, and are set out in the table below. These estimates are based on modelled coverage at the end of the Connected Cheshire Phase 2 project. Further coverage will be possible through additional funding sources including the gainshare funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved.

As you will be aware the Prime Minister recently announced the Government’sintention to introduce a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) by 2020. The USO will be demand-led and will give people a legal right to request anaffordable connection to broadband of a minimum specified speed, from adesignated provider, no matter where they live, up to a reasonable cost threshold. This reflects that many people now see broadband as a basic service similar to thepost and telephone.

Constituency	Total	Planned Coverage (%)
City of Chester Constituency	46,652	97%
Congleton Constituency	44,269	96%
Crewe and Nantwich Constituency	49,984	97%
Eddisbury Constituency	39,293	89%
Ellesmere Port and Neston Constituency	41,636	99%
Halton Constituency	44,739	98%
Macclesfield Constituency	45,198	95%
Tatton Constituency	40,592	95%
Warrington North Borough Constituency	44,770	98%
Warrington South Borough Constituency	50,656	98%
Weaver Vale Constituency	40,411	97%
Total	488,200	96%

01/01/2023

Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from (a) the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington and (b) the hon. Member for Lewisham East on the effects of EU competition law on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is not aware of having received any representations from either hon. Member on this matter.

With regards to the application of European Union competition law (the basis of which is found in Article 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), the Health and Social Care Act 2012 did not extend its application to the National Health Service. Where providers of health services are found to be acting as undertakings they would be subject to competition law, and therefore subject to the safeguards that the law provides for patient and taxpayer interests.

01/01/2023