Category: Speeches

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce new initiatives to increase the uptake of new technologies on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The Government is actively supporting a number of initiatives to accelerate access to innovative treatments. These include the Early Access to Medicines Schemes which supports access in the United Kingdom to unlicensed or off-label medicines and represents a significant advance in treatment in areas of unmet medical need and the Accelerated Access Review, which aims to speed up access to innovative drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital products for National Health Service patients, and to make the UK the best place to develop these innovations.

    NHS England supports the invention and adoption of transformative healthcare technologies. This includes existing technologies, where the benefits are already proven but wider adoption is critical to benefit all patients, and new technologies, which require larger scale trials to test out their impact individually and in combination. Current initiatives include the sponsorship of 15 Academic Health Science Networks (£48 million core funding in 2015-16), the Small Business Research Initiative (£20 million in 2015-16), and the Test Bed programme which is providing funding for frontline health and care workers to evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices such as wearable monitors, data analysis and new ways of working.

    NHS England has been tasked under section 7.1 of the NHS Mandate to “Implement the agreed recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review including developing ambition and trajectory on NHS uptake of affordable and cost-effective new innovations”.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    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 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the General Dental Council’s (GDC) response to the British Dental Association’s Freedom of Information request of 18 March, whether they will ask the National Audit Office to carry out a value-for-money examination of GDC’s financial management.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The General Dental Council (GDC) is an independent statutory body. Ministers take a keen interest in the performance of the GDC and its plans for improvement, particularly in light of the Professional Standards Authority’s (PSA) performance review and publication of its investigation into concerns raised by a whistleblower. A copy of the PSA’s report, A report on the investigation into the General Dental Council’s handling of a whistleblower’s disclosure about the Investigating Committee, is attached.

    The GDC is required under the Dentist Act 1984 to prepare a statement of accounts and for those accounts to be audited. These accounts would cover all expenditure including that during the PSA investigation. The statement of accounts and auditor’s report are then published and properly scrutinised, including being certified and reported on by the Controller and Auditor General and being laid before Parliament and the Scottish Parliament by the Privy Council.

    The Department has no plans to ask the National Audit Office to carry out a value for money examination of the GDC’s financial management.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the amount paid in levies to the Pension Protection Fund in each of the three years to 2012–13 due to companies using a contingent asset to replace the Pension Protection Fund’s Failure Score for the company with that of a different company, compared to what these companies paid in (1) 2012–13, (2) 2013–14 and (3) 2014–15.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Pension Protection Fund has not made a comparison of the amounts paid by schemes with a contingent asset prior to 2012/13 with later years, as substantial changes in the way that levies are calculated from year to year do not allow for robust comparison.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on future British involvement in the European Organization for Nuclear Research and the CERN research facility.

    Joseph Johnson

    The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are separate organisations from the European Union and thus the UK’s memberships of CERN or ESA are not dependent on its EU membership. The UK will continue to play a leading role in major non-EU research collaborations, including CERN and ESA. In July we confirmed the UK’s application to become a full member of a major new particle accelerator, the European Spallation Source in Sweden.

  • George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the Liverpool City Region are currently on a waiting list for an outpatient hospital appointment.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The number of patients reported at the end of August 2016 who were on a referral to treatment pathway and were waiting to start consultant-led treatment for each clinical commissioning group (CCG) within the Liverpool City region are shown in the table below. These patients will be at various points along the pathway including, for example, waiting for an outpatient appointment or a diagnostic test. It is therefore not possible to separately identify how many of these patients were waiting for elective surgery or for an outpatient hospital appointment.

    Referral to treatment waiting times for incomplete pathways August 2016

    CCG

    August 2016

    Halton CCG

    9,777

    Knowsley CCG

    10,673

    Liverpool CCG

    31,529

    South Sefton CCG

    11,052

    Southport and Formby CCG

    8,252

    St Helens CCG

    11,840

    Wirral CCG

    21,880

    Total

    105,003

    Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS England

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to Question 9852, by when his Department will be able to form a reliable estimate of the number of disability living allowance recipients who are Motability users who will not qualify for the enhanced rate of the personal independence payment mobility component.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We expect to be able to form a reliable estimate once a significant proportion of working-age Disability Living Allowance recipients have been reassessed for the Personal Independence Payment. Over 1.75 million claimants require reassessing; as of July 2015 circa 186,900 had been reassessed.

    As referenced in our previous reply of 16 September 2015, DWP will continue to pay DLA for four weeks after the decision not to pay PIP enhanced mobility component is made. The Motability charity has confirmed that claimants can keep their car for up to three weeks after DLA payments end. This means that claimants will retain their car for up to nearly two months even though they are not entitled to PIP enhanced mobility component.

    In addition, the Department has worked closely with Motability to ensure that those claimants who no longer meet the criteria for the Motability Scheme are supported through the transitional period. For most of these claimants who entered into their first lease agreement with Motability before January 2013, Motability will provide transitional support of £2,000. This will enable many claimants to continue to meet their mobility needs by purchasing a used car. For claimants who entered into their first lease agreement with the scheme after January 2013 and up to December 2013, Motability will supply transitional support of £1,000 to assist with mobility costs.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Brandon Lewis

    The 2015 Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the Government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has had discussions with Ministers in the Irish government on marking the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme this year; and if she will make a statement.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The centenary commemorations of the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme, and the wider decade of 1912-1922 offer an important opportunity to reflect on the shared history between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    The Prime Minister is committed, along with the Taoiseach, to commemorating our past with mutual respect and understanding. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and I are working with Ministers in the Irish Government to mark the events of this decade. I have discussed these matters on a number of occasions with them.

    Marking anniversaries such as the Battle of the Somme in a spirit of historical accuracy, mutual respect and inclusiveness can support efforts to build a peaceful and shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland.

    Officials from my Department have regular contact with officials in the Irish Government regarding their programme of events to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, which was announced in November 2015, and I receive regular updates on this work.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he next plans a review of gaming machine stakes and prizes.

    David Evennett

    On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493714/Evaluation_of_Gaming_Machine__Circumstances_of_Use___Amendment__Regulations_2015.pdf

    The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions custody nurses were not available in police stations when required in each year since 2010.

    Mike Penning

    The provision and commissioning of police custody nurses is the responsibility of individual Police and Crime Commissioners, and police custody nurse staffing and availability levels are an operational policing matter in conjunction with the custody healthcare service provider. Information on these issues is not held centrally by the Home Office.