Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what commitment they have made to supporting HIV support services to enable people with HIV to cope with their new diagnosis and prevent onward transmission.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Care Act 2014 sets out the legal framework for social care in England, and this applies to all adults with support needs including those whose living with HIV. Our Framework for Sexual Health Improvement (2013) a copy of which is attached, highlights the importance of early testing and diagnosis of HIV so that people can receive effective HIV treatment and help prevent new transmissions. In 2014 Public Health England published Making it work, a copy of which attached, setting out guidance to support collaborative local commissioning across all sexual health services.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he supports the aims of the Arms Trade Treaty.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Yes. The UK was a prime-mover for the creation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and continues to be an active advocate of a robust Treaty. The UK was amongst the first to sign the ATT in 2013 and ratified on 2 April 2014. We believe that the ATT will be stronger for every State which accedes to or ratifies it.

    Universalisation will remain a key priority. The UK played an important role in the preparatory discussions leading to the First Conference of States Parties, and was a Vice-President of that Conference, brokering agreement on key decisions to establish sustainable mechanisms for the future viability of the ATT.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 26816, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of travel expenses or paid car allowances.

    George Eustice

    All those within the Rural Payments Agency who receive paid car allowances have the job title of ‘RDT (Rural Development Team) Manager’.

    Job titles for the staff in the other bodies listed in Question 26816 are not held centrally or stored alongside the allowance data and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make plans to provide the Housing Ombudsman service with greater powers to deal with complaints from members of the public.

    Brandon Lewis

    There are no current plans to provide the Housing Ombudsman Service with greater powers.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to encourage apprenticeships in cyber studies.

    Matthew Hancock

    Government has supported a Cyber Higher Apprenticeship programme delivered by the Tech Partnership with Training Provider QA, creating more than 250 new roles across industry for school leavers. New Cyber Intrusion Analyst and Cyber Security Technologist Trailblazer Apprenticeships have been developed which are now available to Employers and Apprentices. We have also integrated a cyber stream into the Fast Track Civil Service Apprenticeship scheme, offering 50 new roles across government with another cohort joining this year. Additionally, GCHQ has its own apprenticeship scheme incorporating cyber security. Since 2012, over 170 new apprentices have either graduated or joined the tailored two year foundation degree course.

    As announced by the Chancellor in November 2015, we are working with Employers to develop a Cyber Security Higher Apprenticeship pilot scheme that will address cyber skills gaps in three critical sectors: Transport, Finance and Energy. These apprenticeships will combine relevant cyber content, with sector-specific training. Industry in each sector will play a leading role in defining the additional course content. We will launch a targeted marketing campaign to encourage businesses and young people to consider a cyber apprenticeship with opportunities being advertised shortly.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to introduce mandatory data collection on hospital-initiated postponement or cancellation of ophthalmology follow-up appointments.

    Alistair Burt

    All follow-up appointments should take place when clinically appropriate. It is for clinicians to make decisions on when they see patients, in line with their clinical priority, and patients should not experience undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis or treatment. The appropriate interval for follow up appointments will vary between different services or specialties, and between individual patients, depending on the severity of their condition.

    To ensure that patients are seen at the appropriate time, NHS England’s guidance, “Recording and reporting referral to treatment waiting times for consultant-led elective care” is clear that when patients on planned lists are clinically ready for their care to commence and reach the date for their planned appointment, they should either receive that appointment or be transferred to an active waiting list. At that point, a waiting time clock will be started and their wait reported in the relevant statistical return.

    Hospital episode statistics contain details of all outpatient appointments at National Health Service hospitals in England and commissioned by the NHS from independent sector organisations in England. The recording of a primary diagnosis and postponed or cancelled appointments is not mandatory within the outpatient commissioning data set and there are no plans to make it so.

    Data is not, therefore, available on the number of cancelled or postponed follow up appointments for patients with age-related macular degeneration, central retinal vein occlusion and diabetic macular oedema.

    No assessment has been made of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement or cancellation of ophthalmology follow-up appointments on patients’ sight. However, officials have met with the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning and are considering their concerns.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected maintenance period is for HMS Defender.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The maintenance period of HMS Defender is planned to start before the end of 2016 and complete in late 2017. Precise details and its duration are currently the subject of ongoing negotiations with industry.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is not collected.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michelle Donelan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support in (a) monetary terms and (b) skills his Department provides for research into motor neurone disease.

    George Freeman

    The usual practice of the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including motor neurone disease (MND). These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

    Current NIHR awards include a £0.3 million doctoral research fellowship looking at the use of telehealth in MND.

    The NIHR Clinical Research Network is currently recruiting patients to 21 trials and studies in MND.

    The NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure is a unique resource for the global life sciences industry, simplifying access to the United Kingdom’s world-leading clinical research infrastructure in all disease areas including MND.

    The NIHR Research Design Service supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research in all disease and topic areas including MND. The service provides expert advice to researchers on all aspects of preparing funding applications in these fields, including advice on research methodology, clinical trials, patient involvement, and ethics and governance.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the actual expenditure on public health in (1) 1996–97, (2) 2000–01, (3) 2009–10, and (4) 2014–15; and what percentage of total expenditure on the NHS and public health those amounts represent.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Expenditure on public health in 2014-15 was £5,062 million.

    Public health expenditure in 2014-15 represents 4.5% of total Departmental health expenditure of £113,345 million.

    The Department is unable to provide figures on public health from earlier years as prior to 2013-14 primary care trusts were responsible for public health and budgets were determined locally.