The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to monitor the number of local authorities charging carers for the support they receive to help them in their caring role.
Alistair Burt
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2015 to Question 13008.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many serving members of the regular Army have been transferred to the staff and personnel support branch in each year since 2010.
Mark Lancaster
Since 2010 the numbers of trained regular officers and soldiers transferring to the Adjutant General’s Corps Staff and Personnel Support Branch, AGC(SPS), each calendar year are as follows:
2010 – 130
2011 – 160
2012 – 50
2013 – 40
2014 – 60
2015 to 31 October – 150
Where there is a shortage of key personnel, the Army offers a transfer bonus which is payable to soldiers upon successful completion of the transfer into the specified trade.
From 2010 to 2013, transfer bonus payments of £1,500 each were made to 73 soldiers who transferred into the AGC(SPS) as Military Clerks or Combat Human Resource Specialists. No payments were made from 2014 onwards. The amount spent each calendar year since 2010 is as follows:
2010 – £52,500
2011 – £51,000
2012 – £3,000
2013 – £3,000
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staff numbers and skills at HM Prison Ranby.
Andrew Selous
HMP Ranby is currently in the process of implementing its benchmark and expects to have fully achieved this in 2016.
Nationally, we have recruited 2,340 new prison officers over the last year and this recruitment drive means we have 540 more full-time prison officers in our prisons than there were twelve months ago.
All Prison Officers complete the national training course (POELT) before they are able to undertake full duties, all staff at Ranby have the same access and opportunity to avail themselves of relevant training and development as any staff member working within NOMS.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the doctors applying to Round 1 for Speciality Training posts commencing in the period August to December 2016 applied directly from Foundation Year Two.
Ben Gummer
The information is not currently available. Analysis of training application numbers is carried out by Health Education England (HEE) once recruitment rounds have been completed. HEE will publish the data once this work is complete via the UK Foundation Programme Office (UK FPO) annual reports.
The 2015 annual report is available on the UK FPO Website:
http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/download.asp?file=FP_Annual_Report_2015_-_FINAL.pdf
The appointments to specialty or general practice are self-declared by the doctors in response to the survey and are not verified against recruitment data.
Whilst the survey is a fairly accurate predictor of the destination of doctors who have completed foundation training the figures are not intended to be an accurate employment record.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Angela Watkinson on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements are in place to (a) record and (b) inspect small yachts arriving from Europe at marinas on the UK coastline.
James Brokenshire
Inspection of vessels by is undertaken by Border Force on a case by case basis depending on the intelligence held and the level of assessed risk.
Border Force operates an intelligence led and risk assessed approach to managing the maritime border. This allows Border Force to provide effective border controls up and down the country. Border Force maintains close working relationships with law enforcement partners and related agencies who also use an intelligence-led approach in accordance with assessments of known and inferred risk.
Border Force shares information on possible subjects of interest with EU law enforcement partners and continues to work very closely with them to enable real time interventions where appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often the physical and governance arrangements which ensure that patients can have private conversations with pharmaceutical staff, in the retail sector, are examined by or on behalf of the General Pharmaceutical Council and what percentage of examinations are unacceptable.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department does not hold this information. However, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has provided the following information.
The GPhC undertakes inspections of all registered pharmacies in Great Britain. The vast majority of pharmacies currently receive a routine inspection every three to four years. Inspectors will, in addition, visit pharmacies to investigate concerns from members of the public or health professionals.
Since November 2013 the GPhC has conducted 6,814 routine inspections of pharmacy premises to assess them against its standards. During every inspection GPhC inspectors seek evidence from the pharmacy team that standards relating to the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public are met. These standards cover the storage of confidential and private information and the physical and governance arrangements for ensuring patients can have private conversations with pharmacy professionals.
Of the 6,814 inspections that have been carried out by the GPhC since November 2013, in 421 (6.2%) cases pharmacy premises were found to have failed one or more of the above three standards:
– 274 did not meet standard 1.7 (Information is managed to protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public who receive pharmacy services);
– 174 did not meet standard 3.2 (Premises protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public who receive pharmacy services); and
– 73 did not meet standard 5.3 (Equipment and facilities are used in a way that protects the privacy and dignity of the patients and the public who receive pharmacy services).
When pharmacy premises have not met one or more of the standards, they are required by the GPhC to complete and implement an improvement action plan.
In addition, the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments recently approved legislation which includes powers to issue an improvement notice or disqualify a pharmacy from the register for a failure to meet the standards. This will improve the GPhC’s ability to protect patients and improve the quality of the pharmacy services they receive.
In circumstances where the GPhC finds a registered professional’s fitness to practise is called into question it will investigate and can bring proceedings against that individual.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of people with high blood pressure.
Jane Ellison
Public Health England (PHE) has established the Blood Pressure System Leadership Board to help drive improvements in the prevention, detection and management of high blood pressure. In 2014 the group published ‘Tackling High Blood Pressure: Evidence into action’, which sets out priority interventions required across the system and key commitments being made by various system partners.
The NHS Health Check programme offers blood pressure testing to adults aged 40-74 years of age. Recent national evaluation of the programme demonstrated that one case of hypertension was diagnosed in every 27 people receiving a check.
NHS England is working with partners to promote better Cardiovascular Disease outcomes, including improving the detection and management of conditions such as high blood pressure.
PHE continues to work on reducing the risk factors of high blood pressure at a population level, through action to improve the diet of the nation and reducing inactivity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2016-07-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS England will seek advice from specialist gastrointestinal disease societies following the removal of the role of National Clinical Director for that area.
Lord Prior of Brampton
In future, NHS England will seek clinical advice on issues relating to gastrointestinal and liver disease from a variety of sources. This will include experts at Public Health England (PHE) for issues which are alcohol related, the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes for issues relating to obesity induced fatty liver disease as well as through the Clinical Reference Group for hepatitis C and the medical Royal Colleges.
Information on liver and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases is also available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, PHE Atlases of variation, relevant national audits and regular clinical communication between the national Medical Director, his senior team and the relevant Royal Colleges and specialist societies and with senior professionals.
NHS England continues to run an Endoscopy Stakeholder Group to ensure that all aspects of diagnostic pathways for GI disease are reviewed and clinical advice is taken regarding policy developments to address the current and projected requirement in capacity. The relevant specialist societies are key members of this group. NHS England also supports the national Cancer Implementation Programme on behalf of the arm’s length bodies, which includes workstreams on early diagnosis, and on living with and beyond cancer, both of which are addressing many issues that affect patients with GI cancers.
Health Education England will continue to ensure that they engage with employers to forecast how many gastroenterologists they require year on year. The process for making decisions relating to medical training numbers is currently being refined. Medical speciality training post numbers will be reviewed in greater depth with a range of stakeholders on a rolling programme; approximately every two years. Gastroenterology is expected to be reviewed this winter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies have disclosed information to Companies House on persons with significant control in their company as part of their company register since 6 April 2016.
Margot James
As at 10 October 2016, the total number of companies that have disclosed information on people with significant control (PSC) for the period 6 April to 10 October is 779,043.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that any new system of appraisal for cancer medicines will include in its remit appraisal for drugs which treat conditions with small patient populations.
George Freeman
NHS England has advised that it intends to jointly consult with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund operating model. This will include the future arrangements for the evaluation of cancer drugs, including drugs for rarer cancers with small patient populations. Members of the public and any interested parties will have the opportunity to consider and comment on these proposals.