The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account the Government took of arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions in its Childhood Obesity Strategy.
Jane Ellison
Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NATO military interoperability.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, is progressing well and it will deliver enhanced NATO Response Forces, including the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), by the time of the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016. The UK has played a leading role in the implementation of the RAP: we have committed to spending 2% of GDP on Defence, and 20% of that on new equipment; we will lead a capable and credible VJTF (Land) Brigade in 2017; we have increased our commitment to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces this year; and will continue to provide Airborne Early Warning, Air to Air Refuelling, Tornado and Typhoon aircraft to the VJTF (Air).
Considerable work on survivability, sustainability and readiness of NATO forces has been undertaken. The RAP includes a commitment to generate an enhanced NATO Response Force (eNRF) including a VJTF. To enhance survivability, the eNRF has been designed from the outset as a Joint, Multi-National force with an appropriate quantity and balance of forces needed to effectively conduct the full range of potential operations. Integral logistic structures, which include the newly created Multi-National Corps Headquarters in Poland and a Multi-National Division Headquarters in Romania, ensure the sustainability of the enhanced NRF and VJTF. Enhanced NRF forces are designed to meet the readiness timelines that are laid down in NATO’s strategic planning documents, including the Alliance’s Graduated Response Plans.
Considerable work on Interoperability has also been undertaken since the end of combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. This has built upon NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative to ensure that NATO’s Multi-National forces force are able to continue to operate together effectively beyond the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. For our lead of the VJTF (Land) in 2017, the British Army will operate alongside the armed forces from 13 contributing nations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in negotiating a tax treaty between the UK and Nepal.
Mr David Gauke
The UK is not currently involved in active treaty discussions with Tanzania.
Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty began some years ago, and substantive agreement has been reached at official level. The Government of Malawi have stated that they hope to be in a position to sign the new treaty in the near future.
The UK has negotiated a treaty with Lesotho and are currently seeking to arrange signature.
The UK is currently involved in negotiations with Ghana in agreeing a new tax treaty.
Nepal has approached the UK to begin negotiation of a tax treaty. We are seeking suitable dates for discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities who have received a diagnosis of (a) sickle cell disease and (b) thalassaemia in each (i) clinical commissioning group area, (ii) trust area and (iii) national sickle cell and thalassaemia centre area; and what proportion of people from such communities were so diagnosed in the most recent year for which figures are available.
George Freeman
The National Haemoglobinopathy Registry maintains a database of patients with red cell disorders (mainly sickle cell disease and thalassaemia major) living in the United Kingdom. Detailed information on the number of patients diagnosed with sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, in England, is available from the National Haemoglobinopathy Registry Report 2013/14. This includes a breakdown of patients on the basis ethnicity, commissioning hub and specialist treatment centre.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to expand education in prisons to reduce reoffending rates and improve life chances for offenders returning to their communities.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Prisons should be places of safety and reform. I am determined to make sure that we achieve better outcomes for prisoners in employment, education and health. Fewer than half the people entering prisons have basic standards of English and Maths and around a third have identified learning difficulties or disabilities. This is a huge problem because we know that low levels of education can prevent people from securing jobs on release and leading law abiding lives.
On 15 September the Prime Minister announced the transfer of adult prison education in England to the Ministry of Justice from the Department for Education from 1 October. I would like to see governors having more responsibility for delivering education and being held to account for the outcomes prisoners achieve.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13442, what proportion of case workers in her Department received Keeping Children Safe Tier 3 training in 2014.
James Brokenshire
1, 329 officials have received tier 3 training, which makes up 7.5% of the Borders and Immigration casework and operational roles within the Home Office.
Keeping Children Safe training is available to Home Office staff at three levels depending on an individual’s specific role. Tier 3 job-specific training is delivered to a smaller proportion of specialist staff across Borders and Immigration business areas that have regular direct contact with children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies plans to spend on (a) Christmas cards, (b) postage of Christmas cards, (c) Christmas parties and (d) Christmas decorations and trees in 2015.
Jane Ellison
A search of the Department’s Business Management System database for 2015 has identified there is no planned spend to fund Christmas cards, postage of Christmas cards and parties. As separately identified from our facilities management suppliers, EMCOR, the Department has no plans currently to purchase Christmas decorations or trees from them.
The Civil Service Code sets out the principles and standards of behaviour expected of civil servants, including their fiduciary obligation to make sure public money and other resources are used properly and efficiently. Public money is not used by the Department, Public Health England or the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to fund occasions such as internal social gatherings or office parties. Any social events are funded by the staff themselves.
Arm’s length bodies have systems in place to ensure public funds are used appropriately and standards of propriety are met, in line with their responsibilities as public bodies
Spend as requested from all the Departments non-departmental public bodies and its agencies are separately reported below:
NHS England have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
Monitor have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
The Care Quality Commission have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
Public Health England have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
Health Education England have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 2015 expenditure is contained in the table below.
|
£ |
|
|
Christmas cards |
0 |
|
Postage |
0 |
|
Parties |
£1615.32 |
|
Decorations and trees |
0 |
|
Total |
£1615.32 |
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency 2015 expenditure is contained in the table below.
|
£ |
|
|
Christmas cards |
£0.00 |
|
Postage |
£0.00 |
|
Parties |
£0.00 |
|
Decorations and trees |
£630+£126 VAT |
|
Total |
£756 |
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
The Human Tissue Authority have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
The Health Research Authority have confirmed they hold no planned expenditure for all these categories.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Defence ways by which vexatious claims against soldiers who have served on operations overseas can be minimised; and if he will make a statement.
Dominic Raab
As the Prime Minister announced last Friday we cannot have our armed forces being hounded by ambulance chasing lawyers pursuing spurious claims. I will be chairing a working group with the Minister for Armed forces that will look at every aspect of this issue, including conditional fee arrangements, legal aid rules and disciplinary sanctions against lawyers who abuse the system, to prevent malicious litigation being brought against our service personnel.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes his Department plans to pharmacy funding; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of those changes on small independent businesses.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services including public access to medicines. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 28215, what the implications for the availability of Sativex to Multiple Sclerosis patients are of the NICE guidance that Sativex is not recommended as a treatment option.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guideline on the management of multiple sclerosis, published in October 2014, does not recommend Sativex as a cost effective use of National Health Service resources.
In the absence of positive guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund this treatment based on an assessment of the available evidence.