The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 23 March 2016 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr C Costigan.
Jane Ellison
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health responded to the Rt. hon. Member’s letter of 23 March 2016 on 22 April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing GP waiting times.
Alistair Burt
There is no national standard for waiting to see a general practitioner (GP) and data on waiting times is not collected centrally. To implement the Government’s commitment to transform GP access however, £175 million has been invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients – a third of the population – have benefited from improved access and transformational change at local level. This includes more appointments being made available, especially at times more convenient for patients, such as weekday evenings and weekends. It also includes different approaches like telephone consultations and better use of the wider primary care workforce (such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, pharmacists, the voluntary sector, physiotherapists and paramedics) to deliver improved access to patients. These approaches have helped release local GP capacity and more appropriately matched the needs of patients with the most appropriate professional to care for them. In addition to Access Fund sites, other clinical commissioning groups may offer local initiatives for improving access to GPs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent estimate of the number of individual employers at risk of personal bankruptcy as a result of the increased costs of supporting defined benefit pension liabilities in non-associated multi-employer pension schemes.
Lord Freud
The information requested is not held by Government or the Pensions Regulator.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the net present value of a phase-out of the use of lead ammunition for sports shooting.
Rory Stewart
The independent Lead Ammunition Group, which was established to consider the effect of lead shot on human health and wildlife, was also asked to advise on any significant impacts on shooting activity of possible advice or solutions. The Government is considering its report and will respond as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the number of people who will spend Christmas alone; and what assessment he has made of the effect of loneliness at that time of year on mental health needs.
Alistair Burt
The Department does not carry out an assessment of the number of people who will spend Christmas alone.
Loneliness can have a significant impact on someone’s mental health. It can contribute to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. It can also have a negative impact on a person’s general health. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) identified research which shows that loneliness has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, is worse for us than obesity, and is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease.
The Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework does have a measure which shows the percentage of local authority funded adult social care users and carers who have as much social contact as they would like. For 2014/15, it showed that 45% of service users and 39% of carers reported having as much contact as they would like.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his most recent estimate is of the cost of tunnel boring for the High Speed 2 Chiltern tunnel.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The estimated cost of the Chiltern tunnel, as extended via Additional Provision 4, is £940m (based on Q2 2011 Prices). This figure, which includes the costs relating to tunnel boring and the construction of the tunnel portals and vent shafts, excludes risk and contingency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that all clinical commissioning groups take account of the findings of the Commission on Acute Psychiatric Care’s review led by Lord Crisp before they take steps to alter in-patient provision.
Alistair Burt
Clinical commissioning groups have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring acute psychiatric care. They are supported, and held to account for improving patient outcomes, by NHS England.
Both the Department and NHS England are considering the Commission’s recommendations. In the meantime, we have been clear that local areas should be making immediate improvements and phasing out ‘out of area’ treatments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken by the Independent Police Complaints Commission to resolve complaints.
Mike Penning
Home Office officials work closely with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to monitor how they are delivering their objectives. The IPCC provide regular performance information to the Home Office, including information on the timeliness of completed cases, which are scrutinised closely by my officials as part of the business and corporate planning process. The Home office is working with the IPCC to develop appropriate performance measures for 2016-17, including more streamlined public access to IPCC timeliness information.
On 7 March, the Home Secretary announced plans to reform the IPCC’s Governance, to make it more effective and more responsive to the public. These plans were published on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-the-independent-police-complaints-commission-structure-and-governance We continue to provide additional funding to support the IPCC to expand to deliver an increased volume of timely, high quality investigations. I will ask the IPCC to write to the Honourable Member in response to the request for average times to complete the complaints process, and will ask for this response to be made available in the House Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse has been of legal proceedings against his Department since 2010.
Justin Tomlinson
Providing the requested information can only be done at the disproportionate cost threshold.
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 encourage people to reduce the symptoms of diabetes using exercise and diet.
Jane Ellison
In March 2016, Public Health England (PHE) launched One You, an integrated social marketing campaign to engage adults in making changes to improve their own health and so help them reduce the risk of conditions such as diabetes. The programme encourages adults in mid-life to make a number of lifestyle changes including taking more exercise, improving diet, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol consumption.
Additionally, PHE’s Change4Life campaign encourages families across England to “eat well, move more, live longer”. Type 2 diabetes is highlighted in the campaign as a potential health consequence of poor diet and inactivity.
NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK have been working together on the Healthier You: the Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP). By 2020, the programme will be made available to up to 100,000 people at risk of diabetes each year across England. Those referred will get tailored, personalised help to reduce their risk including education on healthy eating and lifestyle and bespoke physical exercise programmes.