The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-01.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Barnett Formula applies to government funding of emergency flood relief.
Greg Hands
The government is investing nearly £200 million to help communities recover from Storm Desmond and Storm Eva. The Barnett Formula has been applied to this funding in the normal way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the value of railway stations owned by Network Rail.
Claire Perry
Network Rail is exploring new models for the management and ownership of its 18 managed stations with the goal of bringing improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options. No decisions have yet been taken and no estimate of the potential value of these stations has been made as part of this work. Citigroup were appointed following a competitive tender process, and the details of their fee are commercially confidential.
Network Rail expect that this work will be presented to their Board by the end of 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when the techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors is expected to be completed and published.
Andrea Leadsom
The techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors does not conclude until the end of March at the earliest. We will then need to thoroughly review the reports. We will consider publishing at the appropriate point.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what systems are in place to monitor main service providers’ management of patient transport.
Lord Prior of Brampton
It is the responsibility for individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission and performance manage patient transport services, in line with the national guidance Eligibility for Patient Transport Services. This guidance is attached.
CCGs will manage performance of patient transport providers through regular monitoring performance against Key Performance Indicators and have a range of interventions to improve performance, which are available through the NHS Standard Contract.
NHS England ultimately maintains oversight of CCG commissioning, and holds CCGs to account for their commissioning decisions. In addition, NHS Improvement has a role in ensuring that procurement, patient choice and competition operate in the best interests of patients, and to step in if anti-competitive behaviour by National Health Service commissioners or providers goes against patients’ interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with the government of Iraq and the regional government of Kurdistan about the protection needs of people likely to be displaced by current, and proposed, offensives against Daesh, in particular women and children.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is in regular contact with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional government, and regularly raises with them the protection needs of internally displaced persons arising from the conflict – including the protection needs of girls and women. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to fulfil its commitments to develop and implement plans to stabilise areas which have been liberated from Daesh by providing the governance, services and security necessary to enable the safe return of people to their homes.
The UK has committed £79.5 million of humanitarian assistance to Iraq since summer 2014. This includes cash assistance for vulnerable displaced Iraqis, allowing them to prioritise what they need most. Through the UN Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, we fund a number of projects designed to meet the most urgent needs of displaced Iraqis including emergency healthcare, water and sanitation, and protection services for girls and women. Our partners consider gender related differences in needs when developing all Department for International Development funded projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in implementing smart ticketing across the rail network; and if he will make a statement.
Paul Maynard
We want smart tickets to be available to passengers across the entire rail network providing them with more convenience and choice. By the end of the year the South East Flexible Ticketing programme will have introduced smart ticketing on five of the major London and south east rail operators. In the North of England, we have committed £150m to support Transport for the North (TfN) in its plans to introduce smart ticketing.
The Rail Delivery Group have brought the rail industry together to agree a long-term vision and it is critical that rail operators collaborate and share ideas to make this vision a reality. Through franchising competitions we are supporting the rail industry to develop and deliver modernised ticketing by setting challenging requirements for bidders, ensuring that customers benefit from a 21st century option. Many rail travellers are familiar with using the orange magnetic stripe ticket and I will ensure that this is not withdrawn until alternatives are in place that offer a user experience with which all travellers are comfortable, particularly vulnerable customer groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the potential effect of proposed changes to pharmacy funding on the ability of local authorities to deliver local public health improvement.
David Mowat
Local commissioning and the funding of public health services by local authorities from community pharmacies will be unaffected by these proposals.
We want to see a high quality community pharmacy service that is properly integrated into primary care and public health in line with the Five Year Forward View.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. We believe these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.
Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more National Health Service funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
In addition we are providing funding to recruit a further 1,500 pharmacists to general practices by 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-11-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce red tape affecting estate agents subject to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government’s Anti-Money Laundering regime has a clear aim: to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.
With this in mind, the Government has launched a review of the impact on business of the current anti-money laundering and terrorist finance regime as part of the Cutting Red Tape Review programme. The call for evidence from all parties closes on 6th November and the Review is specifically seeking evidence on the role of supervisors in that regime, so that regulatory activity can be made as efficient as possible. The Review will examine the potential to improve compliance and efficiency, by identifying aspects of the supervisory regime that appear to businesses in the regulated sector to be unclear or unnecessarily cumbersome.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of NHS secondary care centres do not provide tumour genetic testing in (1) breast cancer, (2) colorectal cancer, (3) lung cancer, and (4) melanoma.
Lord Prior of Brampton
All NHS England commissioned secondary and tertiary hospitals will be able to collect blood and/or tissue samples for the purpose of genetic testing, depending on the sampling technique required. The testing itself is however usually undertaken by commissioned genetic laboratories, which will typically serve a catchment area much greater than the hospital in which they are based. There will usually be recommended criteria in place to guide National Health Service referrals for genetic testing.
In a small number of cases, usually for very rare conditions, a test may need to be sent away to a non commissioned laboratory, including some abroad and some falling within the private sector, to access expertise. Funding will, however, continue to be provided from NHS budgets.
The United Kingdom is also leading the world by using cutting edge technology in the form of whole genome sequencing to transform healthcare and health research. The Prime Minister launched the 100,000 Genomes Project to bring the benefits of genome sequencing to NHS patients. The Project will sequence 100,000 whole human genomes of NHS patients with cancer or a rare disease by the end of 2017. Eleven Genomic Medicine Centres have been established across the country and are recruiting patients to this landmark project. Otherwise, NHS England does not hold data on private or self-funded care or testing commissioned from either NHS or third party laboratories.
Information on the percentage of eligible patients who received access to genetic testing is not held by NHS England. Due to data protection requirements, detailed data on the reasons for referral for specific tests are not currently aggregated at national level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that NHS England’s response to the Mental Health Taskforce includes securing access to timely autism diagnoses.
Alistair Burt
The report of the Mental Health Task Force is due to be published shortly. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups to identify and share good practice in accessing timely autism diagnosis.
In 2015, new statutory guidance for local authorities and National Health Service organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update, set out expectations for autism training for general practitioners (GPs). The Department has also provided financial support to the Royal College of General Practitioners clinical priorities programme on autism which is undertaking practical work on autism awareness and training for GPs.GPs should be aware of what the local arrangements are for making referrals for autism diagnosis.