The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which individuals and organisations his Department is consulting to inform the life chances strategy.
Priti Patel
As is customary in the development of any Strategy, we have engaged in discussions with a range of organisations and individual experts as we develop the Life Chances Strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote the Fast Track Giant Cell Arteritis pathway piloted by Southend University Hospital.
David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for the provision of services for people with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Whilst it would not be appropriate for NHS England to direct CCGs to adopt a particular clinical pathway, it continues to ensure that the innovative approach developed at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) is shared and made available to clinicians.
There are a number of clinical guidelines that are available to support the prompt diagnosis and referral of patients with suspected GCA, including one produced by the Royal College of Physicians, which Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta, who developed the GCA pathway at Southend University Hospital NHS FT, helped to produce. This guidance provides a framework for disease assessment, immediate treatment and referral to specialist care. Furthermore, both the British Society for Rheumatology and the British Health Professionals in Rheumatology published guidelines on the management of polymyalgia rheumatica, a related condition, for general practitioners and rheumatologists. These encourage the prompt diagnosis and urgent management of GCA, helping to minimise GCA related vision loss.
The Specialised Rheumatology Clinical Reference Group at NHS England has developed proposals to establish local rheumatology networks. These are being implemented over a three year period to support consistent access to clinically effective therapies and to share good and innovative practice across the country. In addition, NHS England’s innovation team has invited Professor Dasgupta to contribute to the NHS Innovation Exchange Portal to ensure that this knowledge is shared.
On 24 June 2016, NHS England recently facilitated a webinar presented by Professor Dasgupta, which aimed to show how the fast-track pathway has significantly reduced the number of patients suffering sight-loss as an avoidable complication of GCA and, in addition, presents a case that this model is cost-saving, results in an increased patient quality of life, and successfully reduces the time to diagnosis in line with established clinical guidelines. NHS England promoted the webinar across the musculoskeletal community as well as to CCGs and patient groups through a wide range of communications channels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the humanitarian situation in (a) Haiti, (b) Jamaica, (c) Cuba and (d) the Bahamas caused by hurricane Matthew.
Rory Stewart
The UK is committing up to £5 million of initial support to trusted UN, Red Cross and NGO partners to help thousands of people in Haiti affected by Hurricane Matthew. DFID prepositioned aid in Haiti to better prepare the country for natural disasters, and has a team in Haiti working with international partners and the Government of Haiti to address the humanitarian situation.
In Jamaica, no significant humanitarian need has been identified. In respect of Cuba, the Department is working closely with the International Federation of the Red Cross to ascertain their understanding of needs and potential response plans.
The Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office deployed the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessel Wave Knight to the Bahamas to provide aerial reconnaissance and support in the immediate aftermath of Matthew’s impact. The Department for International Development is working with the British Red Cross to deepen our understanding of the humanitarian situation in the Bahamas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was deducted from the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget in 2014–15 and 2015–16 due to its failure to implement welfare reforms.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
As a result of the delays in implementing welfare reform in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget was reduced by £87m in 2014-15 and £114m in 2015-16 to reflect the additional costs to the Exchequer of the existing welfare system.
As a part of the ‘Fresh Start’ agreement to facilitate the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, the government committed to returning a proportion of the deduction for 2015-16 when the Assembly gave legislative consent for the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Act 2015. This will be added to the Executive’s allocations in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16399, whether the Accelerated Access Review team has provided any information on how biosimilar medicines fit into its work stream.
George Freeman
In accordance with the terms of reference the Accelerated Access Review is not excluding any particular type or class of medicine, but is creating a framework through which to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative health technologies including biosimilar medicines where appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that Intra Company Transfer Tier 2 visas cannot be used to replace a UK worker who has been made redundant.
James Brokenshire
Tier 2, the skilled worker route, is designed to fill roles which cannot be filled by a suitable resident worker. The immigration rules, and UK employment law, do not allow workers to be made redundant and directly replaced.
It is a decision for businesses whether to outsource certain functions. We are, however, mindful of concerns that use of the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) category for third party contracting may undercut or displace resident workers.
That is why, in June last year, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine the ICT category as part of its wider review on Tier 2. The MAC published its report on 19 January and it can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-advisory-committee-mac-review-tier-2-migration
Chapter 6 of the report sets out the MAC’s findings on the ICT category, including its use for third party contracting, the salaries paid to IT workers and the impacts on the resident labour market. The MAC found that salaries for these transferees were clustered around the 25th percentile of earnings for resident workers in IT occupations (the current minimum permitted under the immigration rules).
The Government is currently considering the MAC’s findings carefully and will announce any changes in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the decision by the High Court of Israel on 1 February to dismiss the latest petitions submitted by the Salesian Sisters Convent against the building of the annexation wall in the Cremisan Valley.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK’s position on the Separation Barrier is clear: where it has been constructed beyond the 1967 border, such as in the case of the Cremisan Valley, it is illegal under international law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-03-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to educate women on alcohol avoidance whilst pregnant.
Lord Prior of Brampton
On 8 January 2016, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers published a new guideline on pregnancy and drinking – that if a woman is pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to the baby to a minimum. A copy of the guideline is attached. The Department will be working with the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to ensure that their members are fully informed about the content of the guidelines and are able to explain them to the women they care for and help them make informed decisions. Public Health England (PHE) is also working with professional organisations to enhance the awareness and confidence of midwives and health visitors to educate and inform women about avoiding alcohol while pregnant.
PHE’s Start4Life social marketing programme delivers advice and practical guidance to parents and parents to be to help them adopt healthy behaviours and build parenting skills to give their child the best possible start. This includes looking after their own health, and addresses the implications of drinking during pregnancy. Start4Life uses a range of products to inform and influence its audience’s behaviour around alcohol consumption including the Information Service for Parents, Start4Life website, and leaflets and posters.
Through voluntary actions by alcohol producers, independent research showed that in 2014 90.7% of bottles and cans carried warning labels about drinking in pregnancy, compared to just 17.6% of products six years before.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30709, when he expects his Department’s response to the call for evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges to be published.
Nick Boles
The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges, with a view to announcing its next steps shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in the light of the findings of the independent review of the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright.
Lord Prior of Brampton
These are matters in the first instance for NHS Improvement. The Verita report, Independent review of the handling by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright, was commissioned by the NHS Trust Development Authority – a forerunner organisation – independently of Government.
NHS Improvement is commissioning a governance review to consider issues highlighted by the Verita report. A copy of the terms of reference for the new governance review are attached.
Verita was originally requested (under specific terms of reference) to review and provide a dedicated report on the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright. Governance issues that fell outside of those terms of reference will be considered in the new review, to ensure thorough investigation.
The new review will take into account evidence provided by Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright and others in the course of the Verita review.