The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on the proportion of the mental health budget that is spent on forensic psychiatry.
Alistair Burt
Forensic Services is one of the collections in NHS England’s new programme budget collection for mental health. NHS England is planning to publish 2014/15 data in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the report of the European Parliament Budgetary Control Committee on EU external aid and development programmes.
Baroness Verma
The report concerned is based on internal Commission reports from EU delegations in non-EU countries, many of which are fragile or conflict-affected. These reports identify potential problems during implementation, so that things can be put right in time. We have not seen the actual reports, as these are internal Commission management documents. The report highlights the implementation challenges and the steps taken by the Commission to manage these risks, including the withholding of funds where fraud is thought to be to an issue. If it is proven that money has been wasted we expect the EU and its audit institutions to take swift and decisive action to recoup funds and to carry out a thorough review of all its programmes to provide a clear set of actions to stop this happening again.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of North Korea on the arrest of Mr Otto Frederick Warmbier, and the detention of Hyeon Soo Lim and Kim Dong Chul.
Mr Hugo Swire
We are aware of the cases of the US and Canadian nationals who have been arrested and detained by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Sweden, which has consular responsibility for these individuals, is providing assistance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will respond to the conclusion of the Amnesty International Report 2015-16, the State of the World’s Human Rights, relating to the UK.
Dominic Raab
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Hammersmith on 1 March 2016, which can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-02-25/28489/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to increase the funding available for disability sports which are not currently paralympic sports.
David Evennett
Government recognises the importance of sport and physical activity to disabled people who take part at both grassroots and the elite level. Our new sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, emphasises the importance of getting people active, particularly those groups currently under-represented, including disabled people.
Sport England is investing over £170 million in England to get more disabled people playing both Paralympic and non-Paralympic sports; and it will shortly publish its own strategy for England, following a wide public consultation, setting out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy, including how it will promote grassroots sport and physical activity for all.
Elite disability sport is funded by UK Sport whose role it is to ensure that the resources available to support Paralympic athletes are targeted to maximise medal success.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s news story of 27 April 2016, Update on a new clause to be inserted into grant agreements, what guidance his Department has given to departments which have already inserted an anti-lobbying clause into grant agreements made with organisations since the start of the current financial year.
Matthew Hancock
As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are committed to protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation of this clause into grant agreements, pending a review of the representations made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had in recent months with (a) Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and (b) Nottingham University Hospitals Trust on potential financial support from his Department to cover the costs of Sherwood Forest’s PFI arrangements.
George Freeman
The Department has not received an application for Private Finance Iinitiative financial support associated with the proposed Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust long term partnership.
The Department has taken part in a brief initial discussion with Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust’s advisors and NHS Improvement in relation to the process, timescales and other relevant issues associated with the long term partnership. However financial plans for the long term partnership have not yet been put forward to the Department to enable formal financial discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the military (a) capabilities and (b) asset levels in Northern Ireland to deal with the threat level.
Mike Penning
Both the adequacy of military capabilities and asset levels in Northern Ireland are continually reviewed with the Northern Ireland Office and civil authorities, who lead on security in Northern Ireland, to ensure our support is proportionate, effective and efficient. Policing and security remains the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Security Service and therefore this includes our support to civil authorities. For example, support routinely provided in Northern Ireland includes explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and Defence are currently undertaking an enhancement of military vehicles used for the provision of this support.
I am withholding further information on assessments as its disclosure would prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 227900, how much of the £250 million additional funding that was committed has been spent; and how many children and young people with mental health problems this funding has supported.
Alistair Burt
The Government will be making available £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to transform children and young people’s mental health. £173 million of this has been allocated in 2015-16.
It is too early to quantify how many Children and Young People have benefited from this additional investment.
A significant proportion of the additional funding is being allocated to clinical commissioning groups upon completion of the assurance of Local Transformation Plans which every area has produced on children and young people’s mental health. These plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues, from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. Plans are currently being assured by NHS England’s regional assurance teams. Funding is being released as individual plans receive a satisfactory assessment and expenditure will be monitored over the remainder of this financial year.
In addition, the additional funding available this year will support continued improvement of existing services through the expansion of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. It will also strengthen the capacity and capability of workforce including providing training and improve data and information in order to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind by 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote compliance by clinical commissioning groups with the NICE Quality Standard on Autism.
Alistair Burt
The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year 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. This sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies.
The Department has also discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. The Quality Standard, which applies to children, young people and adults, recommends that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the NHS to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
We understand that NHS Halton CCG is working on improvements to the paediatric neurological pathway which incorporates children with autism. This will see the Child Development Centre (CDC) in Halton become a single access point of assessment for the most complex children. It is expected that the CDC will ensure that the first appointment for a child referred to them is well within the three months recommended by NICE.
The service commissioned by Halton CCG will also comply with NICE guidelines by ensuring that the appropriate mix of clinicians is available for a multi-disciplinary assessment, which also includes Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
In regard to adults, NHS Halton CCG is currently meeting its statutory requirements with autism by purchasing a diagnostic service on a cost per case basis from our provider of mental health services, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The CCG is working with other partners who receive the same service from the same provider with a view to pooling resources to commission a diagnostic and post diagnostic service.