The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 1150 of Session 2015-16, Legal protection for unborn children.
Jane Ellison
The Government has no plans to repeal the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929, or sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the number of unaccompanied child refugees in Calais who have family in the UK; and when that assessment was carried out.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The management of asylum claims and the protection of unaccompanied children in Calais is primarily a matter for the French authorities. A French non-government organisation, France Terre D’Asile (FDTA) has been charged with identifying isolated children with UK links. Both Governments are clear that unaccompanied children in Calais in need of protection should claim asylum in France. The UK will consider requests to take responsibility of an asylum application made in France, when lodged by a minor with close family connections in the UK, and both Governments are committed to ensuring such cases are prioritised. There has been intense cooperation between the UK and French authorities to improve the operation of the Dublin process. We have established a permanent official level contact group and we will shortly be seconding another UK expert to the French Interior Ministry. We have already made significant progress in speeding up the Dublin process. Since the beginning of the year over 120 children have been accepted for transfer from Europe under the family reunion provisions of Dublin, over 70 of whom were from France.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK leaving the EU does not have a deleterious effect on the operation of UK universities; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robin Walker
The Department for Exiting the EU has engaged with a number of higher education institutions and groups including Universities UK and Royal Academies. Over the next few months the department will continue to engage with key stakeholders in business and civil society, including universities, through a series of roundtables, bi-laterals and visits across the UK.
We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly. The government has already announced that UK researchers can still apply for Horizon 2020 projects and the Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. Equally, EU students applying for a place at an English university or further education institution in the 2017 to 2018 academic year will continue to be eligible for student loans and grants – and will be for the duration of their course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend the current additional financial incentives for modern foreign language teachers in secondary schools to language specialists entering the teaching profession in primary schools.
Lord Nash
Financial incentives for initial teacher training (ITT) are designed to attract applicants to certain subjects. We have increased bursaries for secondary languages ITT trainees for 2016/17 in response to growing demand.
We have no current plans to extend these generous financial incentives for secondary language trainees to primary trainees. Primary ITT courses continue to be popular with applicants, and we are confident that we can recruit enough trainees nationally to meet need at the bursary rates announced for 2016/17.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost to the economy of computer hacking.
Matthew Hancock
The Government takes cyber security very seriously: since 2011 we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme to protect the UK from cyber attack. Measures have included: setting up a National Cyber Crime Unit, establishing CERT-UK – a computer emergency response team, creating a Cyber Information Sharing Partnership for companies to share information, the Cyber Essentials Scheme for businesses, cyber risk reviews for companies and developing cyber initiatives into the education process.
We will invest £1.9b in cyber security over the next five years to protect the UK from cyber attack. This ambitious level of investment will include: a programme of active cyber defence; creation of a National Cyber Centre and an ambitious skills programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Adebowale on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in transferring healthcare in police custody to the NHS from April 2015; why that transfer has been delayed; what plans they have to ensure that work done by the police and NHS England to date is not lost; and how they will ensure that the same level of physical and mental healthcare is available to those in custody as to those not in custody.
Lord Bates
My rt honFriend the Home Secretary has decided that a reallocation from the overall police settlement in respect of custody healthcare costs would not be appropriate at this time. Funding responsibility for police custody healthcare services will therefore remain with Police and Crime Commissioners who will have flexibility to prioritise resource towards police custody healthcare, based on local needs. We expect that in doing so, they will wish to continue to develop the close partnerships which have already been established with local NHS England commissioners as part of the work on police custody healthcare arrangements in ensuring the most appropriate local commissioning, and healthcare arrangements.
We will continue to support such partnerships to build upon the work done to date and, particularly, to work with them to explore the scope for new models for better integrating the commissioning of the range of physical and mental health initiatives and interventions available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of cervical cancer in 25 to 29 year olds.
Jane Ellison
NHS England closely monitors the coverage rates for cervical screening in all age groups and is committed to improving coverage and reducing variation between all groups including black and minority ethnic women, women with learning disabilities and women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Local NHS England commissioners analyse coverage rates within their area and work with general practices to improve coverage by sharing best practice. For example, commissioners in London have developed a screening coverage strategy and delivery plan, including:
― Increased public awareness and engagement with screening programmes across all communities;
― increased engagement with primary care and improved reliability of data; and
― working with screening providers to optimise coverage.
In addition to this:
― A primary care cancer screening best practice guide has been developed jointly with the transforming cancer services team, clinical commissioning groups and local authority public health representatives;
― linking with Cancer Research UK facilitators and Macmillan Cancer Support general practitioners to support best practice for screening in general practice; and
― imperial College is conducting a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of texting non-responders on improving coverage.
NHS England is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support on the ACE (Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate) Programme aiming to generate knowledge about effective approaches to achieve earlier diagnosis. A number of ACE test sites are evaluating approaches to increase screening rates in a range of groups, including black and ethnic minority women, women with learning disabilities and women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
To explore the potential to increase rates of cervical screening in young women, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme has commissioned a £1 million study to determine which interventions are effective at increasing screening uptake amongst women aged 25 who are receiving their first invitation from the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. The study began in November 2011 and reports can be expected later in 2016.
In addition, the Department of Health Behavioural Insight team has undertaken a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening. Results are due in summer 2016.
A routine human papillomavirus vaccination programme has been available in England since 2008, and offers immunisation to girls aged 12-14 years. It is expected that the vaccine will reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and allow them to be protected for years to come.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision that any overspend in the Cancer Drugs Fund is subsequently paid for entirely by the pharmaceutical industry and not shared between industry and the NHS.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England plans to invest in a new £340 million Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) to provide early access to cancer drug indications. Under the new process, any drugs that receive either a draft recommendation for routine commissioning or, where uncertainty exists, a recommendation for use within the CDF, will receive interim funding from the CDF from the point of marketing authorisation.
This earlier access to cancer drugs will benefit both patients and the pharmaceutical industry and NHS England believes it is only fair that the pharmaceutical industry makes a contribution if any overspend occurs.
NHS England’s impact assessment will not be completed until the detailed outcomes from the current consultation on the future of the CDF are confirmed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs were working in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) Enfield and (c) London (i) in total and (ii) per head of population in each year since 2010.
Alistair Burt
The attached table shows the total general practitioner (GP) headcount and headcount per head of population in Enfield and London between 2010-14.
Information on the availability of GP appointments in Enfield North is not collected centrally.
We have invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and over 18 million patients have benefited from improved access and transformational change at a local level. A wide variety of approaches are being tested through the Access Fund, including: evening and weekend appointments and better use of telecare and health apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, email or telephone; and developing more integrated services with a single point of contact to co-ordinate patient services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of participation in out-of-court restorative justice on re-offending rates.
Mike Penning
It is vital that victims see swift and certain justice delivered to their offender. It is also vital that victims of crime get the help they need to cope with, and recover from, crime.
That is why we have protected the victims’ budget and given Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) greater flexibility to decide which services are needed in their local area. Restorative Justice can be a part of a wide range of services offered to victims of crime, and we are providing advice and guidance to help PCCs deliver it.
There has been no assessment on the impact on reoffending rates of participation in restorative justice as part of an out of court disposal.