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  • Lord Moonie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Moonie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many calls per week on average were received by the Money Advice Service (1) before, and (2) after, the television advertising campaign; and how much has been spent on the campaign.

    Lord Deighton

    This matter is the responsibility of the Money Advice Service. I have asked the Chief Executive to respond and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be deposited in the Libraries of the House.

  • Lord Wills – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Wills – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Hill of Oareford on 8 May (HL Deb, col 1574), when will they respond to the email sent by Lord Wills to Roger Smethurst at the Cabinet Office on 14 March.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Mr Smethurst replied to the noble lord on 23 June 2014.

  • David Heyes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Heyes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Heyes on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Public Health England over a possible nationawide roll-out of the recent Be Clear on Cancer pilot study for oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East.

    Jane Ellison

    We want to lead the world in cancer care and are investing over £750 million, over four years up till 2014-15, including £450 million in the early diagnosis of cancer, including oesophago-gastric cancers.

    The earlier diagnosis money is designed to support earlier diagnosis of cancer by improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms through centrally funded Be Clear on Cancer campaigns; increasing general practitioner access to key diagnostic tests; and, to pay for extra testing and treatment in secondary care.

    Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England. Following a local pilot which ran from April to July 2012, we ran a regional Be Clear on Cancer pilot campaign from 10 February to 9 March 2014 raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East and North Cumbria. The campaign included television, radio, press and outdoor advertising. The findings of this pilot are being evaluated by Public Health England, who works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals, before a decision is taken on whether to roll out the campaign nationally throughout England.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the work of local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators in tackling extremism in schools; and how many local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators submitted evaluations or other forms of evidence to his Department in the last year for which information is available.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Preventing extremism in all schools is a priority for the Government. In 2010 the Department for Education set up the first preventing extremism unit in Whitehall outside the Home Office. Ofsted now trains inspectors to understand and report on extremism. The Department has published a range of guidance to support schools in raising awareness of the risks from extremism.

    Schools can help protect children from extremist and violent views in the same ways that they help to safeguard children from drugs, gang violence or alcohol abuse. Schools’ work on Prevent needs to be seen in this context. It is for local authorities to determine how best to support schools in their areas in the light of local circumstances.

    A number of local Prevent projects, funded by Home Office, engage schools and supplementary schools and train teachers in priority areas. The Department for Education and Home Office are working together to secure the best practical outcome from this funding. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to evaluate the projects it funds.

  • Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that high-cost drugs are delivered to cystic fibrosis patients on time.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    It is important that patients, including those with cystic fibrosis, get those high cost drugs provided through homecare services on time.

    The Department commissioned a review of homecare medicine supply arrangements to ensure they deliver the best value for patients, the National Health Service and the provider market. The review report, Homecare Medicines: Towards a Vision for the Future, was published in December 2011 and is available at:

    http://media.dh.gov.uk/network/121/files/2011/12/111201-Homecare-Medicines-Towards-a-Vision-for-the-Future2.pdf

    The outcome of subsequent improvement work is summarised in the further report, Homecare Medicines: Towards a Vision for the Future – Taking Forward the Recommendations, published in May 2014 and available at:

    www.uhns.nhs.uk/AboutUs/NHSHomecareMedicinesinEngland.aspx

    NHS England issued a patient safety alert on minimising the risks of omitted and delayed medicines for patients receiving homecare services on 10 April 2014. This recommended that all healthcare organisations that commission clinical homecare services:

    – establish if medicine homecare services were used by their organisation and if incidents of omitted and delayed medicines had occurred;

    – consider whether immediate action needed to be taken locally and, if required, develop an action plan, to reduce risk and the potential risk to patients;

    – disseminate the alert to all medical, nursing, pharmacy and other staff involved in the care of homecare patients; and

    – report patient safety incidents concerning homecare to the National Reporting and Learning Service.

    A copy of the patient safety alert is available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/psa-omitted-delayed-meds.pdf

    The Department continues to work with NHS England, homecare companies, pharmaceutical suppliers and the NHS to ensure that homecare arrangements are safe and deliver value for the NHS and improved outcomes for patients.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the outcome of the most recent Bonn Climate Change Conference; and if he will make a statement.

    Gregory Barker

    The Bonn Climate Change Intersessional Conference is not expected to finish until 15 June, so we will not have a concrete assessment of the session until then. The meeting is a mid-year one to pave the way for the Lima Conference of the Parties (COP) in December. This meeting in Bonn will focus on negotiations on the new global climate change deal that will be agreed in 2015, on work to enhance emissions reductions efforts in the years to 2020, when the new deal will come into effect, and to continue to progress the UN climate regime’s subsidiary agenda, covering rules, mechanisms, reporting and other areas implementing past decisions.

    Even though there won’t be an outcome, we want the meeting in Bonn to focus on technical and practical discussions to pave the way for countries to bring forward, in early 2015, their contributions to the new Agreement and to make progress towards agreeing in Lima draft elements of a negotiating text – these are important milestones for the 2015 agreement.

    As we are not expecting any outcomes, I don’t anticipate the need to make a statement.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England about ensuring that all trusts provide the necessary facilities and support to ensure that families can be with their babies while they are in neonatal care, as set out in the national service specification for neonatal critical care.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Department and NHS England regularly discuss maternity and newborn care.

    NHS England’s Neonatal Service Specification requires that all commissioned providers of Neonatal Services provide appropriate family facilities. The current service specification states that:

    Facilities should be available to support family centred care including access to parent accommodation, private and comfortable breastfeeding/expressing facilities, and private room for confidential conversations and so on.

    A revised specification has recently been drafted, within which this statement has been strengthened. The revised draft specification has been out to public consultation and the Clinical Reference Group is currently responding to the comments received. It is anticipated that the revised service specification will be included in NHS England contracts with providers from April 2015.

    As part of NHS England’s Service Specification Compliance process, all units will have assessed their level of compliance against the service specification. Where relevant, units will have highlighted where they are not yet meeting this requirement. In those circumstances, the Area Team Commissioner and the relevant provider will have agreed an action plan for achievement of the standard, where is it not currently being met, within 12 months. The actual facilities provided for families are locally determined and the exact number of overnight beds may therefore vary from service to service.

  • Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Sheridan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Sheridan on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of his policy on binding votes for remuneration committees.

    Jenny Willott

    The Government’s reforms to increase the transparency of executive pay include a requirement that quoted companies put their remuneration policy to a binding vote of the company’s shareholders, at minimum, every three years.

    Shareholders also have an annual advisory vote on the annual remuneration report, covering what has been paid. Where this is rejected, the company will be required to re-submit their remuneration policy to a binding vote at the AGM the following year.

    It is too soon to form firm conclusions about the impact of the Government reforms, which only came into force in October last year.

    The Government is monitoring the impact of the reforms and will be taking stock of their impact after the voting season is over.

    The Government is keeping this policy area under review.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what incentives are in place to improve the uptake of hepatitis C treatment nationally.

    Jane Ellison

    Clinical commissioning groups have considerable local flexibility to introduce incentives where they wish to prioritise a particular issue, based on their population needs. There are no national incentives in place to support improved uptake of hepatitis C treatment in England.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent Presidential elections in Syria on the prospects for future political reconciliation between the government and Opposition forces.

    Mr William Hague

    The recent Syrian Presidential elections were a parody of democracy designed to sustain the Assad dictatorship, held in the midst of a civil war and extreme regime violence with millions displaced from their homes unable to vote. They did not meet even the most basic requirements for free and fair elections.

    We judge that holding these elections was damaging to the political process. This is a view shared by the UN who warned that holding elections “will damage the political process and hamper the prospects for political solution that the country so urgently needs.”

    We will continue to support the moderate opposition who have a pluralistic, democratic vision of a future Syria and to create conditions for a future political settlement. A negotiated political transition in Syria, following the principles set out in the Geneva communiqué, is the only way to end the conflict and alleviate Syria’s humanitarian crisis.