The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations he has received on funding for the transition to a two-tier school system in Bedford Borough.
Mr David Laws
We are not aware of any representations made on this matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to support negotiations for a voluntary code of conduct in the United Nations Security Council to help prevent the use the veto in situations where mass atrocities are taking place.
Baroness Warsi
There are currently no negotiations for a voluntary code of conduct in the United Nations Security Council to help prevent the use the veto in situations where mass atrocities are taking place. I am of course aware of the proposal put forward by France and think that it offers an important contribution to the wider debate on reform of the Security Council and I welcome the interest that this initiative has created. The United Kingdom wholeheartedly supports the principle that the Security Council must act to stop mass atrocities and crimes against humanity. We cannot envisage circumstances where we would use our veto to block such action.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Nye on 2014-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the British Ambassador to Burma has raised the jailing of Zaw Pe with the government of Burma.
Baroness Warsi
Our Ambassador has discussed the case of Zaw Pe, and those of other arrested journalists, with Deputy Minister of Information Ye Htut. The cases of Zaw Pe and many other individuals were also raised during the first EU-Burma Human Rights Dialogue in May.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.