Blog

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to support the development of additional new nuclear reactors.

    Andrea Leadsom

    New nuclear power offers low carbon, affordable, and reliable energy to keep the lights on – which is our top priority.

    I can tell my Honourable Friend that the Department is focussed both on engaging with the 6 individual new nuclear proposals from developers, and also supporting the exciting future prospects for small modular reactor technology.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Ministers of the Scottish Government on the future of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Scotland.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury Ministers work closely with other Government departments and the devolved administrations.

    The House will be aware that HMRC announced in November its decision to significantly invest in Scotland by creating two Regional Centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh employing up to 6,300 staff.

    Senior HMRC officials have spoken to representatives of the Scottish Government, including the Scottish First Minister, reinforcing their commitment to keeping HMRC jobs in Scotland.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the welfare measures announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on the incidence of food poverty in Scotland.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Spending Review and Autumn Statement set out a plan to move Britain to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society. This will ensure that work always pays while continuing to provide a safety net to protect those who need extra support.

    This will benefit people across the country, including in Scotland.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve outcomes for people with rarer cancers.

    Jane Ellison

    Health is, of course, a devolved matter; however, ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the use of effective treatments for rare cancers, is a key priority. The four United Kingdom health departments and Cancer Research UK are jointly funding a network of 18 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres. These are driving the development and testing of new anti-cancer treatments to deliver real benefits for patients, including those with rare cancers.

    In England, the Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015, and made many recommendations relevant to rarer and blood cancers, focussing on improving access to diagnostic testing, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the frequency of use of police detention facilities for mental health patients who pose a risk to themselves or others when mental health facilities are full or unavailable.

    Alistair Burt

    Our departments have worked closely to achieve a reduction of 54% in the use of police custody as a place of safety in the last three years. We intend to amend primary legislation to further reduce its use and are investing up to £15 million in 2016-17 to help achieve this.

  • Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of patients who went to A&E after being unable to make an appointment with their GP in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Alistair Burt

    Of those patients who either were not able to get an appointment or get a convenient appointment in the last GP Patient Survey, 9.9% indicated that they went to accident and emergency or a walk-in centre (an increase of 0.5 percentage points since 2013-14).

  • James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission a review of portion sizes to inform the food industry and consumers about what constitutes a healthy portion.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s recent report, Sugar Reduction: The evidence for action, highlights that portion sizes have been increasing over time and that this results in more calories being consumed. We have a number of tools to help inform what constitutes a healthy portion size, for example the Front of Pack nutrition labelling scheme, the eatwell plate and the Change4Life programme.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that implementation of European Professional Cards for doctors does not inhibit his Department’s ability to perform background checks on doctors from other European countries.

    Ben Gummer

    The European Professional Card (EPC) will not be introduced for doctors until 2018 at the earliest.

    The European Commission will review the effectiveness of the EPC process for the first wave of professions, which includes nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists, before any decision is taken to extend the EPC to other professions.

  • Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to achieve seven-day services in hospitals by 2020.

    Ben Gummer

    By 2020, all hospital patients who need urgent or emergency care will have access to the same levels of consultant assessment and review, diagnostic tests and consultant-led interventions, whatever day of the week it is.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve one-year cancer survival rates over the next five years.

    Jane Ellison

    We want to lead the world in fighting cancer. Survival rates have never been higher, but we want to go further. In England, the independent Cancer Taskforce’s five-year strategy for cancer, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway with the aim of improving survival rates.

    Updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence referral guidelines for suspected cancer could save about 5,000 lives with general practitioners urged to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold for tests. Whilst health is, of course, a devolved matter, we know that these guidelines are often used by the devolved administrations.