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  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the UK Genetics Testing Network plans to conduct an evaluation of genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations.

    George Freeman

    NHS England offers BRCA testing to individuals with a greater than 10% chance of carrying the mutation, using a model based on the individual’s personal and family history of cancers. Data is not collected centrally on reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year. However, it is not intended that this will include specific data for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing activity.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    George Freeman

    NHS England offers BRCA testing to individuals with a greater than 10% chance of carrying the mutation, using a model based on the individual’s personal and family history of cancers. Data is not collected centrally on reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year. However, it is not intended that this will include specific data for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing activity.

  • Edward Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Edward Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Garnier on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy that costs in fatal cases involving a claim for less than £25,000, including the costs of representation at inquest, will fall outside of the proposed fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence schemes.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is currently preparing to go out to public consultation on the introduction of fixed recoverable costs (FRC) for clinical negligence claims as originally proposed by Lord Woolf and Lord Justice Jackson in 1996 and 2009 respectively. The consultation will include consideration on the maximum value of claims that will be covered by the FRC regime and whether there should be any exemptions. We will review all responses before making a final decision on these issues.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the longest a patient waited for discharge from hospital after being declared fit to leave was in (a) England and Wales, (b) London and (c) each health trust in London in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not available in the format requested.

    Official statistics for NHS trusts in England are published by NHS England on the number of patients delayed on the last Thursday of each month and the total delayed days during the month for all patients delayed throughout the month. The latest publication of this data was for delays occurring in October 2015 and was published on 10 December 2015.

    It is not possible to calculate a montly average or the longest waits from these data. Health is a devolved matter in Wales.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS respiratory physiotherapists work with people with muscle wasting conditions in (a) Nottingham, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that best practice on autism diagnosis and post-diagnostic support is shared between clinical commissioning groups.

    Alistair Burt

    We know that people with autism can experience common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as other mental illnesses. Over £400 million has been invested in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies to ensure access to talking therapies for those who need them, including those with autism.

    An additional investment of £1.4 billion has been allocated to children and young people’s mental health services over the course of this Parliament. The Department is working closely with NHS England to invest in clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to deliver Local Transformation Plans, which must address the full spectrum of need including children with autism and learning disabilities. Roll-out of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programmes by 2018 will extend access to training for staff working with children with autism.

    With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to (CCGs) where there is good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality Standard 51 Autism, and to those that do not, with the aim of identifying best practice on diagnosis and support.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women were tested for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    NHS England offers BRCA testing to individuals with a greater than 10% chance of carrying the mutation, using a model based on the individual’s personal and family history of cancers. Data is not collected centrally on reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year. However, it is not intended that this will include specific data for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing activity.

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

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the long-term viability of the care home sector; and if he will reassess the contribution that could be made to that viability of the care practitioner role.

    Alistair Burt

    Through November’s comprehensive Spending Review, the Government announced that it was giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20.

    Councils will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. This could raise nearly £2 billion a year for social care by 2019/20.

    From April 2017, the Spending Review makes available social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20, to be included in the Better Care Fund.

    Taken together, the new precept and additional Better Care Fund contribution mean local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

    Under the Care Act (2014), local authorities have legal duties to shape a sustainable and diverse market of care providers capable of delivering a choice of quality services to their local population. These duties apply in respect of all care services, including care home services. The Government published statutory guidance to support local authorities discharge their market shaping duties effectively, which includes guidance around adult social care commissioning.

    The care practitioner scheme was withdrawn by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Department of Health was not involved in the assessment of the contribution that the care practitioner role could make to the care home sector.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that mental health diagnostic and other services are (i) accessible and (ii) meet the needs of (A) children and (B) adults on the autism spectrum.

    Alistair Burt

    We know that people with autism can experience common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as other mental illnesses. Over £400 million has been invested in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies to ensure access to talking therapies for those who need them, including those with autism.

    An additional investment of £1.4 billion has been allocated to children and young people’s mental health services over the course of this Parliament. The Department is working closely with NHS England to invest in clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to deliver Local Transformation Plans, which must address the full spectrum of need including children with autism and learning disabilities. Roll-out of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programmes by 2018 will extend access to training for staff working with children with autism.

    With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to (CCGs) where there is good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality Standard 51 Autism, and to those that do not, with the aim of identifying best practice on diagnosis and support.

  • Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve research into the causes of and a cure for fibromyalgia.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including fibromyalgia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

    The researcher-led workstream of the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme is funded by the Medical Research Council and managed by the NIHR. This programme funds clinical efficacy studies and is currently open to applications, including applications in fibromyalgia. The programme also provides an opportunity to use clinical studies to understand disease or treatment mechanisms.