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  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of poor mental health on the education outcomes of children up to 18 years old.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    An estimated 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. We know that all forms of mental health disorder in children are associated with disruption to education and absence from school. We also know there is a strong association between conduct disorders in adolescence and a lack of qualifications in early adulthood.

    This is why the government has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. We want all children and young people to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing. The Department of Health has committed an additional £1.4 billion of funding which will be used to help radically improve mental health services for children, young people and new mothers over the next 5 years.

    Schools and colleges have an important role to play in supporting the resilience and mental health of children and young people. To support schools develop approaches that suit the particular needs of their students we have:

    • contributed £1.5 million to a joint pilot for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed;
    • funded guidance and lesson plans to support age-appropriate teaching about mental health;
    • published guidance on the provision of high quality counselling in schools, and mental health and behaviour;
    • provided funding worth £4.9 million this year, through a dedicated mental health strand within our VCS programme, to support 17 projects delivering a wide range of support across the country to children and young people with mental health issues. These include projects to promote positive mental health in schools with organisations such as MIND and Place2Be.
  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that friends and family of people who have died by suicide receive a copy of the publication Help is at Hand from Public Health England.

    Alistair Burt

    Help is at Hand is available on the ‘Support after Suicide’ website and to order on the Department’s orderline. Public Health England is working with the voluntary sector and local areas to make sure there is effective distribution.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of in-patients in each of the last five years have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983.

    Alistair Burt

    The proportion of in-patients who have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years is detailed on the attached table Detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 as a proportion of people in hospital.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many representatives from the criminal justice system are on the Mental Health Taskforce; and what areas of that sector each represents.

    Alistair Burt

    Membership of NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce is drawn from the Department of Health and its arms-length bodies which hold critical responsibilities related to the planning and delivery of care. It also includes representatives from the third sector, providers and professional bodies.

    Senior representatives from other NHS England work programmes may be invited to advise, participate in decision making or contribute resources where there is a common purpose or objective. Kate Davies OBE, Director for Direct Commissioning of Health & Justice Services, NHS England has contributed to the work of the Task force.

    Further details about the organisations represented on the Taskforce can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/10/mh-tor-fin.pdf

    In recognition of the critical interdependencies with a wide range of services outside the health and care system, the Taskforce was asked to consider the enabling actions required from the wider system, including criminal justice.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 11834, whether he still intends to open the consultation on reform of support for those affected by contaminated blood products by the end of this year.

    Jane Ellison

    Reforming the current payment schemes is a priority and we are keen to get this right for those affected.

    We do not have a firm date for the consultation at this time, but it will be announced as soon as possible.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to assure the public of the safety and quality of laser eye surgery.

    Alistair Burt

    Providers of laser eye surgery are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as this is a regulated activity. All providers of regulated activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 must be registered with the Care Quality Commission and meet the new fundamental standards of safety and quality that came into force on 1 April this year. The CQC has a range of enforcement actions that it can take if providers do not meet the fundamental standards.

    Doctors performing laser eye surgery in the United Kingdom must also be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). All registered doctors are expected to be familiar with the GMC’s publication Good medical practice and supporting guidance, which describes what is expected of them. This document makes clear that medical doctors must recognise and work within the limits of their competence.

    It has now been agreed that work to improve the delivery, safety and standards for patient information for laser eye surgery will be taken forward separately from the work to implement the Keogh Review, and that, as the professional body for setting the standards of practice for refractive procedures, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists will lead on this work.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his timetable is for implementing the recommendations of the Keogh Review with regard to the safety and quality of laser eye surgery.

    Alistair Burt

    Providers of laser eye surgery are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as this is a regulated activity. All providers of regulated activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 must be registered with the Care Quality Commission and meet the new fundamental standards of safety and quality that came into force on 1 April this year. The CQC has a range of enforcement actions that it can take if providers do not meet the fundamental standards.

    Doctors performing laser eye surgery in the United Kingdom must also be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). All registered doctors are expected to be familiar with the GMC’s publication Good medical practice and supporting guidance, which describes what is expected of them. This document makes clear that medical doctors must recognise and work within the limits of their competence.

    It has now been agreed that work to improve the delivery, safety and standards for patient information for laser eye surgery will be taken forward separately from the work to implement the Keogh Review, and that, as the professional body for setting the standards of practice for refractive procedures, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists will lead on this work.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 11834, whether the additional £25 million transitional funding announced by the Prime Minister was provided by HM Treasury or from within existing Departmental funds; how much of that funding has been allocated or spent to date; and what new funding for this purpose has been provided in the departmental settlement in the Spending Review 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The £25 million was announced by the Prime Minister in March 2015, to support transition to a reformed scheme. The money will come from existing departmental funds. We expect to announce our plans for that money once we have a better understanding of what wider scheme reform might comprise following the outcomes of the consultation.

    Funding for specific programme budgets, following the Spending Review, will be set out as part of the normal business planning cycle, as we work on the detail of our central budgets over the coming months.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from (a) the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington and (b) the hon. Member for Lewisham East on the effects of EU competition law on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is not aware of having received any representations from either hon. Member on this matter.

    With regards to the application of European Union competition law (the basis of which is found in Article 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), the Health and Social Care Act 2012 did not extend its application to the National Health Service. Where providers of health services are found to be acting as undertakings they would be subject to competition law, and therefore subject to the safeguards that the law provides for patient and taxpayer interests.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the New Medicine Service is not available to mental health patients.

    George Freeman

    The conditions/therapy areas selected for the New Medicine Service (NMS) are those where community pharmacies are best able to demonstrate the value of the service and could provide the greatest benefit to patients. The conditions/therapy areas are currently asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes, antiplatelet/anticoagulant therapy and hypertension.

    As the commissioners of National Health Service pharmaceutical services it is for NHS England to consider, in light of the best available evidence, whether to negotiate changes to the NMS including whether the NMS should be offered to mental health patients.