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  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS England Trusts provide prostate surgery; how many of those track their incontinence rates after prostate surgery; of those hospitals that track outcomes, what is the average rate of post-surgical incontinence; what assessment they have made of whether survey-based research could be used to estimate the incontinence rate of those hospitals that do not track their outcomes; and if so, what is their estimate of the incontinence rate in those hospitals.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Prostate Cancer Audit 2014 found that 61 National Health Service trusts in England currently carry out radical prostatectomy, although others may carry out other surgical procedures. Estimates are not collected centrally of the number of patients who experience post-surgical incontinence.

    According to Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors in England: Report on a pilot survey using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS), published by the Department and the NHS in 2012, 44% of prostate cancer patients reported some urinary leakage and this was associated with lower quality of life scores. A copy of the report is attached.

    Prostate Cancer UK and the Movember Foundation are currently funding a PROMS programme, Life After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, to assess for the first time the long-term quality of life of prostate cancer survivors, including the proportion who suffer from incontinence and other treatment related consequences.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) how much (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Sweden, (e) the Netherlands, (f) France, (g) Denmark, (h) Belgium, and (i) Italy, spent per capita on cancer services, and (2) the national one-year cancer survival rates as a percentage of new patients for each of those countries, for the most recent year for which comparable data is available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are not aware of any comparable international data on per capita spending for cancer services. The National Audit Office estimated that the cost of cancer services to the National Health Service in 2012-13 was £6.7 billion, although precise figures are not available.

    The Eurocare-5 study, published in 2014, compares cancer survival rates across Europe, and includes all patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2007. These are the most recent available comparable data for the countries requested. Therefore, these comparisons are not a measure of current NHS performance and practice, but should be regarded as a long-term benchmark.

    Age-standardised, one-year, all-cancer survival rates for the requested countries are as follows:

    Country Age-standardised rate, one-year all-cancer survival (95% Confidence Interval) for patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2007

    England 67.6 (67.5-67.7)

    Scotland 67.5 (67.3-67.7)

    Wales 66.3 (66.0-66.6)

    Sweden 75.1 (75.0-75.3)

    Netherlands 71.9 (71.8-72.0)

    France 75.1 (74.9-75.4)

    Denmark 69.2 (69.0-69.4)

    Belgium 76.4 (76.3-76.6)

    Italy 75.2 (75.1-75.3)

    Source: Baili, P., et al. (2015). "Age and case mix-standardised survival for all cancer patients in Europe 1999–2007: Results of EUROCARE-5, a population-based study." European Journal of Cancer 51(15): 2120-2129.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many literacy courses were enrolled on by offenders assessed as having a literacy need in each year since 2010.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The number of offender learners participating in English courses for all academic years where data are available is shown in Table 1. A separate breakdown identifying learners who participated on an English course after being assessed as having a literacy need is not available.

    Table 1: Offender Learner Participation in English (2010/11 and 2013/14)

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    23,980

    25,220

    22,620

    26,080

    Notes

    1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

    Mandatory English and maths assessments for newly-received prisoners (except individuals who have been assessed recently, and those who already have maths and English at Level 2) were introduced from academic year 2014/15. The outcomes for the English education assessments in 2014/15 are published online at the FE Data Library (link below) and attached.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473764/feandskills-OLASS-participation-english-and-maths-assessments.xls

    “

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions the fire brigade has been called to an incident at a migrant detention centre in each of the last five years.

    Lord Bates

    Information for the complete data period requested is not held centrally.

    Provisional management information available on the number of attendances by the fire brigade for fires at immigration removal centres from January 2013 is provided below in line with the period for published statistics:

    Jan to Dec 2013 – 12 incidents

    Jan to Dec 2014 – 10 incidents

    Jan to Sep 2015 – 8 incidents

    Attendances by the fire brigade for incidents other than fires during the same data period could only be provided by examination of individual records so this information cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prison inmates are enrolled on courses or treatments to help them stop smoking.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Validated information is not available centrally.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the monthly sales figures for (1) e-cigarettes, and (2) tobacco products, in prison shops in the past year.

    Lord Faulks

    For prisons in England and Wales monthly sales (number of units sold[1]) for the period December 2014 to November 2015 were as follows:

    TOBACCO & CIGARETTES

    SUNDRIES[2]

    E CIGARETTE

    DECEMBER 2014

    318,300

    252,500

    310

    JANUARY 2015

    352,500

    284,200

    140

    FEBURARY 2015

    283,600

    228,300

    80

    MARCH 2015

    291,700

    228,400

    20

    APRIL 2015

    344,100

    282,500

    40

    MAY 2015

    290,800

    230,100

    60

    JUNE 2015

    286,000

    216,000

    60

    JULY 2015

    350,400

    268,400

    40

    AUGUST 2015

    286,900

    220,400

    6,500

    SEPTEMBER 2015

    280,200

    219,100

    5,600

    OCTOBER 2015

    344,200

    268,700

    3,000

    NOVEMBER 2015

    278,400

    220,200

    1,500

    It should be noted that some of the variation in monthly sales is due to months having four weekly accounting periods and other months having five.

    From December 2014 to mid-August 2015 e-cigarettes were only available in prisons in Wales plus the three Public Sector Prison establishments in England, (Eastwood Park, Stocken, and Preston) hence the relatively low sales. From 17 August 2015 all public sector establishments offered an e-cigarette on their Local Product List (prison shop form). The decrease in e-cigarette sales since August is thought to be due to an initial peak in sales when these products were first introduced.

    [1] Rounded to the nearest 100, or nearest 10 when sales are less than 1,000.

    [2] Sundries include, for example, rolling papers, lighters, matches, filter tips and rolling machines.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which department has overall responsibility for deradicalisation programmes in prisons.

    Lord Faulks

    Deradicalisation work in prisons forms part of the Government’s Prevent strategy, which is the responsibility of the Home Office. The delivery of this work in England and Wales is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, through the National Offender Management Service. In Scotland, responsibility for delivery lies with the Scottish Government, through the Scottish Prison Service.

  • Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to revise current visa categories to allow non-EU professionals and experts, in particular those in the health and science sectors, to teach one-off classroom sessions in the UK without pay, but receiving funding for their flights and accommodation, without the need for a work permit.

    Lord Bates

    We keep all categories of entry and the application process under regular review. The Home Office recently concluded a wide ranging review and consultation that led to the changes to the Immigration Rules for visitors in April this year. The changes included consolidation and simplification of all visitor categories from fifteen into four routes to provide flexibility on the activities a visitor can do, as well as some expansion of the permitted activities. These included business related activities such as participating in or running training courses, meetings and conferences.

    Under the Immigration Rules visitors are allowed to teach one-off classroom sessions in the UK without pay and their sponsors are welcome to provide funding for flights and accommodation.

    More details on what people can do when visiting the UK and how to apply can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa and the detailed Immigration Rules for Visitors can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules

  • – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the current visa categories and visa application processes in line with their Britain is GREAT campaign, which welcomes the world to visit

    Lord Bates

    We keep all categories of entry and the application process under regular review. The Home Office recently concluded a wide ranging review and consultation that led to the changes to the Immigration Rules for visitors in April this year. The changes included consolidation and simplification of all visitor categories from fifteen into four routes to provide flexibility on the activities a visitor can do, as well as some expansion of the permitted activities. These included business related activities such as participating in or running training courses, meetings and conferences.

    Under the Immigration Rules visitors are allowed to teach one-off classroom sessions in the UK without pay and their sponsors are welcome to provide funding for flights and accommodation.

    More details on what people can do when visiting the UK and how to apply can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa and the detailed Immigration Rules for Visitors can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules

  • Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review their current immigration policies so that international students, qualified researchers, and experts across the health and science sectors can more easily enter the UK and participate in training, run courses, and attend meetings and conferences.

    Lord Bates

    We keep all categories of entry and the application process under regular review. The Home Office recently concluded a wide ranging review and consultation that led to the changes to the Immigration Rules for visitors in April this year. The changes included consolidation and simplification of all visitor categories from fifteen into four routes to provide flexibility on the activities a visitor can do, as well as some expansion of the permitted activities. These included business related activities such as participating in or running training courses, meetings and conferences.

    Under the Immigration Rules, visitors are allowed to teach one-off classroom sessions in the UK without pay and their sponsors are welcome to provide funding for flights and accommodation.

    More details on what people can do when visiting the UK and how to apply can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa and the detailed Immigration Rules for Visitors can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules