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  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is provided to carers of neurofibromatosis sufferers.

    Earl Howe

    We are very much aware of and greatly value the significant contribution which unpaid carers make to the care of disabled people.

    If a disabled person has neurofibromatosis and qualifies for a ‘gateway’ benefit, then their carer could be entitled to Carer’s Allowance, which is currently £61.35 per week. This will depend on certain conditions of both the disabled person and the carer being satisfied. Universal Credit includes a carer element where an eligible adult in the household provides regular and substantial care for a person with a long-term health condition or disability. The element is awarded where that person satisfies the conditions of entitlement of Carer’s Allowance.

    Support for carers is an integral part of social care. Under current legislation, local authorities have a duty to assess carers who are providing substantial care on a regular basis, when requested to do so. The assessment and any eligible services to follow that are designed to support a carer to continue their caring responsibilities, are for the local authority to determine.

    Carers are also central to the Government’s proposals for improving care and support, and there are significant improvements in the Care Bill for carers. The Bill extends carers’ rights to an assessment, which will be based on an appearance of need and will include consideration of the impact of caring on the carer, and the outcomes they wish to achieve. For the first time, there will be a duty on local authorities to meet carers’ eligible needs for support, putting them on an equal footing to the people they care for.

    We have also provided £400 million to the National Health Service over four years from 2011 for carers to have breaks from their caring responsibilities. In the 2013 Spending Review, we announced the £3.8 billion Better Care Fund, which includes £130 millionfunding for carers’ breaks for 2015-16.

  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what diagnostic training general practitioners receive with regard to neurofibromatosis.

    Earl Howe

    The content and standard of medical training of trainee general practitioners (GPs) is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body. It has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.

    In the specific area of genetics in primary care, the curriculum designed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) requires GPs to understand that while some genetic conditions always present with the same signs and symptoms, others can show variability between family members, particularly some autosomal dominant conditions (such as neurofibromatosis type 1).

    The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. This mandate includes a commitment that HEE will ensure that GP training produces GPs with the required competencies to practise in the new NHS. Consequently HEE will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.

  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many neurofibromatosis sufferers they estimate to be in the United Kingdom, broken down by (1) county, and (2) type.

    Earl Howe

    NHS England commissions neurofibromatosis type two (NF2) services and complex neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) services as part of its remit to deliver specialised services.

    NHS England has published service specifications for both types of neurofibromatosis. These estimate that in England there are 11,267 individuals with NF1 and 862 with NF2.

    The Department does not have specific guidance relating to the special travel needs of neurofibromatosis sufferers. Domestic equality legislation makes it unlawful for transport operators to discriminate against a disabled person simply because they are disabled, treat disabled people less favourably or fail to make reasonable adjustments in the way they provide their services, depending on the type of vehicles and the services they offer to the public.

    Furthermore, an extra level of protection is provided by recently implemented European regulations on passenger rights across all transport modes. These provide a set of rules for the treatment of disabled people and people with reduced mobility.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in view of the terms of Botswana’s independence agreed by the United Kingdom in 1966, they will discuss with the government of Botswana its long-term plans for those Basarwa or Bushmen who wish to remain permanently in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government regularly discusses with the Government of Botswana the situation of the San (also known as the Basarwa or Bushmen). We have consistently encouraged the Government of Botswana to seek an inclusive, sustainable and negotiated solution. We will continue to do so.

  • Lord Wills – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Wills – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 9 April (WA 304), whether the range of services to which they refer includes electoral registration.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    Local authorities are statutorily required to provide a number of services including electoral registration. Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 provides for the appointment of an officer of the council to be the Registration Officer for the registration of parliamentary and local government electors, and section 54 of that Act provides that expenses properly incurred by a registration officer in the performance of his registration duties shall be paid by the local authority by whom the registration officer was appointed.

    Additionally, the Government has committed to funding all net costs of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration to ensure that authorities are not left with unfunded burdens in line with the New Burdens Doctrine. In April 2014 the programme paid non-ring fenced section 31 grants to local authorities in England and Wales and paid invoices directly to Scotland to cover core Individual Electoral Registration costs.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full time members of staff in her Department have responsibility for malaria programmes.

    Justine Greening

    There are 12 full-time staff in the Health Services Team and Global Funds Department whose roles include work on malaria. In addition there are a wide range of staff across the Department, including research, press, policy, financial and corporate advisers and staff in the Regional Departments and country offices, whose roles include work on malaria.

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the question of human rights and freedom of religion and belief was amongst the range of international issues discussed by the Foreign Office’s Political Director, Sir Simon Gass, when he met senior Iranian officials whilst visiting Iran in April.

    Baroness Warsi

    Human rights were not amongst the issues discussed by Sir Simon Gass on his visit to Iran in April: his interlocutors did not have responsibilities in this area. However, the UK’s non-resident Chargé d’Affaires discussed human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran on 12 March 2014. He raised the use of the death penalty, freedom of religion and the workings of the criminal justice system. Prior to that, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Iran’s human rights records with Iranian foreign minister Zarif at the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2013.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full time members of staff in her Department have responsibility for issues relating to HIV/AIDS.

    Justine Greening

    I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer I provided to him on 11 March 2014, Official Report, column 187W.

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the displacement of people from the Syrian town of Kessab.

    Baroness Northover

    According to UN sources, approximately 1,500 to 1,600 families have been displaced from the city of Kessab.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full time members of staff in her Department have responsibility for tuberculosis.

    Justine Greening

    There are 12 full-time staff in the Health Services Team and Global Funds Department whose roles include work on tuberculosis. In addition there are a wide range of staff across the Department, including research, press, policy, financial and corporate advisers and staff in country offices, whose roles include work on tuberculosis.