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  • Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the timely conclusion of investigations by the Independent Police Complaints Commission; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    In March 2013, the Home Secretary announced that increased resources would be transferred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to enable it to expand and undertake many more independent investigations, including all serious and sensitive matters involving the police. This change programme is under way. The IPCC has more than doubled the number of independent investigations opened (from 241 in 2014-15 to over 500 in 2015/16). The average duration of investigations reduced from 294 working days in 2014/15 to 225 working days in 2015/16.

    This Government is legislating via the Policing and Crime Bill to increase the IPCC’s powers and to reform its governance structures. The reforms are designed to deliver a more capable, resilient IPCC with clearer lines of responsibility and decision making. They will further ensure that complaints and investigations are handled in a way that builds public trust and confidence.

  • James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps Border Force has taken to identify and assist potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery at ports across the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Combating modern slavery, which includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour, is a leading priority for Border Force. All frontline Border Force Officers have access to comprehensive guidance on modern slavery and must complete mandatory training on identifying victims of modern slavery.

    Additionally, Border Force has specialist teams at ports across the country which receive additional, in depth, training to increase their levels of expertise. This allows Border Force to maintain a high degree of vigilance to identify and protect those who may be a victim of modern slavery and to identify those seeking to exploit them. Border Force officers follow established processes and referring all identified child and consenting adult potential victims to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which acts as the UK’s identification and support process for victims.

    Border Force staff also receive mandatory training also takes places on how to refer potential victims to NRM. Working in close partnership with police forces, social services and the UK Human Trafficking Centre, Border Force also carries out intelligence led exercises to tackle the threat of trafficking at the border.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to safeguard the existing rights under EU treaties of non-UK EU citizens living in the UK in the event of a vote to leave the EU.

    James Brokenshire

    Article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union deals with the process of exiting the EU.

    More detail is set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February. The White Paper is available on the GOV.UK website, using the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-process-for-withdrawing-from-the-european-union

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 14 January 2016, HCWS70, on immigration detention, when she plans to publish the joint Department of Health, NHS and Home Office mental health plan.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is still considering the arrangements for publishing the joint Department of Health, NHS England and Home Office mental health action plan.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP practices in Dorset provide phlebotomy services; and what action his Department is taking to increase the number of practices providing such services.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England advises that 83 out of 98 general practitioner (GP) practices in Dorset provide practice based phlebotomy as an enhanced service. All patients registered at GP practices in Dorset have access to phlebotomy services, which are provided from a variety of locations, including GP practices and other sites.

    The Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group is in the process of reviewing the provision of all phlebotomy services across Dorset to see how current provision could be improved. This is also a feature of the Clinical Services Review which is looking at how a wider range of services, closer to people’s homes can be offered.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects on public health of changes in the number of paramedics employed by the London Ambulance Service.

    Ben Gummer

    We are advised by London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) that during 2015/16 it recruited 717 frontline staff. In doing so, LAS achieved its recruitment target and filled all its available frontline posts.

    We understand that LAS has put in place a number of measures to help it support and retain staff. These measures include updating the vehicle fleet and re-launching the trust’s learning and development function. LAS has also established a new clinical team leader role, with 50% of the role devoted to supporting staff.

    Demand on the service has increased significantly over the past five years. During March 2016, demand was the highest on record for patients with serious and life threatening illnesses. LAS continues to work to improve services for patients by focusing on reducing demand, recruiting more staff and supporting staff to work more efficiently.

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

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of whether the NHS Constitution’s commitment to provide a comprehensive service available to all, irrespective of gender, is consistent with a policy of not providing an HPV vaccination programme for boys.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS Constitution’s principle of a comprehensive service, available to all, does not mean that boys are automatically eligible to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination because eligibility for the programme is based on expert advice. The Government is advised on immunisation matters by the independent expert committee, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which provides evidence-based advice.

    The NHS Constitution states that people have the right to receive the vaccinations that the JCVI recommends that they should receive under an NHS-provided national immunisation programme. The JCVI has not yet recommended the introduction of an HPV vaccination programme for boys. It is currently considering this issue and its advice is expected in 2017.

  • Stephen Pound – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Pound – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Pound on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will re-open the consultation on pharmacy dispensing models and displaying prices on medicines that closed on 17 May 2016 in order to allow respondents to take into account revised information on the safety profile of hub and spoke dispensing models.

    Alistair Burt

    The consultation on changes to medicines legislation including on ‘hub and spoke’ dispensing did not rely on any specific safety profile of hub and spoke dispensing. Instead, the consultation document specifically asked consultees to provide evidence on the issue. Nevertheless, the responses to the consultation have raised issues around removing the bar on ‘hub and spoke’ dispensing between retail pharmacies that are not part of the same business that the Department would like to explore in more detail with stakeholders’ representatives before progressing any legislation. It does not now envisage changes to the legislation on this issue commencing on 1 October 2016.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many junior doctors were employed by the NHS in (a) London and (b) England in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    The information is shown in the following table:

    Doctors in Training as at 30 September between 2011 and 2015 in England and London.

    Year

    England

    London

    2011

    50,059

    11,684

    2012

    50,318

    11,902

    2013

    51,013

    11,985

    2014

    51,686

    12,136

    2015

    51,308

    11,830

    Source: Health & Social Care Information Centre

    Notes: The figures include Specialty Registrars, Core Medical Training, Core Dental Training, Foundation Doctor Years 1 and 2.

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

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has assessed the effect on (a) patients and (b) patient choice of centralised procurement.

    George Freeman

    ‘Centralised procurement’ can sometimes be used to refer to the services of NHS Supply Chain. NHS Supply Chain offers a procurement and logistics service to all National Health Service trusts in the United Kingdom under a central service contract on behalf of NHS Business Services Authority.

    There is currently no centralised procurement model mandated to the NHS by the Department, and as such no assessment has been made as to an effect on patients or patient choice. NHS trusts may choose to utilise the service offering of NHS Supply Chain, or choose an alternative. It is for NHS trusts to make their own choices with regard to products and services they purchase; therefore it is for individual trusts to assess any impact on patients and patient choice.