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  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the likelihood that the UK would lose access to use of the European Arrest Warrant in the event of a vote to leave the EU.

    James Brokenshire

    As set out in the Government’s White Paper on the process for withdrawing from the European Union, should the UK leave the EU, any arrangements for future cooperation under measures such as the European Arrest Warrant, would be curtailed. Aside from those States that are not in the EU but are in the Schengen border-free area, there are no precedents for non-Members being able to cooperate with these mechanisms. Even Switzerland, for example, does not have an equivalent to the European Arrest Warrant. Norway and Iceland are negotiating an agreement similar to the EAW, but that includes the option for countries to continue to refuse to surrender their own nationals. Negotiation of that deal started in 2001 and it has not yet entered into force.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assurances she has had from EU partners that UK law enforcement agencies could still participate in the (a) European Criminal Records Information System, (b) Schengen Information System, (c) Schengen Alert System, (d) European Arrest Warrant and (e) Europol in the event of a vote to leave the EU.

    James Brokenshire

    As set out in the Government’s White Paper on the process for withdrawing from the European Union, our arrangements for future cooperation under measures such as the European Arrest Warrant, the European Criminal Records Information System and the Schengen Information System would be brought into question. Aside from those States that are not in the EU but are in the Schengen border-free area, there are no precedents for non-Members being able to cooperate with these mechanisms fully outside the EU. We would also lose our status as a full member of Europol.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to review staffing and training levels for particular services in cases where payments for agency staff are capped.

    Alistair Burt

    The agency cap, introduced in November 2015 covers all staff in trusts and foundation trusts.

    It is the responsibility of local employers, with their knowledge of service needs, to determine the numbers and skill mix needed to deliver quality care, patient safety and efficiency. They will do this for each service, taking into account local factors such as acuity and case mix.

    It is Health Education England’s responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including those needed in specialist fields, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with his German counterpart on improving the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease by the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    No specific discussions have been held but the National Health Service, Public Health England and national laboratories across Europe use well established, standardised, tests and international External Quality Assurance schemes are in place to ensure consistency across Europe.

    However, Lyme disease is a complex infection and we recognise that challenges in diagnosis and treatment remain. In light of this, the Department is commissioning three reviews on the diagnosis, treatment and transmission of Lyme disease to inform future decision making.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department is conducting on the use of biosimilars in healthcare.

    George Freeman

    The Department is not conducting and has not commissioned specific research on the use of biosimilars in healthcare.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the level of funding for specialist nurses.

    Ben Gummer

    It is Health Education England’s (HEE) responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including those needed in specialist fields, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system.

    HEE publishes an annual Workforce Plan which is built upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of its Local Education Training Boards (LETBs), shape the 13 local plans.

    The Workforce plan is predominately an aggregate of the local LETB plans, but the final national plan is only agreed with the advice and input of its clinical advisory groups and Patients’ Advisory Forum, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders.

    Once staff are qualified, it is for individual employers to ensure their staff remain up to date with, or acquire, specialist skills to provide safe and effective patient care through Continuous Professional Development and provide sufficient funding locally to ensure this occurs.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of student debt among nurses.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government is currently consulting on its proposed scheme for student finance. As part of that consultation a number of questions are asked about student support. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

    It is for the respective Governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to consider such issues for their health system.

  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support breastfeeding services; and what assessment he has made of the importance of breastfeeding to national health policy.

    Ben Gummer

    Support and information about breastfeeding is currently available to health professionals and parents through: the NHS Choices website under the Start4Life banner; the National Breastfeeding Helpline; UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative; and local peer support programmes.

    Parents-to-be and new mums and dads can also sign up to the Start4life Information Service for Parents. Subscribers receive regular free emails, videos and SMS messages offering high quality advice and information, based on the stage of pregnancy and the age of the child, including breastfeeding support. The service also signposts parents to other quality assured information about parenting, relationship support and benefits advice.

    Breastfeeding delivers significant health benefits both for the mother and her baby and is more cost effective for mothers than other methods of infant feeding. A mother’s milk provides a perfect balance of nutrients and vitamins, so exclusive breastfeeding is all a baby needs for around the first six months. This is why the Department in line with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines encourages exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to funding levels on the provision of breastfeeding services.

    Ben Gummer

    There has been no assessment made on the effect of changes to funding levels on the provision of breastfeeding services. However, the Department is working with Public Health England and other stakeholders to develop a method and sources of information to monitor the impact of its policy on infant feeding.

  • MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase diagnosis rates of familial hypercholesterolemia.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) are working to raise the profile of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) and break down the barriers to genetic testing.

    NHS England’s national clinical director (NCD) for heart disease chairs an FH steering group which comprises representatives from relevant stakeholder organisations. This group, with funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), has established FH specialist nurses in many areas of England, aimed at increasing FH cascade testing so that more affected families can be identified. The NCD has worked closely with BHF in their appointment of the FH Nurses, and with the other major charity in this field – HEART-UK. Software to support cascade testing and provide a database for FH is available and will be increasingly used in England as FH services are established.

    NHS England has also identified FH as a possible condition that it could focus on as part of the work looking into personalised medicine and how the National Health Service might make better use of increased genetic testing.

    Furthermore, the Healthcare Public Health Team at PHE is working in collaboration with national and local partners and experts in the field through an FH Steering Group chaired by the National Clinical Director for Cardiology, and led by the BHF, to develop a systems approach to the detection and management of FH.