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  • 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 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on research into the use of aspirin to reduce incidents of cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    Ministers have had no such discussions.

    Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes A Strategy for England 2015-2020 includes a recommendation that NHS England should commission the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop updated guidelines for the use of drugs for the prevention of breast and colorectal cancers including the use of aspirin for individuals with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer. Once these guidelines are published, clinical commissioning groups should ensure that general practitioners implement them. A National Cancer Transformation Board will oversee the implementation of the strategy, and an implementation plan will be published shortly.

    The Strategy also noted that Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research will continue to monitor outcomes from trials under way in the United Kingdom and internationally regarding the role of aspirin in cancer prevention more generally. They will make evidence available to NHS England and NICE as results become clear.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many food problems were reported through the Food Standards Agency website in each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    The total number of notifications received via the Food Standards Agency food.gov.uk online incident report form was:

    ― 453 in 2015

    ― 366 in 2014

    ― 357 in 2013

    The majority of these notifications are from businesses and local authorities.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget was for food and drink procured for his departmental offices in Whitehall in each of the last three years; and what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on food and drink solely for the Department’s building in Whitehall. The Department has spent the following on food and drink procured for Departmental offices in each of the last three financial years:

    Financial year £

    2013-14 193,591.20

    2014-15 159,460.39

    2015-16 118,364.32

    These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department’s buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.

    52% of all food procured for the Department was sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016.

    This figure is skewed by the considerable spend on non-indigenous products purchased including large volumes of coffee as well as rice, pasta, tea, bananas, citrus, and exotic fruits. In terms of primary products we can confirm that:

    ― 100% of Beef is sourced from the United Kingdom

    ― 100% of Chicken is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Lamb is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Pork is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Free Range Eggs are sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Milk is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Yoghurt is sourced from the UK

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of dairy products procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    Details of dairy products procured for use in in the Department’s catering contract and sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016, are as follows:

    Dairy sub-category

    Total spend

    British Spend

    Butter

    £297.30

    £0.00

    0%

    Cheese

    £4,244.55

    £2,547.61

    60%

    Cream

    £184.59

    £184.59

    100%

    Milk

    £7,148.74

    £7,148.74

    100%

    Yoghurt

    £1,997.24

    £1,997.24

    100%
  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many formal complaints were made against NHS111 providers in each month since that service was launched.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps other than the social care precept the Government is taking to ensure that local authorities are able adequately to fund services for people with learning disabilities.

    Alistair Burt

    In addition to the social care precept, which gives local authorities access to up to £2 billion for adult social care by 2019/20; the Government has supported adult social care, which includes care for those with learning disabilities, by giving local authorities access to up to £1.5 billion of new support by 2019/20. This is based on the additional social care monies to be included in the Better Care Fund.

    In the national service model and Building the Right Support published in October 2015, NHS England, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services set out how areas would be supported to deliver lasting change to people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges.

    This includes service transformation – shifting money from some services, such as inpatient care, into others, such as community services.

    To support this NHS England is making available up to £30 million of transformation funding over three years, to be matched by clinical commissioning groups, and £15 million in capital funding. This funding is in addition to the £10 million which was made available to six fast track areas in 2015/16.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings and discussions he has had with representaives of the PrescQIPP Programme since May 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department is not aware of any discussions or meetings the Secretary of State for Health has had with representatives of PrescQIPP.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has had discussions with officials in HM Treasury on reforming the reimbursement of antibiotics.

    Jane Ellison

    Departmental officials are in discussion with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry regarding pricing and reimbursement models for antibiotics. HM Treasury are aware of these discussions.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the role of the PrescQIPP Programme is in relation to clinical commissioning groups.

    Alistair Burt

    The PrescQIPP NHS Programme currently has no direct role within the Department as it is an independent social enterprise.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) use its materials to improve the prescribing of medicines. These are mainly publicly available for CCGs and Health Boards, with some additional subscription-only content. Their governance and annual work programme is overseen by a strategic oversight group representing the users.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the role of the PrescQIPP Programme is within his Department.

    Alistair Burt

    The PrescQIPP NHS Programme currently has no direct role within the Department as it is an independent social enterprise.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) use its materials to improve the prescribing of medicines. These are mainly publicly available for CCGs and Health Boards, with some additional subscription-only content. Their governance and annual work programme is overseen by a strategic oversight group representing the users.