Blog

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to prevent overspend by an accredited campaign in a Recall Petition under the Recall of MPs Act 2015.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Recall of MPs Act 2015 sets out that each accredited campaigner may spend up to a maximum of £10,000 campaigning either for or against the petition, while non-accredited campaigners may only spend up to £500.

    Each accredited campaigner must submit a statement which details all of the payments incurred in respect of the petition expenses, a statement of all unpaid claims and a statement of disputed claims. The return must be accompanied by a declaration, signed by the responsible person that to the best of his knowledge the return is complete and correct. The responsible person commits an offence if they fail to submit the return and if they knowingly submit a declaration knowing it to be false. The petition officer must then make the returns available for inspection by the public.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend the current 12-month period for taking action following an allegation of overspending by a political-party on a by-election.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The time period for starting proceedings is set in the Representation of the People Act 1983. The Government has no plans to amend this period.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have to seek agreement on a comprehensive package of party funding reform, as set out in the Cabinet Office Departmental Plan 2015–20 published on 19 February.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    We remain committed to seeking a comprehensive cross-party reform agreement. No cross-party discussions are currently taking place.

  • Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with NHS England on the findings of CLIC Sargent’s recent research report The best chance from the start: improving support to identify cancer in children and young people, including the finding that 53 per cent of young cancer patients asked felt their diagnosis was delayed.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health Education England’s (HEE) mandate sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for workforce planning, education, training and development in the health and public health system. These objectives and priorities are published on an annual basis. Officials are currently discussing the next HEE mandate.

    Within their three year training programme, about half of all General Practitioner (GP) trainees undertake a dedicated hospital placement in paediatrics. In addition, there are various initiatives around the country to increase access to child health training. These include clinics jointly staffed with paediatric and GP trainees, paediatric outreach clinics and multi-disciplinary meetings in GP surgeries led by paediatric consultants. A variety of e-learning, including the MindEd package – a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health, is available.

    It is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) to set the standards and outcomes for the education and training of doctors and to approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. HEE will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal College of General Practitioners to seek to ensure general practice training meets the needs of patients.

    The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes in July last year, which recognised the importance of earlier diagnosis for patients of all ages and contains specific recommendations for children, teenagers and young adults. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of a five year Strategy based on the recommendations in the report. Whilst the Taskforce was independent, the Department of Health and all of its Arm’s Length Bodies were represented on it and contributed to development of the Strategy.

    NHS England is now developing its work programme to take forward the recommendations in the Strategy. There have been no discussions with Monitor as this falls outside their remit.

  • Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Monitor and with NHS England about ensuring that GPs are able to access specialist expertise in children and young people’s health, and what mechanisms they have to audit provision of specialist services and hold commissioners to account.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health Education England’s (HEE) mandate sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for workforce planning, education, training and development in the health and public health system. These objectives and priorities are published on an annual basis. Officials are currently discussing the next HEE mandate.

    Within their three year training programme, about half of all General Practitioner (GP) trainees undertake a dedicated hospital placement in paediatrics. In addition, there are various initiatives around the country to increase access to child health training. These include clinics jointly staffed with paediatric and GP trainees, paediatric outreach clinics and multi-disciplinary meetings in GP surgeries led by paediatric consultants. A variety of e-learning, including the MindEd package – a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health, is available.

    It is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) to set the standards and outcomes for the education and training of doctors and to approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. HEE will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal College of General Practitioners to seek to ensure general practice training meets the needs of patients.

    The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes in July last year, which recognised the importance of earlier diagnosis for patients of all ages and contains specific recommendations for children, teenagers and young adults. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of a five year Strategy based on the recommendations in the report. Whilst the Taskforce was independent, the Department of Health and all of its Arm’s Length Bodies were represented on it and contributed to development of the Strategy.

    NHS England is now developing its work programme to take forward the recommendations in the Strategy. There have been no discussions with Monitor as this falls outside their remit.

  • Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held in the last year with Health Education England about ensuring that all GPs gain experience in children and young people’s health during their initial training, as suggested by CLIC Sargent’s report The best chance from the start: improving support to identify cancer in children and young people.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health Education England’s (HEE) mandate sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for workforce planning, education, training and development in the health and public health system. These objectives and priorities are published on an annual basis. Officials are currently discussing the next HEE mandate.

    Within their three year training programme, about half of all General Practitioner (GP) trainees undertake a dedicated hospital placement in paediatrics. In addition, there are various initiatives around the country to increase access to child health training. These include clinics jointly staffed with paediatric and GP trainees, paediatric outreach clinics and multi-disciplinary meetings in GP surgeries led by paediatric consultants. A variety of e-learning, including the MindEd package – a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health, is available.

    It is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) to set the standards and outcomes for the education and training of doctors and to approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. HEE will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal College of General Practitioners to seek to ensure general practice training meets the needs of patients.

    The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes in July last year, which recognised the importance of earlier diagnosis for patients of all ages and contains specific recommendations for children, teenagers and young adults. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of a five year Strategy based on the recommendations in the report. Whilst the Taskforce was independent, the Department of Health and all of its Arm’s Length Bodies were represented on it and contributed to development of the Strategy.

    NHS England is now developing its work programme to take forward the recommendations in the Strategy. There have been no discussions with Monitor as this falls outside their remit.

  • Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have  considered tackling in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines, equivalent to legislation in France under decree 1482, and if not, why not.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Decree 1482 concerns obsolescence in appliances rather than computer software. The Government is not specifically considering obsolescence in computer software but has protected consumers in a different way. Since October 2015 consumers have had new rights under the Consumer Rights Act in relation to digital content including software. Software must be of satisfactory quality which includes remaining functional for the period a consumer can reasonably expect.

    Decree 1482 does not cover internet search engines and the concept of in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines is unclear so the Government has no plans to address this issue.

  • Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have  considered tackling in-built obsolescence in computer software, equivalent to legislation in France under decree 1482, and if not, why not.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Decree 1482 concerns obsolescence in appliances rather than computer software. The Government is not specifically considering obsolescence in computer software but has protected consumers in a different way. Since October 2015 consumers have had new rights under the Consumer Rights Act in relation to digital content including software. Software must be of satisfactory quality which includes remaining functional for the period a consumer can reasonably expect.

    Decree 1482 does not cover internet search engines and the concept of in-built obsolescence in relation to internet search engines is unclear so the Government has no plans to address this issue.

  • Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to make the Meningitis B vaccine available on the NHS to children born before 1 May 2015.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises ministers on immunisation matters, recommended a meningococcal B (MenB) immunisation programme that will protect infants because they are at highest risk, with the peak incidence of MenB being in infants at about five months of age. The MenB vaccine is offered to babies at two months of age, with further doses offered when they reach four and 12 months of age.

    The JCVI keeps the eligibility criteria of all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it becomes available. If the JCVI provides further advice about the programme, we will consider this.

  • Lord Truscott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Truscott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Truscott on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 11 January (HL4782), what assessment they have made of the terms of reference, composition, duration and cost of the Chilcot inquiry.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Chilcot Inquiry was set up by the Labour Government following consultation with other political parties and with the support of Parliament. The Government looks forward to the publication of the Inquiry’s report in June or July, in accordance with Sir John Chilcot’s most recent letter to the Prime Minister.