The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on commissioning an independent review of S4C’s future remit and funding.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government is committed to a comprehensive review of S4C which will take place in 2017. Details of the review will be finalised in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage more use of diesel vehicles.
Andrew Jones
The Government’s policy is to support measures to encourage cleaner, more sustainable vehicles and transport systems. Over £2 billion has been committed since 2011 to increase the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles and green transport initiatives and to support local authorities to take action.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with airline companies on ensuring that immigration rules are carried out correctly by airline staff.
Karen Bradley
Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website at: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to reduce stillbirths.
Ben Gummer
We are committed making sure every baby receives consistently high quality care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In November 2015, the Government announced a national ambition to halve by 2030 the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth.
To support the National Health Service in achieving this ambition we also announced:
― a £2.24 million capital fund for equipment to improve safety;
― over £1 million to roll out training programmes to make sure staff have the skills and confidence they need to deliver world-leading safe care; and
― £500,000 to develop a new system that can be used consistently across the NHS to enable staff to review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death.
The announcement also committed to publishing an annual report to update the public, health professionals, providers and commissioners on the progress we are making towards achieving the ambition.
The National Maternity Review, chaired by Baroness Cumberlege, will include proposals for the future shape of modern, high quality and sustainable maternity services across England. We anticipate that its report will have an important role in shaping the system to achieve our ambition.
For those babies who are born sick or premature, NHS England commissions Neonatal Care from 165 neonatal units. These units are organised and supported by 13 Operational Delivery Networks. The organisation of networks has brought tangible benefits in the delivery of babies in the right place to receive specialist care when it is needed.
NHS England’s Neonatal Critical Care Service Specification states that providers should ensure that expert and experienced staff treat sufficient numbers of cases to maintain a safe high quality service and move towards national standards.
It is for local hospital trusts and specialised commissioners to decide how best to use the guidance and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard for specialist neonatal care to improve babies’ chances of survival and minimise mortality associated with being born either premature or unwell. We know that that there is still more to do to ensure these services are consistent across the country and that is why the Neonatal Clinical Reference Group at NHS England has committed to review the findings of the Bliss report, (published in October 2015 which can be found here http://www.bliss.org.uk/babyreport), and will work with all of its key partners to make recommendations for further improvement.
Unless we invest in research we cannot understand how to best improve services for mothers and their babies. Significant sums have been invested over recent years in support of research looking at important questions regarding premature birth. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds a range of research relating to causes, risk factors and prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death. The NIHR Health Technology Assessment is funding a £6.0 million trial of an intelligent system to support decision making in the management of labour using the cardiotocogram – due to report in 2017. The NIHR is also funding a £1.2 million study on preventing adverse pregnancy outcome in women at increased risk of stillbirth by detecting placental dysfunction– due to report in 2019.
To help achieve the best outcomes, women are also offered a comprehensive programme of scans, screening tests and development examinations during pregnancy and following birth babies will receive the checks in the NHS newborn and infant physical examination screening programme and the NHS newborn blood spot screening programme .
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make available on the NHS less invasive treatment for inflamed pancreas conditions.
Jane Ellison
Pancreatitis (an inflammation of the pancreas) may either be acute or chronic. Chronic pancreatitis is usually the result of repeated acute episodes of the condition. If a person has suspected acute pancreatitis, urgent admission to secondary care is required. Initial treatment may include pain relief, intravenous fluids and antibiotics for treatment of associated cholangitis (an infection of the biliary tract) or other acute infections.
The management of chronic pancreatitis is usually carried out in secondary care, although the primary care healthcare professional may have a role in the provision of adequate pain relief, screening for diabetes (a possible complication), providing general lifestyle advice and support and referring or admitting patients to secondary care if they develop complication.
Surgical intervention may be required in particularly severe cases of the condition. This may involve the removal of: inflamed sections of the pancreas; pancreatic tissue that has died as a result of infection; gallstones or the entire gallbladder; pseudocysts (sacs of fluid) which can develop on the pancreas; and, in particularly severe cases, the entire pancreas. Whilst some of these interventions may be minimally invasive, others will require more extensive surgical treatment.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published Clinical Knowledge Summaries on both acute and chronic pancreatitis. They are available at the following links:
cks.nice.org.uk/pancreatitis-chronic#!scenario
cks.nice.org.uk/pancreatitis-acute
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with the Big Lottery Fund on the renewal of the lottery licence.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Gambling Commission is responsible for issuing the licence to run the National Lottery. Camelot currently hold the licence, which runs until 2023. The Commission expects to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including lottery distributor bodies, during any future licence competition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reaper drones have been used in operations in Syria.
Penny Mordaunt
I am withholding operational information on the number of RAF Reaper aircraft deployed as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what financial assistance the Government has granted to medical companies for medical research.
Joseph Johnson
In the last five years, Innovate UK has committed over £212 million in support of companies commercialising medical research. This includes helping companies to deliver products and services to support people living independently, funding cost-effective treatments, the development of long-term relief and cures for diseases, and commercialising new medical devices, diagnostics and solutions.
Additionally, Innovate UK, through its Catapult network, provides business access to leading-edge technology and expertise in Cell and Gene Therapy, Precision Medicine and Medicines Technologies.
Companies investing in medical research may also be eligible for the Research and Development Tax Credit, which provided £1.75bn of support in 2013/14.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has had discussions with pharmaceutical companies based outside the UK on locating functions in the UK.
Anna Soubry
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has overall responsibility for ensuring that the UK is an attractive place for overseas companies to set up or expand their business. In this context, the Secretary of State has had discussions with companies from a range of sectors, including in the life sciences sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support the Government gives to large pharmaceutical companies to partner with universities.
Joseph Johnson
In the last five years, Innovate UK has committed around £32M to support partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and universities in order to drive the translation of university-based research and commercial applications which tackle disease and life-threatening illnesses.
In addition, the Government is investing in three Catapult Centres supporting the life sciences sector – the Cell Therapy, Precision Medicine and Medicines Technologies Catapults. These centres have a particular focus on supporting collaborative research and innovation among small and medium sized firms.
Large companies are able to claim R&D Tax Relief through a 130% enhanced allowance or, alternatively, an 11% taxable credit via the R&D Expenditure Credit. In 2013/14, these schemes provided support of £950M to 3,950 businesses. Additionally, the UK’s Patent Box was introduced in 2013 and gives additional incentive to develop, retain and commercialise new, innovative patented products in the UK. The Patent Box offers an effective 10% corporation tax rate on trading profits earned in the UK from specified patents.