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  • 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 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22953, on which dates and for how long on each such date ACAS meetings took place between 23 December 2015 and 4 January 2016.

    Ben Gummer

    Following the agreement under the auspices of ACAS on 30 November, the Department and NHS Employers held negotiations with the British Medical Association (BMA) including meetings on 23 December 2015 and 4 January 2016.

    On 23 December the meeting started at 10.30 am finishing at 4 pm. On 4 January the meeting started at 10.30 am but broke at 10.45 am when the BMA withdrew to consider the offer but then never returned. The meeting was intended to continue until 3pm.

    On the same day the BMA announced that, contrary to the understanding of the management side negotiators, they did not feel that enough progress had been made and announced further dates for industrial action in January and February.

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to provide a standardised pathway service across gender reassignment services.

    Jane Ellison

    Specialised gender identity services are directly commissioned by NHS England.

    NHS England has considered the outcomes of the listening exercise conducted by Professor Field and has put in place a significant programme of work to improve healthcare services for transgender and non-binary people. A dedicated task group has been established to provide leadership and coordination of NHS England’s work to improve transgender and non-binary people’s experience of the National Health Service, and NHS England holds a Transgender Network event twice a year. Regular updates on NHS England’s work to improve gender identity services are given on NHS England’s website by the Regional Director of Specialised Commissioning (London) who chairs the task group.

    A Clinical Reference Group for Gender Identity Services has been established, comprising professional and lay experts. This group makes recommendations to NHS England on clinical matters. Issues around the standardisation of pathways across gender identity services and clinical protocols are being considered as part of the current work to develop a service specification that, it is proposed, will describe how NHS England will commission these services in the future. The process for developing a proposed service specification has included a period of public consultation.

  • 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 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill on reducing the length of time it takes to bring a new drug to market.

    George Freeman

    The purpose of the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill is to promote access to innovative medical treatments. It is not specifically designed to reduce the length of time it takes to bring a new drug to market. To which end work is being done in parallel, notably through the Accelerated Access Review, which explores options to speed up access to innovative drugs, devices and diagnostics for National Health Service patients. Sir Hugh Taylor, the independent chair of the review will make his recommendations in the spring.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19556, on mental illness: discrimination, if he will provide (a) an update on the discussions with Time to Change, and its other funding partners, about the next phase of the programme and (b) the dates these discussions took place.

    Alistair Burt

    Departmental officials have regular discussions with colleagues at the Time to Change programme and its funders to monitor progress with the programme and to manage the grant funding that is provided to Time to Change from the Department and other funders. We are currently discussing the next phase of the programme.

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

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 10 December 2015 to Questions 18458 and 18543, what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health of its the provision of secretariat assistance to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health; if he will review the conditions set out in the award letters for such grants; and if he will investigate any breaches in such conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    The conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are set out in the grant award letters. The Department has made clear that none of this funding is to be used for lobbying purposes.

    The Section 64 grant must be spent in delivering the agreed project outputs set out in the grant award letter and it does not fund secretariat support for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health.

    ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at the grant monitoring meetings held between the Deputy Director of tobacco control and representatives from ASH as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22945, what steps he plans to take to tackle the increase in the number of people under 18 who have been admitted to hospital as a result of self-harm since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is committed to delivering the transformation of children and young people’s mental health as outlined in Future in Mind. Local Transformation Plans, which NHS England has now assured, and the £30 million that was released in December 2015 for clinical commissioning groups to deliver their improved local offer, which must cover the whole spectrum of services for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, including prevention, early intervention and access as well as support for those who self-harm.

    In the Autumn Statement 2014 increased funding of £150 million over the course of this Parliament was announced to improve eating disorder services for children and young people with mental health problems in England, and any capacity freed up through this investment is to be redeployed to improve services for both crisis and people who self-harm.

    In relation to the increase of young people who have been admitted to hospital as a result of self-harm it is important to note that revised guidance was issued by the Health and Social Care Information Centre to National Health Service trusts to clarify the use of reporting codes from 1 April 2013, which may account for some of the increase in figures from that point onwards.

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to implement the recommendation of Professor Steve Field in his report on how the NHS treats transgender people.

    Jane Ellison

    Specialised gender identity services are directly commissioned by NHS England.

    NHS England has considered the outcomes of the listening exercise conducted by Professor Field and has put in place a significant programme of work to improve healthcare services for transgender and non-binary people. A dedicated task group has been established to provide leadership and coordination of NHS England’s work to improve transgender and non-binary people’s experience of the National Health Service, and NHS England holds a Transgender Network event twice a year. Regular updates on NHS England’s work to improve gender identity services are given on NHS England’s website by the Regional Director of Specialised Commissioning (London) who chairs the task group.

    A Clinical Reference Group for Gender Identity Services has been established, comprising professional and lay experts. This group makes recommendations to NHS England on clinical matters. Issues around the standardisation of pathways across gender identity services and clinical protocols are being considered as part of the current work to develop a service specification that, it is proposed, will describe how NHS England will commission these services in the future. The process for developing a proposed service specification has included a period of public consultation.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government has taken to increase the number of BAME (a) executive and (b) non-executive staff of (i) NHS trusts, (ii) clinical commissioning groups and (iii) related arms length bodies since 2012.

    Jane Ellison

    In 2014, NHS England, in partnership with the National Health Service and arm’s length bodies, developed a Workforce Race Equality Standard which requires NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce race equality, including a specific indicator to address the low levels of Black and Minority Ethnic representation at Board level.

    Since April 2015, the Standard has been included in the NHS contract for providers, and it will feature in the new assessment framework for clinical commissioning groups for 2016/17. The Standard has also been included in the Care Quality Commission’s inspections of provider organisations.

    In addition to supporting the implementation of the Standard, the arm’s length bodies are also applying it to their own workforces. Further information on the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/gov/equality-hub/equality-standard/

    The Department keeps diversity in focus throughout the appointments process for non-executives of arm’s length bodies. The Department’s “Non-Executive Appointments Diversity Action Plan” is published annually which outlines progress and actions to improve the diversity of public appointments and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445660/Diversity_Action_Plan_14_15.pdf

    Cabinet Office publishes annual diversity statistics on new public appointments made by United Kingdom Ministers at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-in-public-appointments#history

    “

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the blog item on his Department’s website, entitled FCO – Abolition of the death penalty remains a high priority, published on 4 August 2015, which countries have caused concern by their increased use of the death penalty.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The long-term trend is for the number of executions carried out and the number of states continuing to execute, to reduce each year. The Government’s hope and expectation is that this trend will continue. It is therefore a matter of concern when states which have refrained from executing for some years revert to use of the death penalty. One such country is Pakistan, which lifted its seven year moratorium on executions in 2014 following the attack on a school in Peshawar. Since then, Pakistan has executed an estimated 340 people. Our comprehensive list of countries of concern can be found in the 2014 Annual Human Rights Report, which includes our concerns with countries such as Saudi Arabia and their use of the death penalty. We continue to oppose its use in all forms, in all countries.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the report of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain on the Bahraini government’s implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have noted the report by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain which assesses the progress the Government of Bahrain is making against the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report (BICI). In June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council presented similar findings by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. That is why we continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to ensure full implementation of the BICI recommendations, as well as those accepted in their UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review, and we are offering UK assistance to help them achieve this.