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  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 11 January 2016, Official Report, column 238WH, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of unsuccessful applicants for nursing training courses who met the entry criteria.

    Ben Gummer

    Information relating to the number and proportion of unsuccessful applicants is not collected by the Department.

    The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service collect and publish figures on the number of applications and the number of applicants accepted by subject for full-time undergraduate courses. However this data does not provide information on how many of the unsuccessful applicants to nursing would meet the entry criteria.

    The existing cap on the number of student places imposed by Health Education England means universities are limited to only offering places made available within the cap, plus a percentage above this to account for applicants offered places choosing other universities. Universities cannot accept more candidates who may meet entry criteria places as the number of places is capped.

    As part of the reforms to health higher education we are abolishing this cap, enabling universities to recruit as many eligible applicants as they choose.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22318, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of NHS Bursaries issued to medical students in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    Information of the total value of National Health Service maintenance bursaries issued to medical students in each of the last five complete financial years is shown in the following table.

    Financial Year1

    Bursary Expenditure (£)3

    2010/112

    22,228,317

    2011/122

    21,887,045

    2012/132

    22,966,804

    2013/142

    23,424,694

    2014/152

    23,235,955

    Source: NHS Business Services Authority

    1Covers the period 1 April to 31 March.

    2Figures extracted from Annual Report for the respective financial year.

    3The NHS Bursary includes the basic maintenance award, all supplementary allowances and one off payments.

    NHS Bursaries are available to undergraduate medical students from the fifth year of the undergraduate degree and to graduates from the second year of the four year accelerated degree.

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

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Public Health England (PHE) plans to spend on HIV prevention in 2016-17; and which HIV-prevention projects PHE plans to support financially in that year.

    Jane Ellison

    In 2016/17 Public Health England (PHE) will support local, regional and national HIV prevention activities by providing stakeholders, commissioners and policy makers with specialist public health services. PHE is working through its detailed budget setting process having regard for the outcome of the Spending Review. PHE is not yet in a position therefore to confirm funding figures for 2016/17.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that bottles and cans containing alcoholic drinks should display the calorie count of the drink.

    Jane Ellison

    Current labelling regulations for alcoholic drinks are set at a European level. The United Kingdom did secure a provision for voluntary calorie labelling, which some businesses are already doing. The possibility of mandating calorie labelling on alcohol is under discussion at European Union level.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West had an appointment with an NHS dentist in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (v) 2014 and (vi) 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    Information is not available in the format requested.

    The table below shows the unique number of patients who received National Health Service dental care in the previous 24 months. An equivalent measure covering the 12 month period is not available.

    1 April 2008 – 31 March 2010

    1 April 2009 – 31 March 2011

    1 April 2010 – 31 March 2012

    1 April 2011- 31 March 2013

    1 April 2012 – 31 March 2014

    1 April 2013 – 31 March 2015

    NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

    218,979

    222,038

    Lancashire Local Authority

    671,482

    670,931

    NHS England North (Lancashire and Greater Manchester)

    2,496,149

    2,508,845

    East Lancashire Primary Care Trust (PCT)

    186,295

    200,034

    210,839

    219,406

    North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA)

    4,180,855

    4,251,505

    4,302,218

    4,323,082

    Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)

    Notes:

    1. Includes patients seen by an NHS dentist, including work undertaken by dentists under vocational training and orthodontic patients. Does not cover dental treatment carried out in hospitals under Hospital Dental Services, nor under services provided privately.
    2. Number of patients seen shows the number of individual patients who received care or treatment from an NHS dentist at least once in a 24 month period (patients are counted on their first visit only, e.g. if a patient has visited the dentist twice, they will only appear in the patients seen data set once).
    3. HSCIC dental data are not available at the geographies requested. The latest information is available at CCG, LA and NHS Geography Region and earlier years are only available at PCT and SHA level.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ report entitled, Core Standards for Pain Management Services in the UK, published in October 2015, whether his Department has given any consideration to the contents of that report.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has welcomed the publication of the Core Standards for Pain Management report in the United Kingdom, published by the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in October 2015. Andrew Baranowski, the Chair of NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group for Specialised Pain contributed to this work, which sets out core standards and key recommendations in the management of pain; the commissioning of pain management services and the development of the workforce.

    The report is available at:

    http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/system/files/FPM-CSPMS-UK2015.pdf

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Independent Review to assess the potential benefits of aligning hospital services in Manchester is being funded; and whether the head of the review, Sir Jonathan Michael, will be remunerated for carrying out that role.

    Ben Gummer

    These are matters for the local National Health Service.

    The NHS needs to ensure it is delivering the highest quality care and the best clinical outcomes for patients.

    Accordingly, the NHS in Manchester has commissioned an independent review of hospital services to identify where changes might be required to ensure consistently high standards of care.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what process was used for the appointment of Sir Jonathan Michael to lead the Independent Review to assess the potential benefits of aligning hospital services in Manchester.

    Ben Gummer

    These are matters for the local National Health Service.

    The NHS needs to ensure it is delivering the highest quality care and the best clinical outcomes for patients.

    Accordingly, the NHS in Manchester has commissioned an independent review of hospital services to identify where changes might be required to ensure consistently high standards of care.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Mauritania.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We last assessed the human rights situation in Mauritania in November 2015 before Mauritania’s Universal Periodic Review ahead of the UN Human Rights Council. Officials continue to monitor human rights in Mauritania and raise our concerns with the Mauritanian authorities at the highest levels.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the UK will be represented at the meeting of the World Health Organisation’s Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination in Geneva on 7 to 9 March 2016; and what the Government’s priorities for the meeting will be.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    We are currently in discussions with the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding who will represent the UK at the meeting of the World Health Organisation’s Consultative Expert Working Group in March 2016.

    The UK Government priority is to see a Pooled Fund for Research and Development established with support from WHO Member States, especially those that have not provided funding for this type of work. The UK Government supports systems that separate the market incentives to produce a drug or vaccine from the Research & Development process, prioritise public health need over profit and work in partnership with a wide range of different organisations, covering the public, private and philanthropic sectors. The UK is the second largest government supporter of the development of new products through product development partnerships, which prioritise need over profit.