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Tag: 2014

  • Julie Hilling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Hilling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Hilling on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 715W, on child poverty, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of (a) the new timetable for the implementation of universal credit and (b) changes to work allowances on the level of relative income poverty among (i) children and (ii) adults.

    Esther McVey

    After full roll-out, the Department’s latest analysis suggests that Universal Credit will reduce the number of individuals in relative income poverty by some 600,000; including up to 300,000 children and up to 350,000 adults (numbers do not sum due to rounding).

    This figure does not take into account the expected increase in numbers of people in work as a result of universal credit, and excludes the impact of the minimum income floor for the self-employed which is designed to encourage those affected to improve their income levels and for which the behavioural response is very difficult to model.

    This estimate is not affected by the timetable for the implementation of Universal Credit, and changes to the policy on uprating of work allowances make negligible difference to the impact of Universal Credit on child or adult poverty as measured by relative income.

  • David Heyes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Heyes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Heyes on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Public Health England over a possible nationawide roll-out of the recent Be Clear on Cancer pilot study for oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East.

    Jane Ellison

    We want to lead the world in cancer care and are investing over £750 million, over four years up till 2014-15, including £450 million in the early diagnosis of cancer, including oesophago-gastric cancers.

    The earlier diagnosis money is designed to support earlier diagnosis of cancer by improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms through centrally funded Be Clear on Cancer campaigns; increasing general practitioner access to key diagnostic tests; and, to pay for extra testing and treatment in secondary care.

    Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England. Following a local pilot which ran from April to July 2012, we ran a regional Be Clear on Cancer pilot campaign from 10 February to 9 March 2014 raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East and North Cumbria. The campaign included television, radio, press and outdoor advertising. The findings of this pilot are being evaluated by Public Health England, who works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals, before a decision is taken on whether to roll out the campaign nationally throughout England.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the payment of benefits into post office card accounts.

    Steve Webb

    The Department pays benefits and pensions by Direct Payment into a bank, building society, credit union or Post Office card account.

    The Post Office card account is a very simple account with limited functionality. Our policy has always been clear that the best option, especially for people of working age, is an account that can accept payments from employers and has transactional facilities such as direct debits for the payment of bills and housing costs.

    The Department is currently in discussions with Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the work of local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators in tackling extremism in schools; and how many local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators submitted evaluations or other forms of evidence to his Department in the last year for which information is available.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Preventing extremism in all schools is a priority for the Government. In 2010 the Department for Education set up the first preventing extremism unit in Whitehall outside the Home Office. Ofsted now trains inspectors to understand and report on extremism. The Department has published a range of guidance to support schools in raising awareness of the risks from extremism.

    Schools can help protect children from extremist and violent views in the same ways that they help to safeguard children from drugs, gang violence or alcohol abuse. Schools’ work on Prevent needs to be seen in this context. It is for local authorities to determine how best to support schools in their areas in the light of local circumstances.

    A number of local Prevent projects, funded by Home Office, engage schools and supplementary schools and train teachers in priority areas. The Department for Education and Home Office are working together to secure the best practical outcome from this funding. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to evaluate the projects it funds.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what customer, user and satisfaction surveys were conducted in the last 12 months in the Cabinet Office and the agencies that report to it; which of them have been reported to the management board in the last 12 months; and which were commissioned by the management board.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Cabinet Office uses a range of tools and methodologies to evaluate customer feedback on products and services provided by our agencies. Results are not reported systematically to the Cabinet Office Board.

  • Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that high-cost drugs are delivered to cystic fibrosis patients on time.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    It is important that patients, including those with cystic fibrosis, get those high cost drugs provided through homecare services on time.

    The Department commissioned a review of homecare medicine supply arrangements to ensure they deliver the best value for patients, the National Health Service and the provider market. The review report, Homecare Medicines: Towards a Vision for the Future, was published in December 2011 and is available at:

    http://media.dh.gov.uk/network/121/files/2011/12/111201-Homecare-Medicines-Towards-a-Vision-for-the-Future2.pdf

    The outcome of subsequent improvement work is summarised in the further report, Homecare Medicines: Towards a Vision for the Future – Taking Forward the Recommendations, published in May 2014 and available at:

    www.uhns.nhs.uk/AboutUs/NHSHomecareMedicinesinEngland.aspx

    NHS England issued a patient safety alert on minimising the risks of omitted and delayed medicines for patients receiving homecare services on 10 April 2014. This recommended that all healthcare organisations that commission clinical homecare services:

    – establish if medicine homecare services were used by their organisation and if incidents of omitted and delayed medicines had occurred;

    – consider whether immediate action needed to be taken locally and, if required, develop an action plan, to reduce risk and the potential risk to patients;

    – disseminate the alert to all medical, nursing, pharmacy and other staff involved in the care of homecare patients; and

    – report patient safety incidents concerning homecare to the National Reporting and Learning Service.

    A copy of the patient safety alert is available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/psa-omitted-delayed-meds.pdf

    The Department continues to work with NHS England, homecare companies, pharmaceutical suppliers and the NHS to ensure that homecare arrangements are safe and deliver value for the NHS and improved outcomes for patients.

  • James Wharton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    James Wharton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Wharton on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Honours and Decorations Committee’s report from its last meeting to consider the recommendations of Sir John Holmes will go forward for final approval.

    Francis Maude

    The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) met in January 2014 and considered a number of recommendations put forward by Sir John Holmes regarding the rules for awarding military medals. The Committee’s report is now in the process of being formally approved.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the outcome of the most recent Bonn Climate Change Conference; and if he will make a statement.

    Gregory Barker

    The Bonn Climate Change Intersessional Conference is not expected to finish until 15 June, so we will not have a concrete assessment of the session until then. The meeting is a mid-year one to pave the way for the Lima Conference of the Parties (COP) in December. This meeting in Bonn will focus on negotiations on the new global climate change deal that will be agreed in 2015, on work to enhance emissions reductions efforts in the years to 2020, when the new deal will come into effect, and to continue to progress the UN climate regime’s subsidiary agenda, covering rules, mechanisms, reporting and other areas implementing past decisions.

    Even though there won’t be an outcome, we want the meeting in Bonn to focus on technical and practical discussions to pave the way for countries to bring forward, in early 2015, their contributions to the new Agreement and to make progress towards agreeing in Lima draft elements of a negotiating text – these are important milestones for the 2015 agreement.

    As we are not expecting any outcomes, I don’t anticipate the need to make a statement.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which secure children’s homes Ministers of his Department have visited since May 2010; and what the date of each such visit was.

    Jeremy Wright

    Ministers from the Department have made two visits to secure children’s homes since May 2010; Crispin Blunt to Vinney Green Secure Children’s Home on 3rd August 2010 and Ken Clarke to Clayfields House Secure Children’s Home on 14th October 2011. I am also scheduled to visit Clayfields House on 10th April 2014.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England about ensuring that all trusts provide the necessary facilities and support to ensure that families can be with their babies while they are in neonatal care, as set out in the national service specification for neonatal critical care.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Department and NHS England regularly discuss maternity and newborn care.

    NHS England’s Neonatal Service Specification requires that all commissioned providers of Neonatal Services provide appropriate family facilities. The current service specification states that:

    Facilities should be available to support family centred care including access to parent accommodation, private and comfortable breastfeeding/expressing facilities, and private room for confidential conversations and so on.

    A revised specification has recently been drafted, within which this statement has been strengthened. The revised draft specification has been out to public consultation and the Clinical Reference Group is currently responding to the comments received. It is anticipated that the revised service specification will be included in NHS England contracts with providers from April 2015.

    As part of NHS England’s Service Specification Compliance process, all units will have assessed their level of compliance against the service specification. Where relevant, units will have highlighted where they are not yet meeting this requirement. In those circumstances, the Area Team Commissioner and the relevant provider will have agreed an action plan for achievement of the standard, where is it not currently being met, within 12 months. The actual facilities provided for families are locally determined and the exact number of overnight beds may therefore vary from service to service.