Tag: 2014

  • Meg Munn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Meg Munn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Munn on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for continuous positive airways pressure therapy for those diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea.

    Jane Ellison

    Local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their local populations and for commissioning services to meet those needs. For patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, NHS England expects CCGs to take into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines when deciding what services should be made available.

    NICE has published technology appraisal guidance which recommends the use of continuous positive airway pressure as a treatment option for adults with moderate or severe symptomatic obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome, where certain criteria are met.

    NICE has been commissioned to develop a quality standard on sleep disordered breathing and will in due course consider which conditions will be covered under the scope of the quality standard and the need for associated clinical guidance.

    There are currently no special provisions for people with sleep apnoea who drive for a living, but this will be considered as part of the guideline.

    Individuals diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea and who are waiting for continuous positive airways pressure therapy are prioritised according to clinical need.

    We do not collect information centrally on the time people wait between diagnosis and treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea. The Referral to Treatment operational standards state that 90% admitted and 95% of non-admitted patients should start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral. In order to sustain delivery of these standards, 92% of patients who have not yet started treatment should have been waiting no more than 18 weeks. Whilst individual National Health Service organisations are monitored on their performance in this area, obstructive sleep apnoea is not separately identified.

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much public expenditure was allocated from her Department to Unilever in each financial year from 2009-10; and how much public expenditure is allocated to that company for 2015-16.

    Justine Greening

    No resources have been allocated to Unilever.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-01-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total funds provided by Government for (a) corporate welfare grants and support schemes and (b) tax forgone.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government offers a wide range of financial support to business through different grants and tax reliefs. For example the Regional Growth Fund has so far committed £2.6 billion of support to over 400 awards which are expected to deliver £16 billion of private sector investment and 573,000 jobs.

    Overall Government grants and reliefs serve to support UK businesses to invest and grow, generating jobs and economic growth. Business investment has grown 26% since early 2010, there are more people in work now than ever before, and the IMF have forecast the UK as having the fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2014.

  • Dame Joan Ruddock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dame Joan Ruddock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Joan Ruddock on 2015-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to the conclusions of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, held in December 2014.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK was represented at the Vienna conference by our Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna, Susan le Jeune. As the Vienna Conference was a discussion platform there were no formal follow up outcomes agreed. However as stated at the Conference, the UK will continue to follow the step-by-step approach to disarmament through the existing UN disarmament machinery and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received from creditors of companies which have gone into liquidation about the priority of payments in cases of liquidation.

    Jo Swinson

    I occasionally receive representations from creditors of companies in liquidation about priority of payments in those cases. In broad terms, the principle applied in insolvency cases is that creditors are treated equally, and will receive any payment they are due after the fees, costs and expenses of the liquidation have been paid. This is not an area which the Government has any current plans to change.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle Islamophobia.

    Stephen Williams

    This Government has done more than any other to tackle anti-Muslim hatred which includes:

    • setting up the first ever cross-government working group on anti-Muslim Hatred;
    • provided start-up funding to the Tell MAMA initiative to record incidents and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred;
    • establishing a UK Srebrenica Memorial Day which recognises the fatal consequences of hatred and division;
    • running social media workshops to build the capacity of community organisations to use social media effectively;
    • holding 8 integration roadshows with communities to find out what more Government can do to integrate communities and tackle anti-Muslim hatred;
    • following the attacks in Paris, the my rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State (Eric Pickles) and my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, the Noble Lord Ahmad wrote on 16 January to mosques across England reassuring them of Government help if they experience anti-Muslim hatred;
    • the Department has also assured faith and community leaders of its support to their commendable efforts to foster mutual understanding and shared respect and is also in close contact with the Police who are reassuring communities and providing protective security advice and guidance.
  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if she will take steps to increase maintenance loans for university accommodation in respect of (a) students in places with expensive accommodation costs and (b) other students.

    Greg Clark

    The Government announced an increase of 3.34% to maximum maintenance loans for the 2015/16 academic year earlier this year. This increase will apply to all rates of maintenance loan, including the higher rate loan for students living away from home and studying in London, where living costs (including those for accommodation) are generally higher.

    Decisions on student support arrangements for higher education courses are taken on an annual basis. The Government will review student support arrangements for the 2016/17 academic year in 2015.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken in response to the discovery of horsemeat in other foods in 2013 to improve co-operation between Government departments on public health issues.

    Jane Ellison

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to develop its capability in relation to food fraud, in response to recommendations made in the reviews of the horsemeat incident, working closely with other Government Departments, enforcement agencies, local authorities and industry to detect and deter food fraud. The FSA is building an intelligence gathering network to increase the opportunity to capture and act on intelligence which may be indicative of future risks, as well as producing strategic and tactical assessments to share with relevant enforcement agencies, particularly through the Government Agency Intelligence Network.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of recent changes in Japan’s constitution and its defence doctrine.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK welcomes a more active role for Japan on international peace and security. These reforms, based on a reinterpretation of Japan’s constitution, will allow it to make a greater contribution to international peace and security, including through exercising its right under the UN Charter to collective self-defence. We have worked well with Japan in difficult security environments overseas and we welcome the prospect of greater practical cooperation in these areas.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much St Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust invested in the establishment of its Gamma Knife Centre in 2009; what the source of such funding was; and how much of that investment has since been recouped.

    Jane Ellison

    We are advised that three senior neurosurgery consultants are responsible for the Gamma Knife operation at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, along with one neuro interventional radiologist and two clinical oncologists. All are employed by Barts Health NHS Trust, and are overseen by the Clinical Director for Neurosciences and the Group Director for Emergency Care and Acute Medicine, both of whom are clinicians.

    HCA employs one senior administrator, the Acting Chief Operating Officer for the Harley Street Clinic, along with the physicist and nursing staff and an administration co-ordinator who work in the Gamma Knife centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

    We are advised that HCA owns the Gamma Knife based at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and that HCA pays a rental fee to Barts Health NHS Trust.

    We understand that, as the Gamma Knife was purchased by HCA, St Bartholomew’s Hospital (then part of Barts and The London NHS Trust) incurred minimal set up costs for the establishment of the service in 2009. This included costs for associated building work to accommodate the facility.

    Gamma Knife surgery is funded by NHS England as the commissioner for all specialist services. We are advised that Barts Health NHS Trust receives approximately £9,200 per patient from NHS England and that HCA charges Barts Health £7,310 per patient treated by the Gamma Knife facility at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

    If the hon. Member wishes to obtain further information about the Gamma Knife facility at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, he may wish to contact Barts Health NHS Trust directly.