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Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the reintegration into society of children enlisted in armed groups in the Central African Republic.

    Grant Shapps

    We welcome the agreement reached at the Bangui Forum in May to release all children from the ranks of armed groups. It is important that these children are offered assistance to reintegrate into society. We encourage International Financial Institutions and other donors to invest in productive sectors to increase income-generating opportunities for the youth of Central African Republic and which provide a real alternative to joining an armed group.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on (a) nurses and (b) doctors employed through an agency in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information that has been requested is not recorded centrally by the Department.

    2013-14 was the first time that the Department collected financial data from National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in respect of net temporary and agency staffing costs. Available data on spending nationally on all agency staff is set out in the table below. We are not able to separately identify total spending with agencies on nurses and doctors from centrally held data.

    Total cost to the NHS of temporary staff in 2013-14 and 2014-15

    2013-14 £000s

    2014-15 £000s

    Total NHS Providers

    2,605,378

    3,355,723

    Source: Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15

  • Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s strategy is for supporting children who are the children of alcoholics; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Parents play a crucial role in how their children develop and behave and act as role models for them and we recognise that parental alcohol dependency can limit parenting capacity and this can have serious consequences for children.

    A number of initiatives to ensure that children have the best possible start in life have been introduced:

    – the national Healthy Child Programme supports children’s health and development, by providing parenting support and health promotion guidance; and

    – the expanded Troubled Families programme launched in April 2015 offers support on health issues to up to 400,000 families, including for alcohol and drug misuse.

    We have given local authorities more than £8 billion in funding over three years so they can put the right services in place to help their communities.

    Public Health England’s role in supporting local authorities undertake their public health functions is vital in reducing the levels of alcohol harm and supporting young people with parents who are alcohol dependent.

    As part of this Public Health England funded the “Alcohol and other Drug use: The Roles and Capabilities of Social Workers”. This guidance sets out the key roles for social workers in relation to substance misuse.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical students studying in London medical schools are in their final year of study.

    Ben Gummer

    The Medical and Dental Students Survey records the total intake for medical schools for the 2014/15 academic year for London as1,616.Data is not held centrally on numbers of medical students studying in London for their final year of study or current totals of medical students in medical schools in London.

  • Iain Wright – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Iain Wright – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

    NHS England has also been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this. Information on average waiting times for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area is not collected centrally.

    The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and NHS organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This guidance sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies including general practitioners.

    We are due to consult on how we set the mandate to NHS England prior to publication of the mandate itself. The mandate will be published following the Government’s Spending Review which is due to complete on 25 November.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the article entitled Greed of the NHS fat cats published in the Daily Mail on 20 April 2015, whether he has instituted an investigation of salaries paid to NHS senior executives.

    Alistair Burt

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all Chairs of NHS organisations on 2 June 2015 setting out a range of measures to ensure executive pay is proportionate and justifiable. He asked the Chairs urgently to review their policies on executive pay; to seek the views of Ministers before making any executive appointment paid more than £142,500 per year; to advise him of all current executive pay more than £142,500 and to provide a justification; to ensure that the HM Treasury guidance on off-payroll executive appointments is followed rigorously. He also announced his intention of introducing a limit on the rates payable to off-payroll interim executives; of introducing a national framework for deciding executive pay throughout the NHS; of clamping down on executives who retire and then return to NHS employment so that they do not gain financially from this; and set out his expectation that new redundancy terms should apply to all executive staff. We are taking this work forward.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings his Department has had with representatives of (a) the Taxpayers’ Alliance, (b) the Confederation of British Industry, (c) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) the Adam Smith Institute, (e) the Freedom Association, (f) the Politics and Economics Research Trust and (g) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Secretary of State for Health and the Home Secretary have discussed the Government’s policy on immigration when it has been raised at internal government meetings.

    The Home Secretary asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the operation of the Tier 2 route of entry into the United Kingdom and they held a public consultation, which closed on 25 September 2015.

    However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

    Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

    While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

    The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses from the Philippines are currently employed in NHS hospitals on salaries of £35,000 or more; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    Information from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (England only) shows that 233 (headcount) qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff from the Philippines earned £35,000 or more, as of June 2015.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of (i) the Taxpayers’ Alliance, (ii) the Confederation of British Industry, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) the Adam Smith Institute, (v) the Freedom Association, (vi) the Politics and Economics Research Trust and (vii) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.

    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 ministerial meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office