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Tag: 2015

  • Seema Kennedy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Seema Kennedy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Kennedy on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the Drinking Water Inspectorate to announce the findings of its investigations into the causes of the recent cryptosporidium water contamination.

    Rory Stewart

    The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) holds the statutory responsibility to investigate and report on drinking water quality incidents that affect public water supplies in England and Wales. It continues to carry out a detailed and thorough investigation into the recent cryptosporidium outbreak in Lancashire. Once the final report is completed, it will be made publicly available.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote universalisation and implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK encourages States not party to the ATT to accede to it as soon as possible. A first step towards universalisation was enabling full participation by interested states in the ATT First Conference of States Parties (CSP1) in August 2015. To that end, the UK contributed £150,000 towards the sponsoring of developing States to attend CSP1.

    We are also funding projects totalling approximately £276,000 which are focused on effective ATT implementation and universalisation. In addition, the UK supports efforts by the UN and EU to provide technical assistance to states looking to accede to or implement the ATT.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) UN, (b) EU, (c) government of Ethiopia and (d) government of Eritrea on implementation of the recommendations of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission.

    Grant Shapps

    We have consistently urged both Eritrea and Ethiopia to engage bilaterally and with international partners, such as the EU and the UN, to overcome the current stalemate. The UK, along with our international partners, has underlined that the decision by the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission is final and binding. We urge both governments to respect the commitment they made in the Algiers peace agreement of December 2000.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Faisal bin Hassan Trad’s appointment as Chair of a panel of independent experts on the UN Human Rights Council.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Ambassador of Saudi Arabia has served on the United Nations Consultative Group since 1 January 2015. His appointment as Chair was an internal decision made by the United Nations Consultative Group, which is a subordinate body of the Human Rights Council. The group is currently made up of five ambassadors, serving in their personal capacity, from each of the five regional groups in the UN. The UK’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva is not part of this Consultative Group and the appointment was not a decision of the Human Rights Council. It is standard procedure for the chairmanship of the Group to rotate during the course of the year.

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

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Blaydon meet NICE guidance.

    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 Newcastle Gateshead CCG is working with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to refine their autism pathway, from diagnosis through to therapy and support if appropriate, to be in line with the NICE recommendations. In October 2013, Sheffield CCG commissioned a service to be NICE compliant. However, the service has received a higher volume of referrals than had been anticipated, and is currently the subject of a review to ensure the right model and level of service is delivered in Sheffield.We are not aware of any issues in Carshalton and Wallington.

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Carshalton and Wallington constituency meet NICE guidance.

    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 Newcastle Gateshead CCG is working with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to refine their autism pathway, from diagnosis through to therapy and support if appropriate, to be in line with the NICE recommendations. In October 2013, Sheffield CCG commissioned a service to be NICE compliant. However, the service has received a higher volume of referrals than had been anticipated, and is currently the subject of a review to ensure the right model and level of service is delivered in Sheffield.We are not aware of any issues in Carshalton and Wallington.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for autism diagnosis.

    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.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England relating to autism diagnosis waiting times.

    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.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on cancer services in each year since 2009-10; and what the year-on-year change in that amount was in real terms.

    Jane Ellison

    Due to the transition to new commissioning structures, it is not possible to create a time-series consistent with the years prior to 2012-13 because expenditure on some services covered by primary care trusts has transferred to local authorities and Public Health England.

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reopen negotiations with the British Medical Association on proposed contract changes for doctors.

    Ben Gummer

    The British Medical Association (BMA) Consultants’ Committee has now returned to negotiations and we hope that consultants will vote to accept a modernised contract in the New Year. The Government hopes that the BMA Junior Doctors’ Committee will also return to negotiations on the same basis. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to the Chair of the Junior Doctors’ Committee with guarantees to allay concerns that the BMA has shared with its members and the public. The letter has been published at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-secretary-jeremy-hunt-writes-to-jdc-chair-johann-malawana

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