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Tag: 2015

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of national programmes which provide naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release.

    Jane Ellison

    There is no national programme that provides naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release. The decision of whether or not to provide naloxone to prisoners on release is the responsibility of Health and Justice commissioning teams within NHS England’s area teams and other local stakeholders, including local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. The information on how many prisons provide naloxone for prisoners upon release in England is not held centrally.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what medication is available on the NHS for chronic fatigue syndrome.

    Jane Ellison

    No assessment has been made of the number of people who have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in the last year.

    In 2007 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the clinical guidance Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, which estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.

    There is no medication available to specifically treat CFS, however the NICE guidance recommends that pharmacological pain relief may be appropriate for the relief of chronic pain that the condition can cause. Other methods of treatment that may be of benefit are cognitive behavioural therapy, graded exercise therapy or activity management. The guidance can be found at the following link:

    https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg53

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals aged (a) between 15 and 64 and (b) over 65 from each EEA country were granted British citizenship in each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

    James Brokenshire

    The latest available Home Office immigration statistics on grants of British citizenship by age, sex, geographical region and year of grant are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, April-June 2015’ table cz_05 for 2002 to 2014, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

    Corresponding data for 2015 will be published on 26 May 2016. Information is not available for periods prior to 2002.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the new Care Quality Commission inspection regime on hospital performance; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC monitors, inspects and regulates services against fundamental standards of quality and safety below which care should never fall.

    The CQC’s new inspection regime provides a comprehensive assessment of hospitals performance. During an inspection, the CQC asks five questions of every service and provider; are they safe, effective, caring, well led and responsive to people’s needs. Following an inspection the CQC rates a provider on a four point scale running from outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. In addition to an aggregate rating at a provider level, the CQC produces ratings for individual services and locations. This gives patients and the public a fair, balanced and easy to understand assessment of performance of a provider.

    Where a provider is rated as inadequate the Chief Inspector of Hospitals can recommend that the trust be placed into special measures. This means that trusts receive a tailored package of support to enable them to improve.

    As of 8 December there are 15 trusts in special measures. Eleven trusts have made sufficient progress to exit special measures, the most recent being the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust on 4 December.

    On 15 October 2015, the CQC published its State of Care Report 2014-15 and reported:

    * 83%1 of all providers agree that the new inspections helped them to monitor the quality of care they provide;

    * 73%1 of all providers said that a CQC inspection had helped to identify areas of improvement and 72% said that the inspection reports were useful; and

    * 68%1 of all providers said that they thought that outcomes for people who use services were improved as result of CQC inspection activity.

    1 The information provided in the State of Care report is for all registered providers not just Hospitals.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 9384, on Reoffenders, if he will list the offences committed by those people numbered in the violence against the person category.

    Andrew Selous

    A fixed-term recall is used only in respect of offenders who are assessed as not posing a risk of serious harm to the public at the point at which they would be re-released automatically. A fixed term recall will not be given in cases where an offender has been charged with a further serious offence, such as a sexual or violent offence or where an offender’s behaviour suggests that he presents a risk of serious harm to the public. Such offenders would receive a standard recall, which means they are liable to remain in prison until the end of their sentence

    In appropriate cases, a fixed-term recall allows preventative measures to be put in place to stop the offender breaching their licence again

    The table below provides a list of the offences committed by 546 offenders who received a fixed term recall in 2014 and who were serving a sentence for violence against the person.

    Violence against the person

    Murder

    Manslaughter

    Other and attempted homicide

    Wounding

    Assaults

    Other violence against the person
  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that Syrian refugees who are resettled in the UK as part of the vulnerable persons programme do not lose contact with family who are not also resettled in the UK.

    Richard Harrington

    The Syrian refugees being resettled in the UK are, wherever possible, resettled with their immediate family members. It is up to the individuals concerned to decide how best to maintain contact with their family members who are not in the UK.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment his Department carried out on women directly affected by the Pension Act 2011 before those changes came into effect.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Estimates of the number (a) men and (b) women affected by the changes made to State Pension age are presented in Table 5 of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf

    This shows that an estimated 2.34 million men and 2.64 million women would have an increase in the State Pension age under the Pensions Act 2011 compared to the legislated position prior to the passing of the Pensions Act 2011.

    The Impact Assessment examines the fiscal costs and benefits of increasing women’s State Pension age from 63 to 65 between April 2016 to November 2018; and increasing men’s and women’s State Pension age from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. A Gender Impact assessment is provided in the Annex of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment.

    Women born in 1952 were not affected by the changes to State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011.

    “

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the provision of lorry parking facilities on the strategic road network; and what steps he is taking to improve the provision of such facilities.

    Andrew Jones

    We have received three letters on this subject from MPs, plus several from hauliers and lorry drivers. We have also received representations in meetings with the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association and Unite the Union.

    We are concerned by suggestions that a lack of suitable, affordable facilities is one of the factors leading to the current shortage of lorry drivers. Therefore we are having discussions with the haulage industry and Highways England to see what improvements are possible.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they are using to assess which parts of Network Rail and London and Continental Railways’ land estate are suitable for disposal, and what conditions will be set to ensure that noise and vibration issues are minimised.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Summer Budget stated “the government will introduce a new approach to station redevelopment and commercial land sales on the rail network, building on the experience of regenerating land around Kings Cross Station and Stratford in East London – the government will establish a dedicated body to focus on pursuing opportunities to realise value from public land and property assets in the rail network to both maximise the benefit to local communities and reduce the burden of public debt”. Discussions are taking place to develop an approach that maximises value for the taxpayer and supports the safe and efficient operation of the rail network.

    The disposal of Network Rail’s assets must be in accordance with its network licence, which is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. London and Continental Railways’ asset disposals are approved by the company’s board and the Department for Transport.

    Sale contracts for land will not impose conditions on the seller in relation to noise and vibration. Proximity to the railway and related issues such as noise and vibration are generally considered as part of the planning process, which is regulated by the relevant planning authority in accordance with environmental legislation.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are currently in receipt of disability benefits in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The available information for Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance, by age and a range of geographical breakdowns, is available using the Department’s Tabulation Tool: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/.

    Similar information for Personal Independence Payment and Employment Support Allowance is available using Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

    Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore is available here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

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