The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which countries have not received a visit by a UK Minister since 2000.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Ministers regularly make visits overseas in pursuit of UK interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what system of accountability NHS England will establish for clinical commissioning groups’ work on improving one year cancer survival rates from June 2016.
Jane Ellison
NHS England is committed to reworking the clinical commission group (CCG) assurance framework for 2016-17 to reflect the triple aim of closing the gap on health inequalities, improving the quality of care and achieving financial sustainability, in addition to the themes of the Five Year Forward View: prevention; patient and community engagement; clinical priorities; and development of new care models.
Cancer has been identified as one of these clinical priorities, and metrics will be selected which reflect the strategic priorities laid out by the independent Cancer Taskforce, including early diagnosis and supporting people to live well, with, and, beyond cancer.
The assessment framework brings together the assurance framework and key metrics, and will incorporate future transformation as well as current performance. It will drive improvement rather than just assure and assess.
CCGs will receive an overall annual rating and, within the framework, will be rated for six clinical priorities of: cancer, dementia, diabetes, mental health, maternity, and learning difficulties.
CCGs will be rated on the same four point scale used by the Care Quality Commission: outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate. The ratings for the clinical priority areas will be made by independent expert committees.
The metrics are currently in development and NHS England expects to publish a set for consultation in December 2015, at around the same time as the planning guidance, with a final version in March 2016. The assessment framework will come in to operational effect from 1 April 2016 and initial ratings in the six clinical priority areas will be published in June 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the connectivity of the proposed High Speed 2 station in South Yorkshire to other Sheffield city region train and bus stations.
Mr Robert Goodwill
In March 2012 HS2 Ltd published Options for Phase Two of the High Speed Rail Network setting out the route and station options for Phase Two of HS2.This report sets out the connectivity proposals around the recommended South Yorkshire station at Meadowhall.
In addition to this local areas are aware of the unique opportunity that HS2 presents to deliver a step change in local growth on and around the route, and have developed plans to capitalise on this. These plans include the creation of integrated proposals for improved local and sub-regional connectivity to HS2.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times she has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.
Karen Bradley
The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place greater emphasis on improving cancer diagnosis rates when forming his Department’s policies in future.
Jane Ellison
Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for this Government. We will continue to work with NHS England, Public Health England and other partners to achieve early diagnosis through improved screening programmes, Be Clear on Cancer campaigns to raise awareness of symptoms of cancer to encourage people with symptoms to present promptly to their general practitioner (GP), and help for GPs to refer more accurately.
We have committed to implementing recommendation 24 of the Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report Achieving World-Class Outcomes that by 2020, everyone referred with a suspicion of cancer will receive either a definitive diagnosis or the all-clear within four weeks. NHS England is working with partners across the health system to consider how best to take this forward. This standard will be underpinned by investment of up to £300 million more in diagnostics each year by 2020.
NHS England has launched a major early diagnosis programme, Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate (ACE), working jointly with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support to test new innovative approaches to identifying cancer more quickly. Outputs from the first wave of test sites, which commenced in April 2015, will be delivered on a phased basis, with the majority falling between September 2015 and December 2016. It is expected that ACE Wave 1 evaluation will be complete by mid-2017.
In June this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published an updated guideline ‘Suspected cancer: recognition and referral’. The guideline focuses on key symptoms, to make it easier to use and will continue to support GPs to identify patients with symptoms of suspected cancer, and urgently refer them as appropriate. The guideline recommends a lower referral threshold for urgent referrals where cancer is suspected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of protests at border crossings between Nepal and India on the supply of (a) fuel, (b) medicine and (c) blood to Nepal.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The current disruption in the Terai and at a number of border posts has affected the importation and distribution within Nepal of supplies of goods. This has included fuel, food and health commodities, such as vaccines and medicines. Acute shortages of diesel, petrol as well as cooking gas have been felt across Nepal for the past weeks. This has had an impact on movement around the country as well as distribution networks for key commodities.
DFID Nepal is currently working with the Ministry of Health and Population, World Health Organisation and other partners to undertake a rapid assessment of the health impacts of the crisis, including the availability medicines and blood products at health facilities. DFID is also engaging with the Government of Nepal, as well as our development and humanitarian partners, to track the current situation. DFID continue to urge all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue as soon as possible and resolve the current difficulties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2015-12-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what cross-Government estimates they have made in 2016–17 departmental budgets for the extra cost of agency and contract staff of HMRC’s proposals on not allowing staff employed through agencies or contractors to claim tax relief on their travel and subsistence expenses.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
No cross-government estimates have been made for the extra cost of agency and contract staff in 2016-17 departmental budgets, following the restriction of tax relief on travel and subsistence for workers engaged through an employment intermediary.
The changes are aimed at ensuring the tax system provides no individuals or business with an unfair advantage by preventing temporary workers, who are employed through employment intermediaries, and their employers, from benefiting for relief for home-to-work travel and subsistence expenses. This relief is not generally available to other workers who are employed directly or through temporary work contracts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2015 to Question 5604, when he expects to provide a full response to the Law Commission’s report on a statutory definition of plying for hire for the taxi and private hire industry.
Andrew Jones
In its comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation, the Law Commission considered creating a statutory definition of plying for hire. However, after careful consideration the Law Commission recommended an alternative approach that would make it unlawful for anyone other than a local taxi driver to accept a hiring ‘there and then’.
The Government is currently considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report. The Government will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints were rejected by the Financial Ombudsman Service on grounds of jurisdiction in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 to date.
Harriett Baldwin
The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.
The questions have been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedures his Department follows when a jobcentre client requests a food bank voucher for the fourth time in any given year.
Priti Patel
The Department for Work and Pensions does not issue food bank vouchers.
Jobcentre Plus holds details of local organisations to which its staff can signpost claimants experiencing financial difficulty.