Tag: 2015

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the African Union about steps to ensure that a Pan-African and Continental Free Trade Area will be introduced on schedule in 2017.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK supports the vision of an African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) as a key step to supporting African prosperity. We provide capacity building support to the African Union (AU) Commission to strengthen its ability to negotiate and implement trade agreements, including analysis to ensure the potential costs and benefits are fully understood. We will continue to work with the AU to ensure progress towards the CFTA is maintained, and I intend to raise this with AU colleagues at the January AU summit.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to case managers employed by the Fit for Work service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Case managers receive comprehensive training relevant to the duties they are required to deliver through the Fit for Work service. Health professionals have supervision from experienced professionals from whom they can seek advice. Fit for Work has in place a clinical governance framework to provide oversight of all aspects of clinical service delivery. Fit for Work also ensures health professionals participate in a programme of continuing professional development.

    Continuous training and development occurs on a one to one basis as part of quality assurance.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to consult clinicians on his policy on access to off-patent drugs.

    George Freeman

    Our policy on generic prescribing has been in place for a number of years. The policy helps ensure that patients can access the medicine that best meets their needs and it has been a key driver in the National Health Service making maximum use of off-patent drugs which are also known as generics. We have the best prescribing rate for these drugs in Europe.

    To support clinicians who may want to prescribe a product off-label for a patient to and improve the flow of research evidence into clinical practice, the Department hosted a Roundtable Event in February 2015. Attendees included the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Breast Cancer Now and other charities and discussions helped determine those non-legislative measures that could be undertaken. The Government is committed to this work and is holding a further roundtable event with charities.

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

    Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of road vehicles in the UK they expect to be wholly electrically powered by 2030.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has a commitment that nearly every car and van will be zero emission by 2050. Already over 1% of new cars are ultra low emission and we expect uptake to continue to rise over time consistent with this goal. We do not provide interim forecasts or targets as this market is now moving so rapidly. We will spend over £600m 2015-16 and 2020-21 to put the UK on track to meet our ambitious long term target.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the usefulness of self-testing kits for (a) sexually transmitted diseases, (b) fertility, (c) human papilloma virus, (d) blood pressure, (e) bowel cancer and (f) cholesterol.

    George Freeman

    Self-testing and self-sampling kits have an important part to play in the detection of a number of conditions provided they are used in conjunction with advice from a healthcare professional.

    To be placed on the market in the United Kingdom, they must satisfy the necessary requirements of European Union legislation.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the estimated annual financial loss to the Labour Party following the implementation of clause 10 in the Trade Union Bill, which will reverse the current opt-out process.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There has been no assessment. However, the proposals in the Bill are not about party funding. The Trade Union Bill is introducing a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.

    If union members want a political fund they are perfectly free to contribute to one, so, this will not necessarily lead to a reduction in the funds available.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to prioritise (a) looked-after children and (b) other vulnerable groups within his Department’s children and young people’s mental health budget over the next five years.

    Alistair Burt

    Future in Mind, the previous Government’s report on the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, established a clear and powerful consensus for change across the whole system, including health, social care and education. This Government is driving forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services to improve access and make services more widely available across the country so that, where possible, children can access high-quality support locally.

    This transformation programme, backed by additional investment of £1.4 billion allocated over the next five years, will deliver a step change in the way children and young people’s mental health services are commissioned and delivered. Emphasis will be placed on prevention and early intervention, building care around the needs of children, young people and their families, including the most vulnerable, such as those who are looked-after and adopted.

    Clinical commissioning groups, covering all areas in the country, have submitted Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing developed with local partners which are currently being assured by NHS England.

    A national programme of work will support local areas. This will include the extension and expansion of the use of evidence-based interventions, tacking stigma, improving data and information to inform greater transparency and accountability and developing a specialist and stronger workforce.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of the apprenticeship levy on wage growth over the next five years.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The OBR forecasts that wages will grow over the next few years, though at a slightly lower rate than would have been the case had the apprenticeship levy not been introduced.

    However, we know that apprenticeships have long-run productivity and wage benefits for apprentices and the wider economy, which are not included in the OBR’s modelling. On average, an apprenticeship increases an individual’s earnings by 11-16% within three to five years.[1]

    The medium-term benefits of apprenticeships can therefore outweigh short-term wage pressures. We thus consider the net impact of the apprenticeships levy on the economy to be positive.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-measuring-the-net-present-value-in-england

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  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward proposals to introduce stricter UK border controls similar to those introduced by the French government following the recent Paris attacks.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK is not part of the Schengen border-free arrangements that France and other European counterparts take part in. We have always and will continue to operate our borders securely and enforce our immigration laws. This includes carrying out full checks on all arriving passengers in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. Following the tragic events on Friday 13 November in Paris, Border Force has intensified checks on people, goods and vehicles entering the UK from the near continent and elsewhere, undertaking additional and targeted security checks against passengers and vehicles travelling to France via both maritime and rail ports and a number of airports across the country. We will be maintaining increased levels of security at our borders and people will see an increased presence of police and Border Force at all ports.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) NHS England and (b) Health Education England on tackling workforce shortages within radiology and endoscopy to improve early diagnosis for cancer patients; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations in the independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 to 2020, and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE as NHS National Cancer Director to lead on managing implementation. She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, including on workforce, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work.

    We announced in September that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.