The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the appraisal criteria upon which medicines for rarer cancers are approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that it is not planning to specifically review the methods used for appraisal of medicines for rarer cancers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rogan on 2015-10-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria the NHS England Clinical Priorities Advisory Group uses in making commissioning decisions.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The criteria against which NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group considers proposed investments for specialised services are as follows:
– There must be adequate and clinically reliable evidence to demonstrate clinical effectiveness;
– There must be measurable benefits to patients;
– The intervention should offer equal or greater benefit than other forms of care routinely commissioned by the NHS;
– While considering the benefit of stimulating innovation, NHS England will not confer higher priority to a treatment or intervention solely on the basis that it is the only one available;
– NHS England may agree to fund interventions for rare conditions where there is limited published evidence on clinical effectiveness;
– The intervention must be available to all patients within the same patient group (other than for clinical contra-indication);
– The intervention should be likely to reduce health inequalities and will have regard to any relevant broader equality issues;
– The intervention should benefit the wider health and care system;
– The intervention should advance parity between mental and physical health; and
– The intervention should demonstrate value for money.
The criteria are set out in NHS England’s response to a public consultation, Investing in Specialised Services, of June 2015, a copy of which is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Yorkshire & Humber.
Anna Soubry
We are supporting small businesses in many ways and are committed to making sure the UK is the best place in Europe to start and grow a business. Businesses in West Yorkshire and the Yorkshire and Humber region are benefitting from Government support.
More than 900 Start Up Loans, worth over £5 million, have been issued across West Yorkshire. And more than 2,600 loans, worth over £14 million, have been issued in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Almost 900 West Yorkshire businesses have secured loans worth £87 million under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. And more than 2,000 businesses in the Yorkshire and Humber region have secured loans worth over £196 million.
There have been 48 Regional Growth Fund awards across the Yorkshire and Humber region totalling £268 million.
The Growth Deal programme is supporting growing businesses across the Yorkshire and Humber region, including £8m for growing SMEs across Leeds City Region. The Government is also funding the establishment of growth hubs which bring together local business support and advice into one place. The North Yorkshire & East Riding growth hub is now in place.
Ambitious, high growth businesses are also benefitting from the Business Growth Service: 369 in West Yorkshire and 900 in Yorkshire and Humber.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the minutes of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments have not been published since February 2015.
Matthew Hancock
The independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has confirmed that it met on 21 October, when the minutes of its previous meeting on 3 June were approved. The minutes of the June meeting have now been published on the Committee’s website in the normal way at:
The minutes of the October meeting will be published in due course.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures taken by local authorities in tackling loneliness; and what support the Government has provided for such measures.
Mr Marcus Jones
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health (Alistair Burt) on 21 October, PQ 12272
In addition, a growing number of town and parish councils are involved in the delivery of work to support residents, in particular vulnerable elderly residents, through programmes such as village agent schemes, which can help older people feel more independent, secure, and cared for, and to have a better quality of life.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many serving members of each branch of the armed forces are in receipt of (a) child and (b) working tax credits.
Damian Hinds
I refer the member to the answer I provided on the 13 July 2015 to question 14259:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the first Type 26 frigate will be ready for service.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 September 2015 to Question number 8460 to the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the proposed extension of the time limit of restoration of Electrical Shore Supplies to nuclear powered submarines at HMNB Clyde from 20 minutes up to a maximum of three hours.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence regularly reviews nuclear related processes and procedures with industry partners and with regulators, which includes independent safety scrutiny. Safety remains our priority.
I cannot comment on specific timescales for the restoration of Electrical Shore Supplies to nuclear powered submarines nor reports produced in connection with this, as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what response she has made to the proposal put forward on 21 October 2015 for a partnership between Westinghouse and the Government to develop small modular nuclear reactors.
Andrea Leadsom
Receipt of the proposal was acknowledged by officials and it will be considered as part of Government’s wider work on SMRs, which includes evidence building through the techno-economic assessment and engagement with SMR vendors where appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Chinese government on that country’s ratification of the International Covenant on civil and political rights.
Mr Hugo Swire
We have regular discussions with the Chinese authorities on a range of human rights issues, and have raised China’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on numerous occasions. We last discussed this in detail during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April this year, and also raised it at China’s most recent Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in October 2013.