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Tag: 2015

  • 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

    “

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

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to increase the use of e-consultations in the management of long-term conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    It is estimated that around 9.5 million people in the United Kingdom lack basic digital literacy skills and 6.5 million have never been online in their lives. Those experiencing digital exclusion tend to be older, poorer, and are more likely to be disabled than the rest of the population. Digital health training has the potential to reduce demand on face-to-face health services by helping people identify the most appropriate way to seek non urgent medical advice. It can also empower people who have a long term condition (LTC) with the knowledge to better manage their health.

    NHS England is working on building digital skills for people who have never used the internet as part of its Widening Digital Participation. This provides assisted digital access in community settings such as libraries, community centres and general practitioner practices. Since 2013, NHS England has been working with a social enterprise, the Tinder Foundation, to support people in getting online and gaining basic digital skills for their own health. To date over 250,000 people have been engaged in the Widening Digital Participation programme.

    In November 2014, the National Information Board published Personalised Health and Care 2020. This sets out how the NHS and social care will harness the information revolution to support the delivery of high quality safe and effective treatment and new models of care that will provide more integrated and co-ordinated care closer to home.

    People living with LTCs will have the opportunity to take greater agency and control over their own health and wellbeing by utilising bespoke endorsed apps, using remote and assistive technologies, accessing key information in their care record and drawing that information into a personal health record. Mobile digital technology can support clinicians to enable patient self-care, access expertise and increase capacity via virtual consultations, and utilise decision support tools.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any Libyan personnel formerly based at Bassingbourn Barracks and currently claiming asylum have applied for an anonymity direction.

    James Brokenshire

    It is long-standing Government policy not to comment on individual cases.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what resources the Government will make available to local authorities to assist the housing of refugees from Syria.

    Richard Harrington

    The UK has established networks to accommodate and support resettled people. An increase in numbers will require an expansion of current networks. We are working with a wide range of partners including local authorities to ensure people are integrated sensitively into local communities. We are working closely with the Local Government Association on how the funding for this will operate.

    The first 12 months of each refugee’s resettlement costs will be met from the UK’s growing overseas aid budget. After year one we will also provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in future years.

  • Angela Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to evaluate the effectiveness of the Soil Protection Review form in reducing soil erosion.

    George Eustice

    Defra commissioned research, published in 2012, to evaluate the implementation of the Soil Protection Review (SPR). The research took the form of a telephone survey of 800 claimants, with 30 in-depth interviews across a sample of farms by region, farm type and size.

    Following recommendations by the Farming Regulation Task force, a review of the SPR was conducted. In January 2015, new national standards for agricultural soils under cross compliance were introduced. These rules require farmers in receipt of payments under CAP to prevent soil erosion, to maintain soil cover and to protect the level of organic matter in their soils.

    The Government will continue to monitor the implementation of the new rules.

  • Lady Hermon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lady Hermon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ensure that interest earned on Libyan assets frozen in the UK is used to compensate the victims of IRA/Libyan-sponsored violence; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There is no legal basis upon which the UK could re-direct Libyan assets or the interest accrued to individuals for the purposes of compensation. Regarding assets which belonged to Qadhafi or other regime figures, the UN Security Council has stipulated that when these are unfrozen, they will be made available to, and for the benefit of the Libyan people. For the duration of time that these assets are frozen, they and any interest they accrue will be governed in accordance with the specific sanctions in place over the individuals or entities to which the assets belong. In this case, the asset freezing measures are set out under EU Regulation 204/2011 which prohibits the release of frozen funds and the interest accrued belonging to listed individuals or entities except in very specific circumstances, which do not apply here.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve the physical and mental health of homeless people.

    Alistair Burt

    Homelessness can lead to significant physical and mental health problems, and without accommodation and support, the chances of recovery are very limited. The £10 million Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund promoted new ways of improving the discharge arrangements of homeless people from hospital by working with other local services to help their recovery and improve their health.

    In April, the £40 million Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programme was launched. This programme will join up health and housing services, and help support young people at risk of homelessness across the country. We will be announcing the successful programme bids shortly.

    Talking Therapies, like the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme are a key weapon in addressing the mental health needs of vulnerable groups, like homeless people. While the normal referral processes to IAPT services are through general practitioners (GPs), individuals can self-refer, meaning that homeless people can refer themselves to services without the need for a GP.

    Public Health England is also working with local authorities to help them understand better the physical and mental health needs of homeless people in which access to IAPT will play a part.