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Tag: 2015

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to tender for additional proton beam therapy treatment providers.

    Jane Ellison

    The decision to commission services from additional proton beam therapy (PBT) centres would likely be triggered by an existing supplier no longer being able to deliver services and/or NHS England having capacity requirements that could not be met by the existing providers.

    In the event NHS England required additional PBT providers, these would be selected through a procurement exercise.

    There is currently no indication that NHS England will need to seek additional providers but it will, of course, keep this position under review.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the update of the current Cancer Drugs Fund list published on 4 September 2015, what assessment he has made of the potential effects on survival rates for (a) breast cancer, (b) pancreatic cancer, (c) lymphoma and (d) leukaemia of the removal of treatments from that list.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that negotiations are continuing which may result in some drugs remaining in the Cancer Drugs Fund making it difficult to provide a meaningful estimate at this time.

    NHS England also advises that the planned removal of these drugs from the Fund will have no or minimal impact on survival rates for the cancers listed.

  • 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, whether the mechanisms used by NHS England to collect information on patient experience include metrics on (a) shared decision-making and (b) self-management.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England collects patient experience information through a programme of national patient experience surveys, which depending on the survey, are managed by either NHS England or the Care Quality Commission.

    National surveys containing questions that can be used to assess the extent to which patients feel they are being involved in shared decision-making include: the National Survey of Bereaved People, the Cancer Patient Experience Survey, the GP Patient Survey, and surveys in accident and emergency, maternity, mental health and inpatient settings.

    Questions asking patients about their view and support to self-manage are included in both the Cancer Patient Experience Survey and the GP Patient Survey and in addition, NHS England is testing the use of a Patient Activation Measure within the National Health Service, to support self-management and person centred care.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Obscene Publications Act 1959 to make possession of obscene publications an either way offence rather than summary only offence; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    The offence of publishing an obscene article under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 is triable either way, with a maximum custodial penalty of six months on summary conviction or five years on conviction on indictment. The Government has no current plans to amend it but is happy to consider relevant evidence.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will amend the terms of reference of the Pitchford inquiry into undercover policing to include operations by UK undercover officers that took place outside of the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    The terms of reference for the Statutory Inquiry into Undercover Policing, which were published on 16 July 2015, require the Inquiry to “inquire into and report on undercover police operations conducted by English and Welsh police forces in England and Wales since 1968”. There are no plans to amend the terms of reference.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of human trafficking have been detained in the last five years.

    Karen Bradley

    Individuals who have been identified as victims of trafficking by the competent authorities are normally considered suitable for detention in only very exceptional circumstances, which include cases where there is a risk of public harm. This data is not collected centrally and accurate figures are not available. Once a person is detained their continued detention remains under review by the Home Office at least at monthly intervals, and earlier in response to any change of circumstances that might have a material effect on their detention.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress has been made on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    There continues to be good progress on the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the EU and US, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), in particular on the technical work which would underpin the final deal.The next negotiating round is taking place 19-23 October in the US.

    A trade and investment agreement between the EU and US offers an enormous economic benefit in jobs, investment and lower prices, worth potentially £10 billion a year to the UK Our ambition remains to reach political agreement during the Obama administration and this goal has been given renewed impetus by the completion of the Trans Pacific Partnership.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve care and support for people with breast cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway with the aim of improving survival rates, including for people with breast cancer.

    We are working with the National Health Service, charities and patient groups to deliver it. To support delivery of the strategy, NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. Whilst continuing in her current position at the Royal Marsden, she will lead the implementation of the strategy, alongside work to test new models of care at the Royal Marsden and University College London Hospitals in partnership with Manchester Cancer.

    Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer, published by the Department in 1996 and updated by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (now known as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)) in 2002, sets out best practice evidence based guidance on the diagnosis, treatment and care of women with breast cancer. The guidance is complimented by clinical guidelines on Breast cancer (early and locally advanced) and Breast cancer (advanced) published by NICE in 2009, and Familial breast cancer published in June 2013.

    NICE has also published a quality standard for breast cancer which is designed to drive and measure priority quality improvements in a breast cancer care. This is currently being updated.

    In addition, NHS England has a Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group, which is administratively supported by the charities Breast Cancer Now and Breast Cancer Care. It has produced evidence based service guidance to support commissioners of breast cancer services, which is in the process of review internally.

    The results of the 2014 Cancer Patient Experience survey show improvements in many areas. 89% of all patients reported that their care was either excellent or very good, and breast cancer patients on the whole reported a more positive experience than for many other cancer patients, with 93% reporting having been given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist.

    On 13 September, based on the recommendations of the independent Cancer Taskforce report, we announced a number of measures to improve diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of people with cancer. This included a commitment that, by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. The packages will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer, including things such as physical activity programmes, psychological support and practical advice about returning to work.

  • 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 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements are in place to ensure that grants made by his Department under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are awarded transparently.

    Alistair Burt

    The majority of grants made under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are awarded through competed schemes where the assessment criteria are published. A small number of non-competed grants are also made by the Department and these are all assessed against the same criteria.

    The standard business case criteria includes a Strategic Case, Economic Case, Financial Case, Commercial Case and Project Governance.

    All grants awarded under Section 64 powers require both HM Treasury and Ministerial approval as set out in the legislation.

    A standard set of terms and conditions are used for all Section 64 grant awards, these have been agreed by the Departments legal team.

  • Lady Hermon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lady Hermon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to secure the extradition of Moussa Koussa in connection with IRA/Libyan-sponsored terrorism in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    It is a matter of long-standing policy and practice that the Government will neither confirm nor deny whether an extradition request has been made or received prior to the arrest of the person concerned pursuant to that request.