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Tag: 2015

  • Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of children who are the children of alcoholics.

    Jane Ellison

    The main source for estimates of children of alcohol-misusing parents comes from a 2009 research paper which provided new estimates of the number of children (under 16 years) of substance misusing parents. The report found:

    – 6% living with a dependent drinker (over 700,000 children);

    – Around 26,000 babies under the age of one in England living with a parent who would be classified as a ‘dependent’ drinker.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) his Department and (b) the NHS gives mental health parity of esteem with physical health.

    Alistair Burt

    We continue to take mental health as seriously as physical health and to hold the National Health Service to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate, ensuring that mental and physical health conditions are given equal priority. The Mandate makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence-based services’.

    We have legislated for parity of esteem between mental and physical health via the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

    We have already expanded our world-leading psychological therapy services and we have invested over £120 million in order to introduce for the first time waiting times standards for mental health services from April 2015 – a very significant milestone on the road to parity. Next year we will invest £15 million into improving the provision of places of safety, in order to ensure that people in crisis receive assessments in appropriate premises, and not in police custody.

    We have made clear that each clinical commissioning group’s (CCG) spending on Mental Health should increase in real terms.

    NHS England’s published planning guidance for 2015/16 for commissioners made the expectation clear that each CCGs spend on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least the same percentage as each CCG’s allocation increase.

    We will monitor this closely to ensure this happens.

  • Mark Menzies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Menzies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to provide sufficient health services in Lancashire to meet increased demand from new residents of large housing developments in Fylde.

    Ben Gummer

    It is the responsibility of local commissioners to plan, develop and provide NHS services according to the healthcare needs of their local populations.

    NHS England advises that both Fylde and Wyre borough councils have received feedback on their proposed housing development plans from the local clinical commissioning group (Fylde and Wyre CCG). We understand that this requested that planning policies acknowledge the need for existing primary care centres to expand to meet the needs of a growing local population. Should those existing sites not be capable of expansion, the CCG has requested support for new sites in those areas.

  • 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, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that sufficient doctors and nurses are trained in the UK to maintain safe staffing levels in the NHS.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government has established Health Education England (HEE) as the body responsible for workforce planning and the commissioning of education and training for the National Health Service and public health system with a budget of £4.9 billion.

    The number of nurse training places has increased by 14% over the past three years, with currently over 50,000 nurses in training as at 31 March 2015.

    HEE is forecasting that, based on their current training plans, there will be 23,121 more nurses available to work in the NHS by 2019 compared to 2014.

    There are currently near record numbers of nurses and midwives in post in the NHS in England. The latest available figures from June 2015 show a total of 317,595 nurses and midwives in post.

    Since May 2010, the number of doctors in the NHS has increased by 8,574 to just under 104,000.

  • Robert Neill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Neill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Neill on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 20 of the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, what recent assessment he has made of the compliance of NHS bodies with the requirement for the incorporation of NICE technology appraisal recommendations into local NHS formularies.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is specified in the 2014 Pharmaceutical Pricing Regulation Scheme agreement as the body responsible for ensuring there are no local barriers to ensuring access to technologies recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal and highly specialised technology guidance.

    NHS England has advised that there are a range of initiatives which assist NHS England in this obligation:

    – NICE technology appraisalrecommendations are required to be incorporated automatically into relevant local medicines formularies;

    – providers are required to publish local medicines formularies;

    – the NICE Implementation Collaborative (NIC) examines barriers to the prompt implementation of NICE guidance;

    – an innovation scorecard is published quarterly by the Health and Social Care Information Centre and tracks uptake of many NICE-approved medicines by the NHS;

    – a joint NHS England and Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry work programme on medicines optimisation is ongoing, which seeks to improve outcomes and value from all medicines;

    – NHS England works closely with Academic Health Science Networks to accelerate the adoption and diffusion of innovation.

    The Department’s analysis of medicines spend for the first year of the PPRS shows that branded medicines spend grew by 8.2%, with new medicines on the Innovation Scorecard seeing growth of 18.4%. Further details have been published on the Government’s website at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-growth-in-branded-medicines-2013-to-2014

    Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal and highly specialised technology guidance within three months of NICE’s guidance being published. There is provision for this funding period to be extended where there are particular barriers to implementation within three months.

    “

  • 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, how many nurses are employed in NHS hospitals on salaries of £35,000 or more.

    Ben Gummer

    Information from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (England only) shows that 33% of qualified nurses earned more than £35,000 in the year ending 30 June 2015. 15% earned more than £35,000 in basic pay only for the same period. This includes only nurses who worked for the full 12 months. It reflects the actual earnings of each nurse and is not adjusted for part-time working. It excludes nurses in General Practice.

  • 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 recent representations he has received from the government of the Philippines on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has had no recent discussions with, or received representations from, the government of the Philippines about the effects of proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

    However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

    Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

    While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

    The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times visa applications have been refused because of technicalities in each of the last four years; and how many such cases have been subject to a complaint or appeal.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office is unable to provide the information requested, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been carried out of the performance of the right to rent pilot in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government has carried out an evaluation of phase one of the Right to Rent scheme in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton. This includes assessment of the implementation of the Landlords Checking Service. The findings of the evaluation were published on 20 October and will inform the extension of the scheme. The evaluation can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-right-to-rent-scheme

  • Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the difference between the water and sewerage charge per pupil in Lancashire and Kent; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Water and sewerage charges are set by water companies in line with the overall cap set by Ofwat on the amount that each water company may recover from their customers.

    Water company charges vary across regions to reflect the cost of collecting or abstracting water and treating it to meet water quality standards; building and maintaining pipes to deliver water, remove sewerage and surface water; and treating sewerage to meet environmental standards. Due to the variations in demography and geography these processes and costs vary greatly by region.

    Water charges include a surface water charge to cover the costs of removing and treating rainwater that drains away to public sewers. Some water companies share these costs equally across all their customers; four companies charge their non-household customers according to property size. Charging by this method better reflects the amount of rainwater draining into the public sewer.

    The Government recognised that charging in this way can have a particular impact on community groups with property covering a large site-area and, in 2010, issued guidance to Ofwat and water companies on developing concessionary schemes for these groups. Our recent consultation on draft charging guidance to Ofwat recognised that concerns have subsequently been raised about the impact of site area charging on other groups, including schools. It recognised the importance of organisations taking a more sustainable approach to drainage, but said that area based charging should result in a recognisable benefit to customers as a whole and should not have an unduly negative impact on organisations that provide a wider benefit to society. We are currently considering the responses to this consultation, and whether we should review the guidance on concessionary schemes.