Tag: 2016

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what process her Department ensured the site secured for the proposed Harperbury Free School (a) was large enough and (b) met other requirements to be suitable for a secondary school with the capacity for up to 840 students and 70 staff.

    Edward Timpson

    Approval to build the school on the site is subject to the views of the Local Planning Authority. They first raised concerns, alongside a range of other concerns arising from its location in the Green Belt, to my officials in March 2015.

    Discussions between officials at both Departments did identify that two adjacent properties could be purchased to provide additional car parking. However, the nature of the sale of the remainder of the former hospital site to a residential developer meant that further land could not be released for the school. Even if additional land were made available, there remain substantial risks associated with developing this Green Belt site.

  • John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NICE on its policy on a European relative effectiveness assessment for new drugs.

    George Freeman

    In October 2015, the Department nominated the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a partner organisation in the planned third Joint Action on Health Technology Assessment (HTA).

    NICE has advised that it has had a number of discussions with European Commission officials, as well as other partner organisations, about NICE’s participation in this planned Joint Action.

    The Department is responsible for the policy framework for the assessment of health technologies and officials remain in close contact with NICE regarding the European Union collaboration in HTA, including the proposals for the production of joint products as part of the third Joint Action.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that every patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is recorded on (a) a local searchable database and (b) the UK registry for IBD patients.

    Jane Ellison

    The IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) Registry provides a United Kingdom-wide repository of anonymised IBD adult and paediatric patient data for prospective audit and research purposes. Patients must consent for their data to be added to the registry. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has allocated transitional funding this year to incorporate IBD audit data collection into the IBD Registry, providing an enhanced system for data capture and quality improvement that will be available to every hospital in the UK. This will allow the entry of data locally and support service improvement. Initially the focus will be for IBD patients receiving biologic treatments, but the system will address other key aspects of IBD care in the future.

    The second step of data collection will be to focus on new patients with IBD to begin to understand the incidence of IBD in the UK. This picture will build up over a number of years and be dependent on the engagement of clinicians.

    No specific assessment of the potential effects on healthcare due to the introduction of a registry of patients with IBD in England has been made. However, the data provided through the register can support National Health Service services in areas such as the assessment of local IBD populations as well as in measuring incidence and outcomes with services in other parts of the UK.

    Although there is no direct Department funding, HQIP have given £290,000 for a year’s transition funding to join the audit data with the registry.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

    The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to alert employers to the potential effect of failure to report PAYE correctly and on time on employee’s families with relation to universal credit.

    Mr David Gauke

    Throughout the development of Real Time Information HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) worked closely with employers to highlight the importance of accurate and timely filing for customers, not only from an HMRC perspective but also to ensure accurate awards of Universal Credit. The December 15 Employer Bulletin, issue 57, also alerted employers to the impact that late, missing and incorrect returns can have on Universal Credits.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37125, whether his Department has any plans to collect data on the number of student nurses that have already studied for a degree before entering nurse training.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has no plans to introduce a new central data collection on the number of student nurses that have already studied for a degree before entering nurse training.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of employers using net-pay pension schemes that are unaware that their workers who earn less than £11,000 a year are unable to receive the tax relief they could receive in a relief-at-source scheme.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not therefore hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.

    However, the Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has plans for an opt-out system for organ donation across the UK.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There are currently no plans for an opt-out system for organ donation in England. Since 2008 donation in the United Kingdom has increased by 68% and transplants by 47%, by increasing the number of specialist nurses and strengthening the donation infrastructure. 2015/16 saw the highest ever deceased donor rate in the UK with 1,364 deceased donors resulting in 3,529 transplants.

    We continue to support work to further increase donation and transplantation rates, particularly promoting collaborative working amongst organisations and raising awareness of donation in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities to become donors.

    NHS Blood and Transplant launched a new UK–wide organ donation and transplantation strategy in July 2013. Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 identifies the action being taken to increase organ donation and transplantation.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the relative economic case for expansion of Gatwick and Heathrow Airports.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including the economic cases, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to reduce the administrative burden placed on fishing boats under 10 metres.

    George Eustice

    I am keen to ensure that administrative burdens on the small-scale fleet are kept to the minimum possible, while still allowing for effective management of the fishery. Improvements to the services offered to fishermen by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) include:

    • Simplification of the application process under the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund scheme;
    • The introduction of exemptions under the Landings Obligation so that industry does not have to bear a disproportionate cost of disposing of unwanted fish;
    • Streamlining application forms to reduce size and make them easier to understand; and,
    • Moving to permanent vessel licences, eliminating the need to replace them every five years.

    Defra and the MMO will continue to engage with individuals within the ten metres and under fishing community in order to identify additional areas where administrative burdens might be reduced, or where other improvements could be made.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Questions 26129 and 26130, how many and which organisations applied for funding for community projects to tackle female genital mutilation through schemes operated by (a) her Department and (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2014-15; and which such applications were (i) accepted and (ii) rejected.

    Karen Bradley

    In 2014-15, the Government provided over £380,000 to community organisations through the Home Office’s female genital mutilation (FGM) Community Engagement Initiative and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s FGM and forced marriage prevention projects.

    A total of 179 applications were received, and 29 of these applications were funded. The Answer of 11 February 2016 to Questions 26129 and 26130 provides a list of the organisations whose applications were successful. The Government did not provide specific funding for FGM community engagement projects in 2013-14 or 2015-16.

    We know that changing attitudes within communities is key to ending FGM and we will continue to work with community organisations and survivors through the FGM Unit’s stakeholder group and ongoing outreach programme to drive this work forward.