Tag: 2016

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the British Red Cross report Not So Straightforward and its campaign to reunite refugee families, Torn Apart.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We are reviewing our process for dealing with applications for refugee family reunion in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Justice. We are working closely with the British Red Cross and are considering the recommendations made in the Not So Straightforward report in detail.

    We have now improved our guidance on processing family reunion applications so that it is clear, consistent and accessible. We intend to publish this in the next few weeks. We have also committed to redesigning the application form to ensure that applicants better understand the process and what is required of them.

    There are no plans to extend the family reunion criteria as called for in the British Red Cross Torn Apart campaign. The current family reunion policy meets our international obligations and strikes the right balance. Where family members cannot meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of an 18 year old applying to join their refugee parents in the UK, we consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting entry clearance outside the Rules.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published in March 2016, page 31, whether his Department has sought legal advice on its policies relating to heroin-assisted treatment; and what assessment he has made of the legal implications of those policies.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The prescribing of injectable opioids, such as methadone or diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) as substitutes for illicit heroin, as outlined in the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published in March by the then Home Secretary, has been an option for many years but since the late 1960s, prescribing of diamorphine for the management of addiction has been restricted to licensed addiction specialists.

    The decision to prescribe injectable diamorphine for the treatment of dependence is a clinical matter, for a clinician to take in conjunction with the patient. Advice to guide these decisions is contained in Chapter 5 and Annex 8 of the 2007 UK Guidelines on the Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence. The guidelines advise that:

    – “injectable opioid treatment may be suitable for a small minority of patients who have failed in optimised oral treatment.”;

    – “clinicians providing injectable opioid treatment should encourage patients not to regard it as a lifelong treatment option and should regularly review their patients and the continuing necessity for this unusual and expensive treatment”; and

    – The use of diamorphine “alone does not constitute drug treatment…it should be seen as on element or pathway within wider packages of planned and integrated drug treatment”.

    The guidelines are currently being reviewed by an Expert Working Group, to take into account developments in the evidence base. In July 2016, the Expert Working Group published their draft update for consultation. The consultation has closed and the responses are being considered by the Expert Working Group.

    Diamorphine is licensed as a medicine by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Clinicians wishing to legally prescribe it for the treatment of dependence need to obtain a licence for that purpose from the Home Office and to comply with all other legislation relevant to the safe management, use and supply of medicines which are controlled drugs.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Department of Health or NHS England has made of the risk of the wide-scale withdrawal of adult social care providers from publicly-funded social care markets and the implications of such a withdrawal for the NHS; and whether such a possible withdrawal features on the Department of Health risk register.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department monitors a number of risks to the health and social care system through its high level risk register, including the availability of good quality adult social care that is affordable for local authority and National Health Service commissioners.

    The Department is working with local authorities, NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and the provider sector to understand the extent of this risk and its potential drivers, which will include consideration of the extent to which some providers are possibly withdrawing from the publically funded adult social care market.

    The Care Act (2014) places duties on local authorities to step in and ensure people’s needs continue to be met if a provider fails financially and services cease. The Department has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Information Unit to publish guidance to support local authorities develop effective contingency plans for provider failure – Care and Continuity: Contingency planning for provider failure. The guidance is attached. The guidance recommends that contingency plans are co-produced with relevant partners, including NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure these plans are aligned.

    Local authorities routinely manage market exits in their area and discharge their Care Act duties. If a situation arose that local authorities found challenging, for example because of its scale and the lack of spare capacity in the area, the Department would work with partners to support them.

  • Margaret Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Greenwood on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian support the Government is providing for refugee children.

    Justine Greening

    Syria is the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion and is meeting emergency needs of children and supporting them to stay closer to home. At tomorrow’s Syria Conference I expect leaders will agree a new goal that all refugee children from Syria and affected host country children are in education in 2016/17. Last week, my Department also announced a new £10 million fund to help meet the needs of refugee children in Europe and the Balkans.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Government policies on ensuring the (a) security of UK ports and (b) identification and checking of containers for contraband, trafficked persons or other illegal activity are the responsibility of his Department; and which such policies which are the responsibility of another department his Department has a secondary role in.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for ensuring that proportionate security measures are in place to protect ports, passengers and ships registered in this country. These measures are risk based and are designed to mitigate the threat from terrorism. This work involves close co-operation with other government departments, the Police and the maritime industry.

    The Home Office is responsible for the detection of contraband and trafficked persons at UK Ports. DfT works closely with the Home Office and other partner agencies to counter this type of illegal activity.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to make an application under Article 16 of the EU Habitats Directive for a derogation in relation to species protected under Annex IV of that Directive which may be affected by Phase 1 of High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Where effects on protected species are identified, the appropriate licenses will be obtained from Natural England prior to any works being undertaken. This includes species protected by the Habitats Regulations 2010 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Natural England is working with HS2 ltd in scoping the required licences through 2016 in the run up to Royal Assent.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, under which statute he has the power to impose contracts on junior doctors.

    Ben Gummer

    The Secretary of State acted entirely lawfully in deciding to announce, on 11 February 2016, Official Report, columns 1763 – 1778 that he would proceed with the introduction of a new contract without further negotiation with the British Medical Association.

    In deciding that a new contract – which would be safer for patients and fair and reasonable for junior doctors – should proceed to be introduced, the Secretary of State was exercising a range of powers under the National Health Service Act 2006.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that scientists and technicians working in the health sector should be registered with a professional body such as the Science Council.

    Ben Gummer

    There are no plans to require scientists and technicians working in the health sector to register with a professional body such as the Science Council. While voluntary registration schemes, such as those overseen by the Science Council, provide an important mechanism for assuring the standards of professional staff, it is a matter for individual staff and their employing organisation as to how they make use of the assurance provided by voluntary registration schemes.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conducted any research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook; and if not, whether they plan to do so.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department does not itself conduct research, but funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department’s Policy Research Programme (PRP). The NIHR and the PRP have not funded specific research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook and have no plans to commission research on this topic. In 2014-15 (the latest year for which data is currently available), the NIHR invested £72.6 million in research in mental health, including the mental health of children.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) status and (b) latest estimated or final cost is of each of the 19 road schemes announced in December 2014 for the Midlands.

    Mr John Hayes

    The current status of the 19 schemes announced in December 2014 for the Midlands is given in Highways England’s Delivery Plan for 2016-2017, which is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-england-delivery-plan-2016-to-2017

    Overall schemes which are under construction are coming in or under budget. For schemes under development we would expect some movement in timescales or costs but overall Highways England is on course to deliver its commitments within the allocated funding.

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