Tag: 2016

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48024, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the costs to health service providers of tendering for contracts and the implications for paying for patient services; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We do not collect information on which providers have been awarded contracts or the costs to providers of tendering for contracts, but commissioners are required to publish information on the contracts they award.

    The NHS Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition (No2) Regulation 2013 to requires Monitor, now working with the NHS Trust Development Authority as NHS Improvement, to ensure that choice and competition operate in the best interests of patients, that procurement decisions by commissioners achieve the best results, and that all providers are treated fairly.

    In making judgements on which services to commission, clinical commissioning groups should take all possible steps to ensure that they are buying the best services for patients from the best providers available. It remains for commissioners to decide how best to procure services in the interests of their patients while seeking best value for taxpayers.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Government has made of whether the TTIP trade deal will make the UK more vulnerable to lawsuits; if the Government will insist that TTIP does not contain provisions which would allow similar lawsuits to be brought in the UK; and if the Government will reconsider its support for TTIP in response to that lawsuit.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government does not comment on cases in which it has no involvement. Under UK laws a foreign investor can already sue the Government over allegedly unfair or unlawful treatment. UK domestic courts and our legal system will continue to be the main route for resolving the vast majority of disputes between foreign investors and the Government regardless of any investment protection provisions included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is because our domestic courts typically offer a quicker and cheaper method of resolving disputes.

    The European Commission has published its proposal for investment protections in TTIP. This includes various possible measures to ensure these provisions are fair and transparent, including prohibiting claims from being pursued simultaneously under investor-state dispute settlement provisions and in domestic courts.

    The UK will continue to work with the Commission on the details of these latest proposals. We need investment protections that ensure UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments. But the UK will make sure that governments can continue to regulate lawfully in the public interest.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24390, if he will list those clinical commissioning groups which had (a) planned and (b) actual overspends in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15 and (c) have such overspends in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    Owing to the length of the data requested, quarterly information on Clinical Commissioning Spend, including planned and actual overspends, can be found here:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/publications/financial-performance-reports/

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  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders have been sentenced and imprisoned in the UK after having been returned to the UK under an European Arrest Warrant in the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant and these can be found here: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics/wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics/608-wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics-2009-april-2015-1

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  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to establish a minimum price below which Government shares in Royal Bank of Scotland will not be sold.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The first sale of Government shares in RBS was conducted in August 2015 and raised £2.1 billion for the taxpayer. This was an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership, which is the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses: it will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy.

    The government will conduct further sales of RBS shares subject to market conditions, and in doing so will maximise value for the taxpayer. The returns on the government’s interventions in RBS will be determined by the success of the whole of the selling programme, rather than the terms achieved on the first few disposals.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy for patients to be able to choose a location convenient to them for receiving radiotherapy treatment; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    It is a National Cancer Peer Review measure that all cancer patients are managed by a cancer-type specific multi-disciplinary team (MDT). This MDT agrees, oversees and co-ordinates the full range of care the patient receives, and considers the importance of ensuring that any cancer treatment is viewed as part of each patient’s whole cancer pathway, including clinical and supportive care. In certain circumstances, a patient may choose to have some aspects of their care delivered by a different team at a different hospital, particularly if they wish to stay with family or friends in a different part of the country to where they live whilst they receive their radiotherapy treatment. In these circumstances, the patient’s care is referred from the local MDT to the chosen MDT during this period.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to extend the remit of his Department’s Blacknest verification centre to verify nuclear disarmament and warhead dismantlement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    There are no plans to expand the remit of the Blacknest facility, which is primarily concerned with fulfilling the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty UK national data centre requirements.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his G7 counterparts on ensuring that countries in Africa receive fair terms of trade when signing trade and investment agreements with other G7 countries.

    Mark Garnier

    The UK Government is committed to ensuring developing countries can reduce poverty through trading opportunities and that such impacts are taken into account in our trade policy. Trade was a key component of the G7 summit this year with commitments on Aid for Trade that will help African countries to negotiate and implement trade agreements. The G20 also expressed support at the recent summit for low-income countries to participate in Global Value Chains.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the consultation on the community pharmacy contractual framework, what estimate he has made of the number of pharmacies he forecasts will close.

    David Mowat

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of community pharmacy services including public access to medicines. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we have a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population. Our reforms are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim.

    The Government announced the package of reforms for the community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond on 20 October 2016. This included full details of how the Pharmacy Access Scheme will operate, as well an impact assessment for the package of reforms. This can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-pharmacy-reforms

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  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of falling oil prices on the UK’s net international investment position.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The information requested is available in the latest Balance of Payments (2015 Q3) release from the ONS which can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_429314.pdf

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