Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has further to centralise the delivery of acute stroke services in metropolitan areas.

    David Mowat

    NHS England’s National Clinical Director (NCD) for stroke is leading work to develop a full proposal which will consider the evidence and logistical issues involved in delivering mechanical thrombectomy to stroke patients across the country. This includes working with the relevant specialist societies, Royal Colleges and Health Education England to consider the workforce implications. Once the proposal has been developed, NHS England will decide whether the procedure should be made widely available.

    To ensure there is equitable access to high quality hyper acute stroke care regardless of time of stroke or where a patient has their stroke, NHS England’s NCD for stroke continues to work with Clinical Networks, Urgent and Emergency Care Networks, clinical commissioning groups and the Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints on how stroke care is best delivered to their local communities.

    In some places, this is ‘the London type model’ of focussing care in a small number of centres and equipping these to be able to deliver specialist care 24/7. In other parts of the country, centralisation of care into specialist centres is not feasible for geographical reasons. In these cases, alternative solutions (such as the use of telemedicine) have to be considered. Whatever the scenario, NHS England is fully committed to ensuring that all patients receive the best quality of care and the most up to date treatments.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reported criticisms that official school textbooks used in Pakistan contain references capable of provoking religious prejudice and hatred, whether they plan to discuss with the government of Pakistan the content of those textbooks, in particular those used in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

    Lord Bates

    The majority of the Department of International Development’s (DFID) education programmes in Pakistan support the work of the Governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Both governments are aiming to improve the quality of education, including through reviewing and replacing text books, implementing Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum, and improving teaching standards through regular and better quality teacher training.

    Independent evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of democracy, pluralism, and peace. UK development programmes are assisting these provincial government efforts. In Sindh, we do not work with Government but rather we partner with the low cost private sector to get more poor children into school. So far 121,343 previously out of school children in the poorest areas of Sindh are now being educated.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnett consequentials are for Scotland of the additional £1.5 billion allocated to the Better Care Fund in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Greg Hands

    The Spending Review made social care funds available for local government from April 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20. This grant will be paid from the Department for Communities and Local Government to local authorities on condition that they add it to the Better Care Fund, where the money will support integration of health and social care.

    The Barnett Formula was applied to DCLG’s Spending Review settlement in the usual way.

  • Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many reserve police officers of the Royal Military Police they estimate will be deployed in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, (3) 2017–18, (4) 2018–19, and (5) 2019–20.

    Earl Howe

    The Army does not produce forecasts for Army Reserve personnel by Cap Badge. As at 1 April 2015, the number of Royal Military Police (RMP) Reserve personnel trained or in training was 370. The future liability for RMP Reserve personnel for 2016-17 to 2019-20 is 453.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to run a pilot of tax-free childcare before that scheme is launched.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

    We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contractual standards have been set for Maximus Health and Human Services Ltd for the number of completed work capability assessments.

    Priti Patel

    Centre for Health Disability Assessments, a MAXIMUS Company, has a target of 1,170,000 completed assessments in 2016/17.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from schools in Coventry on the Government’s policy that all schools should become academies; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    We have not received any representations from schools in Coventry regarding the Government’s policy that all schools will become academies.

    We want every school to be an academy because it leads to a more dynamic, responsive and higher-performing education system. It allows successful schools to consolidate success and spread that excellence across the country. As part of our plans, we are giving schools six years’ notice to work with their local authority and diocese to plan and make the right decisions for their pupils and communities. We are clear that no school has to rush into an arrangement that is not right for them.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the date and title is of all reports and assessments produced by her Department relating to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in each of the last three years; and if she will place those reports in the Library.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The CNC produces its own Annual Reports and periodic Business Strategies, along with other publications, which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-nuclear-police-authority.

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the merits of offering unused returned drugs to developing countries.

    David Mowat

    In general, where a hospital pharmacy issues medicines to an individual patient and they remain within the hospital, either because they are not used or only partly used, the medicines would be returned to the pharmacy to check that they are suitable for re-use and returned to the pharmacy stock.

    The Government does not promote the re-use of medicines that have left the pharmacy and been returned to either hospital or community pharmacies by patients, as it is not possible to guarantee the quality of a returned medicine by physical inspection alone.

    The Government also does not recommend the donation of patient-returned medicines. This is in line with clear World Health Organization guidelines, which have been developed‎ in cooperation with major international agencies involved in humanitarian and developmental aid. The guidelines are available at:

    www.who.int/medicines/publications/med_donationsguide2011/en/

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the concept of parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, applies to (1) members of the armed forces who served in Northern Ireland but reside in another part of the UK, (2) members of terrorist organisations who were active in Northern Ireland and reside there, and (3) members of terrorist organisations who were active in Northern Ireland but reside in the Republic of Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to govern in the interests of the whole community and to treat people of different traditions fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

    The concept of parity of esteem does not absolve people from upholding the law: terrorism was wholly wrong. This Government will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the armed forces who upheld democracy and the rule of law and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.