Tag: 2016

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what consideration his Department has given to making funding available for equipment manufacturers to research and develop equipment for operation in new spectrum allocated for use by the Programme Making and Special Events sector since the reallocation of the 700MHz band.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom have published a consultation outlining alternative spectrum bands for PMSE users. The PMSE community have been involved in the process to identify alternative suitable spectrum. We are currently working closely with Ofcom to look at how PMSE users can be supported if they need to purchase new equipment.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of mandatory electrical safety checks in care homes.

    Mike Penning

    Fire safety in care homes is the responsibility of the operator who is required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to assess the risk from fire to residents and employees and to implement appropriate fire precautions to prevent fires and mitigate the risk that, should a fire break out, lives are not put at risk. This would include mitigating the risk of and from electrical fires.

    The Government’s fire safety risk assessment guidance for residential care premises provides detailed advice on ensuring electrical equipment is safe, and is inspected regularly by a competent electrical engineer in accordance with the Electricity at Work Regulations.

    It is for local fire and rescue authorities to determine whether the specific fire precautions and management and maintenance arrangements in place in any particular residential care premises are sufficient to comply with the provisions of the Order.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of encouraging increased residential density around business and transport hubs to reduce community demand on public and private transport.

    Brandon Lewis

    There are some specific circumstances where there are clear opportunities for having higher density housing development while creating high quality, safe and attractive places to live.

    Last December we consulted on changes to national planning policy to encourage higher densities around commuter hubs, and will publish our response to this consultation in due course.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, working with a Clinical Commissioning Group, has worked with Medex or other private companies embedded within the HR department to recruit doctors.

    Ben Gummer

    These are operational matters for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and we have written to Stuart Heys, Chair of the Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s questions. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing public services for EU nationals who remain in the UK for less than one year.

    Greg Hands

    No estimate has been made of the cost of providing public services for EU nationals who remain in the UK for less than one year.

    The Government’s ambition is to reduce permanent migration into this country to a more manageable level.

    We remain committed to bringing migration down to sustainable levels, which is in the best interests of our country. The Government has taken steps to control migration by dealing with those who shouldn’t be here, by deporting illegal immigrants and improving the skills of British workers, so we reduce the demand for skilled migrants.

    The Prime Minister has re-negotiated the UK’s position within the EU to close back-door routes into the UK and exert greater control over EU migration by tackling the draw of our welfare system.

    But net migration remains too high and there is still more work to do.

    Data recently released by HMRC showed recently-arrived EU migrants paid £2.5 billion more in tax than they received in tax credits or child benefit in 2013/14.

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

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost to the NHS of maintaining patient access to the technologies and procedures offered through the Commissioning through Evaluation analysis phase; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) is an innovative £25 million programme introduced by NHS England in 2013. It specifically aims to generate valuable new evaluation data in promising areas of specialised care where the current evidence base of cost and clinical effectiveness is insufficient to support routine National Health Service commissioning, and where further formal research trials are thought to be less likely.

    Each scheme – put forward by senior clinicians and other stakeholders – is funded on a time limited basis in a small number of selected centres, and then evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

    Once the planned number of patients has been recruited across the participating centres, each scheme closes to new patients and analysis begins. This means that the funding identified for each scheme can then be reinvested into the evaluation of additional potentially life changing specialised treatments to maximise the value and impact of the overall evaluation fund for patients. As an example, routinely funding Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy contrary to the currently published clinical commissioning policy and in advance of a formal review of any new evidence would mean that between £2 million and £4 million per year (covering the surgical costs and immediate follow up only) would then be unavailable to support the evaluation of other promising treatments.

    The analysis phase for each CtE scheme will typically take between one and two years depending on how long we need to follow up patients after their treatment to identify its effectiveness. The three cardiology based CtE schemes are currently scheduled for a 15 month analysis and reporting phase, after which the data can be used by NHS England to support policy review.

    However, CtE is only one form of data that might be put forward in considering a new (or revision to an existing) policy and clinicians do not need to await the final report from CtE schemes if they feel that other new substantive data becomes available more quickly.

    NHS England’s published clinical commissioning policies (which set out eligibility for NHS funded specialised care on the basis of the available evidence) can be reviewed at any time where there is thought to be substantive new evidence available, and around 100 such proposals were developed and considered by NHS England during 2016/17.

    The policy development process is subject to both informal stakeholder testing and formal public consultation, including the opportunity for patients, clinicians and industry representatives to review and comment on the evidence base considered and the assessed impact on patients, existing services and cost.

    Where a new service is routinely commissioned as a result of a policy review, NHS England works with commissioned providers to ensure that sufficient clinical expertise and supporting infrastructure is in place to provide a safe service to patients in line with nationally set requirements.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations his Department has received on the effectiveness of the laws against dangerous driving, speeding and driving while under the influence of alcohol in deterring those offences.

    Andrew Jones

    I published the Road Safety Statement in December 2015 which sets out the measures Government is taking to improve road safety including the reduction of road traffic offences. Our award-winning THINK! campaigns have also been running throughout the year to educate drivers on the risk and consequences of a number of different type of offences. The Department is in regular contact with a range of organisations and their reports, such as the ‘RAC Report on Motoring 2016’, are provided to the Department. The Department often includes research evidence in its impact assessments, for example the Elvik ‘dose response’ model, which shows that rigorous enforcement increases the deterrent effect on offending. The Government continues to keep road safety and road traffic offences under review.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve one year cancer survival rates over the next five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent Cancer Taskforce’s five-year strategy for cancer, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway with the aim of improving survival rates. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead on the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards to redesign care and patient experience.

    She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work. Timeframes and phasing for implementation will be dependent on the final financial settlement reached as a result of the spending review.

    We announced in September 2015 that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.

    A commitment to whole-person care for patients, including those living with and beyond cancer, is embedded throughout the cancer taskforce report. In addition, the cancer vanguards have been established to explore new models of care, with a focus on delivering more person-centred care.

    Ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the availability and use of effective treatments and medicines for rare cancers is a key priority. Cancer 52, an organisation which specifically represents patients with rarer cancers, was represented on the independent Cancer Taskforce. The Taskforce’s report made many recommendations relevant to rarer cancers, focussing in particular on improving access to diagnostic testing, including fast, direct general practitioner access to key blood tests, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the regional schools commissioners have oversight of performance of sixth forms in academies; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Regional Schools Commissioners are responsible for monitoring the performance of academies within their region, including performance at sixth form level. Decisions regarding intervention action are informed by the academy’s performance against minimum standards, including the 16-19 minimum standards, and Ofsted judgements, as well as local intelligence.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26900, if he will request that Ofcom publish an assessment of the extent to which the indicative assessment of BT’s ducts in the report, Telecoms infrastructure access – sample survey of duct access, published in March 2009, was borne out in the subsequent rollout by BT of superfast broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    It is a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator to consider whether the benefits of conducting and publishing such an assessment are proportionate to the costs.

    On 25 February Ofcom published the initial conclusions of its Strategic Review of Digital Communications, including its strategy to promote large-scale roll-out of new ultrafast broadband networks.

    As part of that, Ofcom has said it will ask Openreach to provide a new database showing the physical location and characteristics of all of its ducts and poles, and to provide greatly improved systems and processes for access to them. This will allow competing operators to invest, plan and lay advanced networks. Ofcom will be working closely with industry to drive this forward over the coming months.