Tag: 2016

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of IVF treatment to the NHS in England.

    Jane Ellison

    The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

    CCGs have a legal duty to have regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. As such, NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the NICE fertility guidelines.

    Following a meeting with Fertility Fairness in December 2015, officials from the Department and NHS England is considering options for addressing variation in the prices that CCGs are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

    Information about cycles of IVF treatment is not collected centrally.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many fines have been issued for claiming free prescriptions without a valid exemption certificate in each (a) month and (b) year since the NHS Business Services Authority began checking eligibility for free prescriptions in September 2014.

    Alistair Burt

    Since September 2014, when the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) took on responsibility for the service, a total of 747,790 penalty charge notices have been issued where someone claimed exemption on the basis that they held a valid exemption certificate but this could not be verified by the NHSBSA. A further 278,053 surcharge letters have been issued to follow up on penalty charge notices which have not been resolved through payment, cancellation (due to correction of erroneous information, for example) or waiving of the penalty charge. The annual and monthly breakdown is set out below.

    Annual breakdown of Penalty Charges Notices and Surcharge letters

    Penalty Charge Notices

    Surcharge letters

    September 2014 – December 2014

    59,564

    20,562

    January 2015 – December 2015

    430,971

    171,065

    January 2016 – April 2016

    257,255

    86,426

    Total

    757,790

    278,053

    Monthly breakdown of Penalty Charge Notices and Surcharge letters

    Penalty Charge Notices

    Surcharge letter

    September 2014

    5,298

    1,733

    October 2014

    5,007

    1,697

    November 2014

    23,511

    8,344

    December 2014

    25,748

    8,788

    January 2015

    53,668

    11,445

    February 2015

    21,706

    7,969

    March 2015

    15,316

    6,182

    April 2015

    12,687

    5,032

    May 2015

    20,122

    8,189

    June 2015

    22,472

    8,984

    July 2015

    18,249

    6,550

    August 2015

    39,626

    17,282

    September 2015

    57,661

    24,634

    October 2015

    56,952

    25,075

    November 2015

    64,573

    28,655

    December 2015

    47,939

    21,068

    January 2016

    82,881

    36,766

    February 2016

    55,650

    24,079

    March 2016

    49,767

    20,340

    April 2016

    68,957

    5,241

    Total

    747,790

    278,053
  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the size of the Privy Council on 13 July; and how many appointments had been made to it up to that date since 11 May 2010.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    The information is set out in the table below.

    Date

    Number of Privy Counsellors

    13th July 2016

    657

    Appointments since 11th May 2010

    179
  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much compensation her Department paid for the unlawful detention of individuals under immigration powers in each of the last three financial years; for what categories of reason such compensation was paid; and how many such payments were made for each such category of reason.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Our records indicate that over the past 3 financial years (covering 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15), that a total of £13.8 million has been paid out to 573 claimants, as per the below table. All of whom were paid compensation following a period of unlawful detention.

    Financial Year

    Total Unlawful Detention Compensation payments (£ million)

    Number of claimants for the last 3 financial years

    FY 2012-13

    £ 5.0

    195

    FY 2013-14

    £ 4.8

    199

    FY 2014-15

    £ 4.0

    179

    Caveat to provided data: This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • 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, NHS England, or the Care Quality Commission, have made of the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulty at the rates that local authorities across England are now able to pay for such accommodation; and what information the Care Quality Commission has on the availability of such accommodation as part of their market oversight function.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Information about the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulties and the fee rates paid by local authorities for these services is not collected centrally. Commissioning adult social care is a matter for local authorities as they are best placed to understand the needs their local people and communities, and how best to meet them.

    The Department has put in place a range of Sector-Led Improvement support to help local authorities to improve their commissioning practice, and to comply with the statutory guidance. For example the Department funds the Local Government Association (LGA) and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) to deliver, through their regional networks, practical risk assessment tools and hands-on improvement support delivered by a cohort of professional experts.

    The Department has also worked with ADASS, LGA and others to co-produce a set of commissioning standards, Commissioning for Better Outcomes that was re-launched in October 2015. These standards amplify the good practice set out in the statutory guidance, and provide a further practical resource on which to base local risk assessment and to guide improvement support and action planning where required. The standards are attached.

    There has been no assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulty at the rates that local authorities across England are now able to pay for such accommodation and the CQC holds no information on the availability of such accommodation as part of its Market Oversight function. This is because these issues fall outside the scope of the Market Oversight Scheme.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the implications for aid of the 1955 tax treaty between the UK and Malawi.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Secretary of State for International Development has had no discussions on the 1955 tax treaty between the UK and Malawi with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Issues relating to tax treaties are a matter for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

  • 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, what estimate his Department has made of the number of drivers potentially affected by the extension of the radius from 50km to 100km from base within which vehicles are exempt from regulations limiting drivers’ hours.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department considers that the number of drivers potentially affected by the extension of the radius from 50km to 100km covering one directly applicable exemption and three national derogations from the EU drivers’ hours rules is likely to be relatively small.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of dwell times on the (a) punctuality of and (b) number of cancellations on automated rail services.

    Claire Perry

    There are no automated rail services on the UK national rail network.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of nurses that will need to be recruited from abroad to maintain levels of health care provision during the 2016-17 financial year.

    Ben Gummer

    The number of nurses that will need to be recruited from abroad to maintain levels of health care provision during the 2016-17 financial year is a matter for local National Health Service organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local populations.

    Local organisations must ensure they have sufficient levels of nurses to deliver safe and sustainable care. We remain committed to moving forwards towards a self-sustaining workforce and to reduce the demand for migrant labour, including nurses. Nurses have been included on the Home Office’s Shortage Occupation list but this Government remains committed to the principle that our nurses should be able to secure the jobs they are qualified for. Employers will have to satisfy the resident labour market test before they can employ a nurse from outside of the European Economic Area.

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

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support healthcare professionals working in the NHS to continue to undertake research.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) improves the health and wealth of the nation through research. Part of the NIHR is the Faculty.

    The Faculty empowers and develops the NIHR community of research professionals, to improve the nation’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. The Faculty achieves this by creating a sense of common purpose and identity around shared values that cut across organisational and professional boundaries.

    The NIHR Faculty comprises three categories of membership: Investigators (including Senior Investigators), Associates and Trainees. The Faculty encompasses research, clinical and support staff from all relevant professional backgrounds.

    Since 2006 the NIHR:

    ― has made Senior Investigators awards to 338 individuals through nine competitions;

    ― has supported 10,593 unique trainees through fellowships and through the NIHR Infrastructure;

    ― has supported 5,920 unique Investigators through research contracts and the NIHR Infrastructure;

    ― has supported 2,355 unique Principal Investigators through research contracts;

    ― has supported 3,926 unique Investigators within the NIHR Infrastructure; and

    ― has supported 4,652 Associates in the NIHR Infrastructure.

    The number of eligible clinical professional groups able to benefit from the training programmes targeted at allied health professionals and nurses has increased by 50% since 2006.