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Tag: 2016

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

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that every patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is recorded on (a) a local searchable database and (b) the UK registry for IBD patients.

    Jane Ellison

    The IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) Registry provides a United Kingdom-wide repository of anonymised IBD adult and paediatric patient data for prospective audit and research purposes. Patients must consent for their data to be added to the registry. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has allocated transitional funding this year to incorporate IBD audit data collection into the IBD Registry, providing an enhanced system for data capture and quality improvement that will be available to every hospital in the UK. This will allow the entry of data locally and support service improvement. Initially the focus will be for IBD patients receiving biologic treatments, but the system will address other key aspects of IBD care in the future.

    The second step of data collection will be to focus on new patients with IBD to begin to understand the incidence of IBD in the UK. This picture will build up over a number of years and be dependent on the engagement of clinicians.

    No specific assessment of the potential effects on healthcare due to the introduction of a registry of patients with IBD in England has been made. However, the data provided through the register can support National Health Service services in areas such as the assessment of local IBD populations as well as in measuring incidence and outcomes with services in other parts of the UK.

    Although there is no direct Department funding, HQIP have given £290,000 for a year’s transition funding to join the audit data with the registry.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

    The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what enforcement action is being taken by (a) the police and (b) Trading Standards against secondary ticketing operators offering tickets for the UEFA European Football Championships for sale through their websites to customers based in the UK; and under what legislation such action is being taken.

    David Evennett

    The Police are responsible for enforcing the football ticketing provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 that apply to England and Wales. Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action. The Government does not hold information centrally on the use of these enforcement powers or the number of penalties issued.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which services have been sold for profit by (a) her Department and (b) the College of Policing to the Saudi criminal justice system in the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    We are rightly proud of the British model of policing by consent and of the high level of skill and expertise across policing in this country. The College of Policing, which is independent of Government, ensures that respect for human rights and dignity is integral to each programme it delivers.

    Course developers and trainers are required to include a bespoke human rights and ethical decision-making element in each course. Before undertaking any international work, the College refers to the International Policing Assistance Board (IPAB), which assesses all requests against British values and interests. IPAB comprises policing representatives and those from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development and devolved administrations.

    The College always acts in accordance with HM Treasury’s guidelines on ‘Managing Public Money’, which includes guidance on commercial charging rates. The Home Office do not keep records on the travel of College of Policing officials.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of relapsed blood cancer patients who will no longer be able to access second stem cell transplants as a result of the NHS England decision published on 11 July 2016 to no longer routinely fund second stem cell transplants for those patients.

    David Mowat

    The Clinical Priorities Advisory Group which makes recommendations to the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group uses a defined process to prioritise treatments based on a combination of cost and patient benefit. The process includes an impact assessment that estimated that up to 22 patients per year by 2021 might be affected by this decision.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that all health and safety regulations will be (a) protected in the long-term and (b) retained in legislation after the UK leaves the EU.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As a Government, we have been clear that we will do nothing to undermine workers’ rights. The United Kingdom has one of the best records on occupational safety and health in Europe and the wider world and the Government intends to keep it that way. Health and safety regulations are secondary legislation under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Government has no plans to change this.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21337, for those claimants who will see a change, what the average weekly change will be for those claimants who will see a change in their universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    It is not possible to accurately estimate this information as many people’s earnings vary from month to month. This means we do not have a viable data set on which to answer the question.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the benefits of granting permitted development rights to mobile network masts up to 50 metres in height in non-protected areas.

    Brandon Lewis

    The review of how the planning system in England can further support the delivery of mobile connectivity sought views on the planning changes made in 2013 including 4G deployment and the case for taller ground based masts. The outcome will be announced in due course.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The hourly rate of pay for cleaners directly employed by the Department for Transport is £8.94.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31078, on immigration officers, what policy, guidance or code of practice is provided to immigration officers carrying out equipment interference.

    James Brokenshire

    The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) provides independent oversight of the use of property interference powers by law enforcement, including immigration officers. The Police Act 1997 was amended in 2013 to enable immigration officers to carry out property interference. The OSC regularly inspects law enforcement use of the power and scrutinises all individual property interference authorisations. A statutory code of practice for covert surveillance and property interference which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384975/Covert_Surveillance_Property_Interrefernce_web__2_.pdf

    applies to all agencies with property interference powers.

    The Investigatory Powers Bill will provide enhanced safeguards for the use of equipment interference, including the requirement that equipment interference warrants are subject to the double-lock authorisation safeguard. The Bill will also create a new and more powerful Investigatory Powers Commissioner who will keep the use of this important power under close and regular review. A new Equipment Interference Code of Practice was published in draft alongside the Investigatory Powers Bill. This Code will provide further guidance on the use of equipment interference powers to all relevant agencies.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target time is for processing applications to the Social Fund; and what performance was against that target in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There is no overall target or performance data for the Social Fund as they vary depending on each of the individual programmes.