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Tag: 2016

  • Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alasdair McDonnell on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis rates of pancreatic cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for this Government. We have committed to implementing recommendation 24 of the Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report Achieving World-Class Outcomes and this will be underpinned by investment of up to £300 million more in diagnostics each year by 2020. The strategy also makes recommendations for speeding up diagnosis of cancers with non-specific but concerning symptoms through the use of multidisciplinary diagnostic centres. NHS England is working with partners across the health system to consider how best to take forward these and other recommendations.

    Updated suspected cancer referral guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including new guidelines for pancreatic cancer, which was published last June will continue to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients and urgently refer them as appropriate, where pancreatic cancer is suspected. NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU, Africa and the Middle East on addressing the refugee crisis in the Middle East.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers regularly discuss the migration and refugee crisis with their counterparts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, co-hosted by the UK in London on 4 February, brought together over 60 countries, as well as international organisations, business, civil society, Syrians and people affected by the conflict. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held bilateral talks with colleagues from a range of countries, and migration was a feature of many of those meetings. On 15 February, the Foreign Secretary attended the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, and discussed the crisis with ministers for foreign affairs from EU countries.
    My right hon. Friend, the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) attended the General Affairs Council in Brussels on 16 February, where he discussed migration with Europe ministers from EU countries. Migration was on the agenda at the European Council on 18-19 February, attended by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron). It was also the main focus of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels on 25 February, attended by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).

  • 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 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to clause 96 of the Investigatory Powers Bill, whether Immigration Officers carried out equipment interference before 1 March 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    Immigration officers have had the power to carry out property interference, including interference with equipment, since 2013 through an amendment to the Police Act 1997.

    They may only use the power to investigate and prevent serious crime which relates to an immigration or nationality offence and have done so since 2013. The Bill maintains this position whilst strengthening safeguards and oversight.

  • Mark Prisk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Prisk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Prisk on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the scope is of the current consultation on the Government National Carers Strategy.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government recognises the valuable contribution made by carers, many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing support to family members, friends and neighbours and they must receive support.

    This is why the Department is leading on a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy to look at what more we can do to support existing and future carers.

    On 18 March the Department launched the National Carers Strategy call for evidence for carers and those who support them. This is focussed on improving knowledge of local practice and hearing from carers about the kind of support that helps them. The consultation will end on 30 June 2016. We intend to publish the new strategy towards the end of 2016 but want to ensure that it is based on an academically robust examination of evidence and draws on a wide range of views and ideas.

    As the strategy develops, we will consider evidence around the economic impact of caring and what role it plays within the health and care sectors and wider society. We will also look at both international and national best practice to see what support works best for carers so that they can find a healthy balance between providing high quality care and support and maintaining their own life and wellbeing.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-05-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that disabled people are not disproportionately affected by reductions in government expenditure.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government has protected the value of disability benefits, exempting these payments from the uprating freeze and exempting those in receipt of them from the benefit cap.

    Disability spending will be higher in every year to 2020 relative to both 2010 and to today.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many young people have (a) started, (b) completed and graduated from and (c) registered for the National Citizen Service since its inception.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The table below provides the most complete information on the number of young people who have registered for, begun and completed NCS. There was considerable national growth in the programme in 2015 – exact figures on 2015 NCS participation will be published in the independent evaluation in due course.

    Total registered

    Total participants

    Total completers

    2011

    10,897

    8,434

    6,809

    2012

    30,987

    26,003

    21,360

    2013

    50,924

    39,994

    37,266

    2014

    74,559

    57,789

    52,413

    The small number of participants for whom we recorded missing completion data have not been included in the above figures. Figures on participants and completers are available in the published independent evaluations of NCS.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will take into account that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have passed 400ppm when deciding on whether to overturn a decision by a local authority not to allow fracking.

    Gavin Barwell

    Planning law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework including, where relevant, national planning policy relating to climate change, is a material consideration in planning decisions. In deciding called-in applications or recovered appeals, the Secretary of State will take into account all material considerations which are before him at the time of the decision.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what mechanism any savings made by insurance companies as a result of a change to the small claims limit for soft tissue road traffic accident injuries will be passed on to policyholders.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The pricing of insurance products is a commercial matter for individual insurers in which the Government does not seek to intervene. The motor insurance market is intensely competitive and the Government therefore expects that the insurance industry will pass on savings to consumers.

    Some insurers have already committed to pass on all savings to consumers as a result of the proposed changes.

  • 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 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received in the last year from (a) Christian, (b) Jewish and (c) Muslim faith schools on the Counter Extremism Strategy used in schools; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government believes all children should be educated in a safe environment, whether in a school or out of school.

    Department officials have briefed representatives of faith schools, including Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools, on matters relating to the Government’s Prevent and Counter-Extremism strategies. The Department received a number of queries from both faith schools and non-faith schools on how to implement the Prevent duty. The Department has issued practical advice to schools to help them understand their role under the new Prevent duty, and also launched a dedicated counter-extremism helpline in 2015 to enable front line staff, governors, and others to raise concerns directly. The Department has combined all its existing advice in the new Educate Against Hate website[1], which was launched by the Secretary of State on 19 January.

    The Department recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people, including representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.

    We will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

    [1] http://educateagainsthate.com/

    “

  • 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 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of funding that will be required for those who may need access to the reformed scheme for providing support for people affected by hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products but have not yet been identified.

    Jane Ellison

    The assumption is that there would be £570 million available from the unreformed scheme, as mentioned in the consultation, and an additional £125 million, identified in the current spending review.