The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of measures to improve relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have continued to make progress on our relationship with Iran since we reopened our Embassies in August 2015, including through reciprocal ministerial visits and the reopening of our visa services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to protect employment levels in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK.
Margot James
This Government is committed to regional development and supporting growth up and down the country as we build an economy that works for everyone. We are focused on developing an industrial strategy that will boost productivity, create good jobs, and ensure sustainable economic growth. The employment rate in the UK is now at a record high of 74.5% and the unemployment rate is at its lowest level in over 10 years at 4.9%.
We will continue to put power in the hands of local communities to drive economic growth. For Liverpool City Region, this includes implementing the devolution deal agreed with the Government in November 2015, which includes commitments around skills funding and co-designing future employment support for harder-to-help claimants. We will also work with Liverpool to deliver the city region’s Growth Deal which encompasses key projects across the city region and, for St Helens, includes improvements to Newton-le-Willows station and upgrades to the A570 to support growth in employment sites in the area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans (a) NICE and (b) NHS England has to issue a consultation on changes to the highly specialised technologies evaluation programme.
Nicola Blackwood
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England launched a joint consultation on 13 October 2016 setting out proposed changes to the arrangements for the evaluation and adoption of new technologies, including on the methodology for the evaluation of highly specialised technologies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of her Department’s employment of interpreters for immigration purposes in 2014-15; and what the roles and responsibilities were of those interpreters, beyond assisting with the processing of refugee applications.
James Brokenshire
The total spend on interpreters in 2014-15 was £749,746 for Border Force, £1,455,375 for Immigration Enforcement and £5,366,622 for UK Visas and Immigration (Asylum) for translation in asylum claims.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to enabling a full and accurate two way interpretation service whilst not impeding the progress of any formal interviews or encounters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who authorised the report entitled, BIS 2020, What-why-when-how; and what the cost to the public purse was of that report.
Joseph Johnson
“BIS 2020: What-why-when-how” (September 2015) was one of a series of internal briefings for BIS staff. Staff are briefed on our change programme on a regular basis. The briefings are not formal documents and, as such, we do not publish them.
The cost of this report to the public purse consists of the hours worked by Civil Servants on its development. These were not recorded at the time of production separately from the authors’ other work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 264385, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that EU environmental law is transposed and implemented across the whole of the UK.
Rory Stewart
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on the 22 February 2016, PQ UIN 26438. The obligation to transpose and implement EU environmental law applies across the whole of the UK, although the responsibility for transposition and implementation in this area is a competence of the devolved administrations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which clinical speciality area had the highest drop-out rate for trainee doctors in each year since 2010.
Ben Gummer
The requested information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that thrombectomy is delivered to all eligible stroke patients in accordance with new NICE guidelines.
Lord Prior of Brampton
No formal assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the National Stroke Strategy or of whether it has achieved its aims. However, we know that good progress has been made on stroke in recent years, with mortality rates decreasing.
Part of this progress is undoubtedly due to improvements in the treatment of stroke, where we have made great strides in several areas. The most recent data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Project shows that:
– Over 48% of patients receive brain scanning within one hour of hospital arrival and over 90% within 12 hours;
– 84% of stroke patients spend more than 90% of their time in hospital on a stroke unit;
– Clot busting drugs give a certain cohort of stroke patients a better chance of regaining their independence. 11% of stroke patients admitted to hospital receive these drugs; and
– Over 78% of patients are assessed by a specialist stroke physician within 24 hours of admission, showing that stroke services have made good progress in delivering 7 day specialist medical services.
However we know there is more to do and increases in levels of obesity and an ageing population lead to new pressures.
That is why a Cardiovascular (CVD) Disease Outcomes Strategy was published in 2013. It sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to help further improve outcomes in Coronary Heart Disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
NHS England hosts a CVD outcomes collaborative which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, the main relevant national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, Public Health England and the Department of Health. This collaborative continues to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy.
In February this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published interventional procedure guidance on mechanical clot retrieval (thrombectomy) for treating acute ischaemic stroke. The guidance sets out that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support its use, provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. This guidance does not oblige commissioners to commission thrombectomy nor hospitals to provide it.
NHS England is now undertaking work to inform a decision on whether this is a procedure that should be made more widely available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the new open access operators using the East Coast Main Line will pay access charges that provide for fair competition with other operators, including VTEC; who determines those charges; and whether those charges reflect the opportunity costs that arise from using trains offering less seating capacity than the principal franchisee’s trains.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Setting the framework for track access charges is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (the ORR). The ORR will set the charging framework for all operators as part of the regulatory process leading up to the next control period (April 2019-2024). As part of that process, the Government has clearly indicated that it supports fairer charges for open access operators and has set out its desire to see changes to those charges as soon as possible.
Track access charges are not set on the basis of opportunity costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if his Department will look at examples of best practice in attracting foreign direct investment (a) in Swindon and (b) across the UK.
Greg Hands
The Department is continuously seeking to identify and share best practice from across the UK.
The Department works in partnership with Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Swindon Borough Council to deliver foreign direct investment to Swindon. My officials will continue to work with them to look at further examples of best practice.