Tag: 2016

Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the financial implications of caring for people with cancer and their families.

Alistair Burt

The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. We are also aware that caring for people with cancer and other illnesses or disabilities can have significant financial implications both for those involved and wider society, for example, the Government, Carers UK and business representatives worked together to produce the Supporting Working Carers report of 2013, which estimated the costs to the exchequer of carers being unable to continue working at £1.3 billion a year.

That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers that were enshrined in The Care Act 2014. On the appearance of needs for support, carers have a right to an assessment that will look at a carer’s wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16.

We also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The Better Care Fund includes £130 million of funding for carers’ breaks in 2015/16.

In 2015 the Government extended to carers a right to request flexible working arrangements, and this helps those carers who wish to balance work and care. We are also funding a £1.6 million pilot project to explore how technology can be combined with professional support from the local authority and the assistance of informal networks to ease the pressure of caring.

The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.

We are also aware that the right support for the person they care for is crucial to improving outcomes for carers. The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015. It recommended improvements across the cancer pathway, including on patient experience, support, and quality of life. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward these recommendations.

As part of our approach to support people living with and beyond cancer, we announced in September 2015 that, by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. These recovery packages, developed in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer, including elements such as physical activity programmes, psychological support and practical advice about returning to work.

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether jobcentre managers are permitted to set targets for jobcentre advisers on the issuing of sanctions placed on jobseekers.

Priti Patel

There are no benchmarks or targets for the number of referrals resulting in a sanction being applied.

01/01/2023
Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any further courts and tribunal offices are planned for closure in addition to those announced in the Government’s response to the consultation on the court and tribunal estate, published in February 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

HMCTS keeps its operational estate under review to make sure that it aligns with the delivery of reformed court and tribunal services. Any proposals for further closures, should they be required, will be subject to public consultation.

01/01/2023
Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of Lyme disease and of the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of infection.

Jane Ellison

The existing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance supports primary care doctors in managing Lyme disease but to further strengthen the evidence base we have commissioned NICE to develop guidelines for the recognition and treatment of Lyme disease; this is expected in June 2018.

Public Health England (PHE) provides information on Lyme disease and tick awareness to the medical profession and the public, holds regular medical training days, and works with Lyme Disease Action to support the needs and interests of patients.

NHS Choices also publishes information on its website to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection.

The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbor ticks. PHE works with interested local authorities to raise tick awareness, and has produced joint public information with local authorities in areas such as the New Forest with a significant incidence of Lyme disease.

The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded.

Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.

There is no clear definition for chronic Lyme disease, and no general acceptance of what the term means, so no data is available.

01/01/2023
Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether Brexit will increase, decrease, or have no material impact on, the need for more housing in England.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

It is too early to say. Whatever the impact, this government remains committed to increasing the supply of homes for the 86 percent of people who aspire to own their own home. The Spending Review doubled the housing budget and set out the most ambitious affordable housing programme since the 1970s, which will help us to achieve our ambition of delivering one million homes.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who would have been entitled to a larger income due to the proposed changes to the Pension Protection Fund’s compensation cap and who have died since the proposals were first included in the Pensions Act 2014.

Richard Harrington

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects to publish the results of his consultation on the BBC Charter Review.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government’s BBC Charter Review Public Consultation closed in October. Over 190,000 people responded to the consultation – the second largest response to any Government consultation. We are in the process of reading and analysing all the responses, and will publish the results once this exercise is completed.

01/01/2023
Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how long it would take for research-led treatment to eradicate Lyme disease from the UK if resource provision were no issue.

Lord Prior of Brampton

It is not practical to eradicate Lyme disease in the United Kingdom through treatment of human cases, therefore no cost estimate has been made. The disease is endemic in much of the small mammal and bird population in the UK, and is spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks which have fed on these animals. The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbour ticks.

The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded. Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.

The Health Protection Research Unit of the University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) has funding from the National Institute of Health Research for research into Lyme disease, covering diagnostics and biomarkers and public awareness. PHE is working on clinically linked studies for diagnostics with the Czech Republic, as no single centre in the UK has sufficient patients for a suitable study; funding for this work is not yet in place. PHE undertakes limited studies on ticks and Lyme disease in the UK. The Research Councils fund some additional work on ticks and the environment.

01/01/2023

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims have been made for a Short Term Benefit Advance in the last six months for which data is available; and what the outcomes of those claims were.

Priti Patel

Please see table below for Short Term Benefit Advance (STBA) applications and the outcomes of those claims;

	Aug-15	Sep-15	Oct-15	Nov-15	Dec-15	Jan-16
STBA Requests Received	17,450	17,188	17,391	17,355	17,428	17,526
STBA Requests Primary Benefit Paid (where the primary benefit has been paid negating the need for an STBA)	3,420	3,984	3,890	3,688	3,971	3,699
STBA Requests Disallowed	5,691	5,398	4,973	4,749	4,938	5,375
STBAs Awarded	15,372	15,922	17,515	18,240	21,844	25,118

The data provided is for Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefits, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support.

01/01/2023

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why special financial provision is having to be provided by the Department of Health, and not NHS England, for the treatment of people infected with hepatitis C through contaminated blood when the treatment of all patients is covered by mandated NICE guidance.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are currently consulting on a number of proposals to reform the current payment schemes for those infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C through National Health Service-supplied blood/blood products. As part of that consultation, we are keen to hear views on whether those infected with hepatitis C and whose infections have yet to progress to advanced stages would be interested in receiving enhanced access to the new effective drugs sooner than is currently available to them on the NHS following publication of the latest National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) treatment guidance for hepatitis C. The NHS is prioritising access to the new treatments for all patients with hepatitis C on the basis of clinical need and not on the route of transmission. There are three NICE Guidance documents attached:

1. Ledipasvir–sofosbuvir;

2. Daclatasvir; and

3. Ombitasvir–paritaprevir–ritonavir with or without dasabuvir for treating chronic hepatitis C.

01/01/2023