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Tag: 2016

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provision there is for people with perinatal mental health issues living in clinical commissioning group areas where there is no specialist community perinatal mental health team.

    Alistair Burt

    This Government is committed to improving access to perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year. In January 2016 the Government set out that an additional £290 million will be made available over the next five years to 2020/21, over and above the money identified in the Spring Budget, to invest in perinatal mental health services. This is funded from within the Department’s overall Spending Review settlement and means that in total from 2015/16 to 2020/21 £365 million will be invested in perinatal mental health services.

    We are aware that there is unacceptable variation in the levels of access to high quality, NICE-recommended specialist perinatal mental health care for women across England. A 2014 census identified that 40% of women in England have no access to specialist perinatal mental health services and that is why we have confirmed this additional investment. The funding should enable significant progress towards closing this gap and will help to enable women across the country to access evidence-based specialist support, in the community or through inpatient mother and baby services, closer to their home, when they need it. It is anticipated that, by 2020/21, around 30,000 more women should be able to access appropriate specialist support.

    This new funding, together with the recommendations of the forthcoming report of the independent Mental Health Taskforce, will enable NHS England to work with partners to design a longer-term transformation programme to build capacity and capability in specialist perinatal mental health services over the next five years. This will include setting detailed plans for how the additional investment will be targeted over the period to 2020/21 and setting clear outcome measures and metrics to monitor the impact of the funding on perinatal mental health provision.

    In 2015/16 work is already underway to lay the foundations for this longer-term work programme through targeted funding of activities to build capacity in specialist services. This will include, for example, a £1 million investment in strengthening clinical networks across the country. It is also expected to include the provision of national and regional benchmarking data and analytical support to regions, and work to develop clinical leadership capacity. Work will also continue to support the development of specialist mother and baby units in the regions identified as most in need of new services.

    To ensure the workforce are available and appropriately trained, NHS England is working closely with Health Education England and key stakeholders to better understand the future workforce commissioning requirements and how it is best to meet multi professional education and training needs.

  • Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philippa Whitford on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to (a) claimants of universal credit while the benefit is assessed and dispatched and (b) people becoming unemployed from low-paid and temporary jobs who have no redundancy payments or other income.

    Priti Patel

    Advance payments of up to 50% of their Universal Credit award are available to all new Universal Credit claimants who are in financial need.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of trends in waiting times for elective surgery for people with inflammatory bowel disease.

    Jane Ellison

    Inflammatory bowel disease is not uniquely identified in the International Classification of Diseases and therefore it is not possible to specifically identify waiting times for people with this condition.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to counter Russian disinformation against western countries and NATO.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK is working with allies to support initiatives that promote a plural and balanced Russian-language media environment; enhance the strategic communications capabilities of NATO and the EU; and build resilience in the region to the impact of information warfare, including in Ukraine and Georgia.

    We are also investing in soft power by supporting the work of the British Council and the BBC. The BBC’s global reputation and editorial independence is crucial. In keeping with its long-standing aim to “provide independent, impartial and accurate news across the world”, it is developing plans to enhance its BBC Russian digital service, for example by providing extended news bulletins to partner stations.

  • 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 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made to his French counterpart on the effect on road freight of recent strike action in France.

    Andrew Jones

    Transport Ministers and the Department for Transport had received no written representations on this subject, as of 31st May 2016. The effect on road freight of the recent strike action has not been specifically raised by UK Transport Ministers with French counterparts.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 41528, what meetings his Department has had with external organisations on meeting temporary or permanent skills and staff needs across all government departments; and what formal contracts have been agreed for which job roles to bring in external staff since the EU referendum result.

    Ben Gummer

    The Civil Service constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government’s agenda. Civil Servants regularly meet with external organisations and stakeholders to discuss how best to deliver that agenda, including seeking advice and assistance where appropriate. Following the decision to exit the European Union, Rupert McNeil, the Chief People Officer, is working closely with departments and functions across government to understand the capabilities required, including considering what new skills the Civil Service may require. To do that, he is in the process of meeting all Departmental Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Function.

    Work is on-going to establish the new Department for Exiting the European Union and the new Department for International Trade and all departments are currently reviewing their own structures and resources to ensure we get the best deal for the whole of Britain.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Financial Reporting Council on ensuring that companies follow the law when reporting on climate risk.

    Margot James

    The law requires company directors to consider, amongst other matters, the impact of their business on the environment. The Annual report is where the directors must demonstrate their consideration of this in the disclosures they make, both on environmental matters and risks. The Financial Reporting Council, operating under delegated powers from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, ensures legislation on the content of the annual report is adhered to by companies required to produce one.

  • James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission a review of portion sizes to inform the food industry and consumers about what constitutes a healthy portion.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s recent report, Sugar Reduction: The evidence for action, highlights that portion sizes have been increasing over time and that this results in more calories being consumed. We have a number of tools to help inform what constitutes a healthy portion size, for example the Front of Pack nutrition labelling scheme, the eatwell plate and the Change4Life programme.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland on the speed and efficiency of transfer of patient records between administrations.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not have any record of discussions that have taken place between the Secretary of State for Health and the devolved administrations on the speed and efficiency of transfer of patient records between administrations. However, we are aware that Wales has been conducting a pilot of the GP2GP system, which enables patient records to be electronically transferred between one practice and another, and Scotland has also been rolling out the system. In the future this should enable faster, more effective transfer of patient records between administrations.

    Additionally, the Summary Care Record Programme in England has a four nations forum with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that focuses on best practice and lessons learned from the respective national record sharing solutions.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which organisations have received public grant funding from her Department in each of the last three years; and what the purposes of each grant were.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The organisations that have received grant funding from DECC in FY2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 are summarised in the attached.