Tag: 2016

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to provide information to pharmacies on proposed changes to the community pharmacy sector.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We have been in detailed discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, including the proposal for a Pharmacy Access Scheme. In parallel, we also want to hear views on our proposals from across the sector and from patient groups. We published our open letter to the PSNC on 17 December 2015 and on 27 January 2016 we published a set of slides setting out the proposals with a foreword by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.

    We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

    Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.

    The role of the general practice pharmacist is distinct from the role of the pharmacist in a community setting. However, they are synergistic. Pharmacists working in general practice will, in the main, work with patients who have long term conditions to support them with their medicines and self-management of their condition by helping with the development and review of individual care plans. These patients will not generally be those with minor illnesses which can be treated by seeing a pharmacist in a community setting and for whom community pharmacy will remain the first, and most appropriate, option.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants have had their claim re-assessed more than six months before the end of their initial award period in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department does hold the requested information and it could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

    For all PIP claimants with a fixed term award, except where the claimant would be expected to have little or no functional limitation within a two year period, a review date is set when the award is made. This review date is based on advice from a health professional and is communicated to the claimant when the award is made. A review process is then initiated on this date. In all such cases the review process is initiated a year in advance of the award end date.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2016 to Question 38323, whether an annual record is kept by his Department of locations visited by Ministers and officials of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Mark Francois

    No separate annual record of locations visited by Ministers and officials is kept by this department. However, details of Ministers meetings with external organisations are published online as part of our transparency agenda. Details can be found at:

    http://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-communities-and-local-government&publication type=transparency-data

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to accelerate family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.

    We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

    We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe. We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.

  • Biography information for Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Biography information for Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Beecham on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of the 700 employers named and shamed” by them since October 2013 for failing to pay the minimum wage

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The National Minimum Wage naming and shaming scheme represents the end point of civil sanctions against employers who fail to pay at least the appropriate rate of minimum wage to their workers. Where there is evidence that an offence has been committed the case will always be considered for criminal investigation which may in turn result in prosecutions. But criminal investigations are reserved for the most serious cases of non-compliance.

    Our number one priority is getting workers the money they are owed and the civil route is more successful in achieving this. Criminal investigations by HM Revenue & Customs and prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service will not necessarily result in arrears of wages being paid back to the workers. This would require further civil prosecutions following the Courts’ ruling.

    Under the civil route, employers are not only faced with reputational consequences, but also face a financial penalty for breaking the law.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether local record management instructions exist to augment paragraph 2.11.2 of JSP441 Defence Records Management Policy and Procedures at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanrwst, (c) MOD Fairbourne and (d) MOD Crickhowell.

    Mark Lancaster

    In accordance with JSP441, para 2.11.2, the Senior Information Officer (SIO) is to ensure that local management instructions exist to augment those contained in JSP 441 and that they are to be reviewed to ensure consistency with JSP 441. At all of the establishments listed the relevant SIO provides guidance and all staff undertake annual IT training.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to introduce independent checks to ensure that rented properties are genuinely abandoned within the provisions of the Housing and Planning Bill.

    Brandon Lewis

    The new abandonment procedure will enable landlords to legally regain possession of their property where it has been abandoned, without the need to obtain a possession order. We have introduced a number of safeguards to ensure that tenants are adequately protected against potential misuse of the procedure. These include a requirement that at least 8 weeks or 2 months rent is unpaid and requiring the landlord to serve at least 3 warning notices before they can repossess the property.

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons Highways England have not held consultation events on the proposals for a new Lower Thames Crossing in Stanford-le-Hope, Langdon Hills, Laindon, Dunton and other areas affected by those proposals.

    Andrew Jones

    The locations, venues and timings for the public consultation events (including five events held on a Saturday) were chosen to ensure that they were accessible to as many people as possible near to the potentially affected areas and the proposed route.

    A suitable venue was not available at the required time in Laindon and there was not a suitable venue in Stanford-le-Hope. However, there are public consultation events being undertaken nearby at Basildon and West Horndon. To note, Dunton is within 6 1/2 miles of Basildon and within 5 miles of West Horndon. Likewise, Langdon Hills is within 5 miles of Basildon and within 6 miles of West Horndon. To accommodate as many attendees as possible, the events are two weeks apart, with the events at both West Horndon and Basildon being 17 February 2016 and 1 March 2016 respectively.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect that changes in qualification requirements for studying a BSc in paramedicine will have on recruitment into that profession.

    Ben Gummer

    There are currently 30 Higher Education Institutions across the United Kingdom delivering Health Care Professions Council approved pre-registration paramedic programmes. Of these, there are now 22 (73%) that are delivering BSc (Hons) degrees.

    The commissioned numbers in 2012/13 were 563, in 2013/14 were 722 and in 2014/15 were 853. Planned commission numbers for 2015/16 are 1,124 and for 2016/17 are 1,729. This shows there has been an increase of successful applicants who wish to enter the profession and are undertaking an appropriate pre-registration programme of higher education.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Whitaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2016-04-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where a dog or horse is being micro-chipped and its owner is of no fixed abode, such as in the case of Gypsies and Travellers, whether they have considered allowing a mobile phone number or address of a friend or relation of the owner to be recorded rather than the owner’s address.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Owners of horses and dogs without a fixed address should provide the address of a family member or close friend with whom they keep in contact. Defra have worked with the veterinary representative organisations on their guidance for vets on microchipping of dogs.