Tag: Andrea Jenkyns

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 23 of the final report of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, published in May 2016, what steps his Department is taking to address the substantial evidence gaps relating to effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of new technologies for improving hygiene.

Ben Gummer

Auditing to improve hand hygiene and ensuring appropriate use of technology are important local responsibilities which contribute to improving the quality of care. However, tackling healthcare associated infections is complex and requires a strong patient safety system that integrates cleanliness, infection prevention and control and antibiotic use and addresses them all.

To help the National Health Service improve infection prevention and control we continuously review and enhance national measures, systems and guidance. For example, reducing infections is part of the Guidance for the NHS on Sustainability and Transformation Plans. Antimicrobial resistance was added to Public Health England’s (PHE) Fingertips data system in April to enable easier monitoring and benchmarking against other organisations. PHE’s Rapid Review Panel assesses new products and technologies aiming to reduce infections and in addition the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including hygiene.

The NIHR also supports research infrastructure in the NHS including Diagnostic Evidence Co-operatives which generate evidence on diagnostic medical devices that have the potential to lead to improvements in healthcare services and the quality of life of NHS patients. Two of these, based at Imperial and Newcastle, focus part of their work on clinical areas relevant to infection.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector on improving young people’s readiness for work and their future employment prospects.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Government is taking a number of steps to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector.

We have provided funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company which is increasing the number and quality of links between the education and business sector. The Company’s national network of enterprise advisers is already brokering relationships in 30 LEP areas, working with schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise organisations. The Government’s forthcoming careers strategy will set out the additional steps we will take to encourage interaction between business leaders and the education sector to support young people to prepare for working life.

My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister, in his speech on life chances on 11 January, announced £70 million funding over the parliament to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. It will include funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has begun. It will also include delivery of a campaign to recruit a new generation of mentors to support young people at risk of under-achieving or dropping out, many of who will be business people.

We are also planning reforms to technical education which will ensure that the skills system is simple and genuinely owned, understood and valued by employers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government has agreed additional protections with the British Medical Association to protect junior doctors who are whistleblowers.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Government has listened to the British Medical Association’s (BMA) concerns that junior doctors are in a unique position and need greater whistleblowing protections, and it has taken action. The BMA, NHS Employers and Health Education England (HEE) have agreed changes to strengthen whistleblowing protections for junior doctors beyond the scope of existing legislation so that junior doctors can take legal action against HEE, in relation to whistleblowing, as if HEE was their employer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether juvenile victims of incestuous sexual abuse are eligible to claim criminal injury compensation; and what limitations apply to that eligibility.

Mike Penning

We deeply sympathise with anyone who has been a victim of crime. Some victims of incestuous sexual abuse may be eligible for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme which awards taxpayer-funded payments to victims who are seriously injured as a result of violent crime.

From 1964 to 1979 the scheme did not allow compensation to be awarded where the offender and victim lived in the same household as members of the same family. The so called ‘same roof rule’ was part of the original scheme and was introduced to stop offenders benefiting from compensation paid to victims who lived with them. It was amended in 1979 so the restriction only applied to adults who remained living together after the incident. This was to protect payments to the most seriously injured victims of crime, while reducing the burden on the taxpayer. The changes to the ‘same roof rule’ were not applied retrospectively. This decision was consistent with the general Government approach that rule changes apply to future claimants, rather than in respect of historical claims.

The Government puts the highest emphasis on the needs of victims, which is why the Ministry of Justice has given them more rights and increased funding for specialist support to help victims of such heinous crimes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on patient care of junior doctors taking five days of strike action per month until the end of 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne

We were encouraged by the British Medical Association’s (BMA) announcement that it is suspending the rolling programme of five continuous days of industrial action from October to December, which it had previously announced and which would have removed urgent and emergency care from some of our most vulnerable patients.

We have urged the BMA to remove all threat of further industrial action so we can work constructively with junior doctors to address their wider concerns and better recognise their vital importance to the National Health Service.

Prior to the BMA’s announcement, NHS England, working with NHS organisations, had assessed the impact of the industrial action on cancelled operations and outpatient services and had developed plans to mitigate the impact of the industrial action.

Had the BMA continued with their proposed industrial action, based on the levels of disruption during the previous two day all out strike, an initial estimate was that around 25,000 operations and 250,000 outpatient appointments would be cancelled during each five day strike period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much he estimates will be spent on research into brain tumours in children and young people (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the total spend on cancer research in each of the next three years.

George Freeman

Total spend by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in each of the next three years on cancer research, and on research relating specifically to brain tumours in children and young people, will depend on the number and scale of successful applications to NIHR programmes and fellowship schemes and on the volume of research supported by NIHR infrastructure including biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

More brain tumour research is needed and, as I announced on 18 April, Official Report, columns 258-59WH, I will be convening a working group of clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how working together with our research funding partners, we can address this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS trades unions have taken strike action resulting in the withdrawal of emergency services.

Mr Philip Dunne

In their industrial action that took place on 26-27 April the British Medical Association withdrew the whole of the junior doctor workforce (the group involved in the trade dispute) from providing emergency care. No other trade union has taken such action in withdrawing the whole workforce covered by the trade dispute when they provide emergency care. For example when other National Health Service trade unions took action in 2015, the Royal College of Midwives asked its members in those services to continue working to ensure essential services were maintained rather than expecting senior midwives or obstetricians to provide cover.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to address skills shortages in the workforce.

Joseph Johnson

This Government is committed to giving young people the skills they need to succeed in life.

We are supporting 3 million more apprenticeships in this Parliament, and we are ensuring that employers play a leading role in the design of our new Degree Apprenticeships. Following our Higher Education Green Paper, we will be launching a technical consultation on the Teaching Excellence Framework, which will ensure our universities continue to focus on helping their students into employment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times the Junior Doctors’ Committee of the British Medical Association has (a) left negotiations already in progress and (b) refused written requests to return to negotiations on the proposed junior doctors’ contract since any negotiations on that proposed contract began.

Mr Philip Dunne

The British Medical Association (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee walked away from negotiations twice. The first time was after almost a year of negotiations on 16 October 2014. The second time was on 4 January 2016 during negotiations following an agreement at ACAS.

Ministers wrote to the BMA on a number of occasions – four of these letters, between July and November 2015, were explicit requests to enter negotiations. The BMA refused on each occasion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the additional housing needed to provide (a) private and (b) social sector accommodation for immigrants from (i) the EU and (ii) non-EU countries in each year to 2020.

Brandon Lewis

The Department has not made estimates of the addition private and social housing needed to provide accommodation for immigrants from EU and non-EU countries.