Tag: Andrew Gwynne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the treatment of strokes of withdrawing access to patent foramen ovale closure and left atrial appendage occlusion during the commissioning through evaluation analysis phase.

David Mowat

NHS England’s Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) programme enables a limited number of patients to access treatments, such as patent foramen ovale closure and left atrial appendage occlusion, which are not routinely funded by the National Health Service. These are usually treatments which show significant promise for the future and enable a small number of patients to access them while new clinical and patient experience data are collected within a formal evaluation programme. This approach ensures that each CtE scheme provides valuable new data, beyond that already available from clinical trials, or where there is no clinical trial data, to inform future commissioning policy decisions.

During the analysis phase, NHS England’s published policy position for the treatment concerned will continue to apply. For patent foramen ovale closure and left atrial appendage occlusion this will mean that these procedures will not be routinely available within the NHS. However, patients already being treated as part of a CtE scheme will continue to receive appropriate follow-up care.

Once the CtE evaluation report is available, or if other significant clinical trial information becomes available more quickly, NHS England’s published policy for the treatment concerned will be reviewed and a decision will be made about whether NHS England will or will not make the treatment available within the NHS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the implications for Spain’s capacity to affect commercial activity of the three mile limit of Gibraltar’s territorial waters; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan

Her Majesty’s Government will continue to challenge and protest aganist all incursions in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, including any attempt by Spanish authorities to assert jurisdiction. We would respond robustly to any attempts by Spain to prevent commercial firms or private individuals from using Gibraltar port facilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has allocated funds for the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

Sarah Newton

The Home Office has not allocated funding for the Troubled Families programme for 2016-17, 2017-18 or 2018-19.

From 2016/17 onwards, HM Treasury has baselined funding of the Troubled Families programme so it is deducted before Departments receive their allocations to avoid the need for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to approach Departments individually to ask for contributions.

Therefore, the Home Office no longer provides funding directly to DCLG for the Troubled Families programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been claimed in reimbursement expenses by press officers in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s executive agencies and public bodies in each fiscal year since 2010-11.

Jane Ellison

The reimbursable expenses claimed by press officers in the Department in each fiscal year since 2010-11 are detailed in the table below:

Financial Year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Department of Health	£2,773.27	£3,606.40	£1,895.41	£771.80	£1,624.01

The data covers reimbursable expenses claimed by the Department’s press officers for travel and subsistence.

The expenses are reimbursed to staff in accordance with the Department’s policy, and will not include any rail or air tickets or hotel accommodation booked through the Department’s central booking.

To collate the reimbursable expenses claimed by press officers in the Department’s executive agencies and public bodies in each fiscal year since 2010-11 is a disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not make estimates on the amount of lost or stolen stationery so unfortunately there is no data available that would answer this question. However all BIS staff are aware of Departmental regulations on stationery usage and there is no evidence that these regulations are not being adhered to by BIS staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

David Mundell

No items of stationery have been reported as lost or stolen in the last five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his strategy is for engaging with NHS leaders, clinical staff and managers in the implementation of the Accelerated Access Review.

George Freeman

The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.

Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.

The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.

Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.

The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.

The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Prime Minister, when he last met or spoke to the head of government in each British Overseas Territory.

Mr David Cameron

I met elected leaders, ministers and representatives of all of the twelve inhabited British Overseas Territories at Downing Street in December 2012. I met the leaders of Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat at Downing Street in June 2013, and the Gibraltar Chief Minister in August 2013.

The Minister for the Overseas Territories, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (Mr Duddridge), met the Overseas Territories’ elected leaders and representatives at the most recent Joint Ministerial Council in December 2015.

In addition other members of the Foreign Office Ministerial team and Ministers from across Whitehall Departments regularly meet leaders of the Overseas Territories at the annual Joint Ministerial Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what specialist support will be available for disabled people under the new Work and Health Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

The Department is currently developing the design of the new Work and Health programme, and this includes consideration of what support disabled claimants might need to move into work, including specialist support, and how that support might best be delivered within the new programme.

The Department will publish the details of this within the specification for the new programme later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what lessons have been learned from the implementation of recommendations contained in NHS England’s report, entitled Innovation, Health and Wealth, published in December 2011; and how his Department is implementing those lessons in the Accelerated Access Review.

George Freeman

Innovation Health and Wealth rightly emphasised how crucial innovation is to our better care for patients and improving the health and care system. The Accelerated Access Review was established to build on this, recognising the fundamental contribution that the United Kingdom’s world class medical innovators make to our economy. The evaluation of the Innovation, Health and Wealth has formed part of the review evidence base.

The independent Accelerated Access Review will report at the end of April with recommendations on how to increase the uptake of innovation in the National Health Service.