Tag: Andrew Gwynne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rate of smoking is in England among people over the age of 18.

Jane Ellison

In 2015, figures showed smoking prevalence rates in adults and 15 year olds in England to be at 18% and 8% respectively. The most recent quarterly information on prevalence of smoking among pregnant women, published in March, show this to be 10.6%.

Smoking prevalence is at its lowest ever level with official figures showing that the Government met each of the targets set out in its Tobacco Control Plan – Healthy Lives, Healthy People. A new Tobacco Control Plan is currently being developed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional funding his Department plans to make available for implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.

Jane Ellison

By 2020-21, the Government will increase funding for the National Health Service by £10 billion a year in real terms compared with 2014-15, to support the implementation of the NHS’s own plan – the NHS Five Year Forward View – to transform services across the country. The Government is backing the NHS plan and enabling it to go further – by investing £2 billion more than the £8 billion the NHS asked for – delivering government objectives including improved access to cancer treatments.

As part of the response to the independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations, in September 2015, we announced funding of up to £300 million a year by 2020 to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the new target that patients will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis, or the all clear, within 28 days of being referred by a general practitioner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment NHS England has made of variation in aseptic services and the delivery of high quality infusional chemotherapy to cancer patients.

Jane Ellison

NHS England Specialist Pharmacy Services have to date not undertaken a comprehensive assessment of aseptic capacity to meet the future demands for chemotherapy provision in England. They are currently working closely with colleagues at the Department and NHS Improvement to support a number of regionally based reviews of aseptic capacity and to help trusts develop local and regional Hospital Pharmacy Transformation plans, as recommended by Lord Carter in February 2016.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and is responsible for regulating unlicensed medicines under a Manufacturer’s ‘Specials’ Licence. The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Care Quality Commission (CQC) are responsible for regulating medicine prepared extemporaneously in a register pharmacy or hospital pharmacy respectively under the professional exemption.

MHRA will collaborate with the NHS, GPhC and CQC though inspections of MHRA licensed aseptic facilities or joint investigations of aseptic facilities in hospitals where there are patient safety concerns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the NHS plans to take to maintain the availability of selective dorsal rhizotomy for children with cerebral palsy during the Commissioning through Evaluation analysis phase.

David Mowat

Recruitment of patients for the commissioning through evaluation process for the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy procedure has now concluded, and an evaluation of the long term benefits is now in the analysis phase. There are no plans to provide Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery to additional patients during this time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has had discussions with NICE on the Afinitor form of everolimus.

Nicola Blackwood

Departmental officials are in regular contact with their counterparts at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of issues, including individual medicines. This includes discussions on everolimus through the established topic selection processes for NICE’s technology appraisal programme and in relation to potential patient access schemes proposed by the manufacturer.

NICE has appraised everolimus for a number of indications and is currently appraising it for others.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many instances were recorded in which a person was restrained physically by placing their face on the floor in a mental health ward in each year from 2012.

Nicola Blackwood

Prone restraint data for years since 2012 is not available. NHS Digital began collecting the number of incidents of prone restraint on mental health wards for adults and for children and young people in January 2016. In line with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice, this data is undergoing evaluation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the effect of the Troubled Families programme on rates of school exclusions in (a) primary and (b) secondary education in (i) England and (ii) the Greater Manchester authority area in each year from 2012 to 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones

The published independent evaluation of the first programme presents data from local monitoring that shows that 10% of families had at least one child permanently excluded on entry to the first Troubled Families Programme (2012-15) and 28% had at least one child with a temporary exclusion. Where data were available for families at exit, 65% of families saw a reduction in permanent exclusion and 70% of families saw a reduction in temporary exclusions.

Due to time-lags in national datasets, the first programme’s independent evaluation was not able to track school exclusion outcomes in national datasets within its timeframe.

The evaluation of the new Troubled Families Programme (2015-20) will measure changes in school exclusions (both temporary and permanent) using national data held by the Department for Education at both a national and local authority level.

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

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

George Eustice

No estimate of value has been made as there were no reported losses or thefts of stationery from the Department in the last five fiscal years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the Voyager fleet has been fitted with the enhanced defensive aids suite; and what estimate he has made of the cost of fitting that suite to the remainder of that fleet.

Mr Philip Dunne

I am withholding information on the precise fitment of defensive aids to Voyager as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made in making it lawful to reuse graves.

Caroline Dinenage

The reuse of burial space is a sensitive issue and any potential changes in this area, including any legislation, would require careful consideration. We have been actively engaging with stakeholders and will consider whether there is a need for government to take action in due course.