Tag: Andrew Gwynne

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of the Government’s welfare reforms on low-income households who are in fuel poverty since 2010.

Caroline Nokes

The Government’s reforms simplify the system for claimants, helping move more people into work, and reduce the cost for taxpayers. Throughout these reforms the Government is ensuring that the vulnerable are protected. In every year to 2020 spending on disability will be higher than in 2010.

The Warm Home Discount scheme provides eligible households with a £140 energy bill rebate. This winter, almost a million low income working age households will be helped under the scheme.

We are also reforming the Energy Company Obligation to have a greater focus on vulnerable and low income households. It will have a value of £640m a year from 2017 until 2022 and could reduce the energy bills of those who receive energy efficiency improvements by up to £300 per year.

DWP provides help with the additional costs of heating during periods of severely cold weather to eligible claimants on certain income related benefits. In 2015-16, DWP made nearly 155,000 awards worth £3.9 million. For winter 2016/17 the cold weather payment rate will continue to be £25 for each seven day period of very cold weather.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young offenders under the age of 18 have been admitted to an adult mental health ward in each month since January 2014.

Dr Phillip Lee

We are committed to improving mental health treatment for young people in contact with the youth justice system. We are currently working with NHS England to develop a specific £24 million programme to address gaps in mental health provision for children and young people in contact with the justice system.

The information requested is as follows:

(1) Young offenders under the age of 18 (including those on remand) admitted to an adult mental health unit since January 2014

There was one such admission in November 2014.

(2) Young offenders under the age of 18 (including those on remand) admitted to a children’s or adolescent mental health unit since January 2014

The number of such admissions is set out in the table below:

Month of Admission	Number Admitted
January 2014	nil
February 2014	5
March 2014	5
April 2014	3
May 2014	1
June 2014	nil
July 2014	1
August 2014	nil
September 2014	2
October 2014	3
November 2014	1
December 2014	4

Month of Admission	Number Admitted
January 2015	2
February 2015	1
March 2015	1
April 2015	nil
May 2015	3
June 2015	4
July 2015	2
August 2015	1
September 2015	4
October 2015	2
November 2015	nil
December 2015	2

Month of Admission	Number Admitted
January 2016	nil
February 2016	nil
March 2016	1
April 2016	3
May 2016	3
June 2016	1
July 2016	2
August 2016	nil

Note 1 – the figures may represent individual offenders admitted more than once since January 2014.

Note 2 – these figures represent restricted patients only.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department has allocated to the Troubled Families Programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education has not allocated any funding to the Troubled Families programme for 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, 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.

Karen Bradley

This information is not available.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) reduction in cases of and deaths from human pappillomavirus (HPV) as a result of the introduction of the HPV vaccine to the UK schedule in 2008, (b) number of HPV vaccinations administered in each year since that programme began and (c) cost of delivering that programme in each year since 2008.

Jane Ellison

HPV vaccination will eventually prevent hundreds of deaths due to cervical cancer every year. Public Health England (PHE) expect the major benefit of the vaccination programme, i.e. a decrease in cervical cancer, which peaks in women between 25 and 50; will be seen in some years’ time.

Table 1: Number of HPV vaccine doses given for the academic years 2008/09 to 2013/14.

Academic Year	Total doses given
2008/09 -2010/111 (routine and catch-up cohorts*)	5,319,058$
2011/122 (routine only)	784,831
2012/133 (routine only)	766,832
2013/144 (routine only)	762,038
2014/15 (routine only)	Not available

*Routine cohort are school Yr8 females (aged 12-13 years) in academic years 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11) and catch-up cohorts are females born between 1/9/1990 and 31/8/1995. ^$ Data for 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 are combined as these years had both routine and catch-up cohorts targeted and include some ‘mop-up’ vaccinations for eligible females receiving vaccine(s) after the academic year they first became eligible for vaccination.

Table 2. The cost of delivering the HPV programme since 2008.

Financial year	Estimated total programme costs
2008/09	£51 million
2009/10	£114 million (includes catch up campaign)
2010/11	£40 million
2011/12	£27 million (change in dosage schedule)
2012/13	£24 million
2013/14	£28.2 million
2014/15	£16.3 million (change from 3 to 2 doses)

These are the estimated full programme costs (including the cost of the vaccine) for England, inclusive of VAT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that lower limb amputees are able to access microprocessor-controlled knees through the NHS via a specialised commissioning policy before June 2016.

Alistair Burt

The commissioning of prosthetics is the responsibility of NHS England as a specialised service. The rehabilitation and re-ablement of patients is provided at a local level by specialised Multi-Disciplinary Teams which should be consultant led. The NHS Standard Contract for Complex Disability Equipment – Prosthetics, sets out how the specialist centres should operate and the required level of prosthetic services to be delivered.

A revised policy proposal for the routine commissioning of microprocessor controlled knees was considered by NHS England’s expert Clinical Priorities Advisory Group which recommended its adoption for routine commissioning. The proposal was then considered by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group at its meeting on 9 December where it was agreed that NHS England would support this service development as a possible call on its resources. However given the potential scale of investment and the need to consider its priority relative to other treatments which would also have a possible call on the specialised commissioning resources, it was decided that the policy should go forward for consideration as part of NHS England’s next annual prioritisation round in June 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2016 to Question 20580, how long he expects the analysis phase of NHS England’s Commissioning through Evaluation programme to last.

George Freeman

The analysis phase for treatments entered into the Commissioning through Evaluation programme varies in length depending on the follow up evaluation measures that have been agreed by clinicians and patients at the start of each scheme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will meet the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss the consultation process for the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Development Plan.

James Wharton

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities is currently involved in the preparation of a Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Development Plan working with the 10 metropolitan councils in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s area. We understand that this is intended to become a joint development plan document.

A local authority may arrange for the discharge of any of its functions by a committee, sub-committee, an officer or by any other local authority. The ten local authorities have delegated responsibility for the “coordination” of the Greater Manchester Strategic Framework to Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Executive Board, a committee of the Combined Authority. Under these current arrangements, it is for each individual authority to decide how to engage its members in the production of the document.

Each local planning authority must also comply with section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, which requires them to prepare a Statement of Community Involvement which should explain how they will engage local communities and other interested parties in producing development plan documents and determining planning applications. This should be published on the local planning authority’s website and it is the authority’s responsibility to ensure that any Development Plan Document is prepared in accordance with it.

It would not be appropriate for me to meet to discuss the detail of a plan in preparation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what work her Department is doing to monitor air quality standards in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England.

Rory Stewart

Defra has eight fixed air quality monitoring sites located in Greater Manchester – at Bury Whitefield Roadside, Glazebury, Manchester Law Courts, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester South, Salford Eccles, Shaw Crompton Way, Wigan Centre – and one hundred and seventy eight fixed monitoring sites in total across England.

Many of these sites (seven in Manchester and 111 across England) provide near real-time data on one or more of the following pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5), ozone, and sulphur dioxide. Data is made available on our website.

Full details of the sites, including locations, pollutants measured and concentrations observed at each, are available on Defra’s UK Air Website: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/.

Data from these sites is reported alongside modelling data as part of the UK’s annual national compliance reporting.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which National Clinical Director will be responsible for overseeing the neurology intelligence network from March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, has undertaken a review of the National Clinical Director (NCD) resource designed to focus clinical advisory resources on areas where major programmes of work are currently being taking forward, or areas identified as priorities for improvement. As a result of the review, NHS England has proposed to change the way in which clinical advice is received in speciality areas in the future.

Where there will no longer be a specific NCD role, NHS England will secure expert clinical advice from its Clinical Networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. For neurology it is planned that access to advice will be through clinical leads and members of the NHS England-funded neurology clinical networks, the Neurology Clinical Reference Group and Royal Colleges. It is expected that these new arrangements will be in place from 1 April 2016.

The Neurology Intelligence Network (NIN) is a joint partnership programme between Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to support the generation and dissemination of neurology related health intelligence. PHE currently funds the on-going design, development and management of the NIN.