Tag: Andrew Gwynne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what factors she takes into account when considering a request from a local authority to dispose of school sites for redevelopment for new housing.

Edward Timpson

Since January 2013, the Secretary of State for Education has received:

• 1 application from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, this is currently being considered.
• 4 applications from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, all have been approved.
• 19 applications from the Greater Manchester combined authority, 1 is being considered and the other 18 have been approved.

These figures include applications in those local authorities relating to land held by Academy Trusts under a lease from the local authority.

The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. Secretary of State consent is also required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 where local authorities wish to dispose of playing field land that has been used by a school in the last ten years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new school.

There are a range of reasons for these disposals. Some disposals are leases from the academy trustees back to the local authority, which allow a children’s centre on site to continue or which provide land for another school. A substantial number of consents refer to local authority maintained school sites for outright disposals where the school has closed or relocated to a new build site.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the budget (a) allocated from central Government to and (b) awarded by the Small Business Research Initiative for healthcare was in each financial year since its inception.

George Freeman

The Department has run a number of competitions under the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) and has had a budget as follows: fiscal year 2012-13 £2 million; fiscal 2013-14 £5 million; fiscal 2014-15 £2 million and fiscal 2015-16 £6 million. The Department has awarded contracts valued as follows:

2012-13: £1.07 million, the Department also contributed £1 million to other health related SBRI competitions.

2013-14: £5.59 million

2014-15: £10.15 million

It should be noted that SBRI is now firmly embedded within NHS England’s Small Business Research Initiative for Healthcare (SBRI Healthcare). Hence, the Department has not launched any new competitions since 2013.

SBRI Healthcare was established in 2013 by NHS England. As such, NHS England is responsible for setting this programme’s budget, which it has done as follows: fiscal year 2013-14 £10 million; fiscal 2014-15 £20 million; fiscal 2015-16 £20 million. The budget, once allocated to SBRI Healthcare, is then delegated to the Academic Health Science Networks to manage the implementation of the programme.

NHS England has awarded contracts valued as follows:

2013-14: £13.49 million

2014-15: £22.29 million

2015-16: £15.94 million to-date.

Further assessments are due to take place this month which could result in additional awards of around £1.6 million.

The level of investment in SBRI Healthcare reflects NHS England’s ongoing commitment to promoting innovation in the National Health Service and United Kingdom economic growth.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of companies that have benefited from the patent box are UK domiciled.

Mr David Gauke

The information is not held in the form requested. The estimated amounts of Patent Box relief can be found at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487119/Dec15_expenditure_reliefs_Final.xlsx.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the ownership of (a) Richmond House and (b) Wellington House under an Islamic bond has affected any activity of his Department.

Jane Ellison

The Department’s activity has not been affected by the establishment of an Islamic bond on its premises in Richmond House and Wellington House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report of the independent cancer taskforce, Achieving world class cancer outcomes: A strategy for England 2015-2020, published in July 2015, what progress NHS England has made in putting a mandate in place to ensure that GPs have direct access to key investigative tests for suspected cancers.

Jane Ellison

The Independent Cancer Taskforce’s five-year strategy Achieving World-class Cancer Outcomes A Strategy for England 2015-2020 recommends improvements across the cancer pathway, including improved access to investigative testing.

We have already 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 (GP). The NHS National Cancer Director has set up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Suspected cancer: recognition and referral guideline which was published in June 2015 includes recommendations regarding when GPs should refer patients for direct access investigative tests. NHS England expects clinical commissioning groups to enable GPs to follow the guideline.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to reduce the amount of litter on Network Rail’s land; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

This is an operational matter for Network Rail, but I acknowledge the Honourable Member’s concerns and note the size of Network Rail’s estate. I have been informed by Network Rail that it has policies on litter removal that are consistent with current legislation and that it already takes all practicable measures within its resources.

In cases where litter is on operational land, removal may only be dealt with when lines are closed for other maintenance activity, to avoid inconvenience to passengers and compromising safety. The company also prioritises litter clearance based on safety.

Network Rail has a 24 hour National Helpline on 08457 11 41 41, whose remit includes handling requests from local authorities and the public, to clear line-side areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from NHS outpatient clinics.

George Freeman

Where local National Health Service trusts have identified local requirements for improving the capture of clinical and administrative information, including those in outpatient departments, funds have been made available to NHS providers for electronic systems through the Integrated Digital Care Fund and the South Local Clinical Systems Programmes. These include patient administration, patient record, and document management systems which will help the recording and accessing data at the point of care.

The National Information Board’s Personalised Health and Care 2020 framework, published in November 2014, supports further action to improve systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from NHS outpatient departments.

Work being taken forward under Personalised Health and Care 2020 includes:

― improving the recording and accessing of data at the point of care – around £1.4 billion of the recently announced £4.2 billion investment in NHS technology over the next five years will support the better collection of data and the commitment to become paper-free at the point of care;

― work to examine ways in which outpatient departments can improve the way they capture activity data using standardised coding terminology (SNOMED CT), so that it can be made available to other parts of a hospital, and support reporting and clinical audit; and

― a focus on the integration of information within and between care settings, starting with impatient transfers of care, and expanding in 2017-18 to cover other care domains, including the exchange of outpatient information between acute trusts and general practitioner surgeries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when those parts of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 which have not come into force are expected to come into force.

Karen Bradley

We expect to commence the Psychoactive Substances Act in its entirety in the spring. We need to ensure the readiness of all the activity necessary to enable the smooth implementation of the legislation across the UK and to support law enforcement in their ability to drive forward the legislation on commencement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in England caused by malnutrition in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the most recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey data is being used in the development of the Childhood Obesity Strategy.

Jane Ellison

The Childhood Obesity Strategy will draw from a range of the latest data and evidence, including from Public Health England and other partners.