Tag: Baroness Masham of Ilton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of people in England entering treatment for drug misuse have left treatment drug-free in each year since 2010.

Lord Prior of Brampton

A table which shows trend data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System for individuals completing treatment free of dependence for the years 2009-10 to 2014-15 is attached.

For the first time in 2014-15, the annual report brought together information on people receiving specialist interventions for drugs and alcohol. Many people experience problems with both substances and receive interventions for both, and drugs and alcohol services are often commissioned together. The figures therefore include the substance group ‘non-opiate and alcohol’, as well as those seeking services for drug-only related dependency, to ensure all individuals leaving treatment drug-free are captured. This new methodology has been applied to the years prior to 2014-15 to ensure comparable figures.

We have provided both the total numbers leaving treatment successfully free of dependence as well as the numbers that left successfully not using drugs or alcohol at the time of exit (which is a subset of the larger number), as some individuals may, for example, be occasionally drinking when they are discharged but it will have been judged by a clinician to be non-problematic and not dependent use and that therefore they no longer require treatment.

Public Health England will continue to support local authorities to provide effective and efficient drug treatment services, by providing bespoke data to assist the joint strategic needs assessment and to show the effectiveness of the local treatment system, as well as value for money tools, topical briefings, advice on good practice and on the benefits of investing in alcohol and drug treatment. Across the country, councils have already begun to develop new ways to deliver public health, showing that it is possible to deliver better health for local people and also better value for the taxpayer.

The evidence-base for the effectiveness of drug treatment is robust, with United Kingdom and international evidence showing that treatment provides value for money, improves public health and reduces crime.

The Building Recovery strand of the Government’s Drug Strategy recognises the importance of non-medical interventions, such as recovery networks, employment, housing, family support and reduced re-offending, in helping people recover and to participate more fully in society. Every person in structured drug treatment has a personal care plan based on an assessment of their needs, which maps out the steps they will take towards recovery. It covers their drug use, health, social functioning, criminal involvement, housing, employment and any other barrier to recovery.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase diagnosis and treatment rates of iron deficiency anaemia.

Lord Prior of Brampton

It is for local National Health Service organisations to develop their own policy to treat patients with iron deficiency anaemia based on their clinical needs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced a large body of guidelines aimed at professionals treating patients with anaemia who have chronic conditions, such as kidney disease and cancer. A copy of Chronic kidney disease: managing anaemia is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of fitness testing of children in school.

Lord Nash

We want all pupils to be healthy and more physically active, with the Government’s recent Childhood Obesity Plan setting out an ambition that young people should be active for at least 60 minutes every day, as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.

Since 2013, the Government has provided over £450million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to PE and Sport. We know this funding is making a difference, with 87% of primary schools reporting that the quality of PE teaching has increased since the introduction of the premium. The majority of schools have also introduced new sports in both curricular PE (74%) and extra-curricular sport (77%) since the premium was introduced. But we know there is more to do, which is why revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the primary PE and sport premium to £320million a year from September 2017.

Through the Sport Strategy, we have also extended the remit of Sport England, to cover children aged 5 and above, outside of school. Sport England’s new strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’ sets out a new £40million investment into projects that offer opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together outside of school.

In relation to fitness testing, it is up to schools to determine how best they deliver a diverse and challenging PE curriculum. We are considering how we can track levels of physical activity in schools to help support children to have healthy and active lives and will be providing schools with further guidance and best practice examples to help deliver this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of reductions in funding to local public health budgets on the outcomes achieved by drug treatment services.

Lord Prior of Brampton

A table which shows trend data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System for individuals completing treatment free of dependence for the years 2009-10 to 2014-15 is attached.

For the first time in 2014-15, the annual report brought together information on people receiving specialist interventions for drugs and alcohol. Many people experience problems with both substances and receive interventions for both, and drugs and alcohol services are often commissioned together. The figures therefore include the substance group ‘non-opiate and alcohol’, as well as those seeking services for drug-only related dependency, to ensure all individuals leaving treatment drug-free are captured. This new methodology has been applied to the years prior to 2014-15 to ensure comparable figures.

We have provided both the total numbers leaving treatment successfully free of dependence as well as the numbers that left successfully not using drugs or alcohol at the time of exit (which is a subset of the larger number), as some individuals may, for example, be occasionally drinking when they are discharged but it will have been judged by a clinician to be non-problematic and not dependent use and that therefore they no longer require treatment.

Public Health England will continue to support local authorities to provide effective and efficient drug treatment services, by providing bespoke data to assist the joint strategic needs assessment and to show the effectiveness of the local treatment system, as well as value for money tools, topical briefings, advice on good practice and on the benefits of investing in alcohol and drug treatment. Across the country, councils have already begun to develop new ways to deliver public health, showing that it is possible to deliver better health for local people and also better value for the taxpayer.

The evidence-base for the effectiveness of drug treatment is robust, with United Kingdom and international evidence showing that treatment provides value for money, improves public health and reduces crime.

The Building Recovery strand of the Government’s Drug Strategy recognises the importance of non-medical interventions, such as recovery networks, employment, housing, family support and reduced re-offending, in helping people recover and to participate more fully in society. Every person in structured drug treatment has a personal care plan based on an assessment of their needs, which maps out the steps they will take towards recovery. It covers their drug use, health, social functioning, criminal involvement, housing, employment and any other barrier to recovery.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce a Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator to address the growing number of hospital admissions attributable to iron deficiency anaemia.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Health and Social Care Information Centre make recommendations to NHS England for new indicators for the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Outcomes Indicator set. This process includes a public consultation on potential new indicators and at this stage an indicator on hospital admissions attributable to iron deficiency anaemia could be considered. Any new indicators that are selected by NHS England would be published in the 2016/17 CCG Outcomes Indicator Set during 2016, for commissioners to use them in 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to identifying drug treatment outcomes that may indicate progress towards patient recovery.

Lord Prior of Brampton

A table which shows trend data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System for individuals completing treatment free of dependence for the years 2009-10 to 2014-15 is attached.

For the first time in 2014-15, the annual report brought together information on people receiving specialist interventions for drugs and alcohol. Many people experience problems with both substances and receive interventions for both, and drugs and alcohol services are often commissioned together. The figures therefore include the substance group ‘non-opiate and alcohol’, as well as those seeking services for drug-only related dependency, to ensure all individuals leaving treatment drug-free are captured. This new methodology has been applied to the years prior to 2014-15 to ensure comparable figures.

We have provided both the total numbers leaving treatment successfully free of dependence as well as the numbers that left successfully not using drugs or alcohol at the time of exit (which is a subset of the larger number), as some individuals may, for example, be occasionally drinking when they are discharged but it will have been judged by a clinician to be non-problematic and not dependent use and that therefore they no longer require treatment.

Public Health England will continue to support local authorities to provide effective and efficient drug treatment services, by providing bespoke data to assist the joint strategic needs assessment and to show the effectiveness of the local treatment system, as well as value for money tools, topical briefings, advice on good practice and on the benefits of investing in alcohol and drug treatment. Across the country, councils have already begun to develop new ways to deliver public health, showing that it is possible to deliver better health for local people and also better value for the taxpayer.

The evidence-base for the effectiveness of drug treatment is robust, with United Kingdom and international evidence showing that treatment provides value for money, improves public health and reduces crime.

The Building Recovery strand of the Government’s Drug Strategy recognises the importance of non-medical interventions, such as recovery networks, employment, housing, family support and reduced re-offending, in helping people recover and to participate more fully in society. Every person in structured drug treatment has a personal care plan based on an assessment of their needs, which maps out the steps they will take towards recovery. It covers their drug use, health, social functioning, criminal involvement, housing, employment and any other barrier to recovery.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Treasury is working with the Department of Health on the implementation of the sugar levy, and if so, how.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

There are ongoing discussions between HM Treasury and the Department of Health on the implementation of the soft drinks industry levy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timetable for (1) the completion, and (2) the publication, of the hepatitis C improvement framework.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Completion and publication dates for the hepatitis C framework have not yet been confirmed. In the meantime, Public Health England continues working with NHS England and Operational Development Networks to establish a process of monitoring treatment access and uptake.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, to date, how many patients have commenced treatment under NHS England’s commissioning policy for the treatment of cirrhosis in adults with hepatitis C, and how much that commissioning policy has cost.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has invested in two policies enabling access to some of the new treatments (in advance of the publication of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisals) for patients with hepatitis C with the greatest clinical need.

NHS England’s Interim Clinical Commissioning Policy Statement of April 2014 provided an Early Access Scheme for around 1,000 patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Then in June 2015, NHS England extended that policy so the next group of patients with the greatest clinical need, those with cirrhosis, could also benefit from the new Direct Acting Antivirals. A copy of both of these policies has been attached.

Between publication of the cirrhosis policy in June and 19 October, NHS England received over 1,900 notifications of decisions to treat under the policy. These notifications are submitted by treating clinicians and confirm that patients meet the policy criteria.

In order to confirm the actual cost of this policy, NHS England needs to complete a process of validating treatment notifications against actual trust reported activity and invoicing data on dispensed drugs. These data sources are submitted at different times and so an accurate assessment of the cost of the policy to date will not be able to be possible until the end of the year. Any data shared on the cost of the policy will need to observe commercial in confidence pricing agreements.

Based on preliminary modelling, NHS England set aside £190 million in 2015-16 for the treatment of hepatitis C.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Individual Funding Requests NHS England received in (1) 2013–14, (2) 2014–15, and (3) 2015–16 to date, and how many of those requests were accepted in each year.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised the following:

‒ In 2013-14, 1,283 Individual Funding Requests were received, of which 280 were accepted.

‒ In 2014-15, 1,436 Individual Funding Requests were received of which 535 were accepted.

‒ In 2015-16 (up to September 2015), 560 Individual Funding Requests were received of which 163 were accepted.