Tag: Baroness Randerson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce mandatory training on disability awareness for bus drivers, and if so, when.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We do not plan to mandate disability awareness training for bus drivers at this time. Disability Awareness Training remains available to all drivers as part of the periodic Certificate of Professional Competence training syllabus and the industry has reported that virtually all drivers have now undertaken the training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what incentives and performance targets exist to encourage HM Prison Service to improve rates of testing for hepatitis C among prisoners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Improving the proactive detection, surveillance and management of infectious diseases in prisons is a shared priority for the National Offender Management Service, NHS England and Public Health England, as described in the Second National Partnership Agreement published earlier this year. A copy is attached.

Included within this work programme is implementation of the blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme for people in prisons, which includes testing for Hepatitis C virus infection as well as Hepatitis B virus and HIV.

The ambition is to have BBV opt-out testing in all adult prisons in England by end of the financial year 2016-17.

While there are currently no financial incentives or direct performance targets, performance in this activity is measured by NHS England through the collection of data via the Health & Justice Indicators of Performance. The data are used by NHS England commissioners to performance manage healthcare providers in prisons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their strategy for rolling stock specifies the need for new diesel rolling stock to serve the rail lines not specified for electrification, and if so, how will they ensure that an adequate supply of new diesel rolling stock is manufactured and procured.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The success of the railways today, with additional services, greater passenger demand and significant Government investment, means that there will be a need for the future deployment of new or cascaded diesel units.

We believe that the franchising programme delivers the best solution for bidders to specify rolling stock to meet the required outputs. A proportion of the available quality points from the franchise evaluation are dedicated to plans for rolling stock. This means that bidders have every incentive to look for solutions, including new, when providing trains for a franchise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why NHS England has decided to restrict hepatitis C treatment, with providers subject to a financial penalty if they do not keep within specified numbers, despite those treatments being approved as cost-effective by NICE.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) specifically requires Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to prioritise hepatitis C patients on the basis of highest unmet clinical need, as part of a progressive rollout of treatments over the next five years.

NHS England is funding providers to treat patients at the rate outlined in NICE’s guidance, Technology Appraisals 363, 364 and 365, apportioned to local ODNs based on local health needs. Copies of these Technology Appraisals are attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in setting up an action group to develop schemes for journey time improvements with the new East Anglia franchise operator, as recommended by the West Anglia Taskforce in order to support growth along that route.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The first meeting of the West Anglia Main Line Action Group took place on 13 September, with representatives of the rail industry and stakeholders along the line. Good progress was made on how the group will work together going forward in order to support growth along the route.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still intend to publish their Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy in summer 2016.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Department for Transport is in the early stages of developing its first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) with the intention to publish by summer 2016 following a public consultation on the draft in spring 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still plan to progress the South East Flexible Ticketing programme; and if not, why not.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme is proceeding with contractual obligations for five train operators who run commuter services into London. Together, these five train operators cover 73% of the annual season ticket market. We are discussing with the Rail Delivery Group and the remaining train operators the best and quickest way to deliver smart and more flexible ticketing for commuters in the south east.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5795), when NHS England’s plan for future hepatitis C funding will be finalised, how many patients will be able to access hepatitis C treatment via NHS England’s plan for future hepatitis C funding, and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of NHS England’s plan once it is finalised.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Based on the modelling produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS England has set out the NHS planning assumptions for hepatitis C in March 2016 for the financial year 2016/17. We understand that this has been shared with Members of Parliament and noble Lords, operational delivery networks, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders.

An expected 6,500 patients will have been treated for the 12 months ending March 2016. NHS England and providers are planning for 10,000 patients to be treated in the 12 months from April 2016 to March 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the political and human rights situation in Uganda following the election earlier this year.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

I commend the people of Uganda for turning out in large numbers to cast their vote on 18 February 2016 and for their determination to participate in the electoral process. President Museveni was inaugurated on 12 May 2016. With the new cabinet in place, it is important for the Government of Uganda to refocus its efforts on domestic and regional issues. The British Government has raised concerns with the Government of Uganda about the conduct of the elections and the post-election environment, most recently during Article 8 discussions on 28 June 2016. These include the continuing harassment and intimidation of members of the opposition and journalists by the Uganda Police Force.

With international partners, we seek to work with the Government of Uganda to ensure human rights are respected in the country and to aid substantive electoral reform. Where human rights disputes are raised these must be addressed through appropriate legal channels.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work they are undertaking to implement the Airports Commission recommendations for surface transport improvements to Stansted to make the best use of existing capacity at London’s airports, to encourage more people to travel by rail, and to reduce emissions.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

In its National Infrastructure Plan of December 2013, the government confirmed that it would be taking forward the surface access measures recommended by the Airports Commission to make best use of existing capacity at London airports.

For Stansted, work to examine potential upgrades to rail infrastructure between London, Stansted and Cambridge has been taken forward by the West Anglia Taskforce, which was established by the government and the Mayor of London to consider this issue and the benefits it might generate.

The Taskforce published its recommendations and a suggested timetable for action in July.

Rail services to Stansted will also be enhanced through the new East Anglia franchise. This will bring a number of improvements for passengers travelling to the airport, including new trains with free Wi-Fi from February 2019 and a minimum 12.5% reduction in anytime return fares and anytime single fares on the Stansted Express by early 2017. By early 2018, passengers will be able to purchase tickets via a dedicated Stansted Express website, to be delivered to their mobile devices for validation. There is flexibility within the new franchise for the train operator to introduce services to different parts of London if market demand for this emerges.