Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on providing Group B strep tests for new-born babies.

Ben Gummer

Routine testing of babies for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection is not recommended. Therefore, no cost benefit assessment has been made by the Department on providing GBS tests to newborn babies.

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 41 items of correspondence received since 1 January 2015 on GBS. This correspondence relates mainly to offering testing for GBS carriage in pregnancy.

If a woman has previously had a baby with GBS, her maternity team will either monitor the health of her newborn baby closely for at least 12 hours after birth, or treat them with antibiotics until blood tests confirm whether or not GBS is present. The Department’s policy is not to offer antenatal screening for GBS carriage. This is based on advice from the UK National Screening Committee the body responsible for advising Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy, and their advice is because there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits to be gained from screening would outweigh the harms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) his Department and (b) the NHS gives mental health parity of esteem with physical health.

Alistair Burt

We continue to take mental health as seriously as physical health and to hold the National Health Service to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate, ensuring that mental and physical health conditions are given equal priority. The Mandate makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence-based services’.

We have legislated for parity of esteem between mental and physical health via the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

We have already expanded our world-leading psychological therapy services and we have invested over £120 million in order to introduce for the first time waiting times standards for mental health services from April 2015 – a very significant milestone on the road to parity. Next year we will invest £15 million into improving the provision of places of safety, in order to ensure that people in crisis receive assessments in appropriate premises, and not in police custody.

We have made clear that each clinical commissioning group’s (CCG) spending on Mental Health should increase in real terms.

NHS England’s published planning guidance for 2015/16 for commissioners made the expectation clear that each CCGs spend on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least the same percentage as each CCG’s allocation increase.

We will monitor this closely to ensure this happens.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment he has made of uptake and use by the NHS of new treatments for people living with diabetes with health systems in other EU countries.

Jane Ellison

The Office of Health Economics (OHE) report International Comparison of Medicines Usage: Quantitative Analysis, published last year, showed that uptake of newer and more expensive drugs to treat diabetes was lower than comparator countries. However, uptake of more established therapies was considerably higher.

It is important to note that high use of drugs does not mean more people are cured. There are a number of legitimate factors which influence usage, and therefore variation, such as populations with differing health needs. The Research and Development (RAND) Europe report International variation in drugs usage: an exploratory analysis, published at the same time as the OHE report – seeks to define some of these factors and can be found at the link below:

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR800/RR899/RAND_RR899.pdf

Our focus is on tackling unjustified variation where it exists.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to which countries UK weapons manufacturers are prohibited from selling arms.

Anna Soubry

The Government publish on GOV.UK, on a country by country basis, details of sanctions regimes, arms embargoes and restrictions on the export of strategic goods currently implemented by the UK.

Arms embargoes ban the export of ‘arms and related material’. This covers military ammunition, weapons and goods. They may be imposed by a number of organisations, including the UN, the EU or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They may also be imposed at national level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the sale of arms manufactured by UK companies to governments which have committed human rights abuses.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

This Government supports a responsible defence and security industry that helps meet the legitimate defence needs of other states, and contributes to their security and law and order. We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All defence and dual-use exports are required to meet the UK’s strict export control legislation and adhere to the UK international commitments including international treaties and obligations. Each application for an export licence is subject to rigorous case-by-case assessment against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Risks around human rights violations are a key part of our assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to assist disadvantaged children by the provision of free school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The government recognises the benefits of providing a healthy school meal to the most disadvantaged children. Children in England who receive, or whose parents receive, specified benefits[1] are entitled to receive free school meals. Free meals were also extended to disadvantaged students in further education institutions from September 2014.

Since 1 September 2014, state-funded schools in England have been required by law to provide free lunches to all pupils in reception, year one or year two.

The provision of universal infant free school meals was a commitment in the Conservative Party Manifesto.

[1] Income Support (IS); Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA); an income-related employment and support allowance; support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) with an annual income, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), that does not exceed £16,190; the guarantee element of State Pension Credit; or Universal Credit. Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit run-on – the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit -their children are entitled to free school meals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on free school meals for children aged between four and seven.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The government recognises the benefits of providing a healthy school meal to the most disadvantaged children. Children in England who receive, or whose parents receive, specified benefits[1] are entitled to receive free school meals. Free meals were also extended to disadvantaged students in further education institutions from September 2014.

Since 1 September 2014, state-funded schools in England have been required by law to provide free lunches to all pupils in reception, year one or year two.

The provision of universal infant free school meals was a commitment in the Conservative Party Manifesto.

[1] Income Support (IS); Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA); an income-related employment and support allowance; support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) with an annual income, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), that does not exceed £16,190; the guarantee element of State Pension Credit; or Universal Credit. Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit run-on – the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit -their children are entitled to free school meals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to ensure that energy companies do not overcharge consumers.

Andrea Leadsom

Competition is a key element to keeping prices as low as possible. There are now 25 independent suppliers for households to choose from in addition to the 6 largest suppliers, giving more choice than ever before. By switching from the standard tariff to the best fixed deal on the market, many people can save around £200 and some could save more. We have already made it simpler and quicker to switch supplier and are working towards next day switching.

In addition, we supported Ofgem’s reference of the energy markets to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and are committed to implementing any recommendations the CMA deem necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to move the UK’s energy supply to more renewable resources.

Andrea Leadsom

Renewable electricity capacity has trebled since 2010. The most recent step we have taken to support deployment is the introduction of Contracts for Difference, which gives companies long-term revenue certainty and drives down costs for consumers through competition. We will set out our proposals in respect of the next CFD allocation round in due course.

Under existing renewable heat schemes, the Government has supported around 40,000 homes and 12,000 businesses, schools, farms and other organisations with new renewable heating systems. Almost 5 terawatt hours of eligible heat have been generated and paid for under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) at the end of August 2015.

The Government is investing £500 million over the next 5 years in making ultra-low emission vehicles more accessible to families and businesses across the country, and fuel suppliers are already required to meet a 4.75% renewable transport fuel target by ensuring that sustainable biofuel is supplied.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the relative safety, sustainability and threats to the environment of the various types of nuclear reactors used in nuclear power stations, including liquid fluoride thorium reactors.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK’s independent nuclear regulators assess individual nuclear reactor designs proposed for development in the UK. In doing so, their aim is to ensure the safety, security and high environmental standards of nuclear installations in the UK, rather than to compare proposed designs with each other. As yet, no liquid fluoride thorium based designs have been submitted to the UK regulators for such an assessment.