Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of primary school starting age on (a) intellectual development, (b) social mobility and (c) results in (i) GCSE and (ii) A-level examinations.

Elizabeth Truss

Formal school starting ages vary across OECD member states. However it is useful to compare the state provision of education for young children prior to the start of compulsory education as the majority of children in OECD countries have entered the education system at a young age – participation rates in formal childcare and pre-school are broadly similar across Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Research indicates that most countries have published curricula governing the provision of early years education from the ages four to six years which are consistent in their use of learning objectives and expected outcomes. The Department has commissioned the OECD to carry out an international review of pedagogy and practice in the early years to investigate this issue further. We anticipate a report in autumn 2014.

Research has demonstrated that all-round development is enhanced for those children attending nursery compared to those who don’t before starting school. This suggests that attending a formal learning environment from an earlier age is typically beneficial. Furthermore duration in nursery matters, with every month of nursery experience after age two years linked to better intellectual development and improved independence, concentration and sociability at age five with a continued effect at Key Stage 1.

High quality early years education will help close the attainment gap that already exists by the beginning of primary school between disadvantaged children and their peers. Evidence is clear that children’s learning and development in their early years is crucial to later attainment. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project found that high quality early years education is a strong predictor of achievement in English and mathematics later on in school.

We cannot provide the information requested on representations on this topic. The Department receives a huge volume of mail and representations on education and children’s issues. There would be a disproportionate cost to providing a response in this case.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to maintain the quality of services provided by children and adolescent mental health services in the UK.

Norman Lamb

NHS England has responsibility for commissioning Tier 4 (in-patient) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Tiers 1-3 CAMHS are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). There are a number of measures in place to ensure the quality of Tier 4 CAMHS provided by companies:

– All providers of CAMHS need to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

– National service specifications have been developed for Tier 4 CAMHS to which all service providers are required to adhere. These are used as part of the standard National Health Service contract. A copy of these documents can be found on NHS England’s website and accessed via the following links:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-c/c07/

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/c07-tier4ch-ado-mh-aut.pdf

– All providers are monitored against the standard contract through evidence based contract meetings. NHS England and the CQC may also undertake visits to the units to assess the quality of service being delivered.

– Where concerns or issues are raised about a particular unit, such matters are referred to the Area Team Quality Surveillance Group, chaired by Directors of Nursing, for consideration and discussion.

– Where there is significant cause for concern, NHS England may restrict or stop referrals to a particular unit. In extreme circumstances, the CQC has the powers to de-register a provider from being able to provide CAMH Services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many men have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd

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 Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of projected ticket prices for rail passengers using the High Speed 2 rail line.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In order to test the case for HS2, current fares were assumed to increase by RPI+1% annually until 2036 after which fares are assumed to grow in line with inflation. No fares differential was applied to services using the high speed infrastructure. This is an assumption which provides an appropriate basis for modelling costs and benefits, but does not represent a prediction of future rail fares, which will be affected by government policy, market and industry changes across the GB rail network over many years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from (a) research bodies and academics, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) people at high risk for prostate cancer and prostate cancer patients about accessibility of early prostate cancer screenings.

Jane Ellison

The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) Scientific Reference Group (SRG) keeps the evidence on prostate cancer screening under review, and has not yet seen compelling evidence that screening should be offered to high risk groups.

The PCRMP is in place to ensure that men over 50 without symptoms of prostate cancer can have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test free on the national health service after careful consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the test and after a discussion with a general practitioner.

The patient information sheets on PSA testing make it clear that the risk of prostate cancer is greater for men with a familial history of prostate cancer and black-African and black-Caribbean men.

The National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) previously highlighted the increased risk of prostate cancer in black men through the ‘Cancer Does Not Discriminate’ campaign, including distributing over 200,000 health supplements and an editorial in The Voice newspaper.

In 2011, the Department, NCAT, North East London Cancer Network and Prostate Cancer UK worked with NHS Newham and Barts Health Care Trust to pilot the Newham Prostate Health Drop-in Clinic at the Newham African-Caribbean Resource Centre. 322 men had a consultation at the clinic, 59 were referred to secondary care and nine new diagnoses of early stage prostate cancer were made.

The learning gained from a formal evaluation of the pilot was shared widely with stakeholders within London and across England, including NHS England. The pilot won the in the 2013 Civil Service Diversity and Equality Award for Understanding and engaging with communities.

The Department is represented on the multi-disciplinary PCRMP SRG and the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group, along with representatives from clinicians, professional bodies, academics, the voluntary sector and patient groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to publish information on ticket pricing for High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There are currently no plans to publish information relating to the likely structure or level of ticket prices for journeys using the HS2 railway following the opening of HS2 Phase One in 2026 and beyond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-05-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides to clinical commissioning groups about engagement with Local Safeguarding Children Boards.

Dr Daniel Poulter

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are statutory members of Local Safeguarding Children Boards under section 13 of the Children Act 2004, as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The inter-agency statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children, published by the Department for Education in 2013, describes the functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards and the responsibilities of member organisations.

NHS England published its Safeguarding Vulnerable People in the Reformed NHS: Accountability and Assurance Framework in 2013 to complement the statutory guidance and support CCGs and other National Health Service organisations in fulfilling their safeguarding responsibilities.