Tag: Bridget Phillipson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department plans to allocate £2.4 million for the security measures at vulnerable faith institutions in Action Against Hate: the UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime, published in July 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton

Places of worship that have been subject to, or are vulnerable to, hate crime attacks can bid for protective security measures such as CCTV cameras, perimeter fencing, access control equipment, locks and alarms. The criteria for the scheme and guidance on how to apply are published on Gov.UK.

285 bids were received for this years scheme which closed on 4 October. Applications which meet the scheme criteria are assessed by an independent advisory panel which recommends those which should be funded. The panel will consider this years applications on 25 October 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will give consideration to introducing the testing of (a) night-time and (b) motorway driving as mandatory components of the driving test.

Andrew Jones

Current legislation requires the eyesight element of the practical driving test to be conducted in good daylight and prohibits learner drivers from motorways. The learning to drive and testing processes are, however, kept under review. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is currently trialling a series of potential changes aimed at encouraging learner drivers to obtain a wider range of driving experience prior to the practical driving test. This will include driving on roads which require a higher speed and other varying traffic situations. DVSA is also developing clips that depict hazards related to driving at night for inclusion in the hazard perception element of the theory test.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to improve out-of-hour services for palliative care.

Ben Gummer

This Government is committed to improving the quality of palliative care. Earlier this year, the Review of Choice in End of Life Care made a number of recommendations on how to enable greater choice and improve quality in palliative and end of life care nationally, including on the provision of out-of-hour palliative care services.

We agree with the vision set out by the Review and are working with NHS England and others to see how this can best be achieved. We intend to respond to the Review recommendations in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the quality of palliative care.

Ben Gummer

This Government is committed to improving the quality of palliative care. Earlier this year, the Review of Choice in End of Life Care made a number of recommendations on how to enable greater choice and improve quality in palliative and end of life care nationally, including on the provision of out-of-hour palliative care services.

We agree with the vision set out by the Review and are working with NHS England and others to see how this can best be achieved. We intend to respond to the Review recommendations in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of funding available to NHS palliative care in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Sunderland in (i) 2014 and (ii) 2015.

Ben Gummer

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following table.

Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Expenditure on End of Life Care, 2013/14 (£ million)

All CCGs in England	472.75
North East CCGs	24.35
NHS Sunderland CCG	2.52

Source: Programme Budgeting Collection, NHS England

Notes:

1. CCG expenditure on end of life care was collected for the first time on an experimental basis as part of the 2013/14 Programme Budgeting Collection. The data is published in the Programme Budgeting benchmarking tool on the NHS England website. Data for 2014/15 is currently being collected and is not yet available.
2. “End of life care” expenditure in this data collection refers to expenditure on specialist palliative care and hospice care.
3. “North East CCGs” includes the following CCGs: NHS Darlington CCG, NHS Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield CCG, NHS Gateshead CCG, NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees CCG, NHS Newcastle North and East CCG, NHS Newcastle West CCG, NHS North Durham CCG, NHS North Tyneside CCG, NHS Northumberland CCG, NHS South Tees CCG, NHS South Tyneside CCG, and NHS Sunderland CCG.
4. Data quality: The Programme Budgeting Collection currently contains experimental data. The quality of the data included in the Programme budgeting collection varies by CCG and certain CCGs’ data quality issues may have an impact on the ability to benchmark expenditure with other CCGs. Full details of data quality for each CCG are available on the NHS England website at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of changes in police officer numbers on the ability of police to respond to anti-social behaviour.

Mike Penning

The number of police recorded incidents of anti-social behaviour has declined year-on-year from 2.7 million incidents in 2011/12 to 1.9 million in the year ending June 2015. The number of anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by police in England and Wales in the year ending June 2015 decreased by 9% compared with the previous year. However, we recognise that anti-social behaviour continues to blight too many communities. This is why new and more flexible powers were introduced in the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 to make it quicker and easier for police forces and local authorities to protect communities from unacceptable behaviour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will examine evidence from Scotland on the effects of a lower drink-drive limit; and if he will make it his policy to equalise the limit in England.

Andrew Jones

Tackling drink driving is a priority for this Government and we have continued to focus on tough enforcement. In April 2015 legislation was introduced through the De-Regulation Act which removed the automatic right for drivers who fail a breathalyser test to demand a blood or urine test. This has denied people the chance to sober up while waiting for the test to be taken. Also, ‘High Risk Offenders’ are now required to prove that they are no longer alcohol-dependent before being allowed to drive.

I would be interested to see a robust and comprehensive evaluation of the change to the Scottish drink drive limit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeships are available in the North East; and how many applicants for such apprenticeships from disadvantaged backgrounds (a) secured and (b) completed apprenticeships in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Boles

Information on the number of apprenticeship starts (first link) and achievements (second link) in the North East is published online at the FE Data Library:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/438150/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/378238/apprenticeships-achievements-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

We do not centrally collect information on the number of apprenticeship applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds who secure and complete an apprenticeship.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures his Department is taking to improve social care quality.

Alistair Burt

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 13 October 2015 to Question 10428.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is on making the drug Keyruda available for cancer treatment in the NHS.

George Freeman

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of advanced melanoma, which has spread or cannot be removed by surgery and has progressed after other treatments, is the first drug to be given a positive scientific opinion through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS). NHS England has undertaken to fund the use of EAMS products routinely within 30 days of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance being published.

NICE published final guidance on pembrolizumab on 7 October 2015 which recommends its use for the treatment of advanced melanoma after disease progression with ipilimumab.

NICE is also appraising pembrolizumab for advanced melanoma that has not been previously treated with ipilimumab and published final draft guidance which recommends its use on 9 October 2015. NICE’s final guidance is expected to be published in November 2015.