Tag: Carolyn Harris

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been for owning a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last two years.

George Eustice

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for possession, without exemption, of a prohibited dog, in England and Wales from 2013 to 2014 (latest available), can be viewed in the table below.

Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for possession, without exemption, of a prohibited dog (1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2014 (2)(3)

2013	2014
232	216

(1) An offence under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice.

Ref: PQC 599-15 to PQ 16503

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to support charities in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace

Support for charities is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Government does however, support the Big Lottery Fund (BIG), which plays a vital role in supporting the charity sector in Northern Ireland.

The Chancellor announced in the Spending Review that BIG’s funding will be maintained and Northern Ireland will receive £27.3m.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department is undertaking on the use and effects of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.

Andrew Selous

We do not tolerate drugs in prison. There is a wide-ranging programme of work being undertaken by NOMS and its partners to better understand and to tackle the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which have a particularly destructive effect in prisons.

In April we will introduce widespread drug testing of prisoners for NPS, we are training sniffer dogs to detect NPS, and we are also working with Health partners and others to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison. We have a comprehensive range of security measures in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken in the last 12 months to improve access to off-patent, repurposed drugs; and what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of those steps.

George Freeman

Our policy on generic prescribing has been in place for a number of years. The policy helps ensure that patients can access the medicine that best meets their needs and it has been a key driver in the National Health Service making maximum use of off-patent drugs which are also known as generics. We have the best prescribing rate for these drugs in Europe.

To support clinicians who may want to prescribe a product off-label for a patient to and improve the flow of research evidence into clinical practice, the Department hosted a Roundtable Event in February 2015. Attendees included the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Breast Cancer Now and other charities and discussions helped determine those non-legislative measures that could be undertaken. The Government is committed to this work and is holding a further roundtable event with charities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the level of compliance with regulations on electrical safety in care homes in England.

Justin Tomlinson

There has been no recent assessment of the level of compliance with the regulations on electrical safety in care homes in England by the Health and Safety Executive, Local Authorities or the Care Quality Commission.

There is general guidance for dutyholders on expected electrical standards on the HSE website http://www.hse.gov.uk/index.htm and specific guidance for social care in HSE publication Health and Safety in Care homes chapter 4. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg220.htm.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training is available for prison officers in dealing with inmates who are under the influence of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.

Ben Gummer

Public Heath England has produced guidance to support healthcare and operational staff in prisons in England manage the impact of new psychoactive substances on the health and wellbeing of prisoners and staff and help staff manage security. This guidance is available at:

http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nps-manual-final.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department’s Accelerated Access Review will consider issues relating to the routine availability of off-patent, repurposed drugs.

George Freeman

The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.

Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.

The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.

Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.

The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.

The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-02-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds

HM Treasury has not carried out any assessment of the overall economic impact of gaming machines. The Gambling Commission regularly publishes a range of statistics relating to the gambling industry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the role of betting shop staff and their recognition of excluded customers in the betting shop multi-operator self-exclusion scheme.

David Evennett

The Betting Shop multi-operator self-exclusion scheme came into force across the whole betting sector on 6 April following successful pilots in Chatham, Glasgow and London. Self-exclusion is an important harm minimisation tool designed to provide greater protection to players who require assistance to manage their gambling. The Gambling Commission will continue to assess how well self exclusion schemes are being delivered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to ensure that there will be sufficient childcare places in place by April 2017 for pre-school aged children of parents who will be expected to seek work from that date under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

Priti Patel

We expect the childcare market to adapt and expand as it has done so successfully in the past. There has been an increase of 230,000 places since 2009 and a significant increase in the take up of childcare provision in low and middle income areas. To support that continued growth and build capacity in the sector, the government has made capital funding available to create nursery provision as part of new Free Schools which will create at least 4,000 places. This government has supported existing providers to expand by reducing bureaucracy and making it easier for providers such as childminders and schools, to provide places and will continue to do so. In addition, we are trialling innovative ways of providing the extended entitlement next year, in particular to look at how the childcare can be provided more flexibly to suit the needs of working parents and increase choice. So far, there have been over one thousand expressions of interest to take part in the early implementation of the extended entitlement.

There is an extensive menu of childcare support in addition to the Department for Education offer including: the Universal Credit Childcare element; Tax-Free Childcare; and help with childcare costs under the Jobcentre Plus Flexible Support Fund to enable parents to undertake training, attend interviews or start work. Work related requirements should be tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Parents should not be asked to undertake work related requirements which they cannot fit around their childcare responsibilities if suitable childcare is not available in their local area.