Tag: Cat Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on passenger safety of removing guards and introducing driver-controlled operation on Northern Rail services.

Andrew Jones

The safety of passengers and rail users is paramount on the railway and the Department for Transport would never do anything to put passengers at risk.

This system has already been in safe use on almost a third of rail services in Great Britain for up to 30 years and we think that it can help to improve the service to passengers. By giving responsibility to the driver to operate the doors, the other staff on board the train could provide a better face-to-face service for passengers. Putting this in the wider context of Northern Rail services, unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, this new franchise will deliver more than 2,000 extra services each week, nearly a 40% increase in capacity and the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure patients accessing NHS abortions in England are not harassed by protestors outside NHS hospitals.

Ben Gummer

There have been no representations from National Health Service staff who feel they are being harassed outside NHS buildings by protesters.

Although protesters are democratically entitled to make their views known on abortion and other issues and can do so outside NHS hospitals and other NHS buildings, we would condemn any harassment of NHS staff, patients and others. We would expect NHS trusts, as responsible for providing a safe environment for all using their facilities, to work with the Police and other agencies as appropriate to ensure they have adequate arrangements in place to prevent harassment of staff and patients. If staff are subject to criminal activity such as physical assaults, these should be reported so that employers can take appropriate action.

Currently, NHS trusts have access to Security Incident Reporting Systems which helps NHS Protect measure the nature and scale of security incidents across the NHS, not just those involving physical assaults on staff but also those involving non-physical abuse and theft of/damage to NHS assets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 34277, on disability aids, if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of those delayed days in hospital due to patients waiting for community equipment and adaptions.

Alistair Burt

No estimate has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of delayed days in hospital due to patients waiting for community equipment and adaptions.

The Department collects the unit cost of an excess bed day, which, based on reported costs of stays in hospital beyond statistically derived measures of the expected length of stay for given treatments, was £303 in 2014-15. Whilst this unit cost should generally include only the costs associated with the ward, costing guidance acknowledges that active treatment does continue for some patients. Combining it with information on the number of delayed days would therefore tend to overestimate the gross cost of these delays.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to reduce the financial burden of indemnity costs on general practice.

Alistair Burt

The Department and NHS England committed in the recently published General Practice Forward View to review the current arrangements for indemnity cover for general practitioners. To take this review forward, a General Practice Indemnity Steering Group has been established by the Department with NHS England to look at the rising cost of indemnity, and to bring forward proposals for discussion by the end of July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations she has received on support for charities which provide sexual health advice and services in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace

Support for charities which provide sexual health advice and services in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office have received no representations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost is of each patient who attends a Same Day Walk-In Centre in the Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group area.

Jane Ellison

The data requested are not centrally available. This is a matter for Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis have been recorded in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Lancaster and (d) East Anglia in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison

This information is not collected in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidance, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, published in 2007, estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure NHS staff in England are not harassed by protestors outside hospitals.

Ben Gummer

There have been no representations from National Health Service staff who feel they are being harassed outside NHS buildings by protesters.

Although protesters are democratically entitled to make their views known on abortion and other issues and can do so outside NHS hospitals and other NHS buildings, we would condemn any harassment of NHS staff, patients and others. We would expect NHS trusts, as responsible for providing a safe environment for all using their facilities, to work with the Police and other agencies as appropriate to ensure they have adequate arrangements in place to prevent harassment of staff and patients. If staff are subject to criminal activity such as physical assaults, these should be reported so that employers can take appropriate action.

Currently, NHS trusts have access to Security Incident Reporting Systems which helps NHS Protect measure the nature and scale of security incidents across the NHS, not just those involving physical assaults on staff but also those involving non-physical abuse and theft of/damage to NHS assets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 34987 and the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34792, how much of the £10 million LIBOR fines funding has been allocated to mental health in total; and whether that allocation was made in October 2014 or October 2015.

Mike Penning

The LIBOR funding allocated to support emergency services staff and volunteers was allocated to a variety of charities covering all the emergency services. £4million was allocated to the charity Mind specifically for mental health issues to cover financial years 2014/15 and 2015/16. There were a number of other charities supported who will provide care for a variety of mental and physical symptoms however information is not held centrally on how they allocate their resources.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will conduct a review into the effect of the use of payment intermediaries on pay transparency before the end of 2016.

Nick Boles

This is a complicated issue and we are considering the most appropriate way to ensure more transparency.