Tag: Cheryl Gillan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who will be eligible to apply for the High Speed 2 (a) Community and Environment Fund and (b) Business and Local Economy Fund.

Andrew Jones

The Community and Environment Fund is open to constituted community groups along the Phase One route, including registered charities, community interest companies and Local Authorities. The Business and Local Economy Fund is open to organisations that represent the collective business community of areas along the Phase One route, such as Chambers of Commerce, Business Improvement Districts, Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2015 to Question 10736, on autism diagnosis waiting times, what plans his Department has in place to centrally collect clinical commissioning group waiting times data.

Alistair Burt

The Department does not collect clinical commissioning group (CCG) data for routine accountability purposes as it is for NHS England to assess the performance of each CCG to ensure that they are commissioning safe, high quality and cost effective services, to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Public Health England is however commissioned by the Department to collect self-assessment data from local authorities and their partners on how the Autism Strategy is being implemented locally. The next exercise will commence in the spring of 2016 and this will include consideration of waiting times in local authority areas.

NHS England has been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Services Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism in children to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide ‘real time’ data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this.

For details of the position in Fleetwood and Lancaster in relation to autism diagnostic waiting times I refer to the answer given on 28 October 2015 to Question 12595.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2015 to Question 11101, on what dates his Department plans to begin and end its consultation on its mandate to NHS England.

George Freeman

A public consultation on the Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2016/17 launched on 29 October 2015. The mandate sets the Government’s objectives for NHS England, as well as its budget. The consultation document sets out our proposed approach and the strategic priorities that will form the new mandate.

The consultation closes on 23 November, and the mandate will be finalised in light of responses and the outcome of the Government’s Spending Review, ahead of publication in December.

To find out more and submit a consultation response go to:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/setting-the-mandate-to-nhs-england-for-2016-to-2017

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the waiting times standards for mental health services under development by NHS England include indicators relating to autism diagnosis waiting times.

Alistair Burt

The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

NHS England has also been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this. Information on average waiting times for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area is not collected centrally.

The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and NHS organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This guidance sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies including general practitioners.

We are due to consult on how we set the mandate to NHS England prior to publication of the mandate itself. The mandate will be published following the Government’s Spending Review which is due to complete on 25 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England relating to autism diagnosis waiting times.

Alistair Burt

The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

NHS England has also been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this. Information on average waiting times for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area is not collected centrally.

The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and NHS organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This guidance sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies including general practitioners.

We are due to consult on how we set the mandate to NHS England prior to publication of the mandate itself. The mandate will be published following the Government’s Spending Review which is due to complete on 25 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that regulations and guidance under the Care Act 2014 are compatible with the Autism Act 2009 and existing autism strategies and autism statutory guidance.

Norman Lamb

The core principles of the Care Act 2014 and the regulations and statutory guidance which supports its implementation are to maintain the wellbeing of people who have care and support needs; support them in living independent lives; and ensuring there is a vibrant market to offer choice on how their needs might be met. These enhance the areas of action set out in the 2010 Autism Strategy and reaffirmed recently in Think Autism.

The Act will require local authorities to ensure all assessors are appropriately trained to carry out assessments. This builds on the statutory guidance Implementing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives which followed the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy for England, and which required autism awareness training to be available to all staff working in health and social care and specialist training for those in key roles that have a direct impact on access to services for adults with autism.

Due to the complexities of assessing people who are deafblind, regulations under the Act will require their assessments to be carried out by a specialist assessor. One of the questions in the consultation document is whether specialist assessors should be required to carry out the assessment of people with other conditions, such as autism, and to explain why this should be the case. Based on the evidence we receive through the consultation we will consider if this requirement should be extended to other conditions.

The draft regulations and guidance were co-produced with stakeholders, and this included engaging with the National Autistic Society. The public consultation runs until 15 August 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Care Act 2014 Part I regulations are compatible with the revised Adult Autism Strategy (a) in general and (b) in relation to autism training for community care assessors.

Norman Lamb

The core principles of the Care Act 2014 and the regulations and statutory guidance which supports its implementation are to maintain the wellbeing of people who have care and support needs; support them in living independent lives; and ensuring there is a vibrant market to offer choice on how their needs might be met. These enhance the areas of action set out in the 2010 Autism Strategy and reaffirmed recently in Think Autism.

The Act will require local authorities to ensure all assessors are appropriately trained to carry out assessments. This builds on the statutory guidance Implementing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives which followed the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy for England, and which required autism awareness training to be available to all staff working in health and social care and specialist training for those in key roles that have a direct impact on access to services for adults with autism.

Due to the complexities of assessing people who are deafblind, regulations under the Act will require their assessments to be carried out by a specialist assessor. One of the questions in the consultation document is whether specialist assessors should be required to carry out the assessment of people with other conditions, such as autism, and to explain why this should be the case. Based on the evidence we receive through the consultation we will consider if this requirement should be extended to other conditions.

The draft regulations and guidance were co-produced with stakeholders, and this included engaging with the National Autistic Society. The public consultation runs until 15 August 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many services for adults with autism are commissioned under the Payments by Results framework.

Norman Lamb

National Tariff prices are published primarily for acute care, and relate to procedure undertaken, not the diagnosis of the patient receiving the treatment. Information is not collected on the number of services within the scope of the National Tariff that have been provided to adults with autism.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on diagnosing food allergy in children and young people in a primary care and unit setting are adhered to by general practitioners.

Dr Daniel Poulter

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline, Food allergy in children and young people, published in 2011, sets out best practice on the care treatment and support for children and young people with food allergy. NICE clinical guidelines are designed to support healthcare professionals in their work, but they do not replace their knowledge and skills and experience in deciding how best to manage patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether a local planning authority which rejects a housing development application which is subsequently approved on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate are still eligible for the New Homes Bonus.

Kris Hopkins

Yes.