Tag: Craig Tracey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to require health commissioners to make publicly available information on how they commission palliative care for children and young people across their locality.

Ben Gummer

A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure provision of sustainable and long-term funding for (a) children’s hospice sector and (b) other voluntary sector end-of-life care services.

Ben Gummer

A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that all health and social care staff involved in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions receive specialist training.

Ben Gummer

A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many emergency traveller sites there are in England; and how many of those sites are operational.

Brandon Lewis

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect or publish data on emergency traveller sites.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure people who smoke have access to (a) heat-not-burn tobacco and e-cigarettes and (b) other smoking cessation products.

Jane Ellison

The Government’s advice remains that the best thing a smoker can do is to quit and quit for good. Any smokers wanting to quit, with or without the help of products available on the market, are further advised to seek expert support and advice from their local stop smoking service. Smokers using the personalised support offered by stop smoking services are four times more likely to stop smoking and quit for good.

We recognise that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) help some smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. Public Health England has been working with Local Stop Smoking Services encouraging them to be open to the use of e-cigarettes, where clients choose to use them to support their quit attempts, alone or alongside other nicotine replacement therapies and the behavioural therapy that the services offer.

The forthcoming tobacco control plan will consider the role of e-cigarettes and other harm reduction products in further reducing the prevalence of smoking in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has to reform UK Trade and Investment.

Greg Hands

UKTI’s functions have been elevated and integrated into the Department for International Trade. In line with the Secretary of State’s ambitious plans, we will focus resource on 191 priority global high-value export campaigns, and 250 campaigns for Foreign Direct Investment. We are also creating new, targeted digital support services and working closely with an increasing breadth of commercial partners to drive both export value, and the number of UK companies exporting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether students aged over 18 years in higher education are separately identified as an element in the sub-national population and household projections by the Office of National Statistics.

Chris Skidmore

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 Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend national planning policies so that development of land designated as Green Belt will be resisted until the implications of the UK exiting the EU, and its effect on population and household projections, have been fully assessed and new projections issued for the use of local planning authorities.

Gavin Barwell

In line with our manifesto commitment, the government is committed to strong protection of Green Belt land. Local authorities are responsible for designating Green Belt land, as explained in our National Planning Policy Framework. Only in exceptional circumstances may a local authority alter a Green Belt boundary. Applications for most types of development within the Green Belt are inappropriate and should be refused permission except in very special circumstances. Latest figures for 2015-16 show Green Belt continuing to cover around 13 per cent of England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will issue guidance on whether local authorities with significant student populations in their areas should identify the student population separately for the purpose of calculating the full objectively assessed need for housing in their areas in preparation of Local Plans and in estimating the five-year supply of land for housing.

Gavin Barwell

The National Planning Policy Framework asks local authorities to assess their full housing needs and identify the scale and mix of housing and the range of tenures that the local population is likely to need over the plan period. Our planning guidance sets out a clear methodology for assessing development needs for housing and is clear that local authorities should plan for sufficient student accommodation in their area, including through engaging with universities and other higher educational establishments. It is for local authorities to establish a robust housing evidence base to justify their proposed approach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in relation to the sub-national population and household projections, if he will review with the Office of National Statistics, the methods of recording and counting of students as an element of the population in local authority areas having significant student populations.

Mr Marcus Jones

DCLG uses the Office of National Statistics (ONS) population projections to produce the household projections. Students are not counted as a separate population in the ONS mid-year population estimates or the ONS population projections. The ONS maintains responsibility for how these statistics are produced, and DCLG have no plans to review the methods used to produce these statistics.