Tag: Dan Jarvis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with which local authorities her Department has held discussions on the possibility of local authorities running multi-academy trusts.

Edward Timpson

Regional Schools Commissioners discuss the options for schools to convert to academy status with local authorities on a regular basis – and in the case of underperforming schools in particular, those discussions focus on which multi-academy trusts are the most effective way of securing sustainable improvement.

The White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere makes clear that we want to ensure that we make best use of talented staff currently within local authorities to establish or join multi-academy trusts. Our discussions with local authorities will continue to look at the options available to harness that talent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will direct the NHS to review its decision on the expansion of access to pre-exposure prophylaxis treatment for people most at risk of contracting HIV.

Jane Ellison

NHS England’s Specialised Services Commissioning Committee (SSCC) have considered and accepted NHS England’s external legal advice that it does not have the legal power to commission pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). However, work on PrEP is ongoing and up to £2 million will be invested in a pilot programme to target those at highest risk over the course of two years.

Public Health England is working to identify the most effective locations for the introduction of this pilot. The Department will be discussing future commissioning with stakeholders.

PrEP is a new use of HIV drugs which has shown effectiveness in research trials at preventing HIV in people at high risk of getting HIV such as men who have sex with men and people with HIV-positive partners. The drug used in United Kingdom trials, Truvada, is not yet licenced for use as PrEP. As with any new intervention, PrEP now needs to be properly assessed in relation to clinical and cost effectiveness to see how it could be commissioned in the most sustainable and integrated way and how it compares with other cost-effective approaches.

Our £2.4 million national HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion Programme also gives those at highest risk the best advice to make safer choices about sex.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote breast cancer awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2016.

David Mowat

Public Health England will support Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2016 with social media activity. The Be Clear on Cancer Breast Cancer materials are freely available online via the Campaign Resource Centre at:

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/

A campaign on heart and lung diseases including cancer is currently ongoing and will conclude on 15 October.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of people aged between 18 and 25 who have taken a gap year over the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Department does not hold this information.

Local Authorities hold data on NEETS (not in employment, education or training) but this data does not specify those on gap years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of fixing recoverable costs in medical negligence cases to a maximum of £250,000 on the accountability of the NHS to the public.

Ben Gummer

Over the past 10 years claimant legal costs as a percentage of damages paid by the National Health Service have increased from 32% to 52%. We believe that claimant legal costs are disproportionate to the value of the damages paid, sometimes representing up to 299% for lower value claims, and disproportionate to the defendant costs. Ultimately this all comes out money for front line services. The proposal for fixed recoverable cost in lower value clinical negligence claims was suggested by Lord Justice Jackson in his report Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales.

The Department is working closely with partners and interested parties to develop a proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims. The Department’s proposal in the consultation is a maximum threshold level of £250,000, based on Lord Justice Jackson’s original proposal and with a view to covering at least 80% of all claims. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors. The results of a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and the consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances.

The level of potential savings will ultimately depend upon the final maximum threshold level proposed. By making legal costs proportionate to the damages paid we would hope to save circa £80 million per annum. The Department is also working with various clinical groups looking at how the current level of incidents can be reduced. In terms of maternity our target to reduce avoidable harm by 50% and save 6,000 lives.

The Department sees the fixed recoverable cost work as part of an overall strategic approach aimed at improving patient safety, improving customer care and improving litigation. Improving patient safety and reducing the incidents of harm is a key element of this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will deploy the RAF to provide humanitarian support to the people of Syria through the use of air drops.

Penny Mordaunt

The UN, the Red Cross Movement and Non-Governmental Organisation partners have the mandate and expertise to deliver an appropriate response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Any UK response would work to the same principles by which the UN operates. We would not use air drops when there is ground access particularly in the circumstances of western Syria, where there are no assurances about the safety of delivering humanitarian assistance by air. Nor would the UK undermine humanitarian agencies by providing duplicate aid through air drops, in the absence of full coordination with all agencies on the ground.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Indian government on the case of Nick Dunn, Billy Irving, Ray Tindall, Paul Towers, John Armstrong and Nicholas Simpson.

Mr Hugo Swire

I refer the hon. Member my answer of 14 January to Parliamentary Question 21057.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of the apprentices employed by his Department in the last 12 months were women.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Apprentices are part of the Civil Service Fasttrack Apprenticeship programme. The programme is managed by Civil Service Resourcing (CSR) who recruit apprentices to the programme and then allocate them to the Department. Recruitment of individual apprentices is not managed by the Department. A total of 18 apprentices were allocated to BIS in the latest recruitment round, out of a total of 684 recommended for appointment. 26% of apprentices allocated to BIS in the last 12 months were female. The figure is 40.6% for apprentices recommended for appointment in the wider apprenticeship programme. CSR have a comprehensive diversity and inclusion outreach programme supporting the Fasttrack Apprenticeship programme.

BIS is committed to equal opportunities. 49% of BIS staff are female.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he next plans to attend a meeting of the National Infrastructure Commission.

Greg Hands

The agenda for meetings of the National Infrastructure Commission is set by its interim Chair, Lord Adonis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department received from the European Social Fund between (a) 2007 and 2014 and (b) 2014 and the last month for which data is available.

Priti Patel

DWP, as a European Social Fund co-financing organisation, received £303,861,761 between January 2007 and December 2013; and £96,331,501 between January 2014 and March 2016 from the 2007-13 European Social Fund programme. The money was used to fund providers to deliver support to help unemployed people improve their employability and move into work.

Please note that these figures represent England only as responsibility for ESF is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.