Tag: Danny Kinahan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on granting that Institute the power to be able to approve cancer drugs for use off-license.

George Freeman

Clinicians can prescribe any treatment, including an unlicensed product or a product not licensed for a particular indication, which they consider the best available medicine to meet the individual clinical needs of their patient, subject to their primary care organisation agreeing to fund this treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) already produces Evidence Summaries which critically review the best available evidence for significant uses of unlicensed or off-label medicines. They help commissioners and clinicians to make evidence-based prioritisation, treatment and funding decisions where there are no clinically-appropriate licensed alternatives.

Ensuring that patients get timely access to any new treatment, including off-label medicines in new indications, is complex and the Department is committed to working with stakeholders including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the General Medical Council, patient and professional groups, and charities to co-ordinate activities and set plans in place that will make this easier. This includes work to look at more systematic inclusion of off-label uses of drugs in the British National Formulary and development of case studies looking at re-purposed medicines and their pathways from research results into clinical practice.

Alongside these, the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act 2016 will, in due course, provide the National Health Service with a newly created database which will provide a mechanism for collecting and sharing information on innovative treatments including off-label drugs and medicines in development. Now that the Act has received Royal Assent the work to implement its provisions can begin.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals to ring-fence and secure EU infrastructure funding for projects in Northern Ireland when the UK withdraws from the EU.

Mr David Gauke

On 12 August, the Chancellor set out the steps the Treasury was taking to offer reassurance to recipients of EU funding as part of the UK Government’s wider work on the UK’s exit from the EU.

I wrote to the Northern Ireland Finance Minister on the same day, clarifying that the Treasury was offering guarantees in relation to the funding required to cover European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) projects administered by the Executive within its devolved responsibilities, which will have signed contracts or funding arrangements in place in advance of Autumn Statement.

My letter further indicated that the Treasury will consider what procedures to put in place for funding in relation to ESIF projects which are expected to be signed after Autumn Statement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s plans are for the future of RAF Aldergrove.

Harriett Baldwin

The estate optimisation strategy aims to provide a more efficient and better quality Defence estate to support our Armed Forces, which will be fit for purpose for future generations.

This long-term, detailed work seeks to identify a rationalised Defence estate which more appropriately meets the needs of our Armed Forces by being of better quality, more cost effective and more efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall, by 2040.

No decision about the future of individual sites has been made at this point, other than those that have been previously announced

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will investigate UK multinationals’ corporate tax practices in Zambia.

Mr David Gauke

Any investigation of UK multinationals’ corporate tax practices in Zambia would need to focus on, and require a full understanding of, the interaction between multinationals and the tax regime of Zambia. It would not be feasible or appropriate for the UK Government to undertake such an investigation.

The UK is supporting tax reform in Zambia. For example, the Department for International Development has funded the OECD and World Bank Group to provide technical assistance to Zambia to implement improvements in transfer pricing and related controls. More generally, the Government is committed to supporting developing countries access sustainable sources of revenue and collect the taxes they are due. The UK is a world leader on tax capacity building, contributing considerable human and financial resources to help developing countries to build robust tax administrations. And earlier this year we committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.

The Government has also set up a specialist Tax Capacity Building Unit in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At Autumn Statement 2014, the Chancellor announced that HMRC would recruit a new team of tax inspectors to work fulltime on tax capacity building, supporting HMRC’s Tax Capacity Building Unit and fulfilling missions such as the OECD’s Tax Inspectors Without Borders project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of the funding of £500 million for shared schooling in Northern Ireland is expected to come from her Department’s budget.

Mr Ben Wallace

In the ‘Stormont House Agreement’ signed on 23 December 2014, the UK Government agreed a contribution of up to £500m over 10 years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education, subject to individual projects being agreed between the Executive and the UK Government.

In the recent ‘A Fresh Start: the Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan’ the UK Government agreed a number of further flexibilities to the funding commitments contained in the ‘Stormont House Agreement’ including that capital funding for shared and integrated education can be used to support shared housing projects, with individual projects to be agreed by the UK Government.

This funding to the Northern Ireland Executive will come from Her Majesty’s Treasury through the Northern Ireland Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent Inspectorate report of HM Prison Maghaberry.

Andrew Selous

Prisons are a devolved matter and responsibility for HMP Maghaberry lies with the Northern Ireland Department of Justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Energy Bill on Northern Ireland’s ability to contribute to the achievement of the UK’s international climate change obligations.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to delivering on our domestic, EU and international climate change targets. We are confident of meeting our ambition of 30% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020.

Northern Ireland continues to play its part, with electricity generation from renewables increasing from 19.5% in 2013 to 22.2% in 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the variation in the number of teaching hours provided to and fees paid by university students.

Joseph Johnson

No such assessment currently exists. However, in our Green Paper: “Fulfilling our potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice,” we proposed that the new Teaching Excellence Framework could consider information about levels of teaching intensity and contact hours. We will be setting out our response to the Green Paper in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to promote an international antiquities code of conduct to prevent the illegal trade in such objects.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The UK welcomes steps towards developing a collaborative approach to tackling the illicit trade in antiquities and plays a key role in supporting international initiatives on this matter.

The Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 makes it a criminal offence to deal dishonestly in tainted cultural property from anywhere in the world. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has issued guidelines to the relevant UK sectors.

In addition, in the UK, trade associations for dealers in antiquities have codes of conduct for their members. For example, the Antiquities Dealers Association’s Code of Conduct obliges its members to ensure to the best of their knowledge and belief that all objects sold are genuine and as described and legal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on securing infrastructure funding for projects in Northern Ireland when the UK withdraws from the EU.

Kris Hopkins

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has regular discussions with colleagues on a range of issues regarding the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed on 13 August that European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) projects signed before the Autumn Statement will be fully funded, even when these projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

For projects signed after the Autumn Statement, the Government will work with the devolved administrations on funding arrangements to allow them to prioritise projects within their devolved responsibilities. As we transition to longer-term arrangements, we will ensure the devolved administrations are treated fairly and that their circumstances are taken into account.