The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on IT contractors in 2015.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs’ financial management systems do not hold the information requested because all costs relating to IT Contractors are classed within the generic value for IT Services and Project Development, so individual contractor costs are not identified separately.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England to agree a long-term arrangement to control the cost of medical indemnity cover for out-of-hours GPs.
Alistair Burt
The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.
Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.
The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended.
On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.
Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis have their first specialist appointment within the three weeks recommended by NICE.
Jane Ellison
National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Audits help drive improvement by providing local trusts with individual benchmarked reports on their performance against a range of measures, feeding back comparative findings to help participants identify necessary improvements for patients
The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:
www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory
To help clinicians to identify the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and make prompt referrals to specialists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in 2009. This best practice guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and emphasises the need for early diagnosis with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of RA. For those diagnosed with the condition, the guidance also recommends they should be offered the opportunity to take part in educational activities, including self-management programmes.
The NICE RA quality standard (QS), published in 2013, is based on the NICE guideline, and one of the seven quality statements recommends that people with suspected RA are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral. However, whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to these standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.
Regarding the establishment of early arthritis clinics, the configuration of services, including decisions to such arthritis clinics, is a matter for the local National Health Service.
The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that, as of November 2015, there were 563 full time equivalent rheumatology consultants employed in the NHS. This is an increase of 119 (26.8%) since May 2010. The recruitment and retention of staff is matter for local NHS services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support Cervical Screening Awareness Week.
Jane Ellison
NHS England closely monitors the coverage rates for cervical screening in all age groups. NHS England is committed to improving coverage and reducing variation between all age groups.
Local NHS England commissioners analyse coverage rates within their area and work with general practices to improve coverage by sharing best practice. In addition a primary care cancer screening best practice guide has been developed jointly with the transforming cancer services team, clinical commissioning groups and local authority public health representatives.
NHS England is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support on the ACE (Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate) Programme aiming to generate knowledge about effective approaches to achieve earlier diagnosis. A number of ACE test sites are evaluating approaches to increase screening rates in a range of groups.
A range of research studies are also underway, such as Imperial College conducting a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of texting non-responders on improving coverage. In addition, the Department’s Behavioural Insight team has undertaken a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening. Results are due shortly.
The Independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the importance of screening for cervical cancer and the potential of the new human papillomavirus (HPV) test in their report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of the strategy, and an implementation plan outlining the key first steps for the national cancer programme was published on 12 May. In addition, the routine HPV vaccination programme, offering immunisation to girls aged 12-14 years, is expected to reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and allow them to be protected for years to come.
Ministers welcome cervical cancer prevention week and we are fully supportive of the work Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust does to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening for eligible women.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Health at a Glance 2015: How does the United Kingdom compare?, the UK has cervical screening rates well above the OECD average. Further information is available at:
https://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/Health-at-a-Glance-2015-Key-Findings-UK.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 9 of the Government Response to the Report of the Education Select Committee, Life lessons: PSHE and SRE in schools, HC 145 of Session 2014-15, which was published in July 2015, cm 9121, when she expects to report on progress of the quality of PSHE; and if she will make a statement.
Edward Timpson
The Department for Education is committed to considering the views of all stakeholders. As part of the inquiry into PSHE and SRE, the Education Select Committee sought evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including parent advocacy groups and faith groups. We are aware of the range of views about these subjects. We are currently working with a group of leading headteachers to improve the provision of PSHE in schools. We will consult directly with a wider group of stakeholders when appropriate.
As stated in the government response to the Select Committee report, we will provide a progress update later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to develop a more comprehensive strategy to combat ISIL that prioritises protecting civilians in Syria.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has a long-term, comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL. We are working to protect UK citizens, both domestically and overseas, from the threat posed by ISIL, and playing a leading role in the 65-member Global Coalition that is tackling ISIL on the ground. That international effort includes military action against ISIL in its heartlands in Iraq and Syria, cutting off its finances, tackling foreign fighter flows, stabilising areas which have been liberated from ISIL, and countering its poisonous ideology through strategic communications.
Unlike the Assad regime and its allies, who are bombing indiscriminately, Coalition military efforts in both Iraq and Syria are specifically designed to minimise civilian casualties. UK strike aircraft (which are currently operating only in Iraq) are equipped with advanced targeting systems and precision weapons to target ISIL by day or night whilst minimising civilian casualties.
In addition to our efforts as part of the Global Coalition, the UK is directly helping protect Syrians on the ground. We are training Search and Rescue teams and supporting local Moderate Opposition structures to deliver governance, infrastructure, health services, education and livelihoods services. We also give more humanitarian aid to Syria than any other bilateral donor except the US.
Ultimately, the only way to protect civilians in Syria is by achieving the mutually reinforcing objectives of defeating ISIL and ending the Syrian conflict. The latter can only be achieved through a political transition away from the Assad regime, whose brutality created and continues to fuel the conflict, and has led to ISIL’s expansion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has written to the European Commissioner for Trade on ending the minimum import price on Chinese solar panels.
Andrea Leadsom
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the European Commissioner for Trade in November, requesting ending the minimum import price.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the budget for IT contractors employed by HM Revenue and Customs.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is investing £1.3bn to transform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world. Along with other changes, this will enable HMRC to transition to a new IT delivery model following the ending of the Aspire contract. Through these changes, HMRC will be able to make savings on its annual IT budget.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with C2C on the effect of changes to its timetable on consumer satisfaction.
Claire Perry
I met with c2c on the 10th February. I have asked them to make proposals to adjust their plans to deliver a more attractive balance between service levels and overcrowding, and the Department will work with c2c to deliver these at the earliest opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, what plans his Department has to improve systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from NHS outpatient clinics which will also enable coordinated patient-centred care.
Jane Ellison
National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care.
In terms of plans to introduce national measurements for rheumatology services, NHS England’s National Indicators Group is reviewing service level metrics that could provide commissioners with assurance in this area. NHS England will also review whether a new best practice tariff in rheumatoid arthritis could be developed, subject to suitable data being available.
The Department is currently taking a number of steps to improve the systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from National Health Service outpatient clinics. For example, where trusts have identified local requirements for improving the capture of information, including for outpatient data, funds have been made available for improved electronic systems through the Integrated Digital Care Fund and the South Local Clinical Systems Programmes. This includes for improvements to patient administration, patient records, and document management systems which will help the recording and accessing of data at the point of care.
Going forward, through the work of the National Information Board, the Department is taking the following steps to improve the systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from NHS outpatient clinics:
– supporting providers to implement technology systems further in outpatient departments where they do not already exist, to collect better data and become paper free at the point of care. £1.4 billion of the recently announced investment of £4.2 billion in NHS technology over the next five years is intended for this purpose;
– examining the potential to move outpatient departments to capture activity in a standardised terminology (SNOMED CT) so it may be available elsewhere in the hospital and to support reporting and clinical audit. SNOMED CT includes representation of codes pertaining to rheumatoid and inflammatory arthritis that are generally well-developed; and
– In 2017/18, expanding the a current programme of work which is looking information exchange for inpatient transfers, to cover other care domains including the exchange of outpatient information between acute trusts and patients’ general practitioners.