Tag: David Amess

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to use the UK’s position on the UN Security Council to help facilitate diplomatic negotiations on protecting civilians in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the Security Council we have co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs, starvation as a method of warfare and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK is the second largest bilateral contributor of humanitarian funding, providing over £1.1 billion to those most in need in Syria and neighbouring countries – our largest ever response to a crisis. The long term protection of civilians requires an end to the conflict in Syria and a political settlement based upon the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. We will continue to pursue this objective with vigour, including through the new political process which began in Vienna on 30 October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 14029, for what reasons his Department allows the use of individual funding requests for palivizuamb without an assessment of the suitability of those requests for preventative treatments.

George Freeman

NHS England has advised that only patients who meet the criteria listed in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s guidance, Immunisation against infectious disease, will be eligible for routine funding for palivizumab. Where a patient does not meet these criteria, and a clinician feels that a patient is clinically exceptional, an application should be made through the normal regional individual funding request process.

A letter and specialised services circular (SSC1535) has been sent to all providers and commissioners explaining the commissioning arrangements for palivizumab for the 2015 vaccination season. This is available at:

www.bnssgformulary.nhs.uk/includes/documents/SSC1535%20Commissioning%20of%20Palivizumab%20for%20the%202015%20Vaccination%20Season.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many IT contractors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs on a self-employed basis in 2015.

Mr David Gauke

There were no IT contractors employed on a self-employed basis in 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to develop the model of co-location of urgent and emergency primary care services with A&E.

Jane Ellison

In August 2015, NHS England published Safer, faster, better: good practice in delivering urgent and emergency care, which can be found here:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/trans-uec.pdf

This provides guidance to help frontline providers and commissioners re-design urgent and emergency care services, including considering locating urgent care centres in emergency departments. Safer, faster, better notes that urgent care centres co-located with emergency departments provide an opportunity to stream patients with less serious illnesses and injuries to a service that is resourced to meet their needs, while reducing crowding in emergency departments. It also sets out that to preserve flow, urgent care centre staff and cubicles must wherever possible be entirely separated from those used for patients with life-threatening or serious injuries or illnesses or who are going to be admitted. The guidance also includes that where urgent care centres are co-located with emergency departments, there must be appropriate integration, with shared governance arrangements and clearly defined protocols for the two-way transfer of patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to introduce early inflammatory arthritis clinics throughout the country.

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 improve uptake of cervical screening among all age groups.

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

http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/8115071ec053.pdf?expires=1465810879&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=102E30B1A256588EDD14918B5BE3AA4C

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence she has received that sex and sexual relationships education in the primary years reduces the incidence of risky sexual behaviour, exploitation and abuse of children; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

The Department published ‘Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education: a review of impact and best practice’ in March 2015. The report highlighted evidence that good quality sex and relationship education (SRE) can have a protective function such as delaying initiation of sex, reducing frequency of sex or the number of sexual partners and increasing the use of condoms or other contraceptive measures. Allsex and relationship education should be age-appropriate and schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.

The report is published online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pshe-education-a-review-of-impact-and-effective-practice.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to assist the Syrian people in putting in place stable political and diplomatic foundations on which to rebuild that country once the conflict there has ended.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We hope that the 30 October Vienna meeting is the start of an international process, alongside talks between the Syrian parties, which will lead to transition away from Assad in line with the Geneva communiqué of 2012. The UK Government is closely engaged in this process and is working with Syrian opposition and civil society groups to ensure they are adequately represented in the process, and to help them prepare for a political transition in Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 13645, how and by whom each (a) headteacher and (b) school was recommended; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

We selected these headteachers to work with us on this issue because of the high quality of provision of PSHE education in their schools. The group of headteachers and practitioners that we are currently working with includes Carl Ward of Haywood Academy in Stoke on Trent; Cathie Paine of the Reach2 Academy Trust; Jerry Rayner of Rugby Independent School in Warwickshire; Michelle Colledge-Smith of the Outwood Grange Academy Trust; and Vanessa Ogden of Mulberry School in Bethnal Green.

The group has not been asked to advise the Government on the content of PSHE. Their focus is to produce an action plan and recommendations for improving the quality of PSHE teaching. We want to draw on expertise from a range of headteachers and practitioners and will invite others to join the group as appropriate. The Department regularly speaks to a wide range of stakeholders and will continue to do so regarding PSHE.

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.