The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the letter from the Leader of Gateshead Council of 25 June 2015 on upgrading the A1 between the Birtley and Coal House interchanges.
Andrew Jones
A reply was sent on 22 July 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Blaydon meet NICE guidance.
Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
NHS Newcastle Gateshead CCG is working with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to refine their autism pathway, from diagnosis through to therapy and support if appropriate, to be in line with the NICE recommendations. In October 2013, Sheffield CCG commissioned a service to be NICE compliant. However, the service has received a higher volume of referrals than had been anticipated, and is currently the subject of a review to ensure the right model and level of service is delivered in Sheffield.We are not aware of any issues in Carshalton and Wallington.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to increase the awareness of autism among the public and encourage patients to request a referral for diagnosis from their GP.
Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.
NHS England has also been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available for everyone to use to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this. Information on average waiting times for autistic diagnosis in each clinical commissioning group area is not collected centrally.
The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and NHS organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This guidance sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies including general practitioners.
We are due to consult on how we set the mandate to NHS England prior to publication of the mandate itself. The mandate will be published following the Government’s Spending Review which is due to complete on 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on implementation of a national screening programme for prostate cancer.
Jane Ellison
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy.
The UK NSC re-affirmed in March 2012 that a national screening programme for prostate cancer should not be offered. This is because:
– The test for prostate cancer, the prostate specific antigen test, is not effective enough and does not identify a large proportion of men who in fact have prostate cancer;
– A positive test will lead in most cases to a biopsy, which often does not give a definitive answer and leads to anxiety and to further investigations; and
– Current research indicates for every 100,000 men at age 50 offered screening, 748 would end up being treated. The men accepting screening would have their lives extended on average by a day – while 274 men would be made impotent, 25 incontinent and 17 would have rectal problems as a result of the treatment.
The UK NSC is currently reviewing its recommendation on whether a national screening programme for prostate cancer should be offered. Ministers expect to receive a recommendation shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of junior doctors likely to lose income as a result of proposed contractual changes.
Alistair Burt
The proposed contractual changes will be cost-neutral and average pay for junior doctors will not reduce. This is not a cost-cutting exercise and we are not seeking to save any money from the junior doctors’ pay bill. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has given the British Medical Association a public, categorical assurance on this and made clear that the details of the new contract should be developed to ensure that the great majority of junior doctors are at least as well paid as they would be now.
The proposed new contract for doctors and dentists in training will: ensure that pay relates more fairly to actual work done; increase basic pay, recognising the professional nature of the role in a seven day National Health Service and pay a higher rate for work at the most unsocial times
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average turnaround is on applications for funding under the Green Deal scheme.
Gregory Barker
Applications made to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund which comply with the scheme terms and conditions will typically be turned around and a voucher issued within 5 working days. Vouchers are redeemable once the customer has completed their installation of energy saving home improvements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to give local authorities responsibility to plan, commission and build facilities to tackle classroom overcrowding; and if she will make a statement.
Mr David Laws
Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area.
Supporting local authorities to create school places where they are needed most is one of the Department for Education’s main priorities. This is why we have committed £5 billion in capital funding between 2011 and 2015 to help local authorities create new school places. This is more than twice the £1.9 billion in the equivalent four year period 2007/8 to 2010/11. In addition, the Department has announced an additional £2.35 billion in capital funding to help create new school places that will be needed by September 2017, giving local authorities a three-year planning horizon.
Local authorities can use this funding to expand any existing schools and can also run competitions to establish new schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2015 to Question 222144, if he will take steps to prevent Gateshead Council from proceeding with proposals to build on green belt land in Blaydon constituency until after the publication of Household Projections 2012 to 2037; and when he expects those projections to be published.
Brandon Lewis
The statistical publication on new household projections will be published this Thursday (26 February).
As I said in my previous answer, there are no central government proposals to build on the Green Belt in Blaydon. The Coalition Government has ensured that strong protections for the Green Belt are in place. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that Green Belt boundaries can be altered only in exceptional circumstances following local consultation and independent scrutiny of the Local Plan at the instigation of the local council. In October we issued additional guidance that underlined the importance of Green Belt protection.
If the hon. Member disagrees with the planning proposals of the local council, he should take issue with the decisions of the Labour councillors who run and control it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will take steps to increase Government funding for specialist information and advice services for women at work.
Caroline Dinenage
The government funds the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to provide a wide range of information and support aimed at women at work, particularly pregnant women and new mothers, which is available on their website.
The government also funds the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) and the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) to provide women at work with information and guidance.
The findings of the largest ever study of pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination in Great Britain will be published by the EHRC later this year and will inform any further action that the government takes to ensure women can access the information and support they need.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure the viability of the financial position of the North East Refugee Service; and for what reasons her Department has not yet paid exit costs to that organisation.
James Brokenshire
Negotiations on the exit claim are underway between the Home Office and the
Refugee Council and we hope to conclude these as soon as possible. The North
of England Refugee Service was a subcontractor of the Refugee Council, and the
Home Office is therefore unable to negotiate directly with the North of England
Refugee Service.