Tag: Diane Abbott

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) treatment targets and (b) care processes are for people with (i) sickle cell disease and (ii) thalassaemia in each (A) clinical commissioning group area, (B) trust area and (C) national sickle cell and thalassaemia centre area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

George Freeman

NHS England has a published service specification for haemoglobinopathy which covers the requirements of commissioned services providing specialised services for patients with sickle cell disease or thalassaemia. The specification was developed by the Haemoglobinopathies Clinical Reference Group that covers Sickle Cell Disease, Thalassaemia and other very rare anaemias requiring lifelong transfusion and chelation. The specification reflects that although these are complex disorders they are often grouped together and managed by the same specialist team. It recognises that each condition will have distinct clinical manifestations and treatments.

Specialised services for haemoglobinopathy care B08/S/a:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/b08-speci-serv-haemo.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to assist people in poverty in southern Africa to mitigate the effects of the severe drought in that region.

Justine Greening

DFID is providing additional support to help mitigate the impact of El Niño-related drought in southern Africa. We are delivering humanitarian assistance to drought-affected communities, boosting disaster preparedness activities and improving the resilience of households to future climate shocks. Building resilience against climate shocks is a key component of all our climate-related work across Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of the change in the OECD definition of foreign aid to include some military spending on the effectiveness of aid spend on reducing poverty.

Justine Greening

We welcome the outcome of the recent High Level Meeting of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which agreed how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) rules should be updated to better tackle the pressing global development issues of the 21st century. The updates to the ODA rules both better recognise the detrimental impact that conflict, fragility and insecurity have on efforts to tackle poverty and reflect the importance of private sector investment for development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s contribution of 9 September 2013, Official Report, column 700, what the evidential basis is for the statement that none of the UK’s overseas territories or Crown dependencies are tax havens.

Mr David Cameron

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Islington North (Mr Corbyn), on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 344-345, and to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Moray (Mr Robertson) on the same day, Official Report, column 347.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities who have received a diagnosis of (a) sickle cell disease and (b) thalassaemia in each (i) clinical commissioning group area, (ii) trust area and (iii) national sickle cell and thalassaemia centre area; and what proportion of people from such communities were so diagnosed in the most recent year for which figures are available.

George Freeman

The National Haemoglobinopathy Registry maintains a database of patients with red cell disorders (mainly sickle cell disease and thalassaemia major) living in the United Kingdom. Detailed information on the number of patients diagnosed with sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, in England, is available from the National Haemoglobinopathy Registry Report 2013/14. This includes a breakdown of patients on the basis ethnicity, commissioning hub and specialist treatment centre.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she plans to take to support the provision of real and sustainable employment to young refugees in states with high youth unemployment.

Justine Greening

Over the next five years, DFID will build on its economic development work to ensure productive employment opportunities for young people are increased, including those in situations of protracted displacement.

Significant commitments to support Syrian refugees gain employment were made at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference in London on 4 February, which was co-hosted by the UK alongside Norway, Germany, Kuwait and the UN.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if the Government will contribute emergency aid to Fiji and its surrounding islands following the recent cyclone.

Justine Greening

The UK is assisting Fiji in response to Tropical Cyclone Winston. The UK makes core contributions to the UN Agencies, CERF, ECHO and the Red Cross, all of whom may contribute to the response. We are also contributing technical support to strengthen UNICEF’s capacity and are ready to consider further requests for humanitarian experts should it be required. DFID has also offered to provide support to the UN Disaster & Coordination team and will remain in contact with Agencies in the region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to page 169 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report, Economic and fiscal outlook March 2016, to which partners the £800 million loans will be disbursed in 2016-17; what assessment she has made of the comparative utility of loans and grants for effective development projects; how repayments of those loans will affect the level of recorded Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the growing proportion of capital departmental expenditure limits (DEL) ODA spend and a declining proportion of resource DEL ODA spend on her Department’s effectiveness.

Justine Greening

DFID is planning to invest around £400m in loans in 16/17 rather than the £800m figure erroneously reported in the Office for Budget Responsibility figures. The precise breakdown of those loans has not been finalised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many apheresis machines are operational in the UK; and where those machines are located.

George Freeman

Apheresis machines are part of the care provided in a number of haematology services including sickle cell and thalassaemia care.

NHS Blood and Transplant is one of the main providers of Therapeutic Apheresis Services in England and has the largest installed base of therapeutic apheresis equipment in the National Health Service (32 machine platforms across the country). Additional provision of apheresis services are provided by NHS trusts and other UK Blood Services but NHS England does not currently hold information on this information centrally.

Work in relation to these services including the incentivisation of automated exchange through Commissioning for Quality and Innovation will improve the baseline information over the coming year.