Tag: Flick Drummond

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support breastfeeding services; and what assessment he has made of the importance of breastfeeding to national health policy.

Ben Gummer

Support and information about breastfeeding is currently available to health professionals and parents through: the NHS Choices website under the Start4Life banner; the National Breastfeeding Helpline; UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative; and local peer support programmes.

Parents-to-be and new mums and dads can also sign up to the Start4life Information Service for Parents. Subscribers receive regular free emails, videos and SMS messages offering high quality advice and information, based on the stage of pregnancy and the age of the child, including breastfeeding support. The service also signposts parents to other quality assured information about parenting, relationship support and benefits advice.

Breastfeeding delivers significant health benefits both for the mother and her baby and is more cost effective for mothers than other methods of infant feeding. A mother’s milk provides a perfect balance of nutrients and vitamins, so exclusive breastfeeding is all a baby needs for around the first six months. This is why the Department in line with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines encourages exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Type 26 frigate will be able to operate across the full range of climatic conditions in which the Royal Navy operates.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Type 26 Global Combat Ship will be designed for joint and multinational operations from the tropics and Arabian Gulf in the summer to the sub-Arctic. The ship’s design will accommodate a broad range of environmental conditions to deliver a globally deployable ship throughout its planned life.

I am withholding further detail as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to extend the operational life of the Type 23 frigate.

Mr Philip Dunne

There are currently no plans to extend further the out of service dates for the Type 23 Frigates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to renew the capabilities provided by the former RFA Diligence for repair and maintenance of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

Harriett Baldwin

The Forward Repair Ship, RFA DILIGENCE, is one part of a system providing support facilities to deployed ships and submarines. This support is regularly supplemented by commercial arrangements and international agreements and, when bespoke afloat capabilities are required, these are contracted on the open commercial market.

We continue to consider all our capability requirements depending on the operational task.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10658, if he will ensure that the national improvement framework for hepatitis C services contain guidance on the alignment of screening programmes for hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis and other blood-borne viruses or associated conditions.

Jane Ellison

Recommendations on testing for hepatitis C are evidence-based, including whether it is appropriate to align with guidance on testing for other conditions. It should be noted that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has already published guidance on testing for hepatitis B and C. Screening programmes are considered and recommended by the United Kingdom National Screening Committee.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of wheelchair access at sports venues.

Tracey Crouch

I refer my honourable friend to my answer to question 44837, answered on 7th September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of free wi-fi and improve bandwidth access for armed forces personnel in military bases in the UK to remove the need for such personnel to pay individual monthly subscriptions for access to the internet.

Mark Lancaster

Whilst there is no overall programme to deliver free Wi-Fi access to UK based personnel each service is making some provision. The Royal Navy has rolled out Wi-Fi to six Royal Navy and Royal Marine establishments and intend to continue to roll out services to all Royal Navy and Royal Marine establishments subject to funding availability within the next 12 to 24 months. The service is provided free of charge to all personnel based at, working in or visiting these establishments.

There is currently no programme in place to roll out free Wi-Fi access across all Royal Air Force (RAF) stations, as facilities vary from location to location and any improvements are currently provided on application. The RAF has a scheme to provide improved free Wi-Fi access in communal areas, whereby public funding (from Local Initiative Grants or other permissible funding) covers the cost of the enabling works and a charity (the RAF Association) meets the running costs. To date, eleven RAF stations have benefitted from the increase in Wi-Fi access under this scheme, though other stations have provided free Wi-Fi in their communal areas through other individual initiatives.

The provision of Wi-Fi in Army accommodation is under contract and is payable by those who use it. There are currently no plans for the Army to provide free Wi-Fi. However, once global connectivity is in place across Defence, the single Service Commands will be able to request WiFi through the catalogue service, subject to available funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the French government on the deployment of armed police on ferries operating across the English Channel.

Mr Ben Wallace

Earlier this year officials met, and have since been working closely with, French counterparts to discuss the current trial deployments of French sea marshals.

Arrangements for maritime security, including on cross -channel ferries, are kept under constant review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of free wi-fi and improve bandwidth access for armed forces personnel in military bases overseas to remove the need for such personnel to pay individual monthly subscriptions for access to the internet.

Penny Mordaunt

In Cyprus we have recently funded a programme of work to have Wi-Fi installed in the Single Living Accommodation at RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi Garrison, Dhekelia Station and, more recently, Ayios Nikolaos. This demonstrates the value placed on overseas service and the efforts made to address perceived disadvantage. WiFi is also available to personnel at the other Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBs) in Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Diego Garcia and Ascension Island. However, this is provided by civilian contractors and the quality and cost to personnel varies across the sites.

Furthermore, for personnel deployed on Operations overseas, connection to family and friends is recognised as beneficial to the well-being of deployed Service Personnel and is realised via a variety of methods including; phone, mail and internet provision. Some locations are harder to reach, including some parts of Africa. Therefore, wherever practicable, the best method of internet provision is considered based upon connectivity, cyber security, duration of operation and value for money. Subsequently, provision of internet for welfare communication is normally met at Public expense, noting that in some locations where the provision of internet is provided by coalition partners, the MOD pays for some provision, allowing personnel to ‘top up’ or buy a faster service at their own expense.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England aged over 60 had a free eye sight test in each of the last three years; and what proportion that was of the total number of people eligible for such tests.

David Mowat

The table below, taken from the General Ophthalmic Services Activity Statistics for England, published by NHS Digital, shows the number of National Health Service sight tests provided to people aged 60 and over in England, between 2013/14 and 2015/16.

Year	Total NHS sight test for people aged 60 and over	% of total NHS sight tests
2013/14	5,576,957	43.6%
2014/15	5,507,932	43.2%
2015/16	5,651,025	43.5%

It is not possible to estimate what proportion of people eligible for free NHS sight tests used their entitlement during the reported years.

Notes:

1. Patients may qualify for an NHS sight test on more than one criterion. However, they would only be recorded against one criterion on the form. Patients are more likely to be recorded according to their clinical need rather than their age. For example, a patient aged over 60, with glaucoma is likely to be recorded in the glaucoma category only. The count by eligibility is therefore approximate.
2. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one NHS sight test within the same period.