Tag: George Howarth

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings of the CLIC Sargent report, entitled Cancer costs: financial impact of childhood cancer revealed, published on 1 September 2016, if he will carry out an immediate review of travel assistance available to young cancer patients and their parents.

David Mowat

We know that cancer can affect all areas of a person’s life, including finances – 83% of people say they are financially impacted by cancer. People require holistic support from diagnosis onwards, encompassing their physical, financial, psychosocial, and information and support needs, throughout their entire cancer journey.

Children and teenagers with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are also entitled to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (or a Personal Independence Payment if over 16). This is a tax free allowance, which contributes to the extra costs incurred by families in caring for children with additional needs and includes a mobility component. Children in receipt of DLA can receive up to £139.75 a week, and people who are terminally ill can have their claim fast tracked to access benefits sooner. Families and carers can also qualify for Carer’s Allowance and receive £62.10 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria, and some councils run Council Tax Reductions schemes for people on low incomes or who claim benefits.

We do not have any plans to review the hospital travel costs scheme – which provides financial assistance to those patients who do not have a medical need for ambulance transport, but who require assistance with their travel costs. This is part of the well-established NHS Low Income Scheme, in which patients on low incomes or receiving specific qualifying benefits or allowances can be reimbursed in part or in full for costs incurred in travelling to receive treatment at hospitals and this would include cancer treatment. It also can be claimed where the appointment has been made for a child or other dependent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake a national review of liver transplantation services to help (a) ensure better access for patients and (b) increase capacity.

Nicola Blackwood

NHS England intends to review liver transplantation services during 2018/19. There is sufficient capacity to transplant the organs that are donated currently.

Organ donor and transplant rates have been increasing steadily over the last eight years. In 2008/09 there were 1,860 donors and 3,513 solid organ transplants. In 2015/16 these figures were 2,439 donors and 4,601 transplants. This increase of 31% in both donors and transplants over this timeframe, was achieved mainly through a strengthening of the donation infrastructure including increased specialist nurses, improved retrieval arrangements, increasing consent rates and better organ utilisation.

The current United Kingdom strategy launched in July 2013, Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020, sets the agenda for increasing organ donation and transplantation rates still further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Government is doing to encourage the equal treatment of mental and physical health within the NHS; and if he will introduce waiting time targets for children accessing all specialist child and adolescent mental health services.

Alistair Burt

The Government is committed to ensuring parity of esteem between physical and mental health which is legislated by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It also holds the NHS to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate, which includes ensuring that mental and physical health conditions are given equal priority.

NHS England’s Five Year Forward View set out a clear commitment to driving towards a more equal response across mental and physical health and achieving genuine parity of esteem by 2020. NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2015/16, Forward View into action: planning for 2015-16, sets out the expectation that clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) spending on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s allocation increase to support the ambition of parity between mental and physical health. Compliance with the Planning Guidance is being assured at national and Area Team level.

The Government remains committed to a phased approach to developing further access and waiting standards across mental health. The most recent of which was the Eating Disorder Standard announced in August 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings of the report of CLIC Sargent, Cancer costs: financial impact of childhood cancer revealed, published on 1 September 2016, how he plans to ensure that his Department’s guidance on hospital car parking is applied consistently across England.

Mr Philip Dunne

The National Health Service patient, visitor and staff car parking principles (first published in August 2014 and then updated in October 2015), set out a nationally consistent approach to determining car parking policies, making clear the rules which NHS trusts should follow when making decisions about car parking.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is on screening of high-risk patients for liver disease.

David Mowat

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on the diagnosis and management of a number of conditions affecting the liver including alcohol use disorders, cirrhosis, hepatitis B and C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department gives to mental health trusts on (a) reducing did not attend cases and (b) ensuring risk assessments are carried out when young people fail to attend.

Alistair Burt

NHS England has issued guidance through the Local Transformation Plans for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing: Guidance and Support for local areas (published August 2015) that states that services should set out a clear plan to transform the design and delivery of a local offer of services for children and young people with mental health needs in line with the Future in mind report.

Future in mind was clear that services should monitor attendance and actively follow up families and young people who miss appointments, and that it may be necessary to find alternative ways to engage the child, young person or family. The Local Transformation Plans present an opportunity to make a step change in how agencies support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, especially the most vulnerable. This includes those who – for whatever reason – find it more difficult to engage with traditional models of service delivery and would instead benefit from seeing a clinician in a less conventional setting. Missed appointments should not lead to a family or young person being discharged from services, but instead be considered as an indicator of need and actively followed up, where necessary finding alternative ways to engage the child, young person or family.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the CLIC Sargent report of 1 September 2016, entitled Cancer costs: financial impact of childhood cancer revealed, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of cancer on young people and their families.

David Mowat

We know that cancer can affect all areas of a person’s life, including finances – 83% of people say they are financially impacted by cancer. People require holistic support from diagnosis onwards, encompassing their physical, financial, psychosocial, and information and support needs, throughout their entire cancer journey.

Children and teenagers with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are also entitled to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (or a Personal Independence Payment if over 16). This is a tax free allowance, which contributes to the extra costs incurred by families in caring for children with additional needs and includes a mobility component. Children in receipt of DLA can receive up to £139.75 a week, and people who are terminally ill can have their claim fast tracked to access benefits sooner. Families and carers can also qualify for Carer’s Allowance and receive £62.10 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria, and some councils run Council Tax Reductions schemes for people on low incomes or who claim benefits.

We do not have any plans to review the hospital travel costs scheme – which provides financial assistance to those patients who do not have a medical need for ambulance transport, but who require assistance with their travel costs. This is part of the well-established NHS Low Income Scheme, in which patients on low incomes or receiving specific qualifying benefits or allowances can be reimbursed in part or in full for costs incurred in travelling to receive treatment at hospitals and this would include cancer treatment. It also can be claimed where the appointment has been made for a child or other dependent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to replace the CAMHS strategy and framework; and when he plans to publish that document.

Alistair Burt

Children and young people’s mental health is a priority area for this Government and we are committed to delivering the vision set out in Future in mind, the report published jointly by the Department and NHS England in March 2015. Future in mind forms the basis of the Government’s plans for system wide transformation in children and young people’s mental health and is supported by an additional investment of £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament. There are no plans to publish any further strategy or framework plans in addition to Future in mind.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the importance of direct long-haul air links with a hub airport for international trade.

Mr John Hayes

Evidence on the links between long-haul air connections and international trade was presented by the Airports Commission in its Final Report and supporting documents. The Government is considering all of this evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work before an announcement on its preference.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to collect data on the needs of (a) looked after children, (b) children in need, (c) victims of abuse and (d) children living in poverty in the prevalence survey on children and young people’s mental health.

Alistair Burt

The aim of the survey is to estimate the prevalence of mental health disorders in the general population aged two to 19 years. The survey will use a similar methodology to the last survey from 2004 to ensure comparability. A representative sample will be drawn from households in England (and Scotland). None of the specific groups listed in the question have been excluded from the survey.

The number of looked after children and children in need in the general population are relatively low. This may limit the amount of data the survey can collect on these groups.

We anticipate the final report of the survey will include some analysis of mental health disorders by characteristics including socio-economic factors. The contractor has also been asked to consider how to improve questions around the impact of abuse on children and young people’s mental health.