The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department had with Mr Paul Newby’s employer on his contributions to the draft Pubs Code.
Anna Soubry
No such discussions were held.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure accurate and early diagnosis of Kawasaki disease.
George Freeman
The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy contains over 50 commitments to ensure people living with a rare disease, such as Kawasaki disease, have access to the best evidence-based care and treatment that health and social services, working with charities, researchers and industry can provide.
It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in both scarlet fever and Kawasaki disease.
Health Education England works with bodies that set curricula such as the General Medical Council and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.
The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not published any specific guidance on the similarities between Kawasaki disease and scarlet fever.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on the assessment and initial management of fever in under 5s sets out the circumstances in which a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease should be considered, and Public Health England (PHE) has endeavoured to keep healthcare professionals, schools and the general public informed of the increased incidence of scarlet fever through timely information, news stories and updates on the PHE website and by using social and other media. These awareness raising measures assist general practitioners and other frontline healthcare professionals in reaching a correct diagnosis more quickly and encourage patients to seek medical advice early so that suspected cases receive prompt antibiotic treatment to reduce the risk of complications and limit further transmission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Universities UK on reviewing the Zellick guidelines.
Joseph Johnson
The Government asked Universities UK to establish a taskforce to explore what more can be done by the higher education sector to prevent, and respond effectively, to incidents of violence and sexual harassment against women, hate crimes and other forms of harassment. The taskforce is expected to report its findings in the autumn.
To date Universities UK have received 59 written representations from universities, plus additional evidence from a wide range of agencies and organisations.
Universities UK has published an update of the recent taskforce meeting, which addressed the Zellick guidelines. The Government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.256 of Budget 2016, what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Department for Education on his support for the UK’s bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
Greg Hands
As stated in Spending Review 15 the government supports the ambition to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in the Northern Powerhouse.
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the average hourly earnings were of her Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
My Department does not hold the information requested in this format. To create this information would incur a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Sheffield to Rotherham tram-train scheme has been delayed.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, the joint funders of the tram train pilot project, have been advised that Network Rail has initiated a review of the current programme of works needed to adapt their infrastructure to operate the tram train vehicles between Meadowhall South and Rotherham Parkgate.
The Department understands that Network Rail has encountered significant issues with the approval of new bespoke electrification equipment needed to operate the tram train vehicles. The joint funders are clearly disappointed by this further delay.
The current programme showed delivery of these works by early spring 2017, however until the outcome of the Network Rail review is known, no further details can be provided.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps members of the public can take to ensure that their local authorities comply with the National Planning Policy Framework.
Gavin Barwell
There are many ways in which local people can ensure that Local Planning Authorities have regard to the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework when carrying out their planning functions.
Local Plans prepared by Local Planning Authorities are assessed against requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework as part of the tests of soundness. There are opportunities at various stages for communities to comment on the Local Plan including at publication stage. Each local council must prepare a Statement of Community Involvement. This should set out a local council’s policy for involving communities in the preparation and revision of its Local Plan.
Local Planning Authorities are required to make decisions on planning applications in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework is such a material consideration. There are opportunities for communities to comment on planning applications.
Neighbourhood planning also provides a powerful set of tools for local people to ensure they get the right types of development for their community, where the ambition of the neighbourhood is aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area. Communities are able to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like, and what infrastructure should be provided, and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 25 July 2016 to Questions 43380 and 43381, what proportion of that £12 billion was spent on (a) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) winning contracts directly from government and (b) large companies winning contracts directly from government and then outsourcing parts of those contracts to SMEs.
Ben Gummer
In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion with small and medium sized businesses, of which £4.88 billion was direct spend and £7.27 billion through our supply chains.
A full breakdown of the data can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2014-to-2015
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Attorney General, how many complaints the Crown Prosecution Service has received in each of the last three years.
Robert Buckland
The following table shows the number of complaints received by the CPS in the past three years:
|
Year |
Total Complaints |
|
2013/14 |
Not available* |
|
2014/15 |
1950 |
|
2015/16 |
1878 |
*Due to a technical issue which the CPS is currently resolving, the figure for the total complaints received in 2013/14 is not available at this time. The CPS will write to the Honourable Member to provide this figure once the issue has been corrected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s definition is of an advanced nurse practitioner.
Ben Gummer
An advanced nurse practitioner is generally accepted to be a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context of practice. A Master’s Degree is recommended for entry level to an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANPs) role. This role is not defined by the Nursing Midwifery Council or the Department.
Today ANPs work in a variety of health care settings and in a number of different roles, which range from a nurse consultant managing a specialist service in a hospital to being a nurse partner within a general practice.
Information on how many ANPs are employed by the National Health Service in each region of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is not held by the Department.
We have made it clear that we are not planning to impose a ‘one size fits all model’ for our plan to provide a seven-day NHS. It will be for local commissioners and providers to decide how best to deliver seven day services in hospitals and for them to work with their Local Education and Training Boards to develop workforce plans to support this.
Although not explicitly mentioned in NHS England’s Five Year Forward view, ANPs are part of the solution to addressing the health and well-being gap; care and quality gap; and funding gap. For example, ANPs are involved in the new care models such as in Derbyshire. The Derbyshire Vanguard site will develop a prevention team made up of health and care professionals including general practitioners (GPs), ANPs, mental health nurses, extended care support and therapy support.
Seven day access does not mean that every GP must work every day or that all practices must open at evenings and weekends. Through schemes such as the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, practices are encouraged to collaborate together in delivering more convenient and accessible services for patients in the evenings and weekends through multiple methods including innovative use of technology, working together at scale, and better use of skill mix to both improve patient care and release GP capacity.
The recent independent evaluation of the first wave of the PM’s GP Access Fund reported that “evidence to date suggests that the strategy of making more use of nursing staff, particularly Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), is resulting in benefits including released GP capacity…”