Tag: Greg Mulholland

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the terms of reference of his Department’s review of criminal driving offences.

Dominic Raab

Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones.

The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation in due course which will look at driving offences and penalties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, for what reasons the UN had to seek written approval from the Syrian regime.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance without the consent of the parties to the conflict is extremely challenging. There is a risk that shipments of humanitarian assistance would be physically stopped and confiscated, humanitarian staff placed in danger and that convoys could come under attack. Likewise, delivering assistance without consent may risk undermining ongoing negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.6 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, following the announcement on Twitter by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences on 15 April 2016 that a Managed Access Agreement had been reached for the Translarna drug, for what reasons NICE granted a further eight weeks on 4 May 2016 for discussions to take place.

George Freeman

On 15 April 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced in its final draft guidance that it was recommending Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of children aged five and over with Duchenne muscular dystrophy caused by a nonsense mutation.

Translarna was recommended only when (a) the company provides it at a discounted price to the National Health Service under the patient access scheme agreed with the Department and (b) that NHS England and the manufacturer, PTC Therapeutics, in conjunction with patient representatives, agree a managed access agreement setting out (i) the criteria for starting and stopping treatment, which individual patients would be required to agree, (ii) data collection to address considerable uncertainty in the evidence base and (iii) additional confidential financial controls between the company and NHS England.

On 4 May 2016, NICE announced that it was allowing extra time for further discussions on access arrangements for Translarna to take place before its final guidance is published. NHS England and PTC Therapeutics have been asked to reach agreement on the cost of the drug to the NHS by 7 July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether lease renewal and rent review will remain trigger points for the market rent only option procedure, as set out in Part 6 of the withdrawn Pubs Code etc. Regulations 2016.

Anna Soubry

Yes. Lease renewal and rent review will remain trigger points for the ‘Market Rent Only’ option procedure in the revised regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in response to his Memorandum on surveillance and oversight mechanisms in the United Kingdom, published in May 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Following his visit to the United Kingdom from 17 – 22 January, Commissioner Muižnieks published his “Memorandum on surveillance and oversight mechanisms in the United Kingdom” on 17 May. The same day Her Majesty’s Government formally responded, detailing the necessity of surveillance powers and the ways in which the Government has bought world-leading oversight and transparency to these powers. The Government’s full response, which runs to 27 pages, can be found on the Commissioner’s website here: http://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/country-report/united-kingdom

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NICE about the effectiveness of guidelines to tackle urinary tract infections that are (a) acute and (b) chronic.

Nicola Blackwood

No such discussions have taken place.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on Urinary tract infection in under 16s: diagnosis and management (CG54) in August 2007. NICE has also published Quality Standards on Urinary tract infection in children and young people (QS36) in July 2013 and Urinary tract infections in adults (QS90) in June 2015.

NICE periodically reviews its technology appraisal methods and processes to ensure that they remain appropriate in the light of wider developments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of falling milk prices on the UK dairy sector.

George Eustice

Although government cannot control market volatility, our aim is to give farmers improved tools to manage it. We have extended the period over which they can average their tax from two to five years. We are exploring opportunities for a dairy futures market as well as for better branding and labelling in supermarkets in order to improve profitability. We are also exploring opportunities to help farming businesses become more resilient and ready to take advantage of the growing demand for British dairy products both at home and abroad.

According to the latest forecast of Farm Business Incomes for 2015-16, average incomes on dairy farms are expected to fall to £46,500. This reflects the impact of lower milk prices which started to fall in March 2014, and the reduced prices for cull cows and heifers. While the number of dairy farms in England and Wales has also fallen from around 13,500 in 2006 to 9,500 today, the number of dairy cows has remained almost unchanged, which suggests consolidation within the industry.

We have seen an increase in the UK farmgate milk price for the second month in a row to 21.34p per litre in August 2016. The long-term picture for our dairy industry remains positive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of elderly people experiencing loneliness.

Alistair Burt

The Government has not made an estimate of the number of elderly people experiencing loneliness, but recognises that in an increasingly mobile and more fractured society, isolation and loneliness is a significant social issue.

Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.

Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating.

The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.

We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November to Question 13665, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the proposal from High Speed UK on high speed rail.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The proposals suggested by High Speed UK are similar to the Reverse ‘E’ considered by HS2 Ltd in their 2010 report submitted to the Government on the demand and business case analysis of the alternative proposals. It was considered that this proposal could not offer better journey times from London/Birmingham to Manchester/Liverpool than HS2 trains continuing to the north-west from Lichfield via the West Coast Main Line. The Environmental Statement for the Proposed Scheme, which was prepared to accompany the deposit of the Bill, addressed the history of route alternatives and our ongoing consultation and engagement. Ministers considered the advice presented and views from a wide range of sources, and based on the evidence the decision was taken to proceed with the ‘Y’ shaped network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Solutions for Public Health has had with the European Medicines Agency and US Food and Drug Administration on developing a draft commissioning policy for everolimus.

George Freeman

Solutions for Public Health has confirmed that they have not had any discussions with either the European Medicines Agency or US Food and Drug Administration in relation to Everolimus.

This is outside of the scope of the evidence review methodology commissioned by NHS England and would not be relevant to their role as a provider of stand-alone clinical evidence reviews.