Tag: Greg Mulholland

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support and promote the (a) use and (b) continued production and purchase of existing off-patent drugs.

George Freeman

Existing arrangements allow patients to access the medicines which are appropriate for their care, including off-patent drugs. Doctors may prescribe any drug, whether within the terms of its license or not, where it best meets the individual clinical needs of a patient. Medicines are already prescribed legally, safely and appropriately outside their licensed indications to large numbers of National Health Service patients.

The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the pharmaceutical industry and others in the supply chain to help ensure continuity in the supply of medicines to patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of disability hate crime offences committed in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning

The Home Office has collected disability hate crime data from the police since 2011/12.

In 2011/12, the police recorded 1,748 disability hate crime offences, 1,911 in 2012/13, 2,006 in 2013/14, and 2,508 in 2014/15.

As stated by the Office for National Statistics, action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard has led to improved recording of crime over the last year, especially for violence against the person offences. Together with a greater awareness of disability hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in disability hate crimes recorded by the police.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses and entrepreneurs of the closure of the Business Growth Service.

Anna Soubry

We do not expect closure of the Business Growth Service to have an impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure aid is delivered to the Syrian town of Madaya.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. The UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places. An estimated £275 million (49%) of humanitarian assistance funded by the UK for inside Syria has been allocated for cross-border operations.

We have provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya.

On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach the town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys are anticipated over the next couple of days. The convoy is expected to meet survival needs of the 40,000 persons inside Madaya, and 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya.

DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoy with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits.

The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has received on trends in the number of curry houses closing down.

Anna Soubry

The Government does not hold information on the value of the curry industry, the number of curry houses, trends in the number of curry houses or the number of curry chefs.

Official statistics carry figures on the value and number of restaurants, takeaways and other food service businesses in general, but do not detail specific types of food being served. Similarly while the number of chefs and catering staff will be estimated there is no consideration of their specialisation in terms of cuisine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s arrangements with French authorities for processing reimbursement claims from UK citizens for state-funded health treatment received in France.

Justin Tomlinson

European Union Regulations on the coordination of social security systems include provisions on how citizens may obtain healthcare in other EEA states. These are longstanding legislative arrangements which include the use of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), as well as how the resulting bills are settled between states. The European Commission and the member states are jointly responsible for assessing the effectiveness of the regulations on an on-going basis and where necessary the Commission will recommend any proposed changes for consideration and agreement with the member states.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to introduce mandatory electrical safety checks for private rented sector properties.

Brandon Lewis

The Government is committed to protecting tenants and has therefore agreed to carry out the necessary research to understand what, if any, legislative changes regarding electrical safety checks in the private rented sector should be introduced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) pharmacy closures and (b) job losses caused by planned reductions to the community pharmacy budget.

Alistair Burt

Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services including public access to medicines. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim.

We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close or the number of people who may lose their jobs, because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of current penalties to deter stone theft.

Karen Bradley

Stone theft has a detrimental effect on towns and communities across England and Wales. The impact of these crimes includes both the economic cost to the victim, but there are also wider costs to the community, for example where schools, churches or heritage items are targeted by criminals.

We have received no recent representations from local authorities on this issue, nor have we had recent discussions with the police on stone theft specifically. However, the police are working with Historic England, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to share intelligence and shape good practice in tackling and preventing heritage crime, such as stone theft.

We would encourage all victims of stone theft, whether individuals or organisations, to report instances of these crimes to their local police, so that the crimes can be properly recorded and investigated. The local response is a matter for individual chief officers of police and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local issues and demands that they face.

We are satisfied that the existing legislation provides the police and courts with sufficient powers to respond to stone theft.

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.