Tag: Greg Mulholland

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support carers.

Alistair Burt

This Government recognises that our health and care system would not be possible without the invaluable contribution made by the millions of unpaid carers.

That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16, which include an extended right to assessment and, for the first time, a duty on local authorities to meet carers’ eligible needs for support.

We have also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role.

In May 2014, NHS England published its action plan NHS England – Commitment to carers, it includes a series of commitments around eight priorities, which include raising the profile of carers, including young carers.

The Department is also leading on a new National Carers Strategy that will consider evidence around the economic impact of caring as well as also review international and national best practice on what support works best for carers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle stone theft.

Mike Penning

We would encourage all victims of stone theft to report these crimes to the police so that they can be investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.

In addition, the police are working with Historic England and others to ensure that they have an up-to-date understanding of the nature of stone theft, in order to ensure a proportionate policing response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what commitments on human rights in China he secured during the recent state visit to the UK by President Xi Jinping.

Mr Hugo Swire

In talks with President Xi, the Prime Minister, my rt hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) reaffirmed the importance we attach to the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. President Xi acknowledged the importance of improving human rights protection, and that China was ready for increased exchanges and co-operation on this issue with the United Kingdom. In the UK-China Joint Statement, Britain and China agreed to continue exchanges on human rights and rule of law. We will continue to pursue our human rights concerns both privately and in public fora.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the merits of third-party funding as an alternative to the current funding regime for insolvency litigation.

Dominic Raab

An Impact Assessment was published when the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 received Royal Assent.

The Ministry of Justice is in the process of considering the way forward in relation to the application to insolvency litigation of the no win no fee reforms in Part 2 of the Act.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Leeds North West; and whether that hon. Member or his staff have been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of nurses in Yorkshire in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16; and what funding was allocated for nursing in Yorkshire in each of those years.

Ben Gummer

The information requested is not available. The Health and Social Care Information Centre monthly workforce statistics provides data on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff working in the National Health Service in England. The latest data is for June 2015 and the data for the Health Education England Region Yorkshire and Humber is provided in the attached table, along with June 2014 for comparison purposes.

There is no individual funding stream allocated for nursing. Individual NHS organisations are best placed to decide how many nurses they employ.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted for targeting aircraft with laser pens in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Selous

It is not possible to identify from data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice, Home Office, or Crown Prosecution Service, how many people have been arrested, charged or convicted for targeting aircraft with laser pens. This information can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the location of the new HS2 station in Leeds is decided with a view to accommodating HS3/Transnorth in future.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government and Transport for the North are working to deliver the Northern Transport Strategy, which recognises that the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) Programme must complement HS2’s transformative north-south connectivity with radically improved east-west connections, multiplying and sharing the benefits across the North. The Government and TfN are working closely together to ensure that HS2 and proposals for NPR are complementary and integrated and this includes plans for Leeds station.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NICE to publish its final guidance on the Vimizim treatment.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence currently expects to publish its final guidance on elosulfase alfa (Vimizim) for mucopolysaccharidosis (type IVA) or Morquio Syndrome in December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations (a) NHS England and (b) NICE have received from (i) drug companies and (ii) patient groups on the treatment of uveitis.

Alistair Burt

NHS England has received 12 letters from hon. Members and has met with key stakeholders, including patient organisations and charities such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People and Olivia’s Vision. This followed their decision in July not to fund Infliximab (Remicade) and Adalimumab (Humira), Anti-TNF drugs, as a treatment for adults and children with severe refractory uveitis.

NHS England has also been in discussion with Abbvie, a Pharmaceutical Research and Development Company which is due to report on their trial of Adalimumab in adults in early 2016.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of the drugs dexamethasone and sorolimus for the treatment of uveitis. NICE develops its technology appraisal guidance in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders and the representations it receives in the development of its guidance will be available on the NICE website at:

http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta10007

NICE has not received any representations about uveitis not related to this ongoing technology appraisal.

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