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.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people with uveitis; and what treatment is available for that condition at what cost.
Alistair Burt
Patients with uveitis are usually diagnosed and treated in primary care and no data is collected which would identify how many patients with this condition are seen and treated. Information provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre for secondary care, shows that for 2013/14 there were 7,226 admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of uveitis has been recorded.
The main treatment for uveitis is with steroids, which can reduce the inflammation inside the eye. In some cases additional treatment might be needed, such as immunosuppressants.
The costs associated with these drugs are around £150 per adult patient per year and £35 per paediatric patient per year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve staff retention in NHS England.
George Freeman
NHS England ran a restructuring programme in 2014/15. Since then, the organisation turnover rate has declined and for the last three months has been on average 3.75%.
Retention issues tend to arise in particular roles or professions, for example finance, or in specific locations. NHS England has mechanisms to address the specific issues. Furthermore, NHS England conducts exit interviews with staff who leave to help understand issues which affect retention and ensure they can be addressed.
In order to ensure NHS England can attract and retain high quality staff, and plan and manage natural succession, it has introduced a formal talent management process to ensure that line managers are discussing current performance, future potential, personal development plans and career aspirations with staff. This process has covered over 1,000 staff in senior and business critical roles. The organisation and senior leadership now have a much better understanding of people’s aspirations, development needs and career intentions.
The organisation has also introduced a staff recognition scheme, and other programmes of work to improve health and well-being, capability development, staff engagement and diversity with the aim of making NHS England an employer of choice for talented people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Individual Funding Requests have been granted in each of the last 10 years.
George Freeman
Prior to 1 April 2013, individual funding requests (IFRs) were the responsibility of local primary care trusts and information was not collected centrally.
NHS England holds information relating to IFRs made in relation to the prescribed services it has commissioning responsibility for. This data is available from April 2013 when the organisation was formally established. NHS England does not hold information relating to IFRs submitted to clinical commissioning groups.
From April 2013 to September 2015, NHS England approved 978 IFRs. All IFR requests are considered in-line with NHS England associated policies which can be found on its website and accessed via the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/policies/gp/
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will estimate the number of asylum seeker applicants in the UK who were living in poverty in each of the last five years.
James Brokenshire
If asylum seekers are destitute they are provided with support by the UK taxpayer. The support usually consists of accommodation and a cash allowance to cover essential living needs.
The cash allowance is also provided if the asylum seeker is living with friends or relatives but needs assistance to meet their essential living needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum seeker applications made by Syrian nationals in each of the last five years received a decision in (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months.
Mr John Hayes
The tables below shows the proportion of asylum claims from Syrian nationals which received an initial decision within 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from 2010 to 2013. This data is based on main asylum claimants who made a claim for asylum from 1 October 2010 to 31 December 2014. We aim to decide all straightforward asylum claims within six months. We recognise that asylum cases are often complex and require our full and thorough consideration, meaning that some decisions will take longer than six months. Those cases that do take longer than six months are actively managed to ensure they are concluded as promptly as possible.
|
Year Application made |
Time from Application to Date of Decision |
||||
|
Decision made within 3 Months |
Within 6 Months |
Within 1 Year |
More than 1 Year |
No Decision made |
|
|
2010 |
117 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
|
Grand Total |
117 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
|
2011 |
273 |
36 |
20 |
23 |
0 |
|
Grand Total |
273 |
36 |
20 |
23 |
0 |
|
2012 |
819 |
77 |
64 |
21 |
1 |
|
Grand Total |
819 |
77 |
64 |
21 |
1 |
|
2013 |
1130 |
157 |
203 |
97 |
29 |
|
Grand Total |
1130 |
157 |
203 |
97 |
29 |
|
2014 |
603 |
1036 |
177 |
34 |
143 |
|
Grand Total |
603 |
1036 |
177 |
34 |
143 |
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker applications were received from Syrian nationals in each of the last five years; and how many such applicants were (a) refused, (b) granted refugee status, (c) granted humanitarian protection and (d) granted discretionary leave to remain.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes an analysis of applications for whole-year cohorts of asylum seekers to establish the overall success rates following appeal; this is available in Table as_06 (Asylum data table Volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. For the latest years, some cases will still be outstanding. This cohort analysis is therefore not able to provide a complete picture for the latest applications but for most years will provide the most complete description of the outcome for asylum seekers. The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, at a particular time. This dataset is updated, in full, annually and is currently available up to 2014.
Insert Table
A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker applications were received in each of the last five years; and how many such applicants were (a) refused, (b) granted refugee status, (c) granted humanitarian protection and (d) granted discretionary leave to remain.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes an analysis of applications for whole-year cohorts of asylum seekers to establish the overall success rates following appeal; this is available in Table as_06 (Asylum data table Volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. For the latest years, some cases will still be outstanding. This cohort analysis is therefore not able to provide a complete picture for the latest applications but for most years will provide the most complete description of the outcome for asylum seekers. The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, at a particular time. This dataset is updated, in full, annually and is currently available up to 2014.
Insert Table
A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential suffering felt by badgers through gaseous methods of slaughter.
George Eustice
In August 2013, we commissioned new research into alternative methods of culling badgers.
The first step involved reviewing and updating the ‘Review of effectiveness, environmental impact, humaneness and feasibility of lethal methods for badger control’ published in 2005. The review was completed in September 2013.
Following research carried out as a result of Lord Zuckerman’s review in the 1980s, we would not support the use of hydrogen cyanide gas due to humaneness concerns. However, we are considering potential humane alternatives.
In October and November 2013 we carried out initial trials of nitrogen-filled foam to analyse its dispersal in an artificial sett-like environment. These trials did not involve the use of active setts or tests on live animals.
Further research is now planned into the use of carbon monoxide as a potential sett-based means of humane culling.