Tag: Henry Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the outcome of the consultation on the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund is co-ordinated with and complements the recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review to ensure improved patient access to innovative treatments.

George Freeman

NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are currently consulting on draft proposals on the future direction of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). The consultation is open until 11 February 2016 and further information is available at:

www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/cdf-consultation

The Accelerated Access Review independently chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, is working with key stakeholders on a range of options for accelerating patient access to innovative products, as set out in the interim report. This includes consideration of the impact of managed access schemes such as proposed in the CDF consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on reducing Air Passenger Duty.

Damian Hinds

In the absence of any taxation of international aviation fuel and no VAT on international or domestic flights, Air Passenger Duty (APD) ensures that the aviation sector plays its part in contributing towards general taxation and helping to bring down the deficit. In 2014-15, APD raised £3.2bn, an important part of the Government’s tax revenues.

Nevertheless, the Government has recently made reforms to APD to cut the longest haul rates and exempt children, reducing the tax burden by £1.5 billion over the period 2015-2020.

Like all taxes, APD is kept under review with any changes announced at fiscal events.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to tackle late payment of suppliers by businesses.

Anna Soubry

We are implementing a package of measures to support a cultural change to tackle late payment, including the Small Business Commissioner, the duty for large businesses to report on payment practices and support for the voluntary Prompt Payment Code. The Regulations to give effect to the duty to report will be laid for debate early in 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plan to respond to the Accelerated Access Review: Interim Report, published in October 2015; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The Interim Report of Sir Hugh Taylor’s Accelerated Access Review (AAR) is a deliberately high level document that indicates direction of travel; as such, government will be responding to the AAR’s conclusions when its final recommendations are published early in the spring of 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

Caroline Dinenage

The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to prohibit the import of trophies from any CITES Appendix I or Appendix II listed species.

Rory Stewart

Under international rules set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a hunting trophy from a species listed on Appendix I or Appendix II of the Convention can be exported only if the exporting country is satisfied that the hunt was both legal and sustainable.

Importing controls are implemented at an EU-wide level and the UK works with other EU Member States to agree a collective approach. In light of growing concerns about the sustainability of the hunting of some species, stricter controls on the import of hunting trophies of six species, including lions and African elephants, have been introduced. As a result, the import of hunting trophies of certain species from certain countries is currently prohibited.

The Government considers that properly managed, legal and sustainable trophy hunting can play a part in species conservation efforts, including by providing an important source of funding for conservation in some countries. In view of this, we have no plans to introduce legislation banning the import of all trophies of Appendix I and II species. We will however continue to monitor the impact of trophy hunting and will work to put in place greater protection, including prohibiting imports, if this is shown to be needed.

For example, in recognition of the real concerns about the impact of trophy hunting on lion conservation, I announced in Parliament on 24 November 2015 that the Government will ban lion trophy imports by the end of 2017 unless there are improvements in the way hunting takes place in certain countries, judged against strict criteria. We will work with our European and international partners, and experts in the field, to reach a common approach to this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that the new Cancer Drugs Fund will increase patient access to medicines for acute myeloid leukaemia.

George Freeman

NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are currently consulting jointly on draft proposals on the future direction of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

The consultation was published on 19 November 2015 and is open until 11 February 2016. It states that it is looking to put in place a solution that ensures patients have routine access to a greater range of cancer drugs, including earlier access to innovative drugs, while ensuring that cost-effectiveness is maintained. Further information is available at:

www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/cdf-consultation

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on plans for the future of the Cedars pre-departure accommodation site.

James Brokenshire

The cost of pre-departure accommodation is kept under review. The Home Office is currently considering the most cost-effective way of providing pre-departure accommodation within an enforced family returns service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2015 on the proportion of blood cancer patients who visited their GP more than twice before being referred to secondary care for diagnosis; and what support and guidance his Department has provided to GPs to enable them to identify the symptoms of blood cancer.

Jane Ellison

It is important that people with cancer have the best possible experience throughout their cancer pathway and are treated with dignity and respect.

The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes – A Strategy for England 2015-2020 in July 2015, and identified a key priority of establishing patient experience as being on a par with clinical effectiveness and safety. In May 2016 the National Cancer Transformation Board published Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: Taking the Strategy Forward outlining the detailed steps being taken to make this a reality.

In September 2015, the Government announced that by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. The packages will be individually designed to help each person, including those with blood cancer, live well beyond cancer. In April 2016 NHS England published guidance for commissioners on commissioning and implementing the recovery package effectively.

In order to continue to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated suspected cancer referral guideline in June 2015. The guideline includes new recommendations for haematological cancers. NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold. Following publication of the updated guideline, the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has worked in collaboration with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) on a programme of regional update events for GPs to promote the new guideline. RCGP and CRUK have also worked to develop three summary referral guidelines for GPs to enable them to adopt the guideline. These are available at:

www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/learning-and-development-tools/nice-cancer-referral-guidelines

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to assist unemployed people over the age of 50 back in to work; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2015 to Question UIN16531.