Tag: Henry Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2013, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the large number of procedures in the direct diagnosis category.

Norman Baker

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain 2013 report a total of 52,444 procedures were conducted on 6,725 animals with ‘Direct diagnosis’ as the primary purpose. This represents a 3% increase on the total number of procedures, in this category, in 2012 and a 1% increase on the number of animals, in this category, in 2012. Most procedures reported under the category ‘Direct diagnosis’ involve the collection of blood or blood products from either non-immunised animals or animals immunised against various antigens. The procedure of blood collection is classified as being of low severity and, with appropriate licence authority, may be repeated
many times in the same animal. The products from these procedures, including whole blood and antisera, are used in diagnostic tests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding Crawley constituency will receive through the pupil premium in the financial year 2014-15.

Mr David Laws

Schools and academies in Crawley constituency have been allocated £4.026 million through the pupil premium for financial year 2014-15.

This includes funding through the deprivation, service child and children adopted from care elements, but excludes the looked-after children element as this is not available at a parliamentary constituency level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England plan to take to reduce premature mortality from respiratory disease.

Jane Ellison

The NHS Outcomes Framework 2014-15 sets out the Department’s priority areas for the National Health Service and includes reducing deaths from respiratory disease as a key indicator. In addition to this, the Mandate sets out the requirements for NHS England to improve outcomes in a range of areas, including preventing premature deaths from the biggest killers (including respiratory) and supporting people with long term physical and mental health conditions.

Living Well for Longer: National Support for Local Action to Reduce Premature Mortality, launched in April, sets out what the health and care system will do to achieve the Government’s ambition to be amongst the best in Europe at reducing levels of premature mortality. It brings together in one place the national actions taken by the Department of Health and wider Government, NHS England and Public Health England, in prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, focusing on the five big killers, including lung disease, and shows how they will support local leadership and interventions.

The Department has supported a number of initiatives to help improve outcomes for people with respiratory disease. In July 2011, it published an outcomes strategy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in England, which sets out six high-level objectives to improve outcomes in these areas through high quality prevention, detection, treatment and care services. The Department has also supported the publication of a good practice guides on services for adults with asthma, which was published in 2012.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published Quality Standards for COPD and for asthma setting out the markers of high-quality, cost-effective care and the implementation of these will also raise the standard of care people with these conditions receive.

The Department has collaborated with the National Review of Asthma Deaths which is examined the circumstances surrounding deaths from asthma from 1 February 2012 to 30 January 2013 and reported on its findings in May of this year. Lessons learnt about the factors that contribute to asthma deaths will inform the NHS about what constitutes good care, and encourage the development of appropriate services for people with asthma.

Public Health England recently ran a local pilot campaign in Oldham and Rochdale to raise awareness amongst the public about the importance of visiting their general practitioner with symptoms of breathlessness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle homophobic bullying in schools.

Caroline Dinenage

Tackling all forms of bullying is a top priority for this Government. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. The Government has taken a number of steps to help schools address bullying, including by providing advice on how to prevent and tackle bullying and how schools should support children who are bullied.

We are providing £1.3 million this year to anti-bullying charities to tackle all forms of bullying, on top of the £4 million provided in 2013-2015. We have also launched a specific programme in 2015-2016 to prevent and tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools. £2 million has been awarded to projects to work with schools through classroom-based activities, use of positive role models and specific training for teachers to understand and address this issue effectively. We will share the learning from these projects more widely, so all schools have the tools and knowledge to take appropriate action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many catheter associated urinary tract infection related deaths there were in the last three years.

Jane Ellison

This information is not available in the format requested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to hospital as an emergency case with acute retention of urine due to a blocked Foley catheter in the last three years.

Jane Ellison

The requested information is not available centrally as Hospital Episode Statistics cannot identify blocked catheters or the type of catheter in use.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England regarding the (a) commissioning of continence services and (b) guidelines for continence services.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets representatives from NHS England on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including the commissioning of local NHS services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what scientific purposes she has licensed procedures on animals that were likely to cause severe suffering since 2010; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of animals experiencing severe suffering in scientific procedures.

Norman Baker

The information asked for is not held centrally and could only be obtained at
disproportionate cost.

The Government only authorises procedures on animals after rigorous checks.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 there is a statutory
requirement for scrutiny by, in the first instance, the Animal Welfare Ethical
Review Body at the Establishment where the work will be performed, and then an
assessment is made by the Home Office Inspectorate. In addition, projects are
referred to the Animals in Science Committee for scrutiny where they propose
the use of non-human primates in severe protocols and other projects that ministers
consider require further consideration.

One of the key factors in the assessment of licence applications is the
harm-benefit analysis, which has been part of our assessment process since
1986. The parameters considered in this analysis are described in Appendix I of
the Operational Guidance to the 1986 Act. A harm-benefit analysis determines
whether the proposed harms to the animals are justified by the likely benefits to be
delivered from the project. Inspectors give advice on minimising harms during
their assessment of project licence applications. Licensees have a legal
responsibility to ensure that work is undertaken on animals in the least severe
manner possible whilst delivering their scientific objectives. This year we
are undertaking a review of the harm-benefit analysis process, with advice from
the Animals in Science Committee, to determine if there are further refinements
we can make to the process.

I am committed to working to reduce the number of animals used in scientific
procedures. The Coalition Commitment delivery plan "Working to reduce the use
of animals in research" was published in February 2014. In particular, the Home
Office Inspectorate is working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals on methods of refinement of the most severe models to avoid
or reduce animal suffering. This has included careful consideration of models
of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, seizures, rheumatoid arthritis
and sepsis. Inspectors are actively promulgating the recommendations from each
of these reports.

In addition, the Home Office has published advisory notes on recording and
reporting actual severity, as required by the transposed European Directive
from 2013. From data collected we will provide clarity on the burden of harm
and, over time, should give an indication of the effectiveness of refinement
methods, particularly for the most severe procedures.

It is imporant to note that procedures classified as severe represent only a
small percentage of total procedures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will measure changes in the number of animals used in scientific procedures in the UK following publication of Working to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in July 2011.

Norman Baker

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain
for 2013 will be published on 10 July 2014.
I will be publishing a progress report on the Coalition Commitment "Working to
reduce the use of animals in research" in early 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many animals have experienced severe suffering in scientific research funded by the Government since 2010; and if he will provide funding aimed at developing scientific advances allowing the reduction or avoidance of severe suffering of animals used in procedures.

Mr David Willetts

The Government does not hold the information you have requested. The Home Office has published advisory notes on recording and reporting actual severity. From data collected, the Home Office will provide clarity on the burden of harm and, over time, should give an indication of the effectiveness of refinement methods, particularly for the most severe procedures.

It is important to note that procedures classified as severe represent only a small percentage of the total.

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) was established by the Government in May 2004 to advance and promote the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of animals used in research and testing (the 3Rs). The NC3Rs primarily receives Government funding through BIS from the science and research ring-fenced budget via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The projected budget for the NC3Rs is £7.88m in 2014/15 and £7.84m in 2015/16.

BBSRC also provides further funding for the 3Rs under its responsive mode schemes, and the MRC and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council support research projects which contribute to the development of new knowledge and new methods that help replace or refine animal use. However, figures on future spend are not available.

For a detailed breakdown of past funding I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 11 March 2014, Official Report, column reference 167W.