Tag: Ian Blackford

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the General Medical Council on amending guidance related to the prescription of off-label drugs and subsequent personal liability.

George Freeman

The Government has made no such assessment and has not had discussions with the General Medical Council (GMC) on amending their guidance related to the prescription of off-label drugs and subsequent personal liability. The GMC is responsible for the assessment of its national guidance and this is kept under review as part of GMC’s normal internal governance arrangements.

As part of its response to the Off-Patent Drugs Bill, the Government has discussed a range of issues around off-label prescribing with a wide range of stakeholders, including the GMC. Working with the Department of Health, the GMC has recently published a Hot Topic on ‘Prescribing unlicensed medicines.’ This on-line tool explains GMC’s prescribing guidance and assures doctors of the clinical appropriateness of unlicensed and off-label prescribing. A copy of this is available at:

http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/28349.asp

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the future of Channel 4.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The government wants to ensure a strong and secure future for Channel 4 in what is a fast-changing and challenging broadcasting environment. The government is looking at a broad range of options, including those proposed by Channel 4’s leadership.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what evidence his Department holds on the prevalence of off-label prescribing among (a) specialist clinicians, (b) GPs, (c) nurses and (d) other medical professionals.

George Freeman

The Department does not hold the information requested. The Health and Social care Information Centre has published information on prescribing data by British National Formulary chapter.

Where clinically appropriate, off-label prescribing is supported in guidance given to prescribers by both the General Medical Council and by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Prescribing in this way is part and parcel of normal every day clinical practice. It is very common in paediatric and palliative care.

Discussions relating to the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill are considering how a potential database covering off-label use could be constituted.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to review the effectiveness of the public service obligation for regional airports.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government plans to update its Aviation Policy Framework this year. As part of this update the Government will consider the role that public service obligations can play in serving regional airports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to correct the computer error in the child maintenance system on the collection of arrears.

Priti Patel

There were well-documented IT failures in the 1993 and 2003 Child Support Agency (CSA) statutory child maintenance scheme systems. The Coalition government introduced a new Child Maintenance scheme in 2012 which addresses these issues. This is operated by the Child Maintenance Service and used a pathfinder approach to introduce new IT systems in a slow, safe and controlled way. The 2012 scheme systems are designed to be more cost-effective and overcome the key failings associated with the 1993 and 2003 CSA schemes and systems. We will be closing all the cases on the old schemes, and we are continuing to pursue existing debt.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of recent trends in life expectancy.

Jane Ellison

We welcome the overall trend to longer life expectancy. Annual fluctuations in life expectancy do occur, but the overall trend remains positive. We are committed to helping people live longer, healthier lives. Tackling health inequalities amongst people of ages is embedded in policy right across the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the transition arrangements for women who have seen their pensionable age increase with limited transition.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 November 2015 to Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen), Question UIN 16901.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on potential mitigation measures for women that have witnessed an increase in their pensionable age.

Justin Tomlinson

The Secretary of State is in regular contact with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a range of pensions issues.

The State Pension age changes, which were made to put pensions on a more financially sustainable footing given increases in life expectancy, were fully debated and voted on when the legislation was before Parliament.

During the Pensions Act 2011 a concession, worth £1.1 billion, was introduced to limit the impact of the rising State Pension age on those women most affected. These transitional arrangements capped the maximum delay at 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable.

Unwinding any of these changes means asking young people to assume more of the cost, and after they’ve already borne their fair share of the tough decisions made last Parliament to bring Government spending under control.

Therefore, the Secretary of State is clear that there are no plans to bring forward further concessions or changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will undertake an evaluation of the effectiveness of the self-exclusion pilot schemes introduced by bookmakers in Medway and Glasgow.

Tracey Crouch

Evaluation into the effectiveness of the self-exclusion pilot schemes introduced by bookmakers in Medway and Glasgow is being carried out by the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). From April 2016 all bookmakers will have to offer self exclusion schemes as part of a condition of their licence andlessons from these pilot schemes will feed into the final model adopted by the bookmaking sector. The Gambling Commission will be responsible for ensuring compliance with this new licence condition and the Government will take an active interest in the schemes effectiveness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department has not conducted economic impact assessments on proposed by-law changes (a) in general and (b) regarding the Raasay ranges.

Mark Lancaster

Under the byelaws review process there is no specific requirement to carry out an economic impact assessment.

Following input received as part of the recent byelaw consultation process and due to local concerns, an economic impact assessment is currently being undertaken regarding Raasay Ranges. Its scope will reflect the MOD policy for such reports.