UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: John Baron

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to develop cancer clinical alliances across the country.

    Jane Ellison

    Forming cancer alliances to drive and support improvement and care pathways was a key recommendation of the independent Cancer Taskforce report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England appointed Cally Palmer CBE as National Cancer Director to lead on implementation of the strategy and she has since established a new cross-system Cancer Transformation Board, which met for the first time on 25 January. There will also be a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Harpal Kumar, to oversee and scrutinise the work of the Transformation Board. NHS England is currently working with national, regional and local partners to develop the model for cancer alliances, building on the successes of existing clinical networks.

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on establishing cancer clinical alliances; and what the function of those alliances will be.

    Jane Ellison

    Forming cancer alliances to drive and support improvement and care pathways was a key recommendation of the independent Cancer Taskforce report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England appointed Cally Palmer CBE as National Cancer Director to lead on implementation of the strategy and she has since established a new cross-system Cancer Transformation Board, which met for the first time on 25 January. There will also be a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Harpal Kumar, to oversee and scrutinise the work of the Transformation Board. NHS England is currently working with national, regional and local partners to develop the model for cancer alliances, building on the successes of existing clinical networks.

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24375, when his Department plans to publish the data on eligibility for and uptake of the bowel cancer screening programme.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme continues to analyse the data collected and will be publishing data in the annual report which is due later this year.

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s news story of 13 September 2015, From 2020 people with suspected cancer will be diagnosed faster, when his Department plans to make tailored recovery packages available for cancer patients, including those with rarer cancers.

    Jane Ellison

    In its report Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020 (July 2015), the independent Cancer Taskforce called for an acceleration of the commissioning and provision of services to support people affected by cancer to live as healthy and as happy lives as possible. Over the last few years, NHS England has been working with Macmillan Cancer Support to roll out the Recovery Package, which describes a set of actions that ensure that the individual needs of all people going through cancer treatment and beyond, including rare cancers, are met by tailored support and services. By working through a Recovery Package, patients and clinicians assess patients’ holistic needs and plan appropriately for their care and support, they ensure that a treatment summary is sent between a patient’s hospital and their general practitioner (GP), that they are appropriately followed up by their GP, and can attend health and wellbeing events for patients and carers.

    In September 2015, the Department announced that by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. In April 2016, NHS England published guidance on the commissioning of these services to support people living with and beyond cancer, and will continue to support both Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints and clinical commissioning groups to put this guidance into action.

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s news story of 13 September 2015, entitled From 2020, people with suspected cancer will be diagnosed faster, by what date he expects tailored recovery packages to be available for (a) all cancer patients and (b) patients with rarer cancers.

    Jane Ellison

    In its report Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020 (July 2015), the independent Cancer Taskforce called for an acceleration of the commissioning and provision of services to support people affected by cancer to live as healthy and as happy lives as possible. Over the last few years, NHS England has been working with Macmillan Cancer Support to roll out the Recovery Package, which describes a set of actions that ensure that the individual needs of all people going through cancer treatment and beyond, including rare cancers, are met by tailored support and services. By working through a Recovery Package, patients and clinicians assess patients’ holistic needs and plan appropriately for their care and support, they ensure that a treatment summary is sent between a patient’s hospital and their general practitioner (GP), that they are appropriately followed up by their GP, and can attend health and wellbeing events for patients and carers.

    In September 2015, the Department announced that by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. In April 2016, NHS England published guidance on the commissioning of these services to support people living with and beyond cancer, and will continue to support both Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints and clinical commissioning groups to put this guidance into action.

  • John Baron – 2022 Speech on British Council Contractors in Afghanistan

    John Baron – 2022 Speech on British Council Contractors in Afghanistan

    The speech made by John Baron, the Conservative MP for Basildon and Billericay, in the House of Commons on 12 December 2022.

    Thank you for granting the urgent question, Mr Speaker. Let me start by both welcoming the Foreign Secretary’s speech on foreign policy this morning, which called for a long-term, resilient approach that will build the long-term, trusting relationships that this country needs for the future, and underlining the fact that that is precisely the purpose of the British Council, which has been building connections for this country throughout the world, quietly, consistently and effectively, since the 1930s. I hope that the Minister sees, as I do, the key role that the British Council can play in helping to achieve those objectives.

    I make no apologies for asking this urgent question, because people’s lives are at risk. I went through the regular channels a year ago, and was told that progress was being made, which is more or less what the Minister has just said. I raised it again in October/November, but there has been no response. The progress has not been made.

    For more than 16 months since Operation Pitting and the fall of Kabul, about 200 British Council contractors and their families have been stuck in Afghanistan. As has recently been highlighted in the media, many of them are in hiding and in fear of their lives, unable to seek medical advice when it is necessary for themselves and their families, and family members have died as a consequence. As the Minister said, British Council contractors are eligible under ACRS pathway 3, but those 200 or so contractors remain stuck in Afghanistan because of a blockage of red tape here in the UK. Until that blockage is cleared they will remain in danger, possibly for a second Afghan winter. Since its launch in January, the scheme has not repatriated a single person from Afghanistan: I have received confirmation of that from the British Council. In July and August, an application window closed for the contractors to submit expressions of interest. British Council employees worked at pace with the FCDO to identify those who had actually worked with them, yet there has still been no progress whatsoever. Having used all the regular channels, I would now like to ask the Minister to do all he can before Christmas to clear these blockages and get these contractors back to the UK.

    Mr Mitchell

    I thank my hon. Friend for what he has said. He eloquently extols the brilliance of the British Council. I had some responsibility for it 10 years ago, and I know very well that what he says about it is entirely correct. He is quite right about the eligibility, and we very much understand the urgency to which he refers. This particular pathway process started on 20 June and remained open for eight weeks. The Foreign Office has looked at every single one of the applicants, and the process is moving through. I would just say that, although it is taking a lot of time, it is right that officials should look carefully at each and every one of those cases. There is a balance to be struck, but I will ensure that my hon. Friend’s words and concerns are reflected across Government as a result of this urgent question.

  • John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by local authorities to tackle loneliness; and what support the Government has provided to local authorities for such work.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of loneliness in England or in Basildon and Billericay. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) demonstrated that loneliness has a very negative impact on health. Research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has shown it has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than obesity. Loneliness and social isolation is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, poor sleep and depression.

    The Government has not made an assessment of the steps the National Health Service and local authorities have taken to tackle loneliness. Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating. This includes examples of what NHS bodies and local authorities have done to tackle loneliness such as the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group Living Well programme and LinkAge supported by Bristol City Council.

    Prevention is core to the Government’s approach to people managing their health and care needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health set out in his speech to the Local Government Association on 1 July that we all have a responsibility at an individual, family, and community level to identify people with care needs such as loneliness and provide support and improve their wellbeing.

    Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.

    The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.

    We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.

  • John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by NHS bodies to tackle loneliness.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of loneliness in England or in Basildon and Billericay. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) demonstrated that loneliness has a very negative impact on health. Research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has shown it has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than obesity. Loneliness and social isolation is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, poor sleep and depression.

    The Government has not made an assessment of the steps the National Health Service and local authorities have taken to tackle loneliness. Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating. This includes examples of what NHS bodies and local authorities have done to tackle loneliness such as the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group Living Well programme and LinkAge supported by Bristol City Council.

    Prevention is core to the Government’s approach to people managing their health and care needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health set out in his speech to the Local Government Association on 1 July that we all have a responsibility at an individual, family, and community level to identify people with care needs such as loneliness and provide support and improve their wellbeing.

    Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.

    The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.

    We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.

  • John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of chronic loneliness among older people on demand for GP appointments in (a) England and (b) Basildon and Billericay constituency.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of loneliness in England or in Basildon and Billericay. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) demonstrated that loneliness has a very negative impact on health. Research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has shown it has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than obesity. Loneliness and social isolation is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, poor sleep and depression.

    The Government has not made an assessment of the steps the National Health Service and local authorities have taken to tackle loneliness. Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating. This includes examples of what NHS bodies and local authorities have done to tackle loneliness such as the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group Living Well programme and LinkAge supported by Bristol City Council.

    Prevention is core to the Government’s approach to people managing their health and care needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health set out in his speech to the Local Government Association on 1 July that we all have a responsibility at an individual, family, and community level to identify people with care needs such as loneliness and provide support and improve their wellbeing.

    Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.

    The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.

    We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.

  • John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures taken by local authorities in tackling loneliness; and what support the Government has provided for such measures.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health (Alistair Burt) on 21 October, PQ 12272

    In addition, a growing number of town and parish councils are involved in the delivery of work to support residents, in particular vulnerable elderly residents, through programmes such as village agent schemes, which can help older people feel more independent, secure, and cared for, and to have a better quality of life.