The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to monitor the cost to nursing homes of employing agency nurses; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
The Government has no plans to monitor agency costs to nursing homes.
Care providers are independent businesses and agreements with agency staffing providers are commercial contractual arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to make bisphosphonates routinely available on the NHS to prevent the spread of breast cancer to bones.
George Freeman
Where there is a clinical need to do so for a patient, clinicians are legally able to prescribe bisphosphonates for breast cancer prevention.
NHS England’s Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group (CRG) has included the use of bisphosphonates in their draft service guidance for breast cancer. The CRG has highlighted bisphosphonates as a key issue for potential improvement in survival outcomes.
NHS England expects the draft service guidance to be finalised and available for dissemination in the autumn of 2015. It will then be up to clinical commissioning groups to consider how they adopt this in to their local commissioning activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 12052, for what reasons Part M building regulations do not apply to extensions to dwellings.
James Wharton
When Part M was introduced in 1999 the then Government decided not to apply the requirements to extensions to dwellings. To do so would require alterations to the existing dwelling (or the approach to the dwelling or extension) in order to accommodate Part M requirements which are not considered to be reasonably practical for dwellings built before Part M was introduced.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with chief constables about the prevalence of rural crime and the measures they are taking to counter it.
Mike Penning
Police reform is working and crime has fallen by more than a quarter over the last five years, according to the Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales. This means less victims of crime in rural areas as well as urban areas. Overall, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victim of household crime as those in urban areas, according to the Crime Survey. In addition, the 2014 Commercial Victimisation Survey found that crime against the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was considerably lower than crime against the other sectors surveyed, the wholesale and retail sector and the accommodation and food sector.
The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given communities – including those in rural areas – a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them. I see this through the work the National Rural Crime Network, which is funded by the Police Innovation Fund, is leading to ensure police forces respond to crime in rural areas, as well as specific activity being taken by police forces across England and Wales
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) Bendamustine and (b) Ibrutinib drugs in treating cancer; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body which makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of products based on a thorough assessment of the best available evidence and in consultation with stakeholders. National Health Service commissioners are required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisals.
Bendamustine (Levact) is recommended by NICE as a possible treatment for some people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia of Binet stage B or C.
NICE is currently appraising ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for the treatment of (i) chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (NICE’s final guidance is expected in June 2016) and (ii) mantle cell, relapsed, refractory lymphoma (NICE’s final guidance is expected in December 2016).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the level of take-up of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme is; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
The application window for the Mid-Tier closed on 30 September. 2,314 agreement applications were received. 1,025 expressions of interest for the Higher Tier have also been received, together with 257 applications for forestry agreements. The level of interest is in line with our expectation.
Natural England and the Forestry Commission are now working to assess these to offer agreements to those applicants who have submitted high quality plans that will do most to improve our water quality and the farmed environment
Some elements of the scheme have been available earlier in 2015. 1,798 applications were received for 2015 water capital grants, of which 1,458 have been awarded. We also received 743 applications for woodland creation during a fixed application period and for tree health and woodland management plans, which continue to be applied for year round. To date, 288 agreements have been awarded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the employment conduct abroad of companies which are based in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Nick Boles
We have made no such assessment. However, the UK was the first country to publish a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which sets out the Government’s expectation of business behaviour wherever they operate, including complying with all applicable laws and honouring the principles of internationally recognised human rights when faced with conflicting requirements.
Company directors of UK-based businesses also have a duty to act to promote the success of the company, and in doing so have regard for a number of factors including the interests of the company’s employees. To demonstrate this consideration, companies are required to report information on employee matters, where necessary for an understanding of their business.
Furthermore, the Home Office will shortly be introducing regulations that will require businesses with a turnover of £36million to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking are not present in their supply chains.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the progress achieved by the UK Business and Human Rights Action Plan against the aims and objectives set out in it.
Anna Soubry
Progress on the UK’s National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is covered in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy annual report, last published in March 2015. We have made considerable progress, for example on improved reporting requirements. We will continue to update our action plan, reflecting the progress we have made as well as covering other related action taking place across Government such as the Modern Slavery Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will introduce a television licence scheme based on days rather than months.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The way in which the BBC is funded, and how the licence fee works -including potential simpler systems of payment -is an important aspect of the current debate around Charter Review. There has been a range of opinions expressed, not least as part of the substantial consultation response,and I will be considering these through the Charter Review process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of the use of barren cages in gamebird units in contravention of the welfare code for gamebirds; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
Recent Defra funded research into the use of cages for gamebirds showed that enrichment and space allowance, in the forms provided, had little impact on the welfare of caged pheasants. However, egg production and quality and most measures of pheasant welfare were improved in cages compared to floor pens. For the partridges, the behavioural results indicated that enrichment might be positive for welfare and was probably a more valuable modification than increasing the size of an otherwise barren cage. However, the research also concluded that there might be penalties from parasitism and reduced egg production if enrichment is offered at a conventional space allowance. The published research can be found:
We intend to discuss the findings of the research with industry and welfare organisations as part of next year’s review of the “Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes”.
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