Tag: Lord Freyberg

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why it was decided to use an 18-month period for patient reported outcomes in the next Prostate Cancer Audit rather than a six-month period, as used in Germany.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The proportion of men diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer between 2010 and 2013 (the Audit period) who had radical treatment, and the proportion who had a hospital length of stay over three days and who required an emergency readmission within 90 days following an operation, are presented by health region in the attached headed Table 1.

It should be noted that the results presented are based on an analysis of data from the English Cancer Registry linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics. These data were collected before the start of the National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) in April 2013.

The number of radical prostatectomies undertaken in men diagnosed between 2010 and 2013, and the proportion of men who had a hospital length of stay over three days and who had an emergency readmission within 90 days following an operation, are presented in the attached headed Table 2. The results of 56 men included in the data set used to generate Figure 8 in the NPCA Annual Report 2015 could not be included in Table 2. Of these men, 37 were treated in National Health Service trusts that treated fewer than five patients during the Audit period; and for 19 patients it was not possible to identify the NHS trust where they had undergone treatment without incurring disproportionate cost.

The first results for the patient-reported outcomes of men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1 April 2014 and 30 September 2014, and who underwent radical treatment (prostatectomy, external beam radiation, brachytherapy, cryotherapy, and high-intensity focused ultrasound), will be included in the NPCA’s Annual Report 2016, which is due to be published in the last quarter of 2016. These results will include incontinence rates.

Men who had radical prostate cancer treatment were invited to complete a questionnaire about their experiences of care as well as about treatment outcomes, 18 months after the date of diagnosis. It was decided that questionnaires should be sent out at this time after diagnosis because it can take more than one year for men who have radiotherapy, in combination with androgen deprivation therapy, to complete their treatment. Subsequently, it will take at least three months for men to fully recover from the transient side effects of the radiotherapy. In order to include all men and to measure the final treatment outcome – rather than outcomes still affected by the transient side effects – an 18-month period was chosen.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 June (HL645), why no information is available of the number of patients who have died to date, particularly for those patients who consented prior to that answer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Genomics England participants have consented to the collection of long term health data via the Health and Social Care Information Centre. This includes data on death but these data are collected and checked in accordance with standard procedures which means that there is a delay in linking to the whole genome sequencing data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of NHS secondary care centres do not provide tumour genetic testing in (1) breast cancer, (2) colorectal cancer, (3) lung cancer, and (4) melanoma.

Lord Prior of Brampton

All NHS England commissioned secondary and tertiary hospitals will be able to collect blood and/or tissue samples for the purpose of genetic testing, depending on the sampling technique required. The testing itself is however usually undertaken by commissioned genetic laboratories, which will typically serve a catchment area much greater than the hospital in which they are based. There will usually be recommended criteria in place to guide National Health Service referrals for genetic testing.

In a small number of cases, usually for very rare conditions, a test may need to be sent away to a non commissioned laboratory, including some abroad and some falling within the private sector, to access expertise. Funding will, however, continue to be provided from NHS budgets.

The United Kingdom is also leading the world by using cutting edge technology in the form of whole genome sequencing to transform healthcare and health research. The Prime Minister launched the 100,000 Genomes Project to bring the benefits of genome sequencing to NHS patients. The Project will sequence 100,000 whole human genomes of NHS patients with cancer or a rare disease by the end of 2017. Eleven Genomic Medicine Centres have been established across the country and are recruiting patients to this landmark project. Otherwise, NHS England does not hold data on private or self-funded care or testing commissioned from either NHS or third party laboratories.

Information on the percentage of eligible patients who received access to genetic testing is not held by NHS England. Due to data protection requirements, detailed data on the reasons for referral for specific tests are not currently aggregated at national level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many cancer patients could receive a molecular test on Genomics England’s cancer sequencing budget for 2016 if Genomics England (1) continued to use whole genome sequencing on tumour and normal tissue pairs, and (2) switched to deep sequenced panel tests.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The information requested is not yet available. The 100,000 Genomes Project is a research project which is investigating the benefits of whole genome sequencing for patients with cancer and rare diseases. One of the objectives of the Project is to establish the evidence to inform future decisions on National Health Service testing.

The cancer part of the 100,000 Genomes Project has only recently completed the pilot phase and is incorporating those lessons into routine recruitment of cancer patients. To date, 1,286 tumour and normal genomes have been sequenced and are being interpreted by Genomics England. The pilot phase has involved research participants who have given informed consent, including details about whether there will be feedback of results during the pilot phase. The pilot phase has proved invaluable in understanding the technical requirements for sample preparation and data collection which will be incorporated into the main phase of recruitment in early 2016. As this phase is just starting there is no data on the average turn-around-time or on patient survival.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-03-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5344), 11 February (HL5970), and 3 March (HL6245), what are the minimum number of cancer reports that are expected for delivery back to patients by the end of (1) March, (2) June, and (3) September.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are advised by Genomics England that no cancer reports will be returned by the end of March 2016. The priorities for the cancer component of the 100,000 Genomes project are the improvement of the sample processing, sequencing and bioinformatics capabilities across National Health Service Genomic Medicine Centres and Genomics England partnerships. It is unlikely that there will be any clinically actionable reports for cancer in the period to the end of September 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 June (HL645), how many of the 8,408 rare disease genomes and 1,671 cancer genomes have been shared with Genomics England’s commercial interpretation partners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Genomics England has confirmed that 293 rare disease and 310 cancer genomes have been sent to their clinical interpretation partners. Genomics England expects this flow to increase steadily as further links with clinical interpretation providers are established.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of eligible patients across England received access in (1) 2013, and (2) 2014, to the full range of NICE approved tumour genetic testing for (1) breast cancer in NHS tertiary centres, (2) breast cancer in NHS secondary centres, (3) colorectal cancer in tertiary centres, (4) colorectal cancer in secondary centres, (5) lung cancer in tertiary centres, (6) lung cancer in secondary centres, (7) melanoma in tertiary centres, and (8) melanoma in secondary centres.

Lord Prior of Brampton

All NHS England commissioned secondary and tertiary hospitals will be able to collect blood and/or tissue samples for the purpose of genetic testing, depending on the sampling technique required. The testing itself is however usually undertaken by commissioned genetic laboratories, which will typically serve a catchment area much greater than the hospital in which they are based. There will usually be recommended criteria in place to guide National Health Service referrals for genetic testing.

In a small number of cases, usually for very rare conditions, a test may need to be sent away to a non commissioned laboratory, including some abroad and some falling within the private sector, to access expertise. Funding will, however, continue to be provided from NHS budgets.

The United Kingdom is also leading the world by using cutting edge technology in the form of whole genome sequencing to transform healthcare and health research. The Prime Minister launched the 100,000 Genomes Project to bring the benefits of genome sequencing to NHS patients. The Project will sequence 100,000 whole human genomes of NHS patients with cancer or a rare disease by the end of 2017. Eleven Genomic Medicine Centres have been established across the country and are recruiting patients to this landmark project. Otherwise, NHS England does not hold data on private or self-funded care or testing commissioned from either NHS or third party laboratories.

Information on the percentage of eligible patients who received access to genetic testing is not held by NHS England. Due to data protection requirements, detailed data on the reasons for referral for specific tests are not currently aggregated at national level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the cancer panel test used at the main NHS tertiary hospitals will provide the vast majority of clinically actionable information in a tumour genome, in the light of the NHS reimbursement environment for targeted therapies.

Lord Prior of Brampton

A range of cancer panel tests are undertaken by National Health Service trusts. Whether or not these tests capture the majority of clinically actionable information in the tumour genome will not be known until the outcomes from the cancer element of the 100,000 Genomes Project is known.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-03-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is accountable for the project delivery plan for Genomic England’s cancer programme in (1) the Department of Health, and (2) Genomic England.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Director General for Innovation, Growth and Technology in the Department of Health is Senior Responsible Officer for the 100,000 Genomes Project and is responsible for holding delivery partners to account. The Executive Chairman for Genomics England is accountable for delivery of the project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many postgraduate students in England were enrolled in two-year masters’ degree courses in (1) 2009–10, (2) 2010–11, (3) 2011–12, (4) 2012–13, (5) 2013–14, (6) 2014–15, and (7) 2015–16.

Earl of Courtown

Information on enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions is collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and the latest academic year for which data are available is 2014/15.

The Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) is the classification of subjects used by HESA. The specific breakdown of subjects requested is not available using the JACS classification, so a breakdown of the Creative Arts and Design category has been provided as an alternative.

The government is for the first time introducing a new £10,000 master’s loan to support those wishing to progress into postgraduate study.

First year enrolments¹ to two-year masters² degree courses in Creative Arts and Design subjects. English³ Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Academic years 2009/10 to 2014/15:

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Fine art	625	610	700	630	695	700
Design studies	1,025	1,135	1,090	1,085	1,225	1,125
Music	710	700	680	675	680	630
Drama	165	190	205	250	230	255
Dance	55	45	45	35	65	50
Cinematics & photography	350	335	370	445	375	200
Crafts	15	15	20	5	20	10
Imaginative writing	400	360	380	495	370	345
Others in creative arts & design	90	120	105	125	90	110
Total (Creative arts & design)	3,425	3,515	3,595	3,745	3,750	3,425
Total (all subjects)	39,200	32,995	35,475	33,630	32,885	33,965

Source: BIS analysis of the HESA Student Record

Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

1. Figures are Full-Person-Equivalents (FPE), so if someone is jointly studying Fine art and Design studies, they would count as 0.5 FPE within each category.

2. Figures relate to students with an expected study length of less than or equal to two years, but more than one year.

3. For consistency across years, the Open University is counted as an English HEI.