Tag: Lord Jones of Cheltenham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of international scientific evidence showing that moderate alcohol consumption has protective effects to overall mortality compared to either abstinence or heavy consumption.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The alcohol guidelines review was undertaken by a group of independent scientific experts who were commissioned to report back to the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers and make recommendations on new low risk drinking guidelines. The Guidelines Development Group scrutinised all of the available evidence concerning alcohol consumption including moderate alcohol consumption and the protective effects to overall mortality. They set out their assessment of the systematic reviews in their report.

The Alcohol Guidelines Review – Report from the Guidelines development group to the UK Chief Medical Officers is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research is being carried out into urticaria, and whether they plan to increase funding for research into the condition.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network is recruiting patients to an international dose-finding study of QGE031 as add-on therapy to evaluate efficacy and safety in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including urticaria. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the scientific evidence on which the updated guidance from the Chief Medical Officer concerning alcohol consumption, published in January, was based.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The alcohol guidelines review was undertaken by a group of independent scientific experts who were commissioned to report back to the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers and make recommendations on new low risk drinking guidelines. The Guidelines Development Group scrutinised all of the available evidence concerning alcohol consumption including moderate alcohol consumption and the protective effects to overall mortality. They set out their assessment of the systematic reviews in their report.

The Alcohol Guidelines Review – Report from the Guidelines development group to the UK Chief Medical Officers is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which medicines will be delisted following their planned changes to the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised that decisions on which drugs will be removed from the national Cancer Drugs Fund list are still subject to change. A revised list will be published on NHS England’s website in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what NHS pathways will be available to patients newly diagnosed as suffering from (1) multiple myeloma, and (2) rarer cancers, when changes are made to the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised that a draft treatment pathway for patients with multiple myeloma is currently in the process of being finalised and is likely to be published early in 2016. This has been the subject of public consultation and is being revised to take into account the comments received.

Work on the treatment pathways for patients with rarer cancers is planned for development and consultation in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the United Kingdom life sciences industry of their planned changes to the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment.

The Government regularly holds discussions with life sciences companies about the United Kingdom business environment and these routinely include discussion about the impact of policies such as the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

The independent Accelerated Access Review is considering the long term landscape for innovation adoption and how schemes like the CDF best fit within this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the global standard of care that will result from their planned changes to the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has advised that no assessment has been made of the impact on the global standard of care that will result from any changes to Cancer Drugs Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the appraisal criteria upon which medicines for rarer cancers are approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that it is not planning to specifically review the methods used for appraisal of medicines for rarer cancers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what initiatives they are planning to encourage tourists to use the new airport on St Helena.

Baroness Verma

The UK Government is providing financial support of £4.8 million between 2013 and 2016 to Enterprise St Helena, the island’s economic development agency. Enterprise St Helena is supporting the tourism sector through tourist promotion, international advertising, hospitality training, and small business development grants. It is also working with Comair, the St Helena Government’s airline partner, to encourage tourists to visit the island.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the World Society for the Protection of Animals’ report Cayman Turtle Farm: A Continued Case for Change”; and what measures they are taking to protect flora and fauna in all British Overseas Territories including the Cayman Islands.”

Lord De Mauley

The Cayman Islands Government has constitutional responsibility for a large measure of self-government, including for decisions relating to the Cayman Turtle Farm. The recommendations in the publication are therefore the responsibility of the Cayman Islands Government. However, we note that the report contains inaccuracies about UK engagement in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the Overseas Territories, Mark Simmonds, is writing to the World Society for the Protection of Animals to bring these inaccuracies to its attention.

The UK Government’s ambition is for the natural environments of the Overseas Territories (OTs) to be protected and managed to the highest international standards, as set out in our 2012 White Paper, “The Overseas Territories Security, Success and Sustainability”. OT Governments are constitutionally responsible for the protection and conservation of their natural environments and the UK Government works in partnership with them to identify where our support can be most effective. On 12 May 2014, the Government published an update to the Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy, which provides detail of the Government’s activities on biodiversity in the OTs.