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 concerning moderate alcohol consumption as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

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 plans they have to support the National Wildlife Crime Unit with further funding and through changes in legislation.

Lord Bates

The Government fully understands the importance of tackling wildlife crime and the important contribution that the National Wildlife Crime Unit makes to this, both here in the UK and internationally.

That is reflected in the fact that the Government is providing over £270,000 worth of specific funding to support the work of the Unit in 2015/16. As far as funding beyond March 2016 is concerned, a decision will be made in due course. The Government has no plans to make changes in legislation to support the Unit.

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 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 representations they have made to the government of Sudan about policies involving the death sentence for women who change their religion.

Baroness Warsi

I am appalled at the death sentence given to Meriam Ibrahim, and her continued imprisonment. Immediately following her trial, the Minister for Africa, my Hon. Friend, the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), issued a statement describing her conviction as barbaric and calling upon the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion and international human rights laws as enshrined in its own constitution. The Chargé d’Affaires of the Sudanese Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 19 May at the request of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague). The Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, my Hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms Featherstone), reiterated our demand with the Sudanese Foreign Minister when she met him on 20 May. Our Embassy in Khartoum attended Meriam Ibrahim’s trial, continues to press the Sudanese authorities for her release and is in close contact with her defence team.

The UK opposes the death sentence in all circumstances. We are calling on the Sudanese government to undertake a comprehensive review of its penal code to ensure its laws reflect both its constitution and international human rights obligations, and the values and compassion of the Sudanese people.