Tag: Margaret Ritchie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on the implementation of the Rare Disease Strategy.

George Freeman

The implementation of the UK Rare Disease Strategy is monitored by the UK Rare Disease Forum which includes representatives from all the devolved administrations. The Forum will publish their first assessment of the progress made in implementing the UK Rare Disease Strategy at the end of February 2016.

The Rare Diseases Advisory Group (RDAG) makes recommendations to NHS England and the devolved administrations of NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and NHS Northern Ireland on developing and implementing the strategy for rare diseases and highly specialised services. The membership of RDAG also includes representation from the devolved administrations – NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and NHS Northern Ireland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage more retailers to sell milk brands that best support the domestic dairy industry.

George Eustice

The Secretary of State has written to all major supermarkets asking them to consider what more they might be able to do to increase their sourcing of UK dairy products and I am holding discussions with individual retailers, to encourage them to do more, particularly on processed dairy products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when compensation will be made available for those individuals infected by contaminated bloods.

Jane Ellison

As liability has not been established in the majority of cases, therefore it would not be appropriate to talk about payments in terms of compensation. Where liability has been established in a small number of individuals affected by HIV, hepatitis C or both infections through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products before 1991, compensation has been paid. A consultation on proposals to reform the current payments schemes will be published in January 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to consult on proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Dominic Raab

We will bring forward proposals for a Bill of Rights, which will replace the Human Rights Act. Our Bill will protect fundamental human rights, but also prevent their abuse and restore some common sense to the system. We will fully consult on our proposals before introducing legislation and will publish our proposals in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England plans to publish its response to its consultation on developing a method to assist investment decisions in specialised services.

George Freeman

The proposed prioritisation methodology which went out to consultation was signed off by the Specialised Commissioning Committee at its meeting on 31 May 2016 – for use in 2016/17.

The consultation outcome document will now be published on the website imminently.

There will be further work undertaken on the methodology in due course to refine and improve it for use in future years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-10-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the potential effect of a change in the rate of VAT for tourism on employment creation in Northern Ireland.

Jane Ellison

The Chancellor regularly discusses a wide range of issues with other Ministers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the effect on consumer demand of increases in the price of milk.

George Eustice

The National Statistics publication, Family Food 2011, presents estimates of how demand for different types of food (including dairy products) varies with changing food prices and different levels of total expenditure on food.

These estimates are known as price elasticities and are based on Family Food Survey data from 2001 to 2011. The report notes that foods where demand is less sensitive to changes in price are fish and ‘dairy and eggs’. On average, those paying a one per cent higher price buy 0.4 per cent less.

A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the consultation document on contaminated bloods will be published.

Jane Ellison

The shape and structure of a new scheme will be decided following public consultation. The consultation document, including details of how those who are interested can provide a response, will be published in January.

Following this consultation, taking into account the views that we receive, we will then work as quickly as possible to launch any scheme reform.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the level of household median net earnings after the deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions and before benefits was for (a) all working-age adults, (b) working-age adults without children and (c) working-age adults with children (i) including individuals in households without household earnings and (ii) excluding individuals in households without household earnings in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

Table 1: Median weekly household net earnings – including households without earnings, UK 2013/14

	Household median weekly net earnings
(a) (i) All households with at least one working age adult	£452
(b) (i) All households with at least one working age adult and no dependent children	£442
(c) (i) All households with at least one working age adult and at least one dependent child	£469

Table 2: Median weekly household net earnings – excluding households without earnings, UK 2013/14

	Household median weekly net earnings
(a) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult	£561
(b) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult and no dependent children	£558
(c ) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult and at least one dependent child	£566

Source: Family Resources Survey, 2013/14

Notes:

1. Net earnings are defined as earnings from employment and self-employment, after the deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions but before deductions such as pension contributions, trade union fees etc..
2. Median calculations in Table 2 exclude those households with zero or negative net earnings (i.e. excludes those with losses from self-employment).
3. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of UK households.
4. The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to former Government Office Region population by age and sex. Estimates based on survey data are subject to uncertainty due to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
5. Data are rounded to the nearest whole pound.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS England’s new prioritisation framework for making decisions on investment in specialised services will be aligned with the recommendations of the accelerated access review.

George Freeman

The Accelerated Access Review team has been working closely with colleagues across NHS England, including the specialised commissioning team to ensure that policy is aligned.