The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the amendments to the Child Poverty Act 2010 in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill are included in the welfare clauses referred to in the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Order 2015.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 does not include any reference to the Child Poverty Act 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will consider a de-linked model for biomedical research and development.
George Freeman
The Department is currently in discussion with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on models that delink company revenues from usage in the context of pricing of antibiotics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to make (a) Nivolumab and (b) other immuno-oncology treatments for lung cancer available on the NHS.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently carrying out technology appraisals of nivolumab for two lung cancer indications:
(i) previously treated locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. The expected publication date for this final guidance is September 2016.
(ii) Previously treated locally advanced or metastatic squamous non-small-cell lung cancer after prior chemotherapy in adults. The publication date for this final guidance is to be confirmed.
The NICE is also appraising pembrolizumab for treating advanced or recurrent PD-L1 positive non-small cell lung cancer after progression with platinum-based chemotherapy [ID840]. The expected publication date for the final guidance on this appraisal is January 2017.
Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in the NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued. In the absence of guidance from the NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department advised the Northern Ireland Executive on human rights concerns and other sensitivities for Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas Ltd undertaking a contract for Bahrain’s prison system.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government continues to assist Bahrain in their reform agenda including by working with the Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas programme, whose aims are to assist the Government of Bahrain to bring its justice system into compliance with international standards. The UK Government continues to have frank discussions with the Government of Bahrain about our concerns on human rights cases. We continue to encourage the Bahraini authorities to respect the rights of all its citizens and we have encouraged them to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression most recently at the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the time taken for Anguilla to respond to his Department’s consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership; and what assessment he has made of the legitimacy of the reasons for the time that was taken.
James Duddridge
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for East Devon (Hugo Swire MP) Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the answer of 10 November 2015 (PQ 15153), and to the answers given by my Hon Friend, the Member for South West Hertfordshire (David Gauke MP), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 16 October 2015, to (PQ10437, PQ10438 and PQ10448).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England and NICE on the cancer drugs fund consultation.
George Freeman
NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) consultation on draft proposals on the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund closed on 11 February 2016 and they are currently considering the feedback received. A consultation report will be published on NHS England’s website in due course.
The Department has regular discussions with both NHS England and NICE on a wide range of issues including the future direction of the Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will increase its political and economic support for the UN Human Rights Office in Bogota to increase the capacity of that office to observe the human rights situation in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK is one of the top ten donors to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) giving £2.5m annually in global un-earmarked funding, in addition to our assessed voluntary contributions. We will also give another £1m in earmarked funding towards Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and conflict prevention related work globally in 2016/17. I announced a contribution of £4.2m to the UN Post Conflict Trust Fund for Colombia and £1.1 for an EU Trust Fund. Both will be an important part of the multilateral effort once the peace deal is signed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the time taken for NICE appraisal processes for the provision of Nivolumab on the treatment of NHS patients with non-small cell lung cancer; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
No such assessment has been made.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently carrying out technology appraisals of nivolumab for two lung cancer indications:
(i) Previously treated locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. The expected publication date for this final guidance is September 2016.
(ii) Previously treated locally advanced or metastatic squamous non-small-cell lung cancer after prior chemotherapy in adults. The publication date for this final guidance is to be confirmed.
Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued. In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.
From July 2016, the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund will ensure that the most promising and innovative medicines get to patients as quickly as possible. In particular, NICE will issue draft guidance on new cancer drugs or significant new licence indications before they have received marketing approval in the United Kingdom. Any drug that receives a positive draft recommendation would then be funded from the point of licence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received representations from Northern Ireland authorities on potential human rights, reputational implications and other concerns for the Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas Ltd undertaking a contract to work for the Bahraini prison system.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government continues to assist Bahrain in their reform agenda including by working with the Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas programme whose aims are to assist the Government of Bahrain to bring its justice system into compliance with international standards. We enjoy a close relationship with the Devolved Administrations and would certainly work with the Northern Ireland authorities on any issue.
The UK Government continues to have frank discussions with the Government of Bahrain at all levels about our concerns on some cases brought against political opposition members and human rights activists.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his estimate is of the number of human rights activists and community leaders killed in Colombia during the first eight months of 2015.
Mr Hugo Swire
The latest report from the NGO coalition ‘Somos Defensores’ recorded 51 murders of human rights defenders in the first nine months of 2015, compared to 55 for the whole of 2014 which indicates a worrying upward trend. Despite recent significant developments on the peace process we remain concerned by this increase in violence and threats against human rights defenders there. I again raised the issue of human rights with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister, Patti Londono, on 29 September. Officials in London met British NGOs on 9 November, to understand their concerns in greater detail.