Tag: Mark Menzies

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what services are currently provided for prison inmates with dementia.

Ben Gummer

Prisoners with dementia should be offered the treatment and care they require, equivalent to that provided to people with similar needs in the community.

Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England to meet the health needs of prisoners. Every person entering a prison will have an initial health screen at reception where health needs are assessed and where appropriate referrals are made to other services. Prisoners with dementia who also have care and support needs will have these assessed and any eligible care needs will be met by the local authority in which the prison is situated.

The budget for treating dementia in prisons cannot be reported separately, as the prison healthcare budget is not disaggregated into specific treatment provision or diagnoses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage businesses into high street premises in town and city centres.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government has taken action to help high streets thrive through a range of targeted tax breaks, sensible planning changes and measures to ensure fairer parking for motorists. At Budget, we announced the biggest ever cut in business rates in England – worth £6.7 billion over the next five years, cutting business rates for all ratepayers, and meaning 600,000 of the smallest businesses won’t have to pay business rates again

We have also given over £18 million to fund successful initiatives such as “Love Your Local Market” and the “Great British High Street Competition”, and have recently announced a digital pilot programme in Gloucestershire, to support town centres and SMEs to compete in the digital era.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax measures he is putting in place to encourage higher levels of business investment in the UK.

Jane Ellison

I refer my hon Friend to the answer given by the Chancellor today in response to the oral question from the hon Member for Lewes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provided to Lancashire County Council on the formulation of its service planning areas.

Mr Marcus Jones

DCLG does not have a record of advice given to Lancashire County Council on the formulation of its service planning areas, or requests for such advice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support high street retailers.

Mr Marcus Jones

This Government is supporting our high streets to thrive. We have introduced the biggest ever cut in business rates, worth £6.7 billion; launched the High Street pledge and digital high street pilots; introduced a fairer parking regime and sensible planning changes; and we are celebrating our high streets through the hugely successful annual Great British High Street Competition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Lancashire Enterprise Partnership in progressing Growth Deal projects.

James Wharton

The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal with Government will invest over £250 million across Lancashire.

Good progress has been made to date, with 15 out of the 39 projects in the programme underway, and a further 13 due to commence shortly.

Projects under construction will, amongst other outcomes, support the construction of 850 housing units, create over 2,000 jobs and add over £28 million GVA per annum to the local economy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to further develop the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

Mr David Gauke

We have made huge progress in building a Northern Powerhouse, from investment in transport, enterprise and culture to agreeing five landmark devolution deals across the North. We remain fully committed to doing everything we can to strengthen the Northern Powerhouse, including investing £13bn in transport over the course of this parliament, further improving skills through the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy and encouraging even more foreign investment into the towns and cities of the North. Next year, 55% of the North’s population will vote for a mayor to oversee economic decision making in their local area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support innovation in assistive technology for use by people with dementia.

Jane Ellison

Dementia is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020. The Government will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020.

As part of the 2020 Challenge, we want to see greater provision of innovative and high quality dementia care, delivered in a way that is personalised and appropriate to the specific needs of the person with dementia, their family and carers. This includes providers incorporating new ideas including technology solutions into everyday practice. We also want to see research on assistive technologies and assisted living, including research on how information and communication technologies can best help people with dementia and carers.

The Department and NHS England recently launched seven ‘Test Bed Sites’ in England. These sites will evaluate the real world impact of technologies, testing them together with innovations in how the NHS services are delivered, to improve health and care outcomes. Three of the Test Beds will have a focus on dementia.

A number of programmes have been launched to support usage of technology for the benefit of people including those with dementia and their carers. These include:

– The Technology Enabled Care Services (TECS) Programme;

– A TECS resource for Commissioners; and

– The Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare and Regional Innovation Fund initiative.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what responsibilities his Department has for (a) formulating and (b) overseeing regulation of the shale gas industry; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman

Responsibility for formulating and overseeing regulation of the shale gas industry has been transferred to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Department will fulfil the same role previously undertaken by the Department of Energy and Climate Energy.

The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound. The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering concluded that risks can be managed if industry follows best practice enforced by regulation [1]. We already have one of the most robust regulatory regimes in the world for shale gas and we will look to continuously improve it as the industry develops.

[1] The Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineers, Shale gas extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing, 2012

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) improve the provision of care for patients with lung disease and (b) increase funding for research into lung diseases.

Jane Ellison

Respiratory disease is specifically covered in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published Quality Standards for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and lung cancer setting out the markers of high-quality, cost-effective care.

Expenditure by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on research relating to respiratory disease has increased from £15.7 million in 2009/10 to £25.5 million in 2014/15 (the latest available figure).

The NIHR has launched a new, open competition for biomedical research centre funding from April 2017 to March 2022. In this competition, a number of clinical areas of particular strategic importance to the health of patients are highlighted including respiratory disease.