Tag: Mary Glindon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to postpone issuing a formal contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for the outsourcing of Defence Business Services as a result of the potential implications of the outcome of the EU referendum on the tendering process for that contract.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme (FDBS). No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. In the event of a decision to outsource, the competition will be advertised in accordance with regulations prevailing at the time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many NOMS staff have been dismissed for corruption in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

The vast majority of NOMS staff undertake their duties with honesty and integrity. However, like all large organisations a minority of staff engage in corrupt activity. This is particularly challenging for NOMS given its role. We are committed to ensure that corruption will be investigated and eliminated to ensure prisons remain a safe and secure environment for staff, prisoners and visitors. Allegations against staff that are potentially criminal in nature are referred to the police for investigation.

A Corruption Prevention Unit delivers the key elements of the Agency’s corruption prevention strategy, including: detection, enforcement, training and support for staff. As part of this work NOMS collates records centrally of staff dismissed for offences which meet its definition of corruption.

The number of dismissals over the last five years of NOMS staff for corruption related offences has been provided in the table below.

Year	Dismissals
2010	16
2011	17
2012	14
2013	16
2014	16
Total	79

Notes:

1. Data covers staff directly employed by NOMS and not contractor staff.
2. The information provided has been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects her Department’s updated drugs strategy to be published.

Karen Bradley

We are currently developing a new Drug Strategy, working across Government and with key partners. We will continue to build on the 2010 Drug Strategy to take a balanced approach to drugs (reducing demand, restricting supply and building recovery) and tackle drugs as a key driver of crime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what functions undertaken by Defence Business Services are being considered for inclusion in the Corporate Services Integration and Innovation Provider contract.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS current operations will be outsourced. The scope of any potential Corporate Services Integration and Innovation Provider (CSIIP) contract will be confirmed in the event that a decision to outsource is taken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been granted retirement on the grounds of ill health in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Prison Officers who have been granted retirement on the grounds of ill health by financial year from 2005/06 to 2015/16

Year	Band 5 Officers	Band 4 Officers	Band 3 Officers and Officer Specialists	Total
2005/06	~	10	70	90
2006/07	~	10	70	80
2007/08	~	~	30	40
2008/09	~	10	50	70
2009/10	~	~	80	80
2010/11	10	10	60	80
2011/12	~	20	90	110
2012/13	~	20	110	130
2013/14	~	10	110	120
2014/15	10	30	120	150
Apr-Sep 2015	~	10	60	70

All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage clinical commissioning groups to develop a commissioning policy for requests for cough assist machines for patients with muscle-wasting conditions.

Ben Gummer

The provision of cough assist machines is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Clinically led CCGs have independence and autonomy to make commissioning decisions for local populations, taking into account the available evidence and individual circumstances, as appropriate.

The evidence base to demonstrate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the use of cough assist machines in muscle-wasting conditions is not well established. In order to improve the evidence base, the National Institute for Health Research, which is funded through the Department, is seeking to commission research on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of mechanical cough assist devices compared to other methods of sputum clearance. The deadline for outline proposals was 21 January 2016 with full proposals expected for consideration in July.

NHS England has been working with Muscular Dystrophy UK through the Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which is the provision of cough assist machines. The establishment of Bridging the Gap was supported with just under £600,000 awarded by the Department through its Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund. Through this work, a number of CCGs have now developed commissioning policies which set out the circumstances in which to consider these devices based on one developed by Walsall CCG, which has been shared nationally as an example of good practice by Muscular Dystrophy UK.

On 26 April 2016, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, met with Muscular Dystrophy UK and a number of patient representatives specifically to hear their concerns about the provision of cough assist machines.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which of the vanguard sites for the new care models programme under the NHS England Five Year Forward View have (a) considered Hepatitis C as part of their programme and (b) engaged with operational delivery networks for Hepatitis C.

David Mowat

The new care models programme and vanguards are focusing on developing new ways of working to improve the care provided to patients and local people. Vanguards consider a range of conditions relevant to their local populations as they develop and implement their plans.

No vanguard specifically mentions hepatitis C in their plans for their new care model. However, the improvements made in many vanguards will be relevant to people with chronic conditions, including hepatitis C. In particular, the multispecialty community provider and integrated primary and acute care system vanguards are increasing the focus on prevention, long term conditions, providing more care in the community, preventing complications and admissions, and using the right technology to help patients manage their conditions.

Furthermore, the Hepatitis C Coalition has launched a national partnership working with the Department, NHS England and other partners, to provide co-ordinated action to tackle ‘upstream’ issues in prevention, awareness, testing and referrals for hepatitis C.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officer grade staff were employed by NOMS on 31 March in each year since 2010; and how many such people were employed on the latest day for which statistics are available.

Andrew Selous

Information on the number of Band 3 to 5 prison officers in post, and on the number who joined and left the public sector Prison Service, is published in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin. The 30 September edition of the bulletin can be found at the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics-september-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has held with patients affected by muscle-wasting conditions on the benefits of cough assist machines.

Ben Gummer

The provision of cough assist machines is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Clinically led CCGs have independence and autonomy to make commissioning decisions for local populations, taking into account the available evidence and individual circumstances, as appropriate.

The evidence base to demonstrate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the use of cough assist machines in muscle-wasting conditions is not well established. In order to improve the evidence base, the National Institute for Health Research, which is funded through the Department, is seeking to commission research on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of mechanical cough assist devices compared to other methods of sputum clearance. The deadline for outline proposals was 21 January 2016 with full proposals expected for consideration in July.

NHS England has been working with Muscular Dystrophy UK through the Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which is the provision of cough assist machines. The establishment of Bridging the Gap was supported with just under £600,000 awarded by the Department through its Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund. Through this work, a number of CCGs have now developed commissioning policies which set out the circumstances in which to consider these devices based on one developed by Walsall CCG, which has been shared nationally as an example of good practice by Muscular Dystrophy UK.

On 26 April 2016, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, met with Muscular Dystrophy UK and a number of patient representatives specifically to hear their concerns about the provision of cough assist machines.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what response his Department plans to make to the reports published on 9 September by (a) the Office for National Statistics and (b) Public Health England on drug-related deaths; and if he will make a statement.

Nicola Blackwood

The Government is concerned by the increase in the number of drug-related deaths registered since 2013, particularly among ageing heroin users.

Effective drug treatment helps prevent drug-related deaths. The Government provides local authorities with funding to provide drug treatment through the Public Health Grant, and the Public Health Outcomes Framework includes an indicator measuring drug-related deaths. Last year the Government amended the Medicines Regulations to enable more people to have access to naloxone which reverses the effects of heroin overdoses. Many ageing drug users also have health problems that can and should be treated by the National Health Service.

Public Health England (PHE) and the Local Government Association convened an expert group to investigate the causes of the rise in drug-related deaths and how to prevent future premature deaths. The inquiry report was published on 9 September and a copy is attached. PHE will develop a further programme of work to prevent drug-related deaths in response to the inquiry report’s recommendations.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has set up a working group to investigate and better understand drug-related drugs at the United Kingdom level, and we will respond in due course to any recommendations.