Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the specialist contractors hired by her Department to advise regional school commissioners are required to declare any interests relevant to their employment by her Department.

Edward Timpson

Contractors procured to support the academies and free schools programme are required to declare conflicts of interest.

The contract states, “The Contractor is required to declare to the Contract Manager any interests and/or links, including other contracts or positions held whether they be paid or unpaid or relationships with, but not limited to, schools, education providers or other external organisations involved in the provision of education or education services so the Contract Manager may assess whether any conflicts of interest, whether potential, actual or perceived, and as reasonably judged by the Contract Manager, may have the potential to present reputational, operational or legal or risks to the Contractor and to the Department in allocating any particular project.

"If such a conflict of interest does arise, or may arise, the Contractor will declare it to the Department immediately and accept that the Department may ask the Contractor to immediately cease any involvement with the task giving rise to the conflict.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health on implementation of the Ross Fund.

Mr Nick Hurd

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 7 March to question number 28791

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29811, on further education, how many meetings have been held for area reviews in (a) Birmingham and Solihull, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Sheffield City Region, (d) Tees Valley, (e) Sussex, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire in each of the last nine months.

Nick Boles

A wide range of meetings are held within each area review, which is a locally owned process designed to meet the needs of each local area. Bilateral meetings will often take place, for instance, between individual colleges which might be exploring restructuring options. Local stakeholders will often meet in smaller groupings to discuss particular issues or themes, for example local enterprise partnerships and local authorities may have set up separate meetings. Additionally, some local stakeholders will seek meetings to ensure their involvement at particular points, for example local MPs once recommendations emerge.

The number and type of meetings are likely to vary with each review, depending on local provision, circumstances and issues as well as local interest in engaging with the review work. The following focuses on the formal meetings which are a core part of the area review process and would therefore be consistent across the country.

A number of formal area review steering group meetings have taken place in each area since September 2015. No steering group meetings were held prior to September 2015. Meetings held between September 2015 and March 2016 are as follows:

• In Birmingham and Solihull, one meeting was held in each of the following months: September, October, November, December, January and March.

• In Greater Manchester, one meeting was held in each of the following months: September, November and December.

• In Sheffield City Region, one meeting was held in each of the following months: September, November, December and March.

• In Tees Valley, one meeting was held in each of the following months: October, November, December, February and March.

• In Sussex, one meeting was held in each of the following months: October, December, January, February and March.

• In the Solent, one meeting was held in each of the following months: November, December, January and March.

• In West Yorkshire, one meeting was held in each of the following months: November, December, January and March.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 2 and 8 February 2016 to Questions 25202 and 23871, and the update provided by Ofqual, what further progress has been made on A levels in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) Religious Studies and (e) Geography being approved ready for first teaching from September 2016.

Nick Gibb

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce geographic variation in access to surgical and transcatheter interventions for heart valve disease.

Jane Ellison

NHS England is working with professionals across the healthcare system to look at ways in which services and outcomes for patients with heart valve disease can be improved further, for example, by encouraging practitioners to follow clinical guidelines.

Service specifications and policy for the surgical and interventional treatment of heart valve disease are published by NHS England’s Cardiothoracic Clinical Reference Group. These define what NHS England expects to be in place in order for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. NHS England is working on the next iteration of the specifications, which will include important standards relating to mitral valve surgery.

In addition, NHS England is holding a clinical summit on 15 June 2016, which will bring together cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to examine the issues relating to heart valve disease, including variation. Outputs from discussions will be used to inform the future commissioning approach within specialised commissioning.

Information on the number of people with an undiagnosed heart valve condition is not collected centrally. Patients with undiagnosed heart valve disease, once diagnosed, may require a range of treatments, including surgery. Therefore it is not possible to estimate what the aggregate costs might be.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research into hearing loss at what cost his Department has commissioned in the last three years.

Nicola Blackwood

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) invested £4.1 million in ear disease research in 2014-15 (the latest year for which data is currently available).

The NIHR is investing £6.2 million over five years (2012-17) in the Biomedical Research Unit in Deafness and Hearing Problems at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham.

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 deafness and hearing problems.

Current NIHR-funded awards relating to hearing loss include a £1.6 million research professorship to develop the evidence base for Ear, Nose and Throat medicine and surgery, and a £1.3 million feasibility study of an implantable middle-ear microphone.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools with sixth forms there are where the proportion of students achieving GCSE A*-C in English and A*-C in mathematics is lower than the national average in each respective subject.

Nick Gibb

43.9% of schools with sixth-forms have a percentage of students achieving GCSE A*-C in English, which is lower than the corresponding national average. 45.4% of schools with sixth-forms have a percentage of students achieving GCSE A*-C in maths, which is lower than the corresponding national average.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure earlier diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia in babies and young children; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The UK National Screening Committee currently recommends antenatal screening for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) as part of the Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme. CDH is primarily detected through the fetal anomaly ultrasound which is carried out between 18 weeks and 21 weeks of pregnancy.

Research from around the world has shown that with current screening techniques only around 70% of cases of CDH can be diagnosed before birth and that those not diagnosed before delivery tend to be less severe and have better outcomes. The fetal anomaly screening programme in England continues to monitor the quality of the antenatal screening process for all such anomalies.

A recent confidential enquiry focussed on CDH and a report of the findings was published in December 2014 by MBRRACE-UK on behalf of NHS England. This report considered the care provided for CDH cases diagnosed before and after birth, and considered all aspects of the care pathway following review of a sample of cases drawn from across the United Kingdom. The report highlighted certain aspects of practice that needed improvement, including the lack of evidence-based guidance for care. It recommended that consensus guidance is needed on the optimal management for the care and treatment for babies diagnosed with CDH and the management of late termination of affected pregnancies. It also flagged the inconsistent information provided to families which sometimes led to misunderstanding; for example the extent to which, with current technology, it is possible to diagnose CDH cases antenatally.

A new neonatal surgical service specification is currently under development which should, once approved, lead to greater accountability and clearer practice in this area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have to capture the experiences of cancer patients outside hospital settings.

Jane Ellison

NHS England now has responsibility for the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) and advises that it plans to continue the surveyin 2015.

Although the sample for the CPES is drawn from those who have had treatment for cancer within a hospital, the questionnaire also asks many questions about the patient’s experience outside of hospital too. For example, the initial process around diagnosis, interactions with a cancer nurse specialist (which may be outside of a hospital setting), home care and support, community nurses and care from their general practitioner. From this, it is possible to learn what the experience of cancer patients has been both inside and outside of a hospital setting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to conduct the National Cancer Patient Experience survey in 2015.

Jane Ellison

NHS England now has responsibility for the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) and advises that it plans to continue the surveyin 2015.

Although the sample for the CPES is drawn from those who have had treatment for cancer within a hospital, the questionnaire also asks many questions about the patient’s experience outside of hospital too. For example, the initial process around diagnosis, interactions with a cancer nurse specialist (which may be outside of a hospital setting), home care and support, community nurses and care from their general practitioner. From this, it is possible to learn what the experience of cancer patients has been both inside and outside of a hospital setting.