Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to hold NHS bodies accountable to the recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review.

George Freeman

The Accelerated Access Review, which was set up to look at speeding up access to innovative drugs including those for rare diseases, devices and diagnostics for National Health Service patients, has been making strong progress since it was first announced in November 2014.

The review is independently chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor and has been engaging stakeholders extensively since the summer to gather evidence on the big questions the review is considering, and has developed a number of emerging solutions.

Sir Hugh published his interim report of the review on 27 October 2015. The report is high-level, direction-setting and grounded in evidence gathered through the review’s stakeholder engagement to date. Included in the report were proposals for a National Innovation Partnership of key bodies in the innovation pathway who would be party to a Concordat committing them to the ambitions set out in the review. The review has used a second phase of engagement to work closely with industry stakeholders, Government, the NHS and arm’s length bodies on these and other proposals set out in the interim report.

In April 2016 the review will conclude with Sir Hugh making his final recommendations to Government. The Department will review these recommendations and consider how best to respond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish details of the Global Challenges research fund announced in the Government strategy paper, UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, published on 23 November 2015.

Joseph Johnson

I will publish further details of the Global Challenges Research Fund alongside allocation of the Science Budget shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of winter fuel payments to eligible claimants were made automatically in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The majority of Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically from information already held by the Department. We invite claims mainly from men under 65 who meet the eligibility criteria, as the largest group not identified and paid automatically. Claims can be made up to and including 31 March and are not accepted after that date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.35 of Educational excellence everywhere, Cm 9230, if she will issue guidance on levels of remuneration for non-executive academy trust directors.

Edward Timpson

Academy trusts are independent charities and must comply with charity law. This means that trust directors can only receive payment for carrying out trustee duties with Charity Commission authorisation.

The Charity Commission will only authorise payment to academy trustees where it has been clearly shown to be in the charity’s interests. They will consider issues such as the reasons for payment, whether conflicts of interests are managed appropriately, whether the Principal Regulator (for academies this is the Secretary of State for Education) is agreeable and whether payment of any trustees is in the longer-term interests of the charity. These arrangements are set out in the Department’s Governance Handbook, available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook. It is up to trusts to decide on the level of any such remuneration.

Academy trusts operate under a robust accountability system which holds them to account for the results they achieve and their use of resources. This includes a requirement to publish audited accounts each year allowing the wider public chance to hold academy trusts to account to help make sure that spend is securing better outcomes for pupils.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department requires the armed forces to provide entrants aged under 18 with 280 guided learning hours per year towards accredited qualifications.

Nick Boles

The Education and Skills Act 2008 requires young people to participate in education or training until they are 18. Young people can participate through full-time education, work combined with part-time education or training, or by undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship.

The 16 and 17 year olds joining the armed forces are under a contract of employment but they are not exempt from their duty to participate. Most of these young people meet their duty to participate by undertaking an apprenticeship.

We have agreed with the Ministry of Defence that serving in the armed forces is a valid and valuable career route which provides relevant training for young people.

Apprenticeships are embedded across initial training in the armed forces, with over 95% of all young recruits (no matter what their age or prior qualifications) enrolling in an apprenticeship each year.

All apprenticeships require a minimum of 280 Guided Learning Hours (GLHs) within a 12 month period. The same GLH requirement applies to the small number of young people in the armed forces who are not on an apprenticeship.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.28 of the White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, published in March 2016, how her Department plans to determine which universities will be able to establish a centre of excellence in initial teacher training.

Nick Gibb

The Government’s White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, confirmed that we intend to use a new set of quality criteria to determine how initial teacher training (ITT) places are allocated to training providers in future, ensuring that training is concentrated with the highest-quality providers. On the basis of these criteria, which will include factors such as the quality of trainees recruited, the quality of the training programmes, and the quality of outcomes for trainees, we will designate some providers as Centres of Excellence. We expect to set out further details of the quality criteria that will apply for the 2017/18 training year, and which providers will be designated as Centres of Excellence, when we confirm the methodology for allocating places, which is currently under discussion.

The Department for Education has actively been engaging the ITT sector in discussions about the proposals in the White Paper, including the establishment of ITT Centres of Excellence. Engagement to date has included a series of roundtable discussion events for university- and school-led providers and their representative bodies, such as the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT).

We expect to confirm the allocations methodology for 2017/18 after further consultation with providers and their representative organisations over the summer, in time for the start of recruitment in the autumn term.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the closure of the independent living fund on people who received payments from that fund prior to its closure.

Penny Mordaunt

The Government has fully funded local authorities to meet their additional obligations to service users previously in receipt of the Independent Living Fund for the remainder of this Parliament.

When the Department closed the Independent Living Fund, a commitment was made to conduct research into the impact of the closure. This will be based on interviews with former users and with Local Authorities. The research is on-going and will be published in due course.

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.