Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will review whether the recent guidance, keeping children safe in education, distinguishes between legislation which applies to further education colleges as opposed to sixth form colleges; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Department for Education’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance is clear that it applies to children under the age of 18 in both further education and sixth-form colleges.

We are currently considering requests for clarification to the guidance as part of our implementation review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to tackle homophobic bullying in universities.

Joseph Johnson

Homophobia has no place on a university campus, nor anywhere else. This is a serious matter where a zero tolerance approach is required. Universities are already tackling the issue through a range of initiatives, including working with expert organisations such as Stonewall.

Universities have duties through the Equality Act 2010 and in particular the Public Sector Equality Duty applies to publicly funded universities and requires them to have “due regard” to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation of students on the grounds of sexual orientation. Institutions themselves are responsible for making sure that their policies and practice meet their legal duties.

However, more can be done. The Department is working with Universities UK, the body that represents universities, which has established a task force to explore what more can be done by universities to address harassment. The task force, which will involve the Department along with students and relevant sector bodies, will look at harassment in all its forms whether related to gender, religion and belief, sexual orientation or disability. Although it is for the task force to decide what the outcomes will be it is likely that the focus will be on practical actions to support universities to combat these issues and to safeguard students.

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 2014-05-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to improve awareness of and early intervention for rheumatoid arthritis.

Norman Lamb

In 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published clinical guidance on the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults, which set outs best practice on the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of patients. The guidance makes clear the importance of early diagnosis and is explicit that suspected cases should be referred as an urgent priority for specialist assessment and that early initiation of treatment can prevent irreversible damage to joints.

In addition to this, information on the diagnosis and treatment of RA can also be accessed via the NICE Clinical Knowledge summaries website at:

http://cks.nice.org.uk/rheumatoid-arthritis

and more general information for the public can be found on the NHS Choices website at:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis

Through the mandate we have asked NHS England to make measurable progress towards making our health service among the best in Europe at supporting people with ongoing health problems, such as RA, to live healthily and independently, with much better control over the care they receive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-05-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools and academies have (a) opened a new sixth form and (b) closed their sixth form in each year since 2005.

Matthew Hancock

The Department for Education does not collect the data in the format requested.