Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of patients in the UK with undiagnosed heart valve disease in the last year for which data is available.

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that scientists and technicians working in the health sector should be registered with a professional body such as the Science Council.

Ben Gummer

There are no plans to require scientists and technicians working in the health sector to register with a professional body such as the Science Council. While voluntary registration schemes, such as those overseen by the Science Council, provide an important mechanism for assuring the standards of professional staff, it is a matter for individual staff and their employing organisation as to how they make use of the assurance provided by voluntary registration schemes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45149, how many climate change experts are employed by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Department’s activity to tackle climate change cuts across the work of various teams and is undertaken by officials across a number of professions, including policy advisors, scientists, engineers and economists. In addition the Department has access to a range of experts from outside the Department including academia and organisations such as the Met Office Hadley Centre. Consequently, it is not possible to provide an exact number of officials who could be called climate change experts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Matthew Hancock

Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to embed the family test into its policy making.

Mr David Gauke

Officials in my Department have liaised with DWP as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether new guidance has been issued to her Department on drafting responses to written parliamentary questions.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education regularly refreshes its internal guidance on drafting responses to written parliamentary questions to ensure that it is up to date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 24002, how many steering group meetings of the area reviews of post-16 education and training have taken place in (a) Birmingham and Solihull, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Sheffield City Region, (d) Tees Valley, (e) Sussex, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire since September 2015; and which such steering group meetings regional schools commissioners attended.

Nick Boles

All Wave 1 Area Reviews have held a number of local steering group meetings, of which RSCs are members. Dates of some of the steering group meetings are in the public domain, as are details of membership of the steering groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by Sir Stephen Bubb, Time for Change: the challenge ahead, published in February 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a commissioner for people with learning disabilities.

Alistair Burt

The Department will consider the recommendations made in Time for Change – the Challenge Ahead, as part of development work on our Learning Disability Action Plan and in delivering the commitments we made in the Government’s response to ‘No voice unheard, no right ignored’ consultation published in November 2015. However, new statutory roles and legislation are not necessarily the answer to promoting and protecting the rights of people with learning disabilities and their families.

In the response to ‘No voice unheard, no right ignored’, we set out how we can make more rapid and meaningful progress by ensuring that the rights that exist under current laws and statutes are properly understood, implemented and exercised by those with learning disabilities and/or autism. This work is underway and we have made a clear commitment to consider legislation if the actions we propose do not create sufficient progress.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people had retrospective claims for winter fuel payments agreed for 2013-14.

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 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his plans are for the body that will replace the BBC Trust.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in the Spring.