Tag: Nicholas Soames

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) better identify visitors to the UK from other EEA countries who are being treated in NHS hospitals and (b) ensure that such visitors’ home countries are charged for their treatment.

Alistair Burt

Since its inception in 2013, the Department of Health’s Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme has been working to design and implement key improvements to ensure that those people who should pay for National Health Service care in England are identified and charged. The Department has also been working closely with the NHS to improve rates of recovery where these healthcare costs are the responsibility of other member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), S1 and S2 mechanisms.

Achievements include:

– the revision of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations that came into force on 6 April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system;

– support of and engagement with NHS providers through meetings with senior trust employees, plus the launch of a Cost Recovery Support Team to provide bespoke assistance to trusts to support them in improving their processes for identifying chargeable patients and recovering funds owed, including those from Europe;

– the launch of the European Health Insurance Card reporting incentive on 1 October 2014. Through this, all EHIC activity correctly reported by NHS secondary providers that enables the UK to make appropriate reimbursement claims from other member states attracts an additional 25% funding of the costs of providing treatment for the benefit of the reporting organisation.

The Department has recently concluded a consultation on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England. Part of the consultation proposes to amend the residence definition for EEA nationals, by which they qualify for free NHS treatment in England. The Government will set out its response to the consultation in due course.

EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the NHS providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who is responsible for litter clearance on the A1.

Andrew Jones

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Highways England is responsible for litter clearance on all England’s motorways and a few selected A roads or trunk roads for specific operational reasons. Local authorities are responsible for litter on all local roads, including the vast majority A roads on the strategic road network.

Highways England is responsible for litter clearance on all sections of the A1(M). All sections of the A1 in England are cleared by the relevant local authorities, with the exception being of a short section of the A1 from the A1(M) junction 1 to the boundary between the Borough of Hertsmere and the London Borough of Barnet.

Litter clearance of the A1 within the Greater London Authority boundary is the responsibility of Transport for London or the relevant London Boroughs. Litter clearance of the A1 in Scotland is a matter for the devolved administration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) prevent and (b) collect litter and waste on the A23/M23.

Andrew Jones

Highways England is responsible for litter clearance on all sections of the M23. It carries out regular inspections to monitor the state of the network and to ensure that they are complying with Environmental Protection Act regulations.

Mid Sussex District Council is responsible for litter picking the A23 trunk road, with the exception of the section between Hooley to Central London which is the responsibility of Transport for London.

Regular meetings between Highways England and the council are held to establish the most appropriate ways to keep the road clear of litter. We are currently agreeing a new framework for working jointly to share traffic management nationally which should be in place in Mid-Sussex and the South East by early June.

Highways England has also set up a liaison group with Surrey County Council and other authorities to look at ways to prevent litter being discarded on our highways and roads.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department provides to air cadet units in West Sussex to participate in (a) gliding and (b) other flying activities.

Mr Julian Brazier

We are strongly committed to gliding and flying in the Air Cadet Organisation. Our immediate priority is to get cadets back flying again, after a gap of about two years. That will start again this year, and should be fully delivered by 2018.

The cadets of West Sussex glide with 615 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) at RAF Kenley and this will continue. This VGS is being expanded as a regional hub, with a project under way to deliver a new operations and accommodation block.

They will also continue to undertake Tutor Air Experience Flights with 6 Air Experience Flight based at RAF Benson.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which GP practice lists in West Sussex have been closed in the last 12 months; and for what reasons each such list was closed.

Alistair Burt

NHS England has advised that two surgeries in West Sussex have closed their practice lists. This information does not account for any practice list closure that may have occurred in April 2016 and May 2016.

Ship Street Surgery in East Grinstead applied to formally close their patient list to new patient registrations, which was approved for a six month period from 1 April 2016, with a review after three months. Additionally, Bridge Medical Centre in Crawley also recently applied to NHS England to formally close its list to new patients, which was approved for a period of 12 months from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, subject to a review at three months.

NHS England advises there has been increased demand on general practitioner services in the area due to new housing developments. NHS England is working with the practices and Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group to put in place action plans to address the situation in East Grinstead.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the failures identified by the Care Quality Commission in the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust were first drawn to his Department’s attention.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department’s attention was first drawn to issues in relation to South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB) NHS Foundation Trust’s NHS 111 service in autumn 2015.

In March 2015, NHS England convened a risk summit meeting involving all partners following the suspension by SECAMB of their unofficial call-handling project. NHS England commissioned an external investigation which was published on 5 November 2015, while an initial report was shared with families involved with the SECAMB’s project in September 2015.

Monitor, the then independent regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts (now part of NHS Improvement), announced on 28 October 2015 that it was taking action against SECAMB. Monitor’s requirements included the development of three reviews. The first; a forensic review of the project itself undertaken by Deloitte was published on 15 March 2016. Second, the Trust has commissioned an independent expert to lead a patient impact review following the call-handling project, which will be finalised shortly. Third, the Trust is required to undertake a full governance review and this will take place once the substantive board is in place.

In the meantime NHS Improvement are working closely with the Trust to support it in addressing known governance, operational and quality issues.

The Government has no plans to set up an inquiry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on delivering the integration of primary and community services with seven-day access in Mid Sussex constituency since 2015-16.

David Mowat

NHS England advises that it is working closely with NHS Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG and local general practitioner (GP) practices to implement seven-day access to primary care. All practices within the Mid Sussex constituency are already operating some level of extended access to patients, including appointments before 8am, evening appointments, and Saturday appointments.

Plans to further integrate local primary and community services are well advanced. Community teams are coming together with groups of GP practices to create a more co-ordinated service. This will improve patient experience and outcomes, ensuring that people see the right healthcare practitioner first time in the right setting, rather than having multiple assessments and appointments.

This work will inform the development of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) for Sussex and East Surrey, which will determine how the local health and care system will evolve over the coming years. The development of the STP is being led locally by clinical commissioning groups, health providers, local authorities and other local partners, and the Department would encourage local hon. Members to contribute to the process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the Sussex Area-Based Review post-16 education and training.

Robert Halfon

As confirmed in the Area Review Guidance published in March 2016, we will publish the area review reports and we expect to publish the Sussex area review in the near future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department is funding on the effects of climate change on agricultural production in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Under the Climate Change Act 2008, the Government has a statutory role to produce, on a five-yearly cycle, an assessment of the risks and opportunities for the UK arising from climate change. The first Climate Change Risk Assessment was published in 2012. Work is underway on the second CCRA, for which Defra is funding the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change to produce the underpinning Evidence Report by July 2016. This will include an up-to-date review of evidence on the effects of climate change on agriculture, and all other sectors. The CCRA Government Report will be laid before Parliament no later than January 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department retains any formal interest in the site of the Royal Hospital Haslar.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Haslar Hospital site in Gosport was sold in November 2009 to Our Enterprise (Haslar) Ltd for £3 million. The Department retains no formal interest in the site.