Tag: Nicholas Soames

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on people with long-term health conditions in each financial year from 2000-01 to 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The most recent estimate on overall costs of long term conditions is set out in the Long Term Conditions Compendium of Information: Third Edition, which was published in 2012. The Compendium estimates that, in total, around 70% of the total health and care spend in England is attributed to caring for people with long term conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he takes to ensure that statutory undertakers carrying out emergency works give notice to street authorities as required under section 57 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Failure by statutory undertakers to notify the highway authority when they carry out emergency works under section 57 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) is an offence. The authority concerned may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice, or the authority may initiate a prosecution against the undertaker for the offence.

If the authority is a permitting authority under the Traffic Management Act 2004, section 57 of NRSWA is dis-applied, and is replaced with an offence of undertaking works without a required permit, which the authority may also deal with by Fixed Penalty, or may initiate a prosecution for the offence.

These offences are all dealt with by the appropriate highway authority at a local level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to improve the quality of adult social care; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The Government is committed to improving the quality of adult social care. We have taken a number of recent steps to do so.

In October 2014, we introduced a tougher inspection system by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Following inspections, the CQC now also awards each care service a single quality rating with providers rated as “Outstanding”, “Good”, “Requires Improvement” or “Inadequate”. Services rated “Inadequate” are being placed into Special Measure which means they could face closure if they fail to improve.

These new ratings and other information about the type and quality of care at every care home and homecare service in the country are now available on NHS Choices and the MyNHS Transparency website, making it much easier for people to compare the quality of services.

This year we introduced a Certificate of Fundamental Care, now known as the Care Certificate. This will help ensure that care workers can deliver a consistently high quality standard of care.

The Department is funding and working with a number of organisations including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Skills for Care, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association on a range of projects to help adult social care organisations and staff improve the quality of care. These resources include new NICE Quality Standards and Guidelines which bring clarity to what excellence looks like in care and Commissioning for Better Outcomes – A Route Map* that sets out a series of commissioning standards that will be used as part of local government sector-led improvement to drive best practices in local authority commissioning under their new duties in the Care Act 2015.

*Available at:

http://www.local.gov.uk/documents/10180/5756320/Commissioning+for+Better+Outcomes+A+route+map/8f18c36f-805c-4d5e-b1f5-d3755394cfab

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria he is using to decide the future location of the Household Cavalry Regiment.

Anna Soubry

There are no plans to move the Household Cavalry Regiment from their current location in Combermere Barracks, Windsor.

A study is being conducted into the future use of the Department’s central London estate, including the current location of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park Barracks. Any decision to relocate the Regiment will be based on the ability to deliver alternative facilities which meet the Regiment’s operational and infrastructure requirements, and the demonstration of value for money for the Defence budget.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department paid in spectrum charges in each financial year from 1999-2000 to 2014-15.

Mike Penning

The table below details the amount the Department paid in spectrum charges from 2009/10 to 2014/15. The variation in charges from 2010 is the result of Home Office reducing its holdings by sharing and releasing spectrum. Use of spectrum in the years from 1999 to 2009 remained at a constant level and our records indicate this was charged at £2,916,000 per annum.

Financial Year/ Cost:

2009-2010 £2,916,000

2010-2011 £2,819,820

2011-2012 £2,317,836

2012-2013 £1,779,309

2013-2014 £1,816,022

2014-2015 £1,325,654

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department will not be flying the Commonwealth Flag on Commonwealth Day; and by whom that decision was taken.

Mr David Lidington

In addition to flying the Union Flag at all times, it is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s policy to fly the flags of the nations of the United Kingdom on the appropriate national days, and the flags of the British Overseas Territories on the day that is most significant in each of their histories. The Foreign Secretary is responsible for FCO policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will conduct or commission an investigation into the knock-on effects of current engineering works at London Bridge.

Claire Perry

Network Rail and train operators Southern and Thameslink are fully aware of the issues that caused the disruption to services into London Bridge from 5 January. Since that date they have worked closely to resolve these issues and improve reliability.

Network Rail, Southern and Thameslink have committed to incorporate lessons learned from these events into the planning of future phases of work at London Bridge. They will also incorporate lessons learnt from the disruption seen at Kings Cross and Paddington over Christmas and the recommendation included in the recent ORR report into these issues.

I do not consider a further investigation necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of adult social care provided by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The Government is committed to improving the quality of adult social care. We have taken a number of recent steps to do so.

In October 2014, we introduced a tougher inspection system by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Following inspections, the CQC now also awards each care service a single quality rating with providers rated as “Outstanding”, “Good”, “Requires Improvement” or “Inadequate”. Services rated “Inadequate” are being placed into Special Measure which means they could face closure if they fail to improve.

These new ratings and other information about the type and quality of care at every care home and homecare service in the country are now available on NHS Choices and the MyNHS Transparency website, making it much easier for people to compare the quality of services.

This year we introduced a Certificate of Fundamental Care, now known as the Care Certificate. This will help ensure that care workers can deliver a consistently high quality standard of care.

The Department is funding and working with a number of organisations including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Skills for Care, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association on a range of projects to help adult social care organisations and staff improve the quality of care. These resources include new NICE Quality Standards and Guidelines which bring clarity to what excellence looks like in care and Commissioning for Better Outcomes – A Route Map* that sets out a series of commissioning standards that will be used as part of local government sector-led improvement to drive best practices in local authority commissioning under their new duties in the Care Act 2015.

*Available at:

http://www.local.gov.uk/documents/10180/5756320/Commissioning+for+Better+Outcomes+A+route+map/8f18c36f-805c-4d5e-b1f5-d3755394cfab

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of delayed transfers in West Sussex; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

Action taken to address delayed transfers in West Sussex is a matter for the local health and social care community.

We understand that Crawley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG are monitoring any delays on a daily basis, and working closely with colleagues in social care and community health teams. Coordinated actions between health and social care include dedicated meetings focusing on delayed transfers of care held each week; proactive management of patient flow via daily ward rounds; implementation of a daily “SITREP” and escalation process for patients who are significantly delayed; and ward sponsorship by local managers to support change.

Sussex Community NHS Trust is undertaking a detailed review of these issues, and has put an action plan in place to address them.

The CCGs are also working in partnership with West Sussex County Council to develop an integrated hospital discharge model, and have already established a Hospital Rapid Discharge Team at Princess Royal Hospital which is reducing the number of patients that go on to the wards by between 25% – 30%.

We are advised that these efforts have resulted in a steady reduction in average length of stay over recent months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department has received on reasons for absences of train drivers and cancellations of services operated by Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd.

Claire Perry

The Department receives regular reports from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) regarding train operating performance. These reports include reasons for driver absences and train cancellations. Department officials routinely meet with GTR managers and senior directors to review all performance issues and cancellations due to driver resources.