Tag: Nick Thomas-Symonds

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for which drugs he is the marketing authorisation holder; and under what circumstances he became the marketing authorisation holder for each such drug.

George Freeman

The Secretary of State currently holds a market authorisation for one drug, Healthy Start Children’s Vitamins Drops.

This product was originally granted a licence in 1972 as licence of right. The reasons for this likely stem from the need to ensure supply of this product when a commercial supply of a similar product could not be procured.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22400, if he will meet the hon. Member for Torfaen to discuss the case of Norman James.

Robert Buckland

I am happy to meet any Honourable Member where appropriate to discuss any issues for which I am accountable to this House. However, in this case I do not believe that a meeting would serve a particular purpose as I am accountable only for the decisions of the Crown Prosecution Service, and the specific allegations raised by Mr James are ones that would be more appropriate for the police to investigate. As I pointed out in my previous answer the CPS has no investigatory powers in this regard.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on its role in negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Alun Cairns

The Prime Minister has committed to full engagement with the Devolved Administrations to get the best possible deal for all parts of our United Kingdom as we leave the EU.

We will give the Welsh Government every opportunity to have their say as we form our negotiating strategy and we will look at any suggestions they put forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NICE on conducting health technology appraisals for off-patent drugs that have been proven to be effective in new indications.

George Freeman

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the subject of technology appraisals for off-patent drugs in new indications. NICE does not routinely appraise drugs outside their licensed indications.

NICE does, however, issue evidence summaries which summarise the published evidence for selected unlicensed or off-label medicines that are considered to be of significance to the NHS, where there are no clinically appropriate licensed alternatives. They support decision-making on the use of an unlicensed or off-label medicine for an individual patient, where there are good clinical reasons for its use, usually when there is no licensed medicine for the condition requiring treatment, or the licensed medicine is not appropriate for that individual. Examples of evidence summaries can be found at:

http://www.nice.org.uk/advice?type=esuom

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on developing proposals for implementing the Youth Obligation; and what organisations his Department are consulting to inform that process.

Priti Patel

The detailed policy design is still under development. We will set out our policy design for the Youth Obligation in due course.

We will be conducting a stakeholder engagement exercise with organisations and employers shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many safety inspections the Health and Safety Executive carried out in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the number of such inspections the Executive will be able to make with the planned budget for 2019-20.

Justin Tomlinson

The Health and Safety Executive undertook approximately 18,000 targeted inspections in 2015/16, and will seek to maintain current levels of its core regulatory activities, including inspection, each year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has provided for clinical commissioning groups on the commissioning of off-patent drugs for use in new indications.

George Freeman

NHS England supports the national commissioning system in England, including the provision of guidance to the service, where appropriate.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not routinely appraise drugs outside their licensed indications. Where drugs are not appraised by NICE, it is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to decide how drugs should be funded locally, in line with any guidance from NHS England. The Department has produced no guidance and had no discussions with CCGs on off-label drug use.

Many thousands of patients benefit from the use of off-patent drugs, off-label, every day in the National Health Service. NICE publishes Evidence Summaries on unlicensed and off-label medicines. These provide a summary of the published evidence for selected unlicensed or off-label medicines that are considered to be of significance to the NHS, usually when there is no licensed medicine for the condition requiring treatment or no licensed medicines are appropriate for a significant proportion of people requiring treatment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which universities have (a) introduced and (b) committed to introduce degree apprenticeships since September 2015; how many such degree apprenticeships each such university has introduced since September 2015; and in which industries those degree apprenticeships have been in.

Nick Boles

We will not have final numbers until after the academic year in question, however Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data for August to October 2015 (reported to date and rounded to the nearest 10) show that two universities – Sheffield Hallam University and University of Northumbria at Newcastle – have reported Level 6 apprenticeship standards starts. Sheffield Hallam University has 10 Level 6 apprenticeship standards starts in the management and leadership discipline, and University of Northumbria at Newcastle has 20 Level 6 apprenticeship standard starts in the digital industry.

A further 19 universities have committed to the introduction of higher and degree apprenticeships since September 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of implementation of the Health and Safety Executive’s strategy, Helping Great Britain work well on the number of workplace accidents.

Justin Tomlinson

HSE regularly reviews the implementation of its strategies – including the new strategy for the health and safety system – and reports the findings in its annual report. HSE’s latest annual report is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/ara-2014-15.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical commissioning groups on commissioning of off-patent drugs for use in new indications.

George Freeman

NHS England supports the national commissioning system in England, including the provision of guidance to the service, where appropriate.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not routinely appraise drugs outside their licensed indications. Where drugs are not appraised by NICE, it is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to decide how drugs should be funded locally, in line with any guidance from NHS England. The Department has produced no guidance and had no discussions with CCGs on off-label drug use.

Many thousands of patients benefit from the use of off-patent drugs, off-label, every day in the National Health Service. NICE publishes Evidence Summaries on unlicensed and off-label medicines. These provide a summary of the published evidence for selected unlicensed or off-label medicines that are considered to be of significance to the NHS, usually when there is no licensed medicine for the condition requiring treatment or no licensed medicines are appropriate for a significant proportion of people requiring treatment.