Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in the light of the recommendations of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 2011 that NICE and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency should be instructed to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug bevacizumab in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and produce national guidelines for the use of anti-VEGF agents in AMD.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department has no plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop technology appraisal guidance on the use of bevacizumab for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Bevacizumab is not licensed for use in the treatment of wet AMD. Other licensed drugs are available for the treatment of AMD and have been recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance as clinically and cost effective. The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance. NICE is currently developing a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of AMD and currently expects to issue final guidance in August 2017.

  • Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what educational provision there is for offenders who are unable to read or write.

    Nick Boles

    The Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) arrangements deliver a broad range of provision in adult prisons across England, operating within funding rules set by the Skills Funding Agency. Those funding rules require providers to deliver a core curriculum, commissioned by the prison Governor or the lead Governor for a cluster of prisons, in conjunction with the Skills Funding Agency, which must include mandatory initial assessment of English (and maths) for all prisoners on reception to custody as well as English, maths and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on empowering tenants in the private rented sector to ensure landlords carry out reasonable repairs.

    Brandon Lewis

    On 1 February 2016 we issued a new Model Tenancy Agreement and updated our How to Rent Guide which makes clear landlord responsibilities in terms of carrying out repairs. The vast majority of landlords in the private rented sector provide good quality and well managed accommodation. We know that 84% of private renters are satisfied with their accommodation, and stay in their homes for an average of 3 and a half years.

    If a tenant feels that the property they are renting is unsafe, and the landlord fails to get the necessary repairs done, they should contact their local authority which has powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to assess the risks and hazards. If a property is found to contain serious (category 1) hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action, which could range from trying to deal with the problems informally at first to prohibiting the use of the whole or part of the dwelling.

    The Housing and Planning Bill contains measures to tackle rogue landlords who rent out sub-standard accommodation. Proposals include a database of rogue landlords and property agents, introducing banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a tougher fit and proper person test, extending Rent Repayment Orders and introducing civil penalties.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by what date he expects all local authorities to be fully reimbursed for flood protection grants they have paid to (a) households and (b) businesses.

    James Wharton

    To date over £48 million has been paid out to local authorities through the Community and Business Recovery Fund and Council Tax and Business Rates discounts to assist households and businesses affected by the floods caused by Storms Desmond and Eva.

    Local authorities have not notified the Department of any allowable costs not covered by the sums transferred. It is expected that further payments will be made shortly as flooded property numbers are confirmed and further funds requested.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make representations to the National Infrastructure Commission on assessing the potential merits of building ultra-super critical coal-fired power stations in the UK.

    Greg Hands

    The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will have a mandate to examine all sectors of economic infrastructure, including energy. The NIC will shortly undertake work on a National Infrastructure Assessment, which will set out the UK’s infrastructure needs for the next 10-30 years.

    Coal fired power stations without abatement are not consistent with meeting our decarbonisation objectives. This is why the Government has committed to consulting on phasing out unabated coal by 2025 and to restricting the amount of coal generation in 2023.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2016 to Question 31789, how many people were (a) newly diagnosed and (b) already diagnosed as suffering from inflammatory bowel disease in each year since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    The two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine whereas Crohn’s disease affects the whole of the digestive system. Data relating to the total number of people newly and already diagnosed with IBD in each year since 2010 is not collected.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance indicates that ulcerative colitis has an incidence in the United Kingdom of approximately 10 per 100,000 people annually, and a prevalence of approximately 240 per 100,000. This amounts to around 146,000 people in the UK with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. In addition to this, there are currently at least 115,000 people in the UK with Crohn’s disease.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of embryonic stem cell research for the development of treatments for patients.

    George Freeman

    Treatments based on the use of stem cells including those obtained by embryos must be demonstrated to be both safe and effective before they can receive authorisation.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Rwanda about the visit to that country by Omar al Bashir, President of Sudan, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Rwanda is not a State party to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is important that fugitives from international justice do not enjoy impunity and we note the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1593) has urged all States to cooperate fully with the ICC and its Prosecutor with regards to the situation in Darfur. We continue to follow closely developments in the ICC, including the level of States’ cooperation with the Court, and will consider further measures as appropriate.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has carried out a (a) policy equality statement, (b) equality impact assessment or (c) any equality monitoring on its contracts with Compass to provide accommodation to asylum seekers since those contracts were signed in 2012.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office is currently considering any equality impacts as part of the wider considerations as to whether to extend the asylum support and accommodation contracts for the period from 2017-19.

    The Home Office takes its equality duty seriously and engages regularly with Non-Governmental Organisations and its contractors to ensure that support and accommodation for asylum seekers meets the needs of individual service users.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many advanced nurse practitioners were employed by the NHS in each region of the UK in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    An advanced nurse practitioner is generally accepted to be a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context of practice. A Master’s Degree is recommended for entry level to an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANPs) role. This role is not defined by the Nursing Midwifery Council or the Department.

    Today ANPs work in a variety of health care settings and in a number of different roles, which range from a nurse consultant managing a specialist service in a hospital to being a nurse partner within a general practice.

    Information on how many ANPs are employed by the National Health Service in each region of the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is not held by the Department.

    We have made it clear that we are not planning to impose a ‘one size fits all model’ for our plan to provide a seven-day NHS. It will be for local commissioners and providers to decide how best to deliver seven day services in hospitals and for them to work with their Local Education and Training Boards to develop workforce plans to support this.

    Although not explicitly mentioned in NHS England’s Five Year Forward view, ANPs are part of the solution to addressing the health and well-being gap; care and quality gap; and funding gap. For example, ANPs are involved in the new care models such as in Derbyshire. The Derbyshire Vanguard site will develop a prevention team made up of health and care professionals including general practitioners (GPs), ANPs, mental health nurses, extended care support and therapy support.

    Seven day access does not mean that every GP must work every day or that all practices must open at evenings and weekends. Through schemes such as the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, practices are encouraged to collaborate together in delivering more convenient and accessible services for patients in the evenings and weekends through multiple methods including innovative use of technology, working together at scale, and better use of skill mix to both improve patient care and release GP capacity.

    The recent independent evaluation of the first wave of the PM’s GP Access Fund reported that “evidence to date suggests that the strategy of making more use of nursing staff, particularly Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANPs), is resulting in benefits including released GP capacity…”