Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Chief Executive of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust has made a request to (a) the military and (b) the Cabinet Office to fully cover the 24 hour accident and emergency service at Chorley and South Ribble Accident & Emergency unit.

    Ben Gummer

    These are operational matters for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and we have written to Stuart Heys, Chair of the Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s questions. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on supply teachers of new restrictions on tax relief for travel and subsistence expenses for workers engaged through an employment intermediary.

    Mr David Gauke

    The changes to tax relief for travel and subsistence only affect those who work through an employment intermediary. The planned changes will put supply teachers employed through an intermediary on the same terms as other supply teachers, either contracted directly, or through an agency contract.

    The Government’s general assessment of the effects of the measure can be found in the Tax Information and Impact Note: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-employment-intermediaries-and-relief-for-travel-and-subsistence/income-tax-employment-intermediaries-and-relief-for-travel-and-subsistence

    The Government undertook detailed consultation on these proposals. Further assessment can be found in the summary of responses to the consultation document published on this change: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483389/Employment_Intermediaries_and_Tax_Relief_for_Travel_and_Subsistence_-_Summary_of_Responses__M7057_.pdf

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  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the NHS has to ensure that clinicians are able to maintain clinical expertise in procedures offered through the Commissioning through Evaluation programme in the event that patient access is withdrawn during the analysis phase of that programme.

    David Mowat

    Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) is an innovative £25 million programme introduced by NHS England in 2013. It specifically aims to generate valuable new evaluation data in promising areas of specialised care where the current evidence base of cost and clinical effectiveness is insufficient to support routine National Health Service commissioning, and where further formal research trials are thought to be less likely.

    Each scheme – put forward by senior clinicians and other stakeholders – is funded on a time limited basis in a small number of selected centres, and then evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

    Once the planned number of patients has been recruited across the participating centres, each scheme closes to new patients and analysis begins. This means that the funding identified for each scheme can then be reinvested into the evaluation of additional potentially life changing specialised treatments to maximise the value and impact of the overall evaluation fund for patients. As an example, routinely funding Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy contrary to the currently published clinical commissioning policy and in advance of a formal review of any new evidence would mean that between £2 million and £4 million per year (covering the surgical costs and immediate follow up only) would then be unavailable to support the evaluation of other promising treatments.

    The analysis phase for each CtE scheme will typically take between one and two years depending on how long we need to follow up patients after their treatment to identify its effectiveness. The three cardiology based CtE schemes are currently scheduled for a 15 month analysis and reporting phase, after which the data can be used by NHS England to support policy review.

    However, CtE is only one form of data that might be put forward in considering a new (or revision to an existing) policy and clinicians do not need to await the final report from CtE schemes if they feel that other new substantive data becomes available more quickly.

    NHS England’s published clinical commissioning policies (which set out eligibility for NHS funded specialised care on the basis of the available evidence) can be reviewed at any time where there is thought to be substantive new evidence available, and around 100 such proposals were developed and considered by NHS England during 2016/17.

    The policy development process is subject to both informal stakeholder testing and formal public consultation, including the opportunity for patients, clinicians and industry representatives to review and comment on the evidence base considered and the assessed impact on patients, existing services and cost.

    Where a new service is routinely commissioned as a result of a policy review, NHS England works with commissioned providers to ensure that sufficient clinical expertise and supporting infrastructure is in place to provide a safe service to patients in line with nationally set requirements.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate has been made of the (a) coastguard and (b) lifeguard capacity on UK (i) beaches and (ii) coastal waters.

    Mr John Hayes

    Her Majesty’s Coastguard’s Volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams are appropriately trained and so can be deployed for any incident on beaches or at the coast. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency continually monitors the local provision of this capability.

    Safety at public beaches, and specifically the provision of lifeguarding services, is generally the responsibility of the local authority, who carry out risk assessments to determine appropriate safety measures.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many female inpatient mental health beds there were on (a) Saturday 7 November 2015 and (b) Sunday 8 November 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not hold this information centrally. However we know that there were beds available across the country the weekend in question. Where there are shortages of beds, we would expect trusts to respond appropriately to any increase in demand. Providers and commissioners work in collaboration to ensure that they secure the most appropriate beds or places as close to home as possible.

    The Government has made it clear that beds must always be available for those who need them. We have set out in our Mandate to NHS England that plans must be put in place to ensure no one in mental health crisis will be turned away.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 December (HL4036), what assessment they have made of whether it is appropriate for the Chief Executive of NHS England to take part in a political debate programme, and of whether doing so is consistent with the requirement for senior public servants to remain politically neutral; and whether they plan to issue new guidance to NHS England on the basis of that assessment.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, is not a civil servant and it is for him to take decisions on invitations received. There are no plans to issue guidance to NHS England.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the cost to business of the closure of the West Coast Main Line between Glasgow and Carlisle.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail and the relevant passenger and freight train operators have been working collaboratively since the closure to provide the best practicable alternative travel options for the traffic which uses this part of the West Coast Main Line with the aim of minimising the adverse impact on users.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the value was to the UK economy of the game meat market in each of the last five years.

    Anna Soubry

    Official statistics are not broken down in sufficient detail in order to separate the value added and employment attached to the processing and sale of game-meat from that of other meat or poultry products.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to introduce a statutory time limit for dealing with appeals under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office of 24 March 2016, Official Report, column 209, on the Policing and Crime Bill, how her Department defines warranted in the context of warranted officers; and what assessment she has made of whether Clause 28 of the Policing and Crime Bill would give warranted powers to staff and volunteers.

    Mike Penning

    In the context of warranted officers and in relation to the Policing and Crime Bill, “warranted” means attested as a constable. The Bill sets out a series of reforms, endorsed in a public consultation, that will enhance the powers of chief police officers to designate police staff and volunteers with a broad range of powers or duties, other than those core powers that will be available only to constables. In making this distinction, we are underlining the central place of the constable in policing.

    These reforms will free up police officers to concentrate on the core policing tasks that most require their particular powers and experience, while enabling chief police officers to deploy a flexible and balanced workforce with the appropriate mix of skills and experience to keep our communities safe. We know there is demand from forces to introduce these volunteer roles – Lincolnshire, for example, have already recruited and trained volunteer Police Community Support Officers, who are waiting for this Bill to pass so they can be given powers appropriate to their roles and training.

    If it is acceptable to confer all the powers of a constable on one type of volunteer, namely special constables, it is inconsistent to object in principle to conferring a narrower set of powers on other suitably trained volunteers. Chief officers are best placed to decide how to shape their workforce to meet local need and the reforms in the Bill enable them to do just that.