Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the skills of nurses relating to treatment of people with learning disabilities.

    Ben Gummer

    It is the responsibility of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified nurses are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in awareness of learning disabilities.

    Higher Education Institutions are responsible for ensuring the programmes they provide allow healthcare students to meet the outcomes set out by the NMC upon graduation.

    Health Education England (HEE) has been working with NHS England and other national partners to set out a far-reaching plan to transform services for people with a learning disability, to make significant and lasting improvements to their care and lives. At present, this is particularly focused on supporting the transforming care programme and scaling and spreading the lessons learnt from engagement with fast-track sites.

    The Department has commissioned Skills for Health, Skills for Care and HEE to develop a Learning Disabilities Core Skills Education and Training Framework which will be launched in May and is aimed at all health and social care workers who have not received training in learning disabilities, especially those nurses from other fields of nursing such as adult, children and mental health nurses.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for the Independent Case Examiner to review accepted cases; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    During the 2015/16 financial year complaints examined by the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office took an average of 37 weeks to process from the point at which they were accepted.

    Improvements in complaint handling within DWP mean that the ICE Office receive far fewer cases which can be resolved, to the complainant’s satisfaction, without a full investigation of the evidence. This means that the ICE process is reserved for more complex cases which are, by nature, more time consuming.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ráad al Hussein, of 10 May 2016, what his policy is on the government of Turkey conducting prompt and independent investigations into alleged violations of human rights by Turkish security forces, alleged extra-judicial killings and disproportionate use of force.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We are aware of several public reports regarding alleged events in Cizre. We agree with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ráad al Hussein that it is essential that authorities respect human rights at all times while undertaking security or counter-terrorism operations.

    We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the PKK, a terrorist organisation which has killed hundreds of innocent people in the past year. A PKK offshoot – the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK – has also claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks, including an indiscriminate suicide car bombing in central Ankara on 13 March that killed over 30 people. Our thoughts are with the victims of PKK attacks, and the civilians who have been caught up in the recent conflict.

    Our Ambassador to Turkey and I have discussed with the Turkish government the importance of respecting human rights and avoiding civilian casualties in the fight against terrorism. We believe the first responsibility for investigating any alleged violations falls to Turkey. And that the PKK needs to cease violence in order to create the conditions for political resolution of the difficulties in the south east.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to (a) invest in and (b) modernise Territorial Army centres.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Department continues to develop and invest in the Army Reserves, including its infrastructure and estate, in line with commitments set out in the Reserves White Paper (Cm8655) published on 3 July 2013 and accompanying statement (Official Report, column 49WS) and through our wider estate optimisation plans.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the result of the EU referendum on inward investment to the (a) North and (b) North East of England.

    Simon Kirby

    Before the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the UK government published short-term and long-term assessments of the likely impact on all regions of the UK economy from leaving the EU. HM Government is monitoring economic developments closely and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility will produce an updated economic forecast alongside Autumn Statement 2016.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Independent Commission the Freedom of Information on the number of occasions it plans to meet in order to finalise its report.

    Matthew Hancock

    It is for the independent Commission on Freedom of Information to organise its programme of work.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 13 of the NHS’ Five Year Forward View, what progress NHS England has made on the commitment to give patients choice over where and how they receive care; and how progress on that commitment will be assessed.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England is working to secure a sustained improvement in awareness, offer, operation and take up of choice by 2020. This includes supporting the independent Maternity Services Review, which is due for publication early in the New Year, and taking forward any recommendations that relate to choice; improving the quality of End of Life Care and the choices people should have about where they receive their care and where they choose to die; strengthening choice in both physical and mental health elective services, to ensure that the NHS honours patients’ legal rights to choice of who provides their care; and securing choice in the design and implementation of new care models for the future NHS.

    NHS England has brought this work together with their programmes on personal health budgets and integrated personal commissioning, under a new Director and with additional resource, to accelerate the work in all of these areas in support of the Five Year Forward View commitment to deliver greater patient empowerment. Improvements will be assessed through a new national assessment framework for clinical commissioning groups.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had any discussions with International Cat Care and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association about international feline welfare issues.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Ministers have not been approached by International Cat Care or the World Small Animal Veterinary Association so no such discussions have taken place.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the announcement by the Prime Minister on enhancing mental health services on 11 January 2016, what the basis is for the figure of £290 million to be invested in perinatal mental health care; how that funding will be allocated; and how the efficacy of that funding will be measured.

    Alistair Burt

    This Government is committed to improving access to perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year. In January 2016 the Government set out that an additional £290 million will be made available over the next five years to 2020/21, over and above the money identified in the Spring Budget, to invest in perinatal mental health services. This is funded from within the Department’s overall Spending Review settlement and means that in total from 2015/16 to 2020/21 £365 million will be invested in perinatal mental health services.

    We are aware that there is unacceptable variation in the levels of access to high quality, NICE-recommended specialist perinatal mental health care for women across England. A 2014 census identified that 40% of women in England have no access to specialist perinatal mental health services and that is why we have confirmed this additional investment. The funding should enable significant progress towards closing this gap and will help to enable women across the country to access evidence-based specialist support, in the community or through inpatient mother and baby services, closer to their home, when they need it. It is anticipated that, by 2020/21, around 30,000 more women should be able to access appropriate specialist support.

    This new funding, together with the recommendations of the forthcoming report of the independent Mental Health Taskforce, will enable NHS England to work with partners to design a longer-term transformation programme to build capacity and capability in specialist perinatal mental health services over the next five years. This will include setting detailed plans for how the additional investment will be targeted over the period to 2020/21 and setting clear outcome measures and metrics to monitor the impact of the funding on perinatal mental health provision.

    In 2015/16 work is already underway to lay the foundations for this longer-term work programme through targeted funding of activities to build capacity in specialist services. This will include, for example, a £1 million investment in strengthening clinical networks across the country. It is also expected to include the provision of national and regional benchmarking data and analytical support to regions, and work to develop clinical leadership capacity. Work will also continue to support the development of specialist mother and baby units in the regions identified as most in need of new services.

    To ensure the workforce are available and appropriately trained, NHS England is working closely with Health Education England and key stakeholders to better understand the future workforce commissioning requirements and how it is best to meet multi professional education and training needs.

  • David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) time taken to introduce and (b) cost of introduction of a system of in-work benefits for newly-arrived EU nationals as envisaged in Section D of the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016.

    Priti Patel

    These are issues to be answered as part of the implementation process.