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.
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.
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.
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…”
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the needs of mesothelioma patients in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Spending Review has not made such an assessment. It makes an overall assessment at the national level of the activity increases the National Health Service needs to meet, including as a result of need and demographic change. The assessment is not condition or location specific. It is for individual clinical commissioning groups to assess the health needs of their local populations and how best to meet them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Eurostar on stopping services at Stratford International station.
Claire Perry
I recognise the international importance of the HS1 network in allowing high-speed rail services from London to reach Europe, whilst noting that no international services currently serve Stratford International station. Eurostar, in which the government recently sold its 40% stake, accesses the HS1 network on an open access basis and is not subject to the terms of a franchise agreement or a contract let by government. Government has no power to direct or specify that Eurostar stops at Stratford International station. A decision made by Eurostar not to serve Stratford International would be as a result of commercial imperatives and priorities, for example, the potential revenue derived from customers using the station or the increased journey time which a further stop would involve. It would not be appropriate for government to interfere with that decision-making process. I have not received any recent representations on this matter from potential or actual train operators; who in any event, should address their questions to HS1 Ltd, as the infrastructure manager, in the first instance; nor have I held any discussions with Eurostar on the matter of services to Stratford.
Regarding any aspirations of Deutsche Bahn to commence operation of international services from St Pancras International, this is rightly a matter for HS1 Ltd as the infrastructure manager, who I understand have held discussions with a number of potential new entrants, including Deutsche Bahn. It would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing commercial discussions between those parties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with NATO on monitoring Russian manoeuvres along its borders with NATO member states.
Mr Julian Brazier
NATO constantly monitors and assesses the threats it faces across its borders. The Readiness Action Plan, comprising assurance and adaptation measures, is designed to strengthen NATO’s collective defence posture and crisis management capability and help deter Russia from hostile activity. The UK has recently renewed its call for intelligence to be shared amongst NATO members to deliver situational awareness. We are also encouraging NATO to enhance its capability for monitoring, assessing the effects of, and responding to threatening behaviour. NATO is focussing on being ‘adaptable by design’ so the Alliance is ready to face any new and emerging threats from wherever they come.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department is assessing potential alternatives to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme to which the Renewable Heat Incentive is linked.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department is in the process of working with the microgeneration industry to establish the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) as a legal entity that will operate independently of the Government. There is an established process for alternative schemes to MCS to come forward through the United Kingdom Accreditation Service and equivalent accreditation bodies in the EU. For example, through this process the Solar Keymark product scheme for solar thermal products has been recognised and treated as equivalent to MCS. In addition, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) regulations give Ofgem the power to determine scheme equivalency; and they are currently finalising this process for equivalent schemes to be considered in specific reference to the RHI.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-03-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Ministers were involved in the decision for HM Revenue and Customs to pilot Codentify as a tobacco product authentication tool.
Damian Hinds
Tobacco products classified as ‘illicit’ in the UK include anything on which duty has not been paid but should have been paid. This includes counterfeit products, brands manufactured legally overseas but not legally sold in the UK, and genuine products originating in the UK and overseas but diverted from legitimate supply chains by criminals. Because of this, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers use a variety of ways to identify illicit product. Testing product authenticity is one mechanism.
To test product authenticity, HMRC uses identifiers required by legislation, for example, Fiscal Marks which manufacturers are required to print on specified tobacco products to show they are UK duty paid, as well as voluntary tools used by the manufacturers. One such voluntary tool is Codentify.
Codentify was developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. HMRC took a policy decision, in line with the commitment to tackle illicit tobacco, to examine whether these existing codes could provide a useful additional tool to help officers authenticate product in the field.
The trial is concerned only with the use of Codentify for product authentication, and no other aspect of the system is being used or evaluated. Codentify requires no specialist equipment or training. Officers are provided with basic guidance and access to an online system. No charge is made for use of the system and, as no procurement was needed, there was no requirement for HMRC to run a tender exercise. As this is a trial only, no Ministerial approval was required or has been sought.
A number of HMRC officers have been given access to the system and trained by HMRC colleagues. The time spent on this activity is minimal and is estimated to be less than one staff year in total.
HMRC has explained the use of Codentify as a potential product authentication tool to colleagues in Border Force and Trading Standards. However, they have not provided training to any officers in those organisations.
The EU Tobacco Products Directive introduces a requirement for a pan European security feature and track and trace systems. The European Commission, working with Member States, is considering proposals and have yet to determine any technical specifications,
HMRC is aware of a wide range of potential track and trace and security feature solutions on the market. They are not evaluating, and, given the current position on the Directive, could not evaluate any products against its requirements. The aspects of Codentify being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.
In accordance with regulatory requirements, when technical specifications are determined, HMRC will ensure that any evaluation against them ensures no unfair competitive advantage or obstacles to competition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 34106, occupational health, if he will make it his policy to collect the information referred to.
Alistair Burt
We do not have any plans to collect this data.
We do not collect data on the number of organisations that have mental wellbeing policies in place.
Organisations may take a number of different approaches to ensuring the wellbeing of their workforces, which would make measurement very complex, with an absence of communications standards. However, the issue remains of importance to the Department.