Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect a reimbursement decision on each of the drugs launched since June 2015 that were affected by the pause in listing new drugs on the Cancer Drugs Fund list.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Since June 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published final technology appraisal guidance on the cancer drugs/indications listed in the following table.

    Topic title

    Final guidance publication

    Melanoma (unresectable, metastatic) – pembrolizumab (after ipilimumab) [TA357]

    October 2015

    Melanoma (unresectable, metastatic, ipilimumab naive) – pembrolizumab [TA366]

    November 2015

    Multiple myeloma – panobinostat (post 1 prior therapy) [TA380]

    January 2016

    Melanoma (advanced, unresectable, metastatic) – nivolumab [TA384]

    February 2016

    NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. Under the new process, any drugs that receive either a draft recommendation for routine commissioning or, where uncertainty exists, a recommendation for use within the CDF, will receive interim funding from the CDF from the point of marketing authorisation.

    NICE has advised that it is unable to provide a forecast as to when this will occur for technology appraisals published during the first year of the new CDF as this will depend on a number of factors including the value proposition put forward by manufacturers.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria are used to determine the level of compensation due to current or former service personnel diagnosed with cancer related to working conditions experienced during their period of service.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides no-fault compensation for members of the Armed Forces where illness, injury or death is caused by service from 6 April 2005 under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and, before that date, under the War Pensions Scheme (WPS).

    Any disablement, injury or illness, including cancer, can be claimed with awards made where the claimed disorder is accepted as being due to service. Lay and scheme medical advisers work together and decisions are evidence based, reflecting the individual case facts, contemporary medical understanding of causation and the relevant law.

    Awards under the WPS depend on the assessed level of disablement with the method of assessment set out in the legislation and expressed as a percentage. The AFCS is tariff based. The legislation includes nine tables of injuries and disorders with associated tariff levels, relevant to military service. A lump sum is paid for pain and suffering taking account of the likely progress of the condition over the person’s lifetime. There are fifteen tariff levels and, for the more serious disorders like cancer, a Guaranteed Income Payment to cover reduced civilian employability is paid, in addition, from the date of claim for life.

    Where negligence exists on the part of the MOD, Service personnel may make a claim for damages under common law for service after May 1987. Awards are determined by common law principles which, broadly, take into account, as appropriate, an individual’s pain and suffering, degree of injury, past and future financial losses and level of care required. Levels of compensation which include these elements can vary depending on an individual’s circumstances.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of cancer patients in (a) England and (b) Copeland constituency received their first cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral in 2015-16.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is shown in the following table.

    Proportion of patients that started first treatment for all cancers within 62 days of an urgent general practitioner referral in 2015-16

    England

    NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)1

    2015-16

    82.4%

    79.2%

    Source: Cancer waiting times, NHS England

    Notes:

    1NHS Cumbria CCG is the CCG responsible for commissioning care for the residents of the constituency of Copeland. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government was involved in the legal agreement drawn up in 1998 to transfer the estates involved in the Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust to Old Ford Housing Association.

    Gavin Barwell

    We do not know whether Government was involved in drafting the legal agreement itself – this could only be determined at disproportionate cost – but the Government was involved in the development of, and preparatory work leading to, the transfer to Old Ford Housing Association.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of companies which have published details of the measures they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains.

    Sarah Newton

    The Government has not estimated what proportion of businesses have reported so far.

    We published guidance in October 2015 advising that businesses should report as soon as reasonably practicable after their financial year end, which in practice should mean within six months of an organisation’s financial year end.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase research into the causes and types of rare diseases in England.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has invested significantly in world-class research infrastructure in the National Health Service, to provide the facilities and people to undertake and increase research into rare diseases.This includes significant funding through the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units, the NIHR Bio Resource – Rare Diseases which provides opportunities for patients, their families and health volunteers to take part in early translational research on the basis of their genotype and phenotype, and the dedicated NIHR Rare Diseases Translational Collaboration that brings together the country’s leading researchers in rare diseases and promotes collaboration including with the life sciences industry.

    In 2012 the NIHR also launched a call for Applied Clinical Research on Very Rare Diseases as part of the researcher-led funding streams across six of the NIHR Research Programmes. This call was issued in support of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases and in recognition of the need for increased high quality evidence on the organisation of super specialised services or their commissioning and to improve the health outcomes for sufferers of rare diseases.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the rebuilding of the town of Kobane in Syria; and if so by what means they envisage this being brought about, and whether they will ask the government of Turkey to allow full access for materials and experts.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region and has pledged over £1.1 billion to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    The majority of UK assistance to Syria is humanitarian. UK aid, delivered by UN and NGO partners, is guided by humanitarian principles and therefore prioritises the most vulnerable people across Syria based on their needs.

    We continue to encourage the Government of Turkey to facilitate delivery of cross-border humanitarian assistance and reconstruction materials into Syria. We also advocate for the full reopening of border crossings, and we continue to call on all sides of the conflict to respect International Law and protect civilians.

    With respect to Kobane specifically, as people return, key priorities are to ensure that habitable areas and farmland are de-mined to make them safe for return as well as ensuring that residents are educated in mine risk awareness.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost to the economy of computer hacking.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government takes cyber security very seriously: since 2011 we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme to protect the UK from cyber attack. Measures have included: setting up a National Cyber Crime Unit, establishing CERT-UK – a computer emergency response team, creating a Cyber Information Sharing Partnership for companies to share information, the Cyber Essentials Scheme for businesses, cyber risk reviews for companies and developing cyber initiatives into the education process.

    We will invest £1.9b in cyber security over the next five years to protect the UK from cyber attack. This ambitious level of investment will include: a programme of active cyber defence; creation of a National Cyber Centre and an ambitious skills programme.

  • 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 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work is being undertaken by the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide in relation to the situation of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government has received a number of recent representations on these issues from Parliament and members of the public and is responding in writing.

    We condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yazidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality. The UK has led efforts within the UN to tackle and condemn Daesh and on the protection of civilians more widely. For example, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution mandating the UN to investigate and report on Daesh abuses.

    It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies.

    Ultimately, the only way to protect Christians, Yazidis and other minorities in the region from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the UK’s comprehensive strategy for defeating Daesh and finding a political settlement to the Syria conflict in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.

    The joint Office of the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (the Office) are engaged with these issues and publish much of their activity online, including statements in relation to the situation of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq. Our officials maintain regular contact with officials from the Office to discuss issues related to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. The Government provides funding for the Office, including for their work with religious leaders and faith based organisations in the Middle East and North Africa region, aimed at the prevention of incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) drugs of each type and (b) other items were confiscated from visitors to each prison in each year since 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    We have a range of security measures and searching techniques to prevent smuggling into prisons and to detect items of contraband including drugs. We have legislated to make smuggling New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) into prison illegal, use specially trained dogs to detect illicit drugs and will evaluate the use of Body Scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body.

    We refer all visitors to prisons found in possession of drugs to the police. We also use closed visits, where the prisoner and visitor are prevented from physical contact, to deal with visitors and prisoners who smuggle or are suspected of conveying drugs through visits.

    The table below shows the number and type of drugs confiscated from visitors in each prison for the period 01 October 2015 to 31 December 2015. Prior to 01 October 2015 the Incident Reporting System (IRS) did not specifically record who possessed the drugs found.

    Number of incidents where drugs were found in visitor’s possession, October to December 2015, by establishment and drug type

    Establishment

    Drug type

    Number of incidents12

    Aylesbury

    Cannabis

    3

    Birmingham

    NPS: Black Mamba

    1

    Brinsford

    Cannabis

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Bristol

    Other

    1

    Bullingdon

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Cardiff

    Amphetamines

    1

    Buprenorphine/Subutex

    1

    Heroin

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Channings Wood

    Heroin

    1

    Chelmsford

    Cannabis

    2

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Coldingley

    Unknown

    1

    Doncaster

    Amphetamines

    1

    NPS: Other

    1

    Other

    2

    Unknown

    3

    Dovegate

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Elmley

    Cocaine

    1

    Featherstone

    Unknown

    1

    Feltham

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Forest Bank

    NPS: Black Mamba

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Guys Marsh

    Unknown

    1

    Haverigg

    Unknown

    3

    High Down

    Unknown

    1

    Highpoint

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Hewell

    Cannabis

    3

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Other

    1

    Steroids

    1

    Holme House

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Humber

    Amphetamines

    1

    Lancaster Farms

    Unknown

    1

    Leeds

    Amphetamines

    1

    Cocaine

    1

    NPS: Other

    1

    Lindholme

    Cannabis

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Lowdham Grange

    Cannabis Plant

    1

    Manchester

    Cannabis

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Moorland

    NPS: Spice

    3

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Morton Hall

    NPS: Spice

    1

    New Hall

    Unknown

    1

    Northumberland

    Unknown

    2

    Norwich

    Heroin

    1

    Oakwood

    Heroin

    1

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Onley

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Steroids

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Parc

    Unknown

    1

    Peterborough Male

    Other

    1

    Peterborough Female

    Crack

    1

    Heroin

    1

    Ranby

    NPS: Other

    1

    Risley

    Cannabis

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Unknown

    2

    Rochester

    Cannabis

    1

    Crack

    1

    Unknown

    2

    Stoke Heath

    NPS: Other

    1

    The Mount

    Cannabis

    1

    Heroin

    1

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Verne

    NPS: Other

    1

    Wayland

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Wymott

    NPS: Other

    1

    (1) Number of incidents where each drug type were found.

    (2) Where establishment is not listed, no confiscations were reported in the period

    Data Sources and Quality
    These figures have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.