The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is planned that the Government’s childhood obesity strategy will include measures restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children.
Jane Ellison
Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will set out what more can be done by all.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to devolve to Scotland the areas of law and policy on the environment formerly dealt with by the EU after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
George Eustice
Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for farming, fisheries, food and drink, rural affairs and our environment remain in place. Defra will continue to ensure the right policies are in place for a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone.
We are now preparing to negotiate our exit. Defra officials will be working with the new Department for Exiting the European Union to look at future support for the environment. The Government will work very closely with the Devolved Administrations, Parliament, and a wide range of other interested parties on this approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed changes to pharmacy funding on (a) patients accessing services distant from where they live and (b) working age adults who travel considerable distance to work.
David Mowat
The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, under the National Health Service Act 2006.
Our assessments include consideration of the potential impacts on the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services, including the supply of medicines, access to NHS pharmaceutical services, supplementary hours, non-commissioned services, individuals with protected characteristics, impacts on other NHS services, health inequalities, individuals with restricted mobility and access to healthcare for deprived communities.
An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. We believe these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.
Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
We want a clinically focussed community pharmacy service that is better integrated with primary care and public health in line with the Five Year Forward View. This will help relieve the pressure on general practitioners and accident and emergency departments, ensure better use of medicines and better patient outcomes, and contribute to delivering seven day health and care services.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, Dr Keith Ridge has commissioned an independent review of community pharmacy clinical services. The review is being led by Richard Murray, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund. The final recommendations will be considered as part of the development of clinical and cost effective patient care by pharmacists and their teams.
NHS England is also setting up a Pharmacy Integration Fund to support the development of clinical pharmacy practice in a wider range of primary care settings, resulting in a more integrated and effective NHS primary care patient pathway.
The rollout of the additional 1,500 clinical pharmacists announced by NHS England will help to ease current pressures in general practice by working with patients who have long term conditions and others with multiple medications. Having a pharmacist on site will mean that patients who receive care from their general practice will be able to benefit from the expertise in medicines that these pharmacists provide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.
Greg Clark
Information on the number of full time equivalent firefighter posts for each fire and rescue service and for each year, together with greater detail, is available in the Department’s Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics publication (Table 2 for full time equivalent posts) at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidelines his Department has on the maximum travel time for people who need to undergo a medical driving assessment to a centre where they can undergo that assessment; and if he will estimate the proportion of such people in Scotland who live outside that maximum travel time.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport does not issue guidelines on the maximum travel time a person would be expected to spend travelling to a driving assessment.
Depending on the medical condition being investigated, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will either utilise an assessment performed by the applicant’s nearest Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency test centre or a disability assessment centre. The disability assessment centres are independent and provide a service to the DVLA. While the DVLA sets the standards required for the assessments, it is unable to influence the location of the centres.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what mechanism any savings made by insurance companies as a result of a change to the small claims limit for soft tissue road traffic accident injuries will be passed on to policyholders.
Harriett Baldwin
The pricing of insurance products is a commercial matter for individual insurers in which the Government does not seek to intervene. The motor insurance market is intensely competitive and the Government therefore expects that the insurance industry will pass on savings to consumers.
Some insurers have already committed to pass on all savings to consumers as a result of the proposed changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received in the last year from (a) Christian, (b) Jewish and (c) Muslim faith schools on the Counter Extremism Strategy used in schools; and if she will make a statement.
Edward Timpson
This Government believes all children should be educated in a safe environment, whether in a school or out of school.
Department officials have briefed representatives of faith schools, including Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools, on matters relating to the Government’s Prevent and Counter-Extremism strategies. The Department received a number of queries from both faith schools and non-faith schools on how to implement the Prevent duty. The Department has issued practical advice to schools to help them understand their role under the new Prevent duty, and also launched a dedicated counter-extremism helpline in 2015 to enable front line staff, governors, and others to raise concerns directly. The Department has combined all its existing advice in the new Educate Against Hate website[1], which was launched by the Secretary of State on 19 January.
The Department recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people, including representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.
We will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.
[1] http://educateagainsthate.com/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of funding that will be required for those who may need access to the reformed scheme for providing support for people affected by hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products but have not yet been identified.
Jane Ellison
The assumption is that there would be £570 million available from the unreformed scheme, as mentioned in the consultation, and an additional £125 million, identified in the current spending review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the total annual cost of energy bills in the UK which results from EU legal requirements.
Amber Rudd
My Department has made no estimate of the effect on annual energy bills in the UK resulting from EU legal requirements. Given that much of EU energy policy supports UK energy and climate objectives it is not possible to attribute particular cost elements of bills wholly to individual EU policies.
Much EU legislation helps to keep down the level of energy bills – EU energy market liberalisation and integration and legislation such as product standards to improve energy efficiency provide significant benefits to UK consumers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether employers who pay the proposed apprenticeship levy and provide training will be able to use levy vouchers in their own organisations.
Nick Boles
Employers will be free to spend levy money on apprenticeships training which they judge best meets their needs. If the employer is a registered training provider, they could use the levy money on in-house training which meets the required quality standards for an apprenticeship.
Where an employer wishes to provide their own in-house training, they must be registered on the Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Training Organisations. All providers are subject to inspection and reports by Ofsted on apprenticeship training provision.