Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with community pharmacies on the proposals for a pharmacy access scheme.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made 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 and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We have been in detailed discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, including the proposal for a Pharmacy Access Scheme. In parallel, we also want to hear views on our proposals from across the sector and from patient groups. We published our open letter to the PSNC on 17 December 2015 and on 27 January 2016 we published a set of slides setting out the proposals with a foreword by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.

    We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

    Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.

    The role of the general practice pharmacist is distinct from the role of the pharmacist in a community setting. However, they are synergistic. Pharmacists working in general practice will, in the main, work with patients who have long term conditions to support them with their medicines and self-management of their condition by helping with the development and review of individual care plans. These patients will not generally be those with minor illnesses which can be treated by seeing a pharmacist in a community setting and for whom community pharmacy will remain the first, and most appropriate, option.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding BHS being placed in administration, and in particular in to the implications for employees, pension scheme members and creditors.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    When a company enters administration, the administrators have to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills within three months on the conduct of the directors.

    In the case of BHS the Insolvency Service is making early contact with the administrators to discuss the directors’ conduct and to consider whether further steps, such as a detailed investigation, may be necessary.

    Where misconduct is established it can lead to disqualification of a director for between 2 and 15 years.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has access to North Korean refugees in China; and what steps they have taken to address the specific matter of China’s responsibilities to aid North Korean refugees fleeing North Korea.

    Baroness Verma

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not have access to the North Koreans at the border area in China.

    We raise our concerns around refoulement – the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution – regularly through our Embassy in Beijing and at the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of his Department’s staff are based in the Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place; and what plans he has for the future of those jobs.

    Joseph Johnson

    As of 1 November 2016, there are 21 members of staff based in the Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place. Following the recent Machinery of Government changes, BEIS is considering how to best align the reform agendas of its predecessor departments.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS prescription charge penalty charge notices were issued in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was recovered in (a) prescription income and (b) penalty charges and surcharges in the last year for which information is available.

    David Mowat

    The number of National Health Service prescription charge penalty charge notices issued between September 2015 and August 2016, which is the most recent 12-month period for which we have complete data, was 780,953. Where no response was received to the initial penalty charge notice a follow up surcharge letter was issued to the patient. For the same period a total of 333,508 surcharge letters were issued.

    The value of the recovered prescription income in this period was £2,556,941, and the value of the income from penalty charges and surcharges was £8,678,911 and £745,830, respectively.

    Since taking over the administration of the Prescription Exemption Checking Service in September 2014, the NHS Business Services Authority has not issued any court proceedings for debt recovery in relation to NHS prescription charges and penalties.

  • 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 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 13212, by when the assurance of clinical commissioning groups’ (CCG) local transformation plans by NHS England’s regional teams are planned to be completed; and whether he plans that the additional £30 million that has been allocated to CCGs will be spent in full in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    The deadline for clinical commission groups to submit their Local Transformation Plans was Friday 16 October, and plans were submitted covering all local areas. These plans are currently being assured by NHS England’s regional assurance teams and this is intended to be completed during November.

    The £30 million NHS England allocated to clinical commissioning groups for improving children and young people’s eating disorders is intended to be spent in 2015-16.

  • Lord Wakeham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Wakeham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wakeham on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated financial contribution of central government to local government (1) for the year ending 5 April 2016, and (2) for each of the years to 5 April 2020, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The local government departmental expenditure limit (LG DEL) is £11.5bn in 2015/16 with the Spending Review announcing that it will reduce to £5.4bn by 2019/20. With forecast increases to other sources of local government income, overall local government spending will be higher in cash terms by 2019/20 than in 2015/16, an estimated rise from £40.3bn to £40.5bn.

    The total financial contribution made to local authorities by central government will be dependent on the grants made available by individual government departments. As departments will not yet have determined how much funding will be made available as grant across all years, it is not possible to provide a definitive end of parliament total.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18551, (a) whether all records retained under JSP441 Defence Records Management Policy and Procedure by training establishments comply with paragraphs 1.24 and 1.25 of that Policy and (b) decisions to retain records relating to (i) individual training establishments infrastructure costs and (ii) numbers attending training courses have been approved by the Departmental Records Officer as meeting the statutory requirements set out in paragraph 1.31 of JSP441; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Departmental Record Officer (DRO) sets down overall policy and guidance (in JSP 441), establishes a governance structure through the normal departmental chain of command so that there are officers responsible for records in each unit, and works with the providers of ICT and Education within the Ministry of Defence to ensure that there is an appropriate set of tools and training packages. The DRO gives particular focus to those areas of Defence where the records may merit permanent preservation. Areas related to the routine business of Defence are typically managed at local level by trained staff working to DRO policy and guidance.

  • Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total annual costs to local authorities were for public health funerals in each year between 2010 and 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect the information requested. Figures on local authority expenditure on, and income from, the provision of cemetery, cremation and mortuary services, including closed churchyards and post-mortem services within mortuaries, are collected on the Revenue Outturn form and are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2014-to-2015-individual-local-authority-data-outturn

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  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about the effect of bus franchising in the vehicle manufacturing sector.

    Andrew Jones

    I refer my hon Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole to the answer I gave on 15th February, to Question UIN 26533.

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