The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Griffiths on 2015-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to A&E departments for (a) alcohol-specific and (b) alcohol-related reasons in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 January 2015, Question number 220836.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Denham on 2015-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students started a level 4 apprenticeship in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12 in each parliamentary constituency.
Nick Boles
Information on the number of Higher Apprenticeship starts in England by Level and Parliamentary Constituency is attached.
Although level 4 and 5 apprenticeships were available in all three years, level 6 and 7 apprenticeships were only enabled by legislation from April 2013. Official apprenticeship data provides complete information for government-funded apprenticeships and this shows that there were no starts on the four available level 6 apprenticeships during the 2013/14 academic year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-01-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s non-fiscal spend was in real terms in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14 and (f) 2014-15.
Danny Alexander
“Non-fiscal spend” is not a formal term in the UK National Accounting framework. It is sometimes used to refer to items of public expenditure, which although included in departmental budgets, are either not classified as spending in the National Accounts or use a different source.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they take into account the volume of smuggled cigarettes and other tobacco products when calculating the percentage of the United Kingdom’s population who smoke.
Earl Howe
The Government’s national ambition to reduce smoking prevalence among adults in England is measured using data from the Office for National Statistics “Integrated Household Survey”.
This survey asks the following two questions relating to smoking: “Have you ever smoked a cigarette, a cigar, or a pipe?” and “Do you smoke cigarettes at all nowadays?”
Background, methodology and other information relevant to this survey is available online at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/social-and-welfare-methodology/integrated-household-survey/index.html
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps will be taken by NHS England and other national health bodies to encourage the local commissioning of fracture liaison services, in the light of the advice issued by NHS England that the Fracture Liaison Services model represents best practice.
Earl Howe
NHS England’s National Clinical Director for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, Peter Kay, is currently working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA), to develop new MSK clinical networks across England.
The work ARMA has done to date has been very successful in capturing examples of best practice in MSK care across England, bringing together health professionals and commissioners and building a strong consensus on the way forward for models of care for MSK patients across the entire MSK community. Work is ongoing in this area and NHS England and ARMA are in dialogue about the nature of such support.
NHS England is undertaking a review of the role, purpose and function of the sub-regional infrastructure that it funds, which is focussed on supporting commissioners and providers to improve the quality of services including Strategic Clinical Networks (SCN), Clinical Senates and Academic Health Science Networks. The purpose of the review is to understand how the best value can be secured from the investment in these functions, in support of commissioners and providers in improving quality. This review is ongoing and is expected to reach its conclusions by the end of March.
Regarding plans to introduce MSK networks as part of the SCN programme, NHS England has made clear that as priorities change, or should the work of one of the initial SCNS conclude, it will identify new conditions or patient groups that would benefit from an SCN approach.
The provision of fracture liaison services (FLS) and falls services is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS England advises that it is aware that provision of good FLS is not uniform across the country and it continues to work with CCGs to support them to develop appropriate local FLS services. It also advises that the FLS model recommended by the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the National Osteoporosis society is recognised as best practice and is being promoted.
In addition to this, the guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Falls: assessment and prevention of falls in older people sets out best practice for clinicians on the management of patients aged 65 and over who are susceptible to falls.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the United for Wildlife’s follow-up to the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, what representations they are making to ensure that subsistence hunters are not being criminalised or evicted from their lands in the name of conservation.
Lord De Mauley
We have not made any specific representations on this issue.
The UK is one of the global leaders in the response to the illegal trade in wildlife. At the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade held in February 2014 more than 40 Governments committed to action designed to strengthen law enforcement, reduce demand and support alternative livelihoods of communities affected by poaching and trafficking. These Governments recognised the illegal trade in wildlife as a major barrier to sustainable, inclusive and balanced economic development that damages ecosystems, undermines good governance and the rule of law, threatens security, and reduces the revenue and local benefits earned from economic activities such as wildlife‐based tourism and the sustainable utilisation of and legal trade in wildlife. They recognised that sustainable livelihoods will be best supported by engaging with communities living in and around protected areas to reflect their needs alongside those of local wildlife.
We welcome the leadership of the Botswana Government in hosting the Kasane Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade on 25 March as a follow-up to the London Conference.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what safeguards he plans to put in place to ensure the security of Scottish NHS data shared with HM Revenue and Customs.
Mr David Gauke
Any taxpayer data held by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is subjected to strict safeguards.
HMRC take their duty of confidentiality very seriously and cannot disclose any information acquired or held unless specifically provided for by law. All HMRC information is subject to stringent data security controls and unlawful disclosure of taxpayer information is potentially a criminal offence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women are employed full-time in the Royal Navy.
Anna Soubry
As at 1 January 2015, there were 3,060 women employed in the Naval Service.
This figure represents trained and untrained Regular personnel and those on Full Time Reserve Service, and has been rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals have not met their staffing requirements for registered nurse day hours in each month since May 2010.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The information is not available for the period requested. As part of our drive to make the National Health Service more transparent NHS England introduced mandatory reporting of monthly actual and planned nursing and midwifery staffing levels by hospital wards in May 2014.
In November 2013 the National Quality Board (NQB) supported by Jane Cummings, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, published guidance on How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time’. The guidance specifies that the skill mix of the workforce should reflect the patient care needs and local requirements, considering the experience and capabilities of the workforce employed. The skill mix should reflect outcome indicators such as incidents of harm, patient experience and staff experience. Each ward has to identify the appropriate knowledge and nursing skill mix required in the team to meet the nursing needs of the ward’s patients, with registered nurses remaining accountable for the overall care and safety of patients.
NHS trust boards are required to scrutinise exception reports on any variations in actual versus planned, as part of the Board’s responsibility for assuring safe staffing. Reports to Trust Boards must meet the requirements set out in the NQB guidance. Trusts will triangulate the safe staffing fill rate with other indicators for example outcome indicators of safety – levels of harm, staff and patient feedback. Boards must be able to demonstrate to their commissioners that robust systems and processes are in place to assure themselves that the nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability in their organisations is sufficient. These staffing decisions will then be subject to external scrutiny and challenge by commissioners, regulators and the public, and inspection by the Chief Inspector of Hospitals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received from NHS trusts on difficulties experienced in recruiting breast radiologists.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Secretary of State has not received any representation from National Health Service trusts on difficulties experienced in recruiting breast radiologists.