The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with Vivarail Ltd.
Claire Perry
On 13 January, Department for Transport officials met with Vivarail who explained their proposals for the refurbishment of D78-Stock.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birkenhead dated 20 October 2014 regarding the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy.
Steve Webb
A reply is going out today, Monday 23 February.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many basic rate taxpayers there are in each parliamentary constituency in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
The information requested will be deposited in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216388, if he will provide funding for Normandy Veterans to return to sites of Remembrance they choose rather than to sites chosen by the Royal British Legion as part of the D-Day Return scheme.
Anna Soubry
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not fund visits by veterans to return to sites of Remembrance. The long standing MOD policy on official commemorations is that only certain specific anniversaries of events of major importance receive MOD sponsorship at public expense.
Funding is still available from the Big Lottery fund, Heroes Return 2 scheme, as long as veterans travel before 31 December 2015 and haven’t benefited from this scheme since 1 January 2013. This scheme allows veterans to return to the theatre in which they saw action, so travel is not limited to Normandy.
In addition, and as advised by my hon. Friend the Treasury Minister (David Gauke) in his response to Question 216388, the Royal British Legion (RBL) has been chosen to run the D-Day return scheme on the Government’s behalf. As detailed on the RBL website, the D-Day return scheme will not fund independent travel.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stringer on 2015-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2015 to Question 221753, whether his Department’s three fossil fuel price projections used in policy-making include a projection in which the recent change in fossil fuel prices resembling the recent worldwide fall in such prices.
Matthew Hancock
DECC’s projections for oil, gas and coal prices include scenarios to appraise the implications of sustained low prices. We will ensure we use the latest information to inform policy decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research evidence the NHS uses to indicate how to select the most appropriate treatment approach for an individual parent or child in stammer cases.
Dr Daniel Poulter
Ensuring the most appropriate treatment for a child with a stammer is a decision for the judgement of the clinician, drawing on their professional training, their ongoing professional development, and the advice provided by the relevant professional body.
The quality of care would be monitored by the provider, through clinical audit and other performance assurance, and by the relevant regulator of the provider (such as the Care Quality Commission), and the professional regulator (such as the Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates speech and language therapists).
Information is not collected centrally on long-term outcomes for children who stammer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve patient care for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Jane Ellison
In 2013, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), providing evidence based advice to support clinicians in diagnosing and managing people with IPF which it expects to review in June 2015. Since then, it has published a quality standard for IPF in January 2015. This sets out the markers of high quality in the care of people with IPF and is designed to drive up standards and to reduce inequalities and variation. NICE has also recommended pirfenidone (Esbriet) as a possible treatment for some people with IPF through its technology appraisal programme.
NHS England commissions some services for patients with IPF as part of its specialised services remit. Its respiratory interstitial lung disease (adult) service specification, which includes IPF, sets out what it expects to be in place so that providers can offer evidence based safe and effective services. This specification is currently being updated to ensure it includes the most up to date guidance on IPF including the recently published NICE quality standards. Commissioning of rehabilitation, oxygen services and acute admissions for exacerbations are covered by local commissioning arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Freedom to speak up?, the report by Sir Robert Francis QC, published on 11 February 2015, what timetable he has set for the creation of a new support scheme to help NHS whistleblowers who have found themselves out of a job as a result of raising concerns.
Dr Daniel Poulter
On 11 February, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State accepted in principle all the recommendations made by Sir Robert Francis following his Freedom to Speak Up review. We will shortly be consulting on how best to implement these recommendations. In addition we plan to bring forward measures to provide legislative protection for whistleblowers applying for a job in the National Health Service. With Opposition support, this could be in place before Parliament is prorogued.
The implementation of Sir Roberts’ recommendations will see a programme of action to help foster an open and learning culture in the NHS backed by local freedom to speak up guardians and a new national whistleblowing guardian. Individual trusts may wish to begin implementing some of these recommendations right away. Local action and responsibility will be at the heart of bringing about a culture where reporting of concerns is valued and encouraged.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2014, Official Report, columns 261-3W, on psoriasis, what the conclusions were of the NICE Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set Advisory Committee’s review of potential indicators for psoriasis derived from the NICE Psoriasis Quality Standard.
Norman Lamb
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set (CCG OIS) Advisory Committee considered the following draft psoriasis indicators, derived from the NICE Psoriasis Quality Standard, at its meeting in October 2014:
– PSO 5.1 Psoriasis: assessment for psoriatic arthritis;
– PSO 6.2 Skin disease: time off school or work due to skin disease;
– PSO 6.3 Psoriasis: skin clearance; and
– PSO 3.2 Psoriasis: Patient experience: access to secondary care services.
It was the decision of the committee that the indicators did not meet the prioritisation criteria, as set out in the NICE Indicator Process guide. The primary reason for this was that the majority of care for people with psoriasis is provided in primary care and the CCG OIS is focused on care provided in secondary care. As such, the committee has not put forward any of the psoriasis indicators for further development and testing by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The HSCIC has not, therefore, undertaken any further work on the development of Read Codes for this topic.
The NICE indicator process guide and the NICE consultation document setting out those indicators which did meet the prioritisation criteria can be found at the links below:
www.nice.org.uk/media/03E/31/Indicators_process_guide.pdf
www.nice.org.uk/media/default/Standards-and-indicators/CCGOIS-indicator-consultation.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-02-20.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many incidents of domestic violence were reported in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each year since 2010.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.