Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of Surrey County Council’s Surrey Rail Strategy: Crossrail 2 Assessment Final Report, relating to the extension of Crossrail 2 to Woking.

    Claire Perry

    No decisions on either further government investment in Crossrail 2 or the final route for Crossrail 2 have been made. The National Infrastructure Commission has been asked to provide advice to the government by Budget 2016 on the best approach to large-scale investment in London’s transport infrastructure and this will include consideration of Crossrail 2.

    Their advice will help inform decisions on any next steps for the scheme and therefore, prior to their advice, the Secretary of State is not in a position to make an assessment on the potential merits of an extension of Crossrail 2 to Woking.

    However, Transport for London and Network Rail analysis shows that Crossrail 2 would release capacity for additional services on the South West Main Line into Waterloo. This would mean that destinations across the region, including Woking and other towns and cities not on the proposed route, would benefit from more frequent and reliable services into London.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on Network Rail’s Capacity Plus study; which industry groups have contributed to that study; and when he expects that study to be published.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is continuing work on its Capacity Plus study. Train operating companies and freight operating companies, passenger transport executives and local authorities, High Speed 2 Ltd and the Department for Transport are engaged in the study process. Network Rail will set a publication date in due course.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.15 of Budget 2016, what criteria were or will be applied in the selection of organisations to participate in the National Mesothelioma Centre.

    Greg Hands

    The National Mesothelioma Centre will be a collaboration between four leading institutions who have a major interest in the treatment of mesothelioma: National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College; Royal Brompton Hospital; Institute of Cancer Research (ICR); and Royal Marsden Hospital. This collaboration will form the hub of the Centre which will engage with all other hospitals in the UK to which mesotheliomas are referred and treated.

    Professor Sir Anthony Newton Taylor, Head of Research & Development at the National Heart & Lung Institute, who made the application for support from LIBOR fines, is working closely with the British Lung Foundation and other charities in order to ensure that experts from across the lung and cancer research community are able to contribute to this important enterprise.

    The £5 million grant, which is intended as seed funding, has been profiled over 4 years and will be paid to the National Mesothelioma Centre, once established. The funding will be subjected to standard Grant Terms and Conditions, including a feedback and reporting mechanism, and audit.


  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect of proposed reforms to the Cancer Drugs Fund on the provision in the NHS of (a) Avastin and (b) other drugs currently approved for off-licence use.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that Avastin is currently funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) for three indications, all of which are off-label. It is also in the process of reviewing and setting up a system for assessing off-label drug indications. Each of the three off-label indications for Avastin will remain funded within the CDF until they have been assessed through the new process.

    Clinicians can prescribe any treatment, including an unlicensed product or a product not licensed for a particular indication, which they consider the best available medicine to meet the individual clinical needs of their patient, subject to their primary care organisation agreeing to fund this treatment.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produces Evidence Summaries which critically review the best available evidence for significant uses of unlicensed or off-label medicines. They help commissioners and clinicians to make evidence-based prioritisation, treatment and funding decisions where there are no clinically-appropriate licensed alternatives.

    Ensuring that patients get timely access to any new treatment, including off-label medicines in new indications, is complex and the Department is committed to working with stakeholders including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the General Medical Council, patient and professional groups, and charities to co-ordinate activities and set plans in place that will make this easier. This includes work to look at more systematic inclusion of off-label uses of drugs in the British National Formulary and development of case studies looking at re-purposed medicines and their pathways from research results into clinical practice.

    Alongside these, the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act will, in due course, provide the National Health Service with a newly created database which will provide a mechanism for collecting and sharing information on innovative treatments including off-label drugs and medicines in development. Now that the Act has received Royal Assent the work to implement its provisions can begin.

  • Simon Hoare – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Simon Hoare – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hoare on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Public Health England had with dairy organisations on the development of the revised Eatwell Guide.

    Jane Ellison

    The Eatwell Guide is suitable for everyone over the age of five years to follow and intends to assist the population in choosing a varied and balanced diet to meet government dietary recommendations (such as those for calcium).

    Departmental officials were observers on the External Reference Group that advised Public Health England on methodological approaches to refreshing the Eatwelll Guide. Government advice continues to encourage consumption of dairy products as part of a healthy, balanced diet for all age groups.

    An external reference group was convened to consult with stakeholders during the development of the Eatwell Guide. This group comprised representatives from health, dietetic and nutrition professions (including those with expertise in child nutrition). It also included the voluntary sector and industry (including the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board who represented the dairy industry). The group advised on potential methodologies to inform the sizes of the food group segments in the new Eatwell Guide whilst also providing routes for wider engagement.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of fees charged by medical professionals for death certification on those liable for such fees who are on low incomes.

    David Mowat

    There is no fee payable for completing the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD).

    When a patient dies it is the statutory duty of the doctor who has attended the patient in the last illness to issue an MCCD.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 2.12 of the Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2016-17, published in January 2016, what progress his Department has made on meeting the commitment to reduce the health gap between people with (a) autism, (b) mental health problems and (c) learning disabilities and the population as a whole.

    David Mowat

    NHS England is due to publish data from the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework. These data, include indicators on mental health and learning disabilities that relate to the objectives set out in the mandate to NHS England. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health will publish his Annual Assessment of NHS England, including progress against the mandate objectives, at the end of this financial year. The 2017-18 mandate to NHS England, including agreed future objectives for NHS England, will be published in due course.

    The ‘Think Autism’ Adult Autism Strategy for England set out a clear, cross-Government programme of action, developed with people with autism to improve lives, reduce premature mortality and reduce the health gap for people with autism. This would be achieved through better access to healthcare for people with autism and by making improvements to services. In January 2016, a cross-Government Report on progress on implementation of the Think Autism Strategy was published which set out new recommendations for going forward.

    The Department is represented on the Study Steering Committee for the SHAPE (Supporting adults with High-functioning Autism and Asperger syndrome) project. This is a national study led by the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York. Stage 1 of the project aims to describe and map provision of autism services in England which fulfil the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s description of a Specialist Autism Team. A report will be published shortly including information about the service models and care pathways which different localities have implemented.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS trusts and NHS employers on proposals to allow Ministers to cap union facility time contained in the Trade Union Bill.

    Ben Gummer

    There are no current proposals to cap trade union facility time although the Trade Union Bill includes a reserve power to do so if it is deemed appropriate. Ministers have not held any discussions with National Health Service trusts and NHS employers about this.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what participation the UK has had in the sustainable innovation forum hosted by the UN Environment Programme as part of the COP21 climate change conference in Paris.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative on Climate Change attended the event and spoke on a panel event entitled “what is most needed to embed innovation across public and private sector operations.”

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on (a) the treatment of opposition leaders in that country and (b) medical facilities available to Hassan Mushaima.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain – including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meet its human rights obligations, including the treatment of detainees in detention, and to honour all conventions to which it is a party. We are aware of the case of Hassan Mushaima and have raised it with the Government of Bahrain.