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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the reasons for the delay by NHS England on announcing a public consultation on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England does not now consider pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV to be suitable for prioritisation of specialised commissioning spend as it is a preventative measure. However given the potential benefits in this area, NHS England wants to build on the work to date and will be making available up to £2 million over the next two years to run a number of early implementer test sites. These will be undertaken in conjunction with Public Health England and will seek to answer the remaining questions around how PrEP could be commissioned in the most cost effective and integrated way to reduce HIV and sexually transmitted infections in those at highest risk.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many patients have lost their vision as a result of not receiving timely follow-up appointments to see an ophthalmic specialist.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Given the size of England, and the diversity of the health needs of different communities, we believe commissioning needs to be owned and managed locally.

    Therefore, there are no plans to develop a national strategy for eye care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning hospital eye services and for holding their providers to account in terms of contract performance. CCGs are also able to commission eye care services from community optometrists where they judge them to be needed in their areas over and above the sight tests commissioned by NHS England. Such services could include post cataract surgery reviews, glaucoma monitoring and low vision services which may reduce pressure on hospital eye departments, reduce waiting times and make patient care pathways more accessible in the community.

    There is scope for further work to be done by community optometrists and the Clinical Council for eye health commissioning is working with commissioners to develop commissioning guidelines in this area.

    CCGs have the ability to develop alternatives to hospital care. We would expect patients who require further planned stages of treatment in line with their agreed care plan, to receive this treatment without undue delay and in line with when it is clinically appropriate.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average hourly earnings were of his Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Cabinet Office staff are paid an annual salary, not on the basis of an hourly rate.

    The Department uses a grading structure to determine annual salary rates. This is underpinned by Job Evaluation and Grading Support (JEGS), an analytical job evaluation tool which meets all requirements of legislation and EHRC statutory codes of practice on Equal Pay. The use of JEGS and its application in determining the appropriate grade for a role enables us to determine where employees are doing equal work based on “work rated as equivalent.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications have been identified for consideration by expert personnel deployed by her Department to Greece to support the Greek Dublin Unit and EASO under the Dublin III regulation on family unity since May 2016; and how many such applicants have been transferred to the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Home Office staff seconded to the Greek Government and the European Asylum Support Office are there to support the overall asylum system in Greece and improve the Dublin process. Two applicants have arrived in the UK since May 2016.

    Providing refugees with access to clear, detailed and coherent information is the responsibility of the Greek authorities. The UK believes that member states should meet their international obligations and provide due process and adequate care to those seeking protection within their territories.

    The Commission Implementing Regulation No 118/2014 clearly sets out the obligations for Member States to provide an information leaflet for applicants for international protection, including a specific leaflet for unaccompanied children. Following the EU-Turkey agreement and discussions with the European Commission and the Greek Government, the UK has offered a further 75 expert personnel to help with the processing and administration of migrants in reception centres, act as interpreters, provide medical support and bolster our existing team assisting the Commission to ensure effective and efficient coordination.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the funding levels are for Combined Cadet Forces in schools in 2016-17.

    Mark Lancaster

    There is no set budget for the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and the cost of Ministry of Defence (MOD) sponsorship of the CCF is calculated retrospectively.

    The latest assessment of the cost to the MOD of funding the CCF was for Financial Year (FY) 2013-14 when the total was £30.144 million. This figure covered the running costs and fixed costs of over 350 cadet units with a total of over 41,000 cadets. Running costs include equipment, rations, uniforms, transport, and remuneration for Adult Volunteers. Fixed costs include training infrastructure and overheads, regional structures, and central management administration and support.

    The baseline cost of the CCF for FY 2016-17 will not be substantially different from the 2013-14 figure, although the Government has committed an additional £50 million from LIBOR fines to the joint MOD/Department for Education Cadet Expansion Programme to increase the number of cadet units in schools to 500 by 2020. Most of the new units will be CCF contingents.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proposals for peace in Syria made by former President Jimmy Carter in the International New York Times on 27 October.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Proposals for achieving peace in Syria will need to be agreed by the key international players and, importantly, the Syrian people. The UK is working closely with international partners to bring about a negotiated end to the crisis in Syria, including through Ministerial participation in high-level international meetings. The ultimate solution to the crisis must be a political transition, which brings legitimate and inclusive governance to Syria. We are flexible about how the process of transition would work but are clear that Assad cannot be part of the future of Syria.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the level of awareness among drivers who do not normally use the Dartford Crossing that a charge is made for using that crossing.

    Andrew Jones

    In July 2014 Highways England undertook research to assess levels of public awareness of the introduction of Dart Charge. Following the Public Information Campaign that ran from October to December 2014, further research took place to assess how the campaign had increased public awareness.

    Both surveys were based on samples of over one thousand drivers, consisted of a mix of online responses and face to face interviews, including both regular and infrequent users of the Crossing. Between July and December 2014 awareness rose from 43% to 80% for online respondents and 47% to 89% for those interviewed face to face.

    The initial compliance rate is 92.6% since the launch of Dart Charge in November last year, which compares favourably with other similar schemes around the world and indicates strong awareness levels among drivers.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the size is of the area of land available for the direct commissioning site for housing at Connaught Barracks.

    Brandon Lewis

    The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the risk to the UK and Europe of the spread of the Zika virus.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) continue to monitor the situation closely and have provided revised travel advice and updated guidance to healthcare professionals on the management of patients returning from affected countries who present with symptoms. There is no evidence to suggest that the mosquitos that are known to carry Zika are established in the United Kingdom or could survive in our climate and therefore the risk to the UK population from Zika is very low. PHE is in regular contact with specialists in other European countries, as well as internationally, to make sure all necessary steps are being taken to protect the UK travelling public.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many grants of what value were made by his Department for meningitis research programmes in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    Since 2011, the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has made the following awards through its research programmes and fellowship schemes for research relating to meningitis:

    – Impact of conjugate vaccination on population immunity to pneumococcal and meningococcal disease in England: immunosero-epidemiological analysis (£605,843; 2013-15); and

    – Improving the diagnosis of meningitis in adults in the United Kingdom (£415,242; 2013-16).

    In addition, the NIHR funds research relating to meningitis through:

    – the NIHR Clinical Research Network;

    – NIHR Biomedical Research Centres;

    – NIHR Clinical Research Facilities for Experimental Medicine; and

    – Health Protection Research Units.

    Since 2011, the Department’s Policy Research Programme has made the following award for research relating to meningitis:

    – Characterisation of meningococcal carriage isolates from UK MenCar4 study (£199,990; 2016-17).