The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to respond to the letter of (a) 3 June 2016 from the right hon. Member for Enfield North and (b) 10 June 2016 from the hon. Member for Edmonton on the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.
Ben Gummer
I responded to the Rt. hon. and hon. Members’ letters of 3 June and 10 June 2016 on 20 June 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve GP training for the diagnosis of Lyme disease.
Mr Philip Dunne
The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. This includes recognising and treating Lyme disease.
The training curriculum for general practitioners (GPs) is written by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. Whilst the RCGP curriculum does not highlight specific conditions for GPs to be aware of, it instead emphasises the skills and approaches that a GP must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
GPs have responsibility for maintaining their continuing professional development, ensuring that they can provide high quality care to all patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to raise the issue of harassment and persecution of Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet with the Chinese government.
Alok Sharma
I refer my Hon. Friend to my answer of 18 October 2016 (PQ 48663).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that junior doctors do not suffer a reduction in pay as a result of the Government’s proposals to change junior doctors’ contracts.
Ben Gummer
Our offer on a new contract for junior doctors includes transitional arrangements that guarantee that all junior doctors currently working legal hours will not receive a pay cut compared to their current contract. Those in the higher stages of training will remain on current pay terms; for those moving onto the new pay terms, we are offering pay protection.
Around 1% of junior doctors currently work on rotas that have breached the current limits on hours, and these junior doctors receive Band 3 payments (100% of basic salary). New contractual safeguards will include stronger limits on hours and patterns of work; and there will be stronger contractual processes, with external scrutiny, for dealing with variations from planned working. These Band 3 payments will not, therefore, apply or be protected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the spread of Acute Oak Decline in the UK.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Over the past five years Forest Research, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, has conducted a systematic survey to model the distribution of acute oak decline (AOD) in England and Wales. The results show that the condition currently affects several thousand oak trees, mostly across East Anglia, the Midlands and southern England.
The complex nature of the condition means it is often associated with other pathogens, as well as insect defoliators and the research has not yet concluded whether AOD kills trees or not. A large proportion of the infected trees monitored have entered remission suggesting some level of host resistance. We do not have information at the landscape level on the number of oak with AOD symptoms that die every year.
Since 2013, Defra has invested £1.1 million in research to understand the causes, distribution and scale of AOD in the UK. This includes work to investigate the bacterial species associated with the condition and to understand whether the Agrilus biguttatus beetle plays a role in the dispersal of these bacterial species. Early findings from this research are still inconclusive. There is currently no firm evidence of transmission by the beetle.
Earlier this year, Defra in collaboration with the Research Councils, Scottish Government and the Forestry Commission launched a further £2 million call for research proposals on ‘oak health’ and Phytophthora. The successful bids from this call are due to be announced shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on research and development to find a synthetic alternative to bear pelts for the making of bearskins and other associated headgear containing real fur in each of the last 10 years.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not buy bear pelts; it buys ceremonial caps direct from suppliers who source pelts from animals culled as part of a programme to manage the wild population licensed by the Canadian government. Animal welfare standards relating to the bear cull are a matter for the Canadian government.
The MOD also purchases coney skin (rabbit fur) for the Royal Engineers’ and Royal Signals’ busby and fox fur for the Royal Horse Artillery, Kings Troop Officers’ busby. The current contract requires a commitment to sustainable procurement.
Depending on usage and maintenance, bearskin busbys can last for up to 50 years. The coney skin and fox fur busbys have indefinite lifespans if properly maintained.
|
Calendar Year |
Cost of Bearskin Busby Headgear (£) |
Financial Year |
Cost of Coney Skin Busby Headgear (£) |
Cost of Fox Fur Busby Headgear(£) |
|
2005 |
Not held |
2005-06 |
1,532 |
0 |
|
2006 |
Not held |
2006-07 |
0 |
1,472 |
|
2007 |
Not held |
2007-08 |
0 |
0 |
|
2008 |
31,319 |
2008-09 |
9,173 |
406 |
|
2009 |
148,891 |
2009-10 |
0 |
0 |
|
2010 |
131,886 |
2010-11 |
0 |
0 |
|
2011 |
90,822 |
2011-12 |
0 |
861 |
|
2012 |
126,087 |
2012-13 |
1,779 |
861 |
|
2013 |
65,108 |
2013-14 |
0 |
0 |
|
2014 |
136,671 |
2014-15 |
10,257 |
1,899 |
|
2015 |
149,379 |
2015-16 |
2,558 |
0 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
|
Calendar Year |
Number of Bearskin Busby Headgear |
Financial Year |
Number of Coney Skin Busby Headgear |
Number of Busby Headgear made of Fox Fur |
|
2005 |
Not held |
2005-06 |
4 |
0 |
|
2006 |
Not held |
2006-07 |
0 |
2 |
|
2007 |
Not held |
2007-08 |
0 |
0 |
|
2008 |
35 |
2008-09 |
22 |
1 |
|
2009 |
195 |
2009-10 |
0 |
0 |
|
2010 |
158 |
2010-11 |
0 |
0 |
|
2011 |
99 |
2011-12 |
0 |
1 |
|
2012 |
126 |
2012-13 |
4 |
1 |
|
2013 |
63 |
2013-14 |
0 |
0 |
|
2014 |
127 |
2014-15 |
20 |
2 |
|
2015 |
122 |
2015-16 |
5 |
0 |
Historically the MOD has undertaken a number of trials on synthetic alternatives to bear skin but none of these matched the properties of the natural material. No trialling has taken place since 2007. Information about costs of these trials is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2012 the Ministry of Defence loaned a sample bearskin to the animal rights organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to aid its research and development programme on a synthetic alternative.
There has been no research and development carried out to find a synthetic alternative to coney skin or fox fur.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the effectiveness of its regulatory instruments, including enforcement action, in ensuring compliance by banks and other financial institutions regarding record keeping.
Harriett Baldwin
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.
The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to Question 18949, tabled by the hon. Member for Halifax on 7 December 2015.
Mr Shailesh Vara
I can confirm that the answer to PQ 18949 was given on the 29th February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) better identify visitors to the UK from other EEA countries who are being treated in NHS hospitals and (b) ensure that such visitors’ home countries are charged for their treatment.
Alistair Burt
Since its inception in 2013, the Department of Health’s Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme has been working to design and implement key improvements to ensure that those people who should pay for National Health Service care in England are identified and charged. The Department has also been working closely with the NHS to improve rates of recovery where these healthcare costs are the responsibility of other member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), S1 and S2 mechanisms.
Achievements include:
– the revision of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations that came into force on 6 April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system;
– support of and engagement with NHS providers through meetings with senior trust employees, plus the launch of a Cost Recovery Support Team to provide bespoke assistance to trusts to support them in improving their processes for identifying chargeable patients and recovering funds owed, including those from Europe;
– the launch of the European Health Insurance Card reporting incentive on 1 October 2014. Through this, all EHIC activity correctly reported by NHS secondary providers that enables the UK to make appropriate reimbursement claims from other member states attracts an additional 25% funding of the costs of providing treatment for the benefit of the reporting organisation.
The Department has recently concluded a consultation on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England. Part of the consultation proposes to amend the residence definition for EEA nationals, by which they qualify for free NHS treatment in England. The Government will set out its response to the consultation in due course.
EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the NHS providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) Post Transaction Valuation and (b) Pay As You Earn healthcare requests were made to HM Revenue and Customs’ Shares and Assets Valuation team in (i) the 2015-16 tax year and (ii) previous tax years for which figures are available.
Mr David Gauke
The figures below show the requests received by HM Revenue and Customs Shares and Assets Valuation in the last four tax years. Figures are also given for the total number of Post Transaction Valuation checks and those relating to the recently withdrawn income tax checks.
|
PAYE healthcheck |
Total Post Transaction Valuation Check |
Income Tax Post Transaction Valuation Check |
|
|
2015-16 |
39 |
1441 |
558 |
|
2014-15 |
48 |
1517 |
586 |
|
2013-14 |
69 |
1502 |
606 |
|
2012-13 |
71 |
1792 |
727 |