Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce a new independent system for investigating the deaths of persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, as requested by the Care Quality Commission.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Every unexpected death of a patient in a mental health hospital is a matter of concern. In March 2015 NHS England issued their Serious Incident Framework. This gives guidance on good practice in responding to patient deaths, including those of people detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. This includes guidance on the circumstances in which National Health Service organisations should set up an independent investigation, in addition to the Coroner’s inquest. A copy of the Framework is attached.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to support the implementation of the UK Chief Medical Officer’s proposed new alcohol guidelines, published in January 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    The guidelines are currently out for consultation. They are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-risks-from-alcohol-new-guidelines

    We will consider any next steps once we have feedback from the public on the guidelines.

    “

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to include vulnerable Iraqi refugees in Jordan who are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in their resettlement plans.

    Lord Bates

    The UK operates three resettlement routes, Gateway, Mandate and the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) Scheme, working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on each.

    There are no current plans to resettle Iraqis registered with UNHCR and currently seeking refuge in Jordan under any of our resettlement schemes. However, we plan to continue to resettle Iraqi refugees currently in Syria under the Gateway programme. The case load for the Gateway programme is reviewed annually in consultation with UNHCR.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of criticism from the British Retail Consortium that proposed changes in business rates are inadequate.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government announced at Budget 2016 the biggest ever cut in business rates in England – worth £6.7 billion over the next five years. All ratepayers will benefit from the package and 600,000 of the smallest businesses, including many retailers, will not have to pay business rates again.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.

    Matthew Hancock

    None.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to improve equality of access to echo-cardiography for the identification of heart valve disease for people aged over 65.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is holding a Clinical Summit on 15 June 2016, bringing together cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to examine the issues relating to heart valve disease. This will discuss variation and the outputs will be used to inform the future commissioning approach within specialised commissioning.

    In addition, the office of the Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England is working with the National Clinical Director for Heart Disease and Health Education England to look at ways to improve provision and increase access to echocardiography for the identification of heart valve disease.

    NHS England has also undertaken a significant programme of work on congenital heart services, working very closely with the relevant stakeholders, including patients and their representatives, clinicians and hospital managers. This work produced a new set of service standards with the aim of achieving the best outcomes for all patients, consistently across the whole country and with excellent patient experience. Following consultation these standards were agreed by the board of NHS England in July 2015 and came into effect on 1 April 2016.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 7 July (HL830), what prevents Genomic England from sharing all 8,408 genomes in the rare disease and all 1,671 cancer genomes programmes with the relevant commercial interpretation partners to accelerate the delivery of full reports back to patients.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The interpretation of a genome for clinical purposes requires high quality genomic and clinical data. Genomics England is expanding the access to genome data by clinical interpretation partners at an appropriate rate to avoid exceeding their capacity. This is to ensure there are interpretation services that are sustainable for the remainder of the project.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department is providing nursing homes facing closure.

    David Mowat

    This response relates to adult social care in England.

    Adult social care is largely delivered through an independent sector of care provider organisations that operate in a competitive market. Whilst many people pay for their own services, both local government and the National Health Service commission services for people who have eligible needs and are financially eligible. The Government works with local authorities to encourage good practice in commissioning services, producing guidance and through a sector-led improvement programme.

    The Government recognises that the care sector is operating in a challenging financial environment and continues to engage with the care sector, including nursing care providers, to understand their concerns about their financial viability and the sustainability of services.

    The trade bodies Care England and the United Kingdom Home Care Association have convened a provider Taskforce, with membership from the larger care home and home care operators and representatives from the Care Providers Alliance. Officials from the Department of Health, and other Government Departments attend the taskforce meetings as observers. The Taskforce has discussions about risks to financial viability, local authority commissioning and the impact of the introduction of the National Living Wage.

    The Department is working closely with the Local Government Association to consider targeted action to address the issues.

    In addition, on 13 July 2016, the Department announced that the NHS-funded Nursing Care (NHS-FNC) rate was being increased on an interim basis to £156.25 per week for individuals assessed as eligible. This increase was to be backdated to 1 April 2016 for individuals who were in receipt of NHS-FNC at that time.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with health bodies on ensuring timely treatment for people with alcohol-related illnesses.

    Jane Ellison

    Departmental officials have regular meetings with various stakeholders, including health bodies, in which a wide range of topics are discussed. Ministers are involved at appropriate points. There have been no recent discussions on timely treatment for people with alcohol-related illnesses.

    Local communities, services and businesses are best placed to tackle alcohol-related issues in their area and enforce the behaviour and develop the cultures that they want.

    Local authorities and the Health and Wellbeing Board partners have responsibility for planning the full range of alcohol services, from early intervention and prevention, through to commissioning alcohol treatment services to meet the need in their areas. They are supported to deliver their public health priorities by Public Health England.

  • Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blunkett on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 December (HL3996), what assessment is being made of the impact on the provision of child and adolescent mental health services, broader special needs support and psychological services, of reductions announced in the Autumn Statement to the provision for areas of education spending in England that are not ring-fenced.

    Lord Nash

    As set out in the response to the previous question from the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett (HL3996), the £600 million reduction to the Education Services Grant, announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement, should have no direct impact on the provision of child and adolescent mental health services, broader special needs support, or psychological services.

    Support for special educational needs is funded from the core schools budget, which we are protecting in real terms.

    The government has made children and young people’s mental health support a priority and we are investing an additional £1.4 billion in children and young people’s perinatal mental health services over the next five years. Each Clinical Commissioning Group has put in place a local transformation plan for children and young people’s mental health to set out how services will be improved. These have been drawn up in partnership with local authorities, schools and colleges to ensure they cover the full spectrum of interventions, from prevention to support and care for existing or emerging mental health problems, transitions between services, and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable.

    Local authorities have statutory duties to provide services and support for children and young people with SEND, including providing educational psychologist expertise. Local authorities are best placed to judge local priorities and to make local funding decisions, and it is therefore for them, in consultation with local people and having regard to the range of statutory responsibilities placed on them, to determine the exact nature of provision in their areas, including how best to allocate resources and how to fulfil their obligations.