Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote his Department’s strategies to prevent cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    One of the independent Cancer Taskforce report’s six strategic priorities is to “spearhead a radical upgrade in prevention and public health”. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations of the report.

    As part of putting in place a governance structure for delivery of the strategy, NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards using outcomes-based commissioning to redesign care and patient experience. Ms Palmer is Chief Executive of the Royal Marsden Hospital.

    Public Health England (PHE) runs a number of successful campaigns relating to cancer prevention.

    The tobacco marketing programme runs a range of activity to highlight the health harms of smoking. This includes demonstrating the link between smoking and cancer, as well as encouraging smokers to make quit attempts and signposting them to proven NHS tools and services to help. These programmes have been shown to have a positive impact on reducing adult smoking prevalence.

    PHE’s flagship social marketing campaign, Change4Life, aims to help families and children in England to eat well, move more, and live longer. Some cancers are highlighted as a health consequence within the campaign messaging. The campaign has enjoyed considerable success and unparalleled levels of engagement. Since its launch in 2009, more than 2.7 million people have signed up to Change4Life and it now has more than 200 national partners. Its tools and resources incentivise and encourage behaviour change.

    These complement the Be Clear on Cancer campaigns (BCoC) that encourage symptom recognition and earlier general practitioner presentation. BCoC campaigns have been running since early 2011 and have covered a number of cancers nationally and regionally.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.88 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether any of the additional funding for cycling infrastructure announced will be allocated to Hull.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced more than £300m was being made available for cycling. The Government will set out its investment plans in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published summer 2016.

  • Lord Tunnicliffe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Tunnicliffe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tunnicliffe on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which debt management advice takes into account non-financial circumstances of an individual client, and what guidance they issue to those providing such advice about taking those circumstances into account.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    These questions have been passed on to the Money Advice Service (MAS). MAS will reply to directly to the Noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the government of Libya.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK strongly supports the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed at Skhirat on 17 December by the majority of the Libyan delegates to the UN facilitated political dialogue, and by a wide range of representatives of Libyan society, municipal leaders and political parties. The Agreement paves the way for a Government of National Accord (GNA) and was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2259. Only a unified national government can begin the difficult work of establishing effective, legitimate governance, restoring stability and tackling the threat posed by Daesh. That is why we have been at the forefront of efforts to coordinate international support for the GNA.

    The UK hosted a meeting with the UN and international donors and agencies in October to discuss plans for coordinated support from the international community to the GNA. This has been followed up through UN-hosted coordination meetings in Tunis. Two UK-funded advisors are already working closely with Libyan PM designate Fayez Serraj’s Presidency Council, and we stand ready to work with the international community to deliver a significant package of support to help a Government of National Accord to deliver a stable and prosperous future for all Libyan citizens. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I both spoke recently with PM designate Serraj and also with UN Special Representative Kobler to underline the UK’s continued support for the GNA process and UN efforts in this area. The Secretary of State plans to meet PM designate Serraj and House of Representatives President Agileh shortly to discuss what further support Britain can provide.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the price of 100 grams of five per cent coal tar ointment on the NHS Drugs Tariff for England and Wales compares with (1) the price of that treatment from manufacturing pharmacies, and (2) the price of that treatment on the Scottish NHS Drugs Tariff; and whether they will provide those figures.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No comparison has been made between the NHS Drug Tariff reimbursement price for England and Wales and the price of coal tar preparations produced by National Health Service hospital manufacturers. Any comparison would need to be treated with caution as some hospitals’ prices will not include the same overhead costs as commercial suppliers, nor might they have the infrastructure needed to supply to any pharmacy or indeed all pharmacies.

    A comparison of the reimbursement prices of specials listed on the Scottish Drug Tariff with those on the English Drug Tariff in Autumn 2015 showed there were 40 products listed on both Tariffs that were the same or similar. Out of these, 50% were more expensive on the Scottish Drug Tariff in comparison with the English Drug Tariff. The products are not necessarily exactly the same and the reimbursement arrangements in Scotland operate in different ways to those in England.

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that all health and social care staff involved in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions receive specialist training.

    Ben Gummer

    A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

    Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

    Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

    It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage more businesses to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence recognises the value of open, mutually beneficial relationships with employers, which is why we have introduced professionalised employer engagement at the national and regional level.

    The relationships we are building show that supporting the Armed Forces community is not only the right thing for employers to do, but can also yield tangible business benefits. Showing support by signing the Armed Forces Covenant can enhance the reputation of a company and attract the interest of Reservists and Service leavers; highly skilled, well-trained professionals who can add real value to a business.

    Since 2014 the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) has provided visible recognition to those employers which support Defence and is inspiring others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to Defence and the Armed Forces community. Publicity around the ERS and the Armed Forces Covenant is valuable to both Defence and the employers involved. Ministers regularly attend Armed Forces Covenant signing events, most recently with ISS UK.

    Our approach is delivering benefit; almost 1,000 employers have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and research shows that overall awareness of the Covenant has increased significantly over the last year.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Thames Tideway Tunnel project will send clean excavated materials to landfill permit sites as a waste or to be beneficially reused as a material or product as recovery in accordance with its commitment to reduce waste to landfill in the development consent order.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Tideway, the infrastructure provider set up to finance and deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel, has been assessing several sites identified through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process to receive the tunnel excavated material.

    Amongst other things this assessment looks at maximising the beneficial use of excavated material and its transport by river to meet environmental commitments made under the DCO. The relevant site operators have already made a number of applications to the Environment Agency (EA). The type of permit these sites require will be assessed by the EA in line with its guidance. This guidance is currently being revised following a recent Court of Appeal judgment which in some cases may lead to the reclassification of some waste activities as disposal rather than recovery. It is possible for appropriate disposal to deliver beneficial use such as habitat creation.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to support local television services.

    Baroness Mobarik

    A total of 21 local television services have launched since November 2013 with a further 13 local services due come on air next year. The development of local television has been supported by up to £40m of ring-fenced funding under arrangements agreed with the BBC in 2011. Under these arrangements, the BBC will provide up to £25 million to cover the capital costs of building the local television transmission network and up to £15m for content funding from the BBC for each station’s first three years on air.

    The draft Charter agreement published on 15 September included an extension to the content funding arrangements. This would ensure that all local television stations launching by 31 July 2017 and that wish to receive BBC support for their first three years on air will able to receive funding under these arrangements until March 2020.

    In addition to BBC funding, local television also benefits from having prominence on electronic programme guides (EPG) on Freeview and on other platforms and from certain exemptions to requirements in broadcasting legislation, such as having to source a proportion of their content from independent producers.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect 16 and 17 year olds from child sexual exploitation.

    Karen Bradley

    Tackling child sexual exploitation is a top priority for this Government. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat in the Strategic Policing Requirement, setting a clear expectation on police forces to collaborate across force boundaries, to safeguard children, to share intelligence and to share best practice.

    Significant progress has been made since the launch of the “Tackling CSE” report in March 2015. We have delivered the vast majority of a £7 million funding programme to support non statutory organisations that have experienced a surge in demand on their services. This funding is to support the victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including children of all ages.

    Furthermore, £1.6 million has been provided over four years (April 2012 – March 2016) for 13 Young People’s Advocates providing direct and dedicated support to young people who have been victims, or are at risk of, sexual and domestic violence and/or sexual exploitation. Funding of £1.72 million per year has also been committed to part fund 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers posts until March 2016.