Tag: Paula Sherriff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the payment of senior NHS staff through limited companies; and what estimate he has made of the number of senior NHS staff paid off-payroll.

Alistair Burt

Our policy is to comply with the guidance from HM Treasury on senior staff engaged on an off-payroll basis. Engaging staff off-payroll can be a useful flexibility for employers but the guidance is clear that the most senior staff should be on the payroll of the organisation they lead, except in exceptional circumstances and then for no more than six months. The latest figure for staff in National Health Service trusts within the scope of the Treasury guidance indicate there were 1,193 off-payroll staff in 2014/15. The latest figure for NHS foundation trusts was 1,109 in 2013/14. These figures may include staff engaged off-payroll other than through limited companies. Figures for staff in clinical commissioning groups are not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36231, when he expects the liver disease framework to be published.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England (PHE) is producing a liver disease framework which will outline PHE’s wide range of work contributing to the prevention of liver disease and the improved wellbeing of patients with liver disease. The PHE Liver Disease Framework is expected to be published in autumn 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police officers are trained to deal with hate crime.

Sarah Newton

The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.

We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.

We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.

This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.

The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.

Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.

Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.

The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:

● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;

● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;

● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;

● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.

Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage clinically commissioning groups to share best practice in improving diabetes care outcomes.

Jane Ellison

The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Outcomes Indicator Set provides clear, comparative information for CCGs, Health and Wellbeing Boards, local authorities, patients and the public about the quality of health services commissioned by CCGs and the associated health outcomes. Through publicly sharing this information, CCGs and general practitioner practices can see where they stand in comparison with their peers and take action where improvement is needed.

NHS England has also recently agreed to extend the roll out of its Right Care programme to all CCGs over the next four years. This will ensure that, where local diabetes services and outcomes are poorer compared to demographic peers, suitable improvement programmes will be implemented, with the learning shared across all CCGs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the recommendations in the publication entitled Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015-2020 by the Independent Cancer Taskforce are implemented.

Jane Ellison

NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations to improve cancer outcomes set out in the new five-year strategy of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.

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.

The Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report outlines that earlier diagnosis could contribute to saving a further 11,000 lives per year.

Our commitment that by 2020, National Health Service patients will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis or the all clear within 28 days of being referred by a general practitioner, means that patients, particularly those with harder to diagnose cancers, will be diagnosed faster.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve care and support for people with breast cancer.

Jane Ellison

The independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway with the aim of improving survival rates, including for people with breast cancer.

We are working with the National Health Service, charities and patient groups to deliver it. To support delivery of the strategy, NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. Whilst continuing in her current position at the Royal Marsden, she will lead the implementation of the strategy, alongside work to test new models of care at the Royal Marsden and University College London Hospitals in partnership with Manchester Cancer.

Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer, published by the Department in 1996 and updated by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (now known as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)) in 2002, sets out best practice evidence based guidance on the diagnosis, treatment and care of women with breast cancer. The guidance is complimented by clinical guidelines on Breast cancer (early and locally advanced) and Breast cancer (advanced) published by NICE in 2009, and Familial breast cancer published in June 2013.

NICE has also published a quality standard for breast cancer which is designed to drive and measure priority quality improvements in a breast cancer care. This is currently being updated.

In addition, NHS England has a Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group, which is administratively supported by the charities Breast Cancer Now and Breast Cancer Care. It has produced evidence based service guidance to support commissioners of breast cancer services, which is in the process of review internally.

The results of the 2014 Cancer Patient Experience survey show improvements in many areas. 89% of all patients reported that their care was either excellent or very good, and breast cancer patients on the whole reported a more positive experience than for many other cancer patients, with 93% reporting having been given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist.

On 13 September, based on the recommendations of the independent Cancer Taskforce report, we announced a number of measures to improve diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of people with cancer. This included a commitment that, by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. The packages will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer, including things such as physical activity programmes, psychological support and practical advice about returning to work.