The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease have had at least one repeat assessment, by year of initial assessment, since the introduction of employment and support allowance in 2008.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who will no longer be able to live in supported accommodation as a result of the application of the cap on local housing allowance for people in such accommodation.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that companies with which the Government contracts to provide housing or other services for asylum seekers (a) treat such people with care and respect and (b) avoid measures which may make asylum seekers a target for hate crime.
James Brokenshire
The general principles section of the statement of requirements within the COMPASS contract is clear: asylum seekers need to be managed with sensitivity, treated in a polite and courteous manner and their safety and security is of absolute importance and must not be jeopardised.
I have asked for, and received assurances from, all accommodation providers that there are no further policies or practices that allow asylum seekers to be identified as such by the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26859, if she will update her Department’s response to e-petition 104867, on legalisation of medicinal cannabis, in respect of the information on availability of the drug Sativex.
Karen Bradley
The Government’s position is unchanged. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a marketing authorisation and the Home Office has amended the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to enable Sativex to be available to patients via health care practitioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the appropriateness of the length of time junior doctors will be off shift following a nine or 10 hour night shift in the illustrative rotas for junior doctors, published by NHS Employers on 18 February 2016.
Ben Gummer
The new safeguards around shift working are based upon the UK Working Time Regulations, which set out minimum rest requirements between shifts. The new contract goes significantly further than these requirements. It reduces the number of consecutive shifts of nine or 10 hours length to eight from the current 12, with a 48 hour rest break, with further restrictions on consecutive long shifts or night shifts. This was agreed as reasonable with the British Medical Association. The illustrative rotas reflect these safeguards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 27469, what representations she has received on whether the admissions criteria employed by religiously selective schools are sufficiently clear for parents to be able to understand them; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
As part of our current review of the School Admissions Code, we are considering whether changes need to be made to address some of the issues highlighted by the Schools Adjudicator. The School Admissions Code requires that the oversubscription criteria of all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are reasonable, clear, objective, and procedurally fair. Schools operating faith-admission arrangements must ensure that parents can easily understand how any faith-based criteria will be reasonably satisfied. Parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated.
If parents consider arrangements are unclear or unfair they can object to the Schools Adjudicator.
Officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss admissions policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to take questions from the (a) press and (b) public when he launches his Department’s public consultation following publication of the Caldicott review.
George Freeman
The Government is currently considering the findings and recommendations of the reviews undertaken by the Care Quality Commission and Dame Fiona Caldicott, ahead of these reports being published. The scope of any supporting consultation exercise is yet to be determined.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for autism diagnosis.
Alistair Burt
NHS England and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, supported by the Department, undertook a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups and local authorities recently. These visits aimed to develop a better strategic oversight of the challenges in securing timely diagnosis across all ages and to share good practice. NHS England will report to the Cross Government Autism Programme Board in June on its findings and that report and discussion will be made public.
As recommended by the independent Mental Health Taskforce, the Department is undertaking a five year plan for the development of mental health data to be published by the end of this year. The plan will set out future data requirements and timings for developing data to inform pathways of care which will include data requirements for autism.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the NHS is not charged a premium price by pharmaceutical companies for general prescription drugs.
Alistair Burt
In the main, the National Health Service obtains value for money from the purchasing of medicines through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and the statutory scheme for branded medicines and through competition in the generic medicines market.
Where we suspect that price rises are excessive, we can, and do, alert the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and ask it to investigate.
My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, has asked the CMA to urgently look at the issues raised in the media recently as part of its continuing investigations into excessive drugs pricing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department will commit to maintaining or increasing funding that is allocated to eradicating violence against women in armed conflict, facilitating universal access to reproductive healthcare and supporting equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.
Rory Stewart
The UK has put the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of our international development work, and is delivering significant results for women and girls. We played an instrumental role in influencing the global agreement for Sustainable Development Goal 5 ‘to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’. We also made firm commitments to support women and girls in the 2015 UK Aid strategy, underpinned by the 2014 International Development (Gender Equality) Act legislation, which ensures that UK Aid development and humanitarian work considers gender issues as a core part of everything they deliver. The UK is a global leader in promoting, protecting and supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including neglected and difficult issues. The 2012 London Summit on Family Planning put the issue firmly back on the international agenda, and the UK is a core convenor of the FP2020 movement established at the Summit to drive forward progress.
Full attainment of political, social and economic rights for women and girls is a UK priority, recognising its centrality to greater peace and stability. Violence against women and girls is one of the most systematic, widespread human rights violations worldwide. Globally, 1 in 3 women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. DFID has made significant progress in scaling up efforts to address violence against women and girls, nearly doubling our programming from 64 programmes in 2012 to 127 in 2016 (including the £25 million ‘What Works to Prevent Violence’ programme). The UK and the new Secretary of State will continue to lead the global effort to improve the lives of women and girls, promoting gender equality and women and girls empowerment in all contexts.