Tag: Tulip Siddiq

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) professionals, (b) nominated officers and (c) other nominated officers were prosecuted for failure to disclose under sections 330 to 332 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2009-10.

Mr John Hayes

The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK has a robust anti-money laundering regime. The National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing was published on 15 October 2015. This identified the threats and vulnerabilities we face in these areas, and the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance was published on 21 April 2016, setting out the steps that the Government will take to address them.

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty at all courts of offences under Sections 330 to 332, listed individually, from 2009/10 to the period between April and December 2014 (latest period available), can be viewed in the table below. It is not possible to determine the occupation of those convicted of these offences.

Section of Act	Outcome	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	April to December 2014
330	Proceeded against	–	5	2	2	4	1
Found guilty	–	4	1	1	8	1
331	Proceeded against	–	–	–	–	2	–
	Found guilty	–	–	1	–	1	–
332	Proceeded against	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Found guilty	–	–	–	1	–	–

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how much funding was allocated to and (b) how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by (i) the National Crime Agency’s Criminal Finances Threat Group and (ii) each of the cash-based money laundering, non cash-based money laundering and professional enablers divisions and the other sub-groups in each year since 2009-10.

Mr John Hayes

The National Crime Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 sets out the Agency’s staffing numbers and funding allocations including gross expenditure for the Economic Crime Command for 2013-14, and 2014-15.

The gross expenditure of the Economic Crime Command in 2013/14, the first year of the NCA’s operation, was £10,571,000. In 2014-15 gross expenditure was £21,718,000. In June 2015, the International Corruption Unit was established in the Economic Crime Command. It brought together resources from the Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police and the NCA into a single unit and is responsible for investigating the bribery of foreign public officials by individuals or companies from the UK, and money laundering by corrupt foreign officials and their associates.

The Economic Crime Command also leads the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT) through which the financial sector, law enforcement agencies and the Financial Conduct Authority share information to prevent, detect and disrupt money laundering and terrorist financing. The NCA as a whole has around 4,000 staff. The majority of the NCA’s staff work as a flexible investigative resource, not in a particular Command, but assigned to particular operations across all areas of the NCA as needed. The agency also houses a number of deployable specialist capabilities.

The number of staff working in a particular Command is not a reliable indicator of the overall NCA resource linked to a particular type of crime. The Criminal Finances Threat Group is a multi-agency group chaired by the NCA which includes representatives from across law enforcement, meeting quarterly. As the Group is not a unit within the NCA, the information sought is not available. HMRC leads on tax evasion.

The NCA works closely with HMRC in relation to tax evasion that relates to serious and organised crime. Through the NCA’s national tasking and coordination mechanisms the Agency is able act on these cases by utilising its specialist capabilities, for example undertaking tax investigations to recover assets from serious and organised criminals under part 6 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement or cancellation of ophthalmology follow-up appointments on patients’ sight.

Alistair Burt

All follow-up appointments should take place when clinically appropriate. It is for clinicians to make decisions on when they see patients, in line with their clinical priority, and patients should not experience undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis or treatment. The appropriate interval for follow up appointments will vary between different services or specialties, and between individual patients, depending on the severity of their condition.

To ensure that patients are seen at the appropriate time, NHS England’s guidance, “Recording and reporting referral to treatment waiting times for consultant-led elective care” is clear that when patients on planned lists are clinically ready for their care to commence and reach the date for their planned appointment, they should either receive that appointment or be transferred to an active waiting list. At that point, a waiting time clock will be started and their wait reported in the relevant statistical return.

Hospital episode statistics contain details of all outpatient appointments at National Health Service hospitals in England and commissioned by the NHS from independent sector organisations in England. The recording of a primary diagnosis and postponed or cancelled appointments is not mandatory within the outpatient commissioning data set and there are no plans to make it so.

Data is not, therefore, available on the number of cancelled or postponed follow up appointments for patients with age-related macular degeneration, central retinal vein occlusion and diabetic macular oedema.

No assessment has been made of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement or cancellation of ophthalmology follow-up appointments on patients’ sight. However, officials have met with the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning and are considering their concerns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle online abuse and harassment targeted at women on (a) social media networks, (b) Facebook and (c) Twitter.

Sarah Newton

We expect social media companies, and internet platforms, to have robust processes in place and to act promptly when abuse is reported, this includes acting quickly to remove inappropriate content, and where appropriate, suspending or terminating the accounts of those breaching the rules in place. The Government continues to work closely with social media companies and other relevant actors and experts to make sure they are committed to protecting those who use their platforms.

The Criminal Justice Act 2015 strengthened two existing communications offences: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 which can now be used to prosecute misuse of social media. The police now have longer to investigate either offence, and the maximum penalty for the former has been increased to two years imprisonment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to make shared housing ownership schemes more accessible for buyers in (a) central London and (b) other areas with fast-rising house prices; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

The Government is committed to helping hard working people across the country to own their own home. We believe that shared ownership has an important role to play to help those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it, especially in London and other high value areas. We know there is an appetite among providers and developers to deliver more shared ownership. We are currently considering a range of ways in which shared ownership can be made more accessible to first time buyers and increase its attractiveness to lenders and investors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to the report by the National Cancer Action Team, Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change, published in March 2013; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

At its meeting on 15 October 2015, the Prescribed Specialist Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) considered a proposal from the British Lymphology Society for a service for lymphoedema to be nationally commissioned. PSSAG’s recommendations on all proposals considered at this meeting will be put to Ministers shortly.

It is for Ministers to decide which services should be prescribed as specialised services and therefore nationally commissioned by NHS England. Ministers make these decisions based on advice from PSSAG.

Regarding the Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change report, published by the National Cancer Action Team in March 2013, the main recommendation for the NHS Commissioning Board (now NHS England) to consider was the creation of a lymphoedema strategy for England.

NHS England is focused on a system-wide approach that aims to ensure improvements in outcomes for all individuals with long-term conditions, including lymphoedema, rather than focusing on individual strategies for specific conditions.

The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter, and information concerning the arrangement of such services is not collected. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services and there is range of guidance to support local commissioning, including: an international consensus document on best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of people with; and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on advanced breast cancer, which provides advice on lymphoedema care. Both sets of guidance can be found at the following links:

www.woundsinternational.com/media/issues/210/files/content_175.pdf

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg81/resources/advanced-breast-cancer-diagnosis-and-treatment-975683850181

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Prescribed Specialist Services Advisory Group has made on discussions on proposals for a nationally-commissioned specialist lymphology service.

George Freeman

At its meeting on 15 October 2015, the Prescribed Specialist Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) considered a proposal from the British Lymphology Society for a service for lymphoedema to be nationally commissioned. PSSAG’s recommendations on all proposals considered at this meeting will be put to Ministers shortly.

It is for Ministers to decide which services should be prescribed as specialised services and therefore nationally commissioned by NHS England. Ministers make these decisions based on advice from PSSAG.

Regarding the Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change report, published by the National Cancer Action Team in March 2013, the main recommendation for the NHS Commissioning Board (now NHS England) to consider was the creation of a lymphoedema strategy for England.

NHS England is focused on a system-wide approach that aims to ensure improvements in outcomes for all individuals with long-term conditions, including lymphoedema, rather than focusing on individual strategies for specific conditions.

The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter, and information concerning the arrangement of such services is not collected. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services and there is range of guidance to support local commissioning, including: an international consensus document on best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of people with; and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on advanced breast cancer, which provides advice on lymphoedema care. Both sets of guidance can be found at the following links:

www.woundsinternational.com/media/issues/210/files/content_175.pdf

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg81/resources/advanced-breast-cancer-diagnosis-and-treatment-975683850181

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) commission services are for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients; and what guidance has been issued to CCGs on the commissioning of those services.

George Freeman

At its meeting on 15 October 2015, the Prescribed Specialist Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) considered a proposal from the British Lymphology Society for a service for lymphoedema to be nationally commissioned. PSSAG’s recommendations on all proposals considered at this meeting will be put to Ministers shortly.

It is for Ministers to decide which services should be prescribed as specialised services and therefore nationally commissioned by NHS England. Ministers make these decisions based on advice from PSSAG.

Regarding the Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change report, published by the National Cancer Action Team in March 2013, the main recommendation for the NHS Commissioning Board (now NHS England) to consider was the creation of a lymphoedema strategy for England.

NHS England is focused on a system-wide approach that aims to ensure improvements in outcomes for all individuals with long-term conditions, including lymphoedema, rather than focusing on individual strategies for specific conditions.

The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter, and information concerning the arrangement of such services is not collected. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services and there is range of guidance to support local commissioning, including: an international consensus document on best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of people with; and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on advanced breast cancer, which provides advice on lymphoedema care. Both sets of guidance can be found at the following links:

www.woundsinternational.com/media/issues/210/files/content_175.pdf

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg81/resources/advanced-breast-cancer-diagnosis-and-treatment-975683850181

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing discount travel fares for all nurses registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Alistair Burt

The merits of discounted travel fares is a local matter for individual organisations and the staff they employ to consider. We understand that the Human Resource Directors’ network in London is looking at economic factors within the capital that impact on the retention of nurses in the short and medium term.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, over what period NHS England plans to run Winter Daily Situation Reports during the winter of 2015; over what period NHS England ran those reports in the past; by what process NHS England decides on the time period over which to run additional winter monitoring; and what guidance his Department issues to NHS England on the time period over which to run that monitoring.

Jane Ellison

Winter Daily Situation Reports will commence on 1 December 2015, and will continue through to the end of February 2016. NHS England will publish the first data on 11 December 2015.

Winter Daily Situation Reports were first collected in November 2010. The table below shows the periods for which the data has been collected in previous years.

2010-11	1 November 2010 to 20 February 20111
2011-12	1 November 2011 to 1 March 20121
2012-13	6 November 2012 to 28 February 20131
2013-14	4 November 2013 to 30 March 20142
2014-15	3 November 2014 to 29 March 20152

Notes:

¹ Collected by Department of Health

² Collected by NHS England

Until 2012-13, Daily Winter Situation Reports were collected by the Department. Since 2013-14 they have been collected by NHS England. Each year, NHS England reviews reporting requirements over the winter, in discussion with partners. This includes the duration of the collection.

The Department has not issued guidance to NHS England about the time period for which Winter Daily Situation Reports should be collected.