Tag: Virendra Sharma

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of people with liver disease since September 2012.

Jane Ellison

NHS England is responsible for the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes for people with liver disease. It is adopting a broad strategy to reduce premature mortality, including mortality from liver disease.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not met any external organisations to discuss a strategy for combating liver disease since 11 May 2010. The Secretary of State and current Ministers at the Department have not met with representatives of people living with liver disease since September 2012.

NHS England and Public Health England are supporting clinical commissioning groups and local authorities to reduce premature mortality by providing commissioners with a suite of tools to help them maximise the best possible outcomes for their local communities such as Local Authority Profiles. These can help local authorities and clinical commissioning groups identify the significance of liver disease in their local area compared with the rest of the country and the actions they could prioritise to tackle it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) the the government of Sri Lanka’s decision to proscribe a number of Tamil groups and individuals for alleged links to terrorist activities and (b) the effect this will have on the reconciliation process.

Mr Hugo Swire

I am concerned at reports that the Sri Lankan government has proscribed a number of individuals and Tamil organisations operating outside Sri Lanka. Whilst we respect the right of the Sri Lankan government to take appropriate action against individuals and groups where there is clear evidence of their involvement in terrorist activities, our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has made clear to the Sri Lankan government that proscription should not be used to prevent or stifle the right to freedom of speech, particularly at a time when Sri Lanka’s human rights record is under international scrutiny. We believe that this development is not conducive to a successful reconciliation process and will continue to monitor developments closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been admitted to hospital with a (a) primary and (b) secondary diagnosis of viral hepatitis in each year since 1997-98.

Jane Ellison

The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the number of hospital admission episodes for hepatitis C. This does not reflect the actual number of people admitted to hospital, because the same person may have had more than one admission episode within the same time period. The data held by the Health and Social Care Information Centre are as follows:

Year	Primary diagnosis	Secondary diagnosis
1997-98	4,045	4,738
1998-99	4,204	5,963
1999-2000	4,509	6,783
2000-01	4,683	7,405
2001-02	4,992	8,371
2002-03	5,883	9,746
2003-04	6,538	11,221
2004-05	6,180	12,551
2005-06	5,878	15,414
2006-07	6,273	16,661
2007-08	6,205	18,386
2008-09	6,222	20,799
2009-10	6,204	23,256
2010-11	5,549	26,703
2011-12	4,466	27,518
2012-13	4,766	30,351

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka; what recent representations he has made to the government of Sri Lanka about the arrest and detention of human rights defenders; and what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart about the use of that country’s Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Mr Hugo Swire

We continue to have serious concerns about respect for human rights in Sri Lanka, in particular continued intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders and activists. We have consistently made clear to the Sri Lankan government the importance of safeguarding freedom of expression and protecting human rights defenders, and continue to urge the Sri Lankan government to uphold their international human rights obligations and to ensure that civil society, human rights defenders and activists are allowed the space to act freely.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights Report for 2013 and the quarterly updates to the report, which are available online, includes Sri Lanka as a ‘Country of Concern’ for human rights and outlines our assessment more fully.

I made clear to the Sri Lankan government following the arrest of Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen – who have now been released – that it is important that human rights defenders are not subject to intimidation and have a right to freedom of expression. We are also aware of the arrests of Mrs Jeyakumari Balendran and others in Sri Lanka. Officials at our High Commission in Colombo have raised concerns with the Sri Lankan government, in particular on the lack of clarity around the evidence against the suspects and the charges brought.

We have previously raised concerns with the Sri Lankan government about the length of time individuals can be detained without charge under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. On 27 March, the UN Human Rights Council agreed a resolution which calls on the Sri Lankan government to make progress on human rights issues and to implement Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations, which includes the re-evaluation of detention policies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rate of liver disease amongst adults was in the most recent period for which figures are available in each clinical commissioning group area.

Jane Ellison

The table attached shows finished admission episodes for liver disease in 2012-13 by clinical commissioning group of residence, where the patient was 18 years or older. The rate is supplied per 100,000 of the population.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the implementation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka of 27 March 2014; what technical advice and assistance his Department will provide to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the investigation into alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka; and what representations he has made to the government of Sri Lanka about the UN Human Rights Council resolution.

Mr Hugo Swire

Our officials in Geneva continue to discuss the March 2014 UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC) resolution with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). We will continue to fully support and work with the UN HRC and international partners to ensure proper implementation of this resolution. The OHCHR will lead an independent investigation into alleged violations. We continue to urge the Sri Lankan government to co-operate with the UN resolution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 54 of the Chief Medical Officer’s 2011 annual report, if he will place in the Library the figures underpinning the statement that liver disease mortality is increasing in England at the time when the average of our closest counterparts, EU members that joined pre-2004 is decreasing; if he will update those figures to include the latest available data; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

All of the datasets supporting statements and images in the ‘Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer Volume One 2011, On the State of the Public’s Health’, may be downloaded by following the link at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/cmo-annual-report-2011-volume-one-data-available

The datasets are not available in a hard copy format from the Department. It is anticipated that the figures will be updated later in the financial year.

In our mandate to the National Health Service, we set out the ambition to make England one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths from illnesses such as liver disease.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-04-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many individual funding requests for the prescription of Duodopa to patients with Parkinson’s disease were (a) made, (b) accepted, (c) accepted following an appeal and (d) rejected in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14.

Norman Lamb

Prior to April 2013, primary care trusts were responsible for dealing with individual funding requests and information on individual funding request decisions, or on the time taken to consider such requests, was not collected centrally.

From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.

NHS England has informed us that information on the number of individual funding requests made to NHS England is not currently available. NHS England is improving its data collection mechanisms and aims to improve availability of such information in the future.

NHS England has advised us it aims to inform the requesting clinician of the outcome of the individual funding request panel decision within 40 working days from the date of receipt of a completed request form. There are no plans to collect information on the average time taken for these decisions to be made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the review by the NHS on intellectual property, Innovation, Health and Wealth.

Dr Daniel Poulter

NHS England has advised that work to develop proposals following the review is still continuing, and proposals will be shared in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-04-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for a decision on an individual funding request for the prescription of Duodopa to a patient with Parkinson’s disease.

Norman Lamb

Prior to April 2013, primary care trusts were responsible for dealing with individual funding requests and information on individual funding request decisions, or on the time taken to consider such requests, was not collected centrally.

From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.

NHS England has informed us that information on the number of individual funding requests made to NHS England is not currently available. NHS England is improving its data collection mechanisms and aims to improve availability of such information in the future.

NHS England has advised us it aims to inform the requesting clinician of the outcome of the individual funding request panel decision within 40 working days from the date of receipt of a completed request form. There are no plans to collect information on the average time taken for these decisions to be made.