Tag: Will Quince

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse is of provision of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey; and for what reasons an updated survey has not been published since 2012.

Jane Ellison

The total cost of the current contract for the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), covering four years of fieldwork from 2013/14 to 2016/17 and including analysis and reporting, is £15.4 million.

The most recent NDNS report, covering diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status in United Kingdom adults and children, was published in May 2014. This report was based on data collected under the previous contract for NDNS covering fieldwork from 2008/09 to 2011/12.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 32013, what sanctions will apply to NHS maternity units which do not reduce their rates of stillbirth and neo-natal death.

Ben Gummer

The mandate to NHS England includes a goal and deliverable for measurable progress towards reducing the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries that are caused during or soon after birth by 50% by 2030 with a measurable reduction by 2020.

The mandate also has a deliverable for in 2016/17 to implement agreed recommendations of the National Maternity Review in relation to safety, and support progress on delivering Sign up to Safety. On 7 March we launched ‘Spotlight on Maternity’ as part of ‘Spotlight on Safety’ and asked all trusts with maternity services to commit publically to placing a spotlight on maternity and to contributing towards achieving the Government’s national ambition.

The Department holds NHS England to account for progress against the mandate, which will include progress against the deliverable and goal above. It would be for commissioners (NHS England or clinical commissioning groups) to design contracts to incentivise providers to reduce their rates of stillbirth and neonatal death, and NHS Improvement may look at these rates as part of regulating providers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-05-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to set target levels of reformulation for soft drinks manufacturers under the soft drinks industry levy.

Damian Hinds

The Chancellor announced at Budget 2016 that the soft drinks industry levy will be charged on drinks with added sugar and a total sugar content above 5g/100ml, with a higher charge for drinks with more than 8g/100ml of sugar.

These sugar thresholds provide a strong incentive for companies to reformulate and are set to give industry certainty over the next two years. If companies reformulate their products, as many already have, then they will pay less. But it is up to companies how they respond to the levy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK Government aid to the Palestinian Territories is not used to help finance violence or terrorism.

Mr Desmond Swayne

No UK aid is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners, or their families. The UK’s direct financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of public sector workers only. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of Palestinian Authority expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible. The process is subject to independent auditing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-05-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will include a time limit in the terms of the soft drinks industry levy such that that levy would cease to apply if reformulation targets are met by soft drinks manufacturers.

Damian Hinds

There is no plan to include a time limit in the terms of the soft drinks industry levy, but the Chancellor keeps all taxes under review as part of the Budget process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms for oversight her Department has for UK Government aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Mr Desmond Swayne

UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved European Union list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reusing dispensed but unused returned drugs in the NHS.

David Mowat

In general, where a hospital pharmacy issues medicines to an individual patient and they remain within the hospital, either because they are not used or only partly used, the medicines would be returned to the pharmacy to check that they are suitable for re-use and returned to the pharmacy stock.

The Government does not promote the re-use of medicines that have left the pharmacy and been returned to either hospital or community pharmacies by patients, as it is not possible to guarantee the quality of a returned medicine by physical inspection alone.

The Government also does not recommend the donation of patient-returned medicines. This is in line with clear World Health Organization guidelines, which have been developed‎ in cooperation with major international agencies involved in humanitarian and developmental aid. The guidelines are available at:

www.who.int/medicines/publications/med_donationsguide2011/en/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30709, when he expects his Department’s response to the call for evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges to be published.

Nick Boles

The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges, with a view to announcing its next steps shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of dispensed but unused prescription drugs.

David Mowat

Information is not held centrally on the annual cost or amount of dispensed but unused prescription drugs in the National Health Service.

The Department commissioned the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy at the University of London to carry out research to determine the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines in England. The report, Evaluation of the Scale, Causes and Costs of Waste Medicines, was published on 23 November 2010. This found that the gross cost of unused prescription medicines in primary and community care in the NHS in England in 2009 was £300 million a year and that up to £150 million of this was avoidable.

NHS England is currently working with the Department and the NHS Business Services Authority to consider how value can best be obtained from the use of medicines, both in terms of patient outcomes and financial implications. This work, along with the medicines optimisation programme, will help ensure best value for both taxpayers and patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34465, if her Department will take steps to allow web-users to include honours when completing government online forms.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education works closely with the Government Digital Service (GDS) to ensure the digital products and services delivered are fit for purpose and put the user first. Each of the online forms is developed in accordance with the GDS Service Standard, applying design principles and house style to ensure consistency and a satisfying user experience.

When designing online forms, the only questions asked are those that are relevant and required and eliminate unnecessary steps and fields that are not pertinent to the purpose of the data we are collecting. At present there are no plans to include an honours question as a standard element across all of the online forms but if the data being collected requires this information to be collected then the online form will contain this particular field.