Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will bring forward proposals for a community pharmacy service to help reduce waste in care homes.
Answered by David Mowat
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) put forward a range of service development and counter proposals during the course of the consultation with them on community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. These proposals were all given full consideration by the Department. The final package contained two of the PSNC’s counter proposals – the proposal to introduce a quality payment, and the proposal for an urgent supply of medicines scheme.
The independent review being conducted by Richard Murray, of the King’s Fund, will consider what clinical services should be provided by community pharmacy in the future, and how they should be commissioned.
The Pharmacy Integration Fund will be used to commission and evaluate activities that bring about clinical pharmacy integration within the National Health Service demonstrating improvements in health outcomes for patients and the public in primary care and in the community.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will bring forward a community pharmacy (a) campaign and (b) audit on unwanted medicines.
Answered by David Mowat
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) put forward a range of service development and counter proposals during the course of the consultation with them on community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. These proposals were all given full consideration by the Department. The final package contained two of the PSNC’s counter proposals – the proposal to introduce a quality payment, and the proposal for an urgent supply of medicines scheme.
The independent review being conducted by Richard Murray, of the King’s Fund, will consider what clinical services should be provided by community pharmacy in the future, and how they should be commissioned.
The Pharmacy Integration Fund will be used to commission and evaluate activities that bring about clinical pharmacy integration within the National Health Service demonstrating improvements in health outcomes for patients and the public in primary care and in the community.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on its analysis of whole system costs for intermittent renewable energy sources.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy recognises the importance of considering the whole system impacts (both costs and benefits) of different electricity technologies when formulating future Government policy: this is a crucial element in delivering secure, clean and affordable energy to consumers. The Department’s social cost benefit analysis, which plays a key role in policy making, accounts for wider system costs, including network and balancing costs.
To deepen the Department’s understanding of the impacts of individual electricity generation technologies, Frontier Economics were commissioned to develop a comprehensive framework to define whole system impacts and their components and drivers, which can be applied to conventional, low-carbon and renewable large- and small-scale technologies. The resulting methodology report and its peer reviews will be published in due course.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with commercial banks and other providers of Radio Frequency Identification-enabled cards on (a) incidents of contactless card fraud and (b) prevention of such fraud.
Answered by Margot James
Since his appointment, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has had no discussions with commercial banks and other providers of RFID-enabled cards about incidents of contactless card fraud or their prevention.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many recorded incidents of fraud on contactless cards have been recorded since that technology became available.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government does not hold any data on the recorded incidents of fraud on contactless cards. Industry statistics received from Financial Fraud Action UK indicate that in the first half of 2016 there were £2.9 million losses attributed to fraud on contactless cards compared to a spend of £9.27 billion. According to the industry, fraud on contactless cards accounts for less than 1% of card fraud losses.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential for community pharmacies to (a) deliver early identification of medical complaints and ongoing patient monitoring and (b) help reduce hospital admission rates.
Answered by David Mowat
We want a clinically focussed community pharmacy service that is better integrated with primary care and public health in line with the Five Year Forward View. This will help relieve the pressure on general practitioners and accident and emergency, ensure better use of medicines and better patient outcomes, and contribute to delivering seven-day health and care services.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, Dr Keith Ridge has commissioned an independent review of community pharmacy clinical services. The review is being led by Richard Murray, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund. The final recommendations will be considered as part of the development of clinical and cost effective patient care by pharmacists and their teams.
NHS England is also setting up a Pharmacy Integration Fund to support the development of clinical pharmacy practice in a wider range of primary care settings, resulting in a more integrated and effective National Health Service primary care patient pathway.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the relative merits of changing the (a) subsidy structure and (b) tariff rate with reference to the administration of the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive for biomass combined heat and power generators.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has made changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme Regulations 2011, and these amendments came into force on 1 August 2016.
The changes were made to ensure appropriate value for money for the taxpayer. The decision to make the changes was informed by market intelligence, scheme data and consultation responses.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will allow combined heat and power biomass plants pre-accredited under the Renewable Heat Incentive that are in-build but not yet in receipt of full accreditation to remain eligible under the rules of the scheme which prevailed at the time of the initial investment.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has made changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme Regulations 2011, and these amendments came into force on 1 August 2016.
The changes therefore apply to all new biomass-Combined Heat and Power plant with an accreditation date on or after 1 August 2016.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with CCGs to work with community pharmacies to develop a role in reducing hospital admissions, early identification or intervention services and patient ongoing monitoring services.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS England has advised that all clinical commissioning groups are included in a sustainability and transformation plan (STP) footprint within which, local health and care organisations are working together to develop STPs which will help drive genuine and sustainable transformation in patient experience and health outcomes in the longer-term.
NHS England’s guidance to STPs highlights the importance of an integrated approach to primary care, including community pharmacy, in the delivery of transformed health services at the local level.
In addition, we are currently recruiting a further 1,500 qualified pharmacists to work within general practices by 2020.
Asked by: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has given to Ofgem on whether the new subsidy structure relating to low electrical output combined heat and power solid biomass generators should apply to those generators that are (a) funded, (b) built and (c) in-build and already in receipt of pre-accreditation certificates.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has made changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme Regulations 2011. These amendments came into force on 1 August 2016. The regulations require Ofgem to apply the new rules to all new biomass-Combined Heat and Power plant with an accreditation date on or after 1 August 2016.