Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many local authorities have not appointed animal welfare inspectors with training to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006 with respect to equine welfare.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra does not hold records of how many local authorities have not appointed or trained inspectors to enforce equine welfare issues.
Local authorities are required to enforce The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 which includes the licensing of businesses that hire out horses for riding or instruction in riding and which requires inspectors to be suitably qualified. We would expect most local authorities, therefore, to have inspectors trained in enforcing equine welfare more generally.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on the tethering of horses.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), it is an offence to fail to provide for an animal’s welfare or to cause it any unnecessary suffering. The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids (the Code). The Code provides owners and keepers with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their horses and includes a specific section on how to tether a horse. Local authorities have powers under the 2006 Act to investigate allegations of cruelty or poor welfare. In addition, welfare organisations such as the RPSCA and World Horse Welfare (WHW) may also investigate such matters. If anyone is concerned about the way a horse has been tethered, they should report the matter either to the relevant local authority, or to the RSPCA or WHW who can investigate. If a horse is found not to be tethered appropriately, it could lead to a prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. I therefore consider that there is legislation and guidance in place in respect of tethering of horses.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that (a) negotiations between Vertex Pharmaceuticals and NHS England on access to Orkambi for people with cystic fibrosis proceed without further delay and (b) an agreement is reached between the two parties.
Answered by Steve Brine
It is crucial that patients have access to the most effective and innovative medicines at a price that represents value to the National Health Service. While Ministers are keeping a very close eye on negotiations, it is the responsibility of NHS England as the commissioner and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as the independent body that is responsible for making recommendations on whether drugs and other treatments represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources, to work with Vertex to agree a deal to secure the best outcome for patients and a price for Orkambi that is fair and responsible.
NHS England has proposed its best offer ever for a drug. This offer, in the region of £500 million over five years, is the largest ever commitment of its kind in the 70-year history of the NHS. This would guarantee immediate and expanded access to both Orkambi and the drug Kalydeco for patients who need it. Whilst it is disappointing that Vertex has not taken up NHS England’s offer, we are pleased to hear that it has responded positively to NHS England’s and NICE’s latest offer to meet. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy), the Secretary of State for Health (Rt. hon. Matt Hancock MP) and I have and continue to urge Vertex to reconsider this fair offer.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of 17 July 2018, Official Report, column 384, what progress the Government has made on access to Orkambi in England since Vertex Pharmaceuticals was called on to accept NHS England’s proposal to make that drug available to people with cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Steve Brine
It is crucial that patients have access to the most effective and innovative medicines at a price that represents value to the National Health Service. While Ministers are keeping a very close eye on negotiations, it is the responsibility of NHS England as the commissioner and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as the independent body that is responsible for making recommendations on whether drugs and other treatments represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources, to work with Vertex to agree a deal to secure the best outcome for patients and a price for Orkambi that is fair and responsible.
NHS England has proposed its best offer ever for a drug. This offer, in the region of £500 million over five years, is the largest ever commitment of its kind in the 70-year history of the NHS. This would guarantee immediate and expanded access to both Orkambi and the drug Kalydeco for patients who need it. Whilst it is disappointing that Vertex has not taken up NHS England’s offer, we are pleased to hear that it has responded positively to NHS England’s and NICE’s latest offer to meet. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy), the Secretary of State for Health (Rt. hon. Matt Hancock MP) and I have and continue to urge Vertex to reconsider this fair offer.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether ensuring access to Orkambi for people with cystic fibrosis is a priority for his Department.
Answered by Steve Brine
It is a key commitment of this Government to ensure that people with comparatively rarer conditions, like cystic fibrosis, get the same quality, safety and efficacy in medicines as those who have more common conditions.
However, it is also necessary that Vertex prices Orkambi fairly and responsibly. That is why we must go through the right process with Vertex and NHS England, not the Government, working together to secure the best outcome for patients. NHS England has been in intensive discussions with Vertex to encourage it to price Orkambi at a level that would allow NHS England to fund its use without adversely impacting other patients. I and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) have been keeping an extremely close eye on these discussions and wrote to Vertex in April, urging it to commit to pricing that is responsible and proportionate. I also re-iterated this message in the adjournment debate on 17 July, Official report, columns 383-4.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what plans he has to ensure his Department continues to engage and meet with NHS England and Vertex to discuss access to Orkambi.
Answered by Steve Brine
NHS England has been in intensive discussions with Vertex to encourage it to price Orkambi at a level that would allow NHS England to fund its use without adversely impacting other patients. I and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) have been keeping an extremely close eye on these discussions and wrote to Vertex in April, urging it to commit to pricing that is responsible and proportionate. I also re-iterated this message in the adjournment debate on 17 July, Official report, columns 383-4.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a date has been set for the next meeting between NHS England and Vertex to discuss access to the drug Orkambi.
Answered by Steve Brine
We are informed by NHS England that at the last meeting on 4 July, it was agreed that both parties would take time to reflect before a further meeting was arranged. NHS England has subsequently made a substantially increased proposal to Vertex and has offered to meet to discuss and clarify any aspects as required by the company.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on Vertex (a) waiving its confidentiality clause on the negotiations around NHS access to the drug Orkambi and (b) disclosing details of its offer to NHS England.
Answered by Steve Brine
It is not in the Department’s gift to impose any requirement upon Vertex to waive its confidentiality clause or to disclose details of any offer in the negotiations around National Health Service access to the drug Orkambi. However, Ministers at the department have publicly urged Vertex to consider the offer made by NHS England and to waive confidentiality so that we can all see, in the interests of transparency, the kind of prices it is seeking to charge the NHS.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Education:
What steps he has taken to reduce teacher workload.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Workload Challenge identified three key areas driving excess workload: dialogic marking policies; excessive data collection; and lesson planning approaches.
We have taken steps to address each of these, as well as making a commitment for stability in assessment, qualifications and curriculum reform. This gives our education reforms - that are rasing standards in our schools - time to bed in.
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What steps she is taking to ensure that universal credit supports people in progressing at work and increasing their earnings.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Universal Credit provides us with the opportunity to support people to progress in work and we are currently developing the evidence base on how best to do this.
Building on our existing suite of trials, which includes a large scale Randomised Control Trial on in-work progression, we have committed an additional £8m to testing different approaches to supporting people to progress.