Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many appeals against planning application refusals by local planning authorities have been (a) upheld and (b) dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate since 2010.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Planning is a quasi-judicial process; it is a long-standing feature of the planning system that there is a right of appeal, just as there are with other local quasi-judicial decisions such as on licensing applications, gambling applications or parking fines.
The Localism Act 2011 has strengthened the role of Local Plans and abolished the last Administration’s top-down Regional Strategies. Our streamlined National Planning Policy Framework strongly encourages areas to get up-to-date Local Plans in place, and we have been actively supporting councils in doing so. Local Plans now set the framework in which decisions on particular applications are taken, whether locally or at appeal, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. We have also allowed local communities to draw up Neighbourhood Plans, which also become part of the area’s statutory development plan.
The table below shows the number of appeals since 2009-10:
Appeal decisions | Allowed | Dismissed |
2009-10 | 5,852 | 11,443 |
2010-11 | 5,195 | 10,633 |
2011-12 | 5,021 | 9,475 |
2012-13 | 4,757 | 8,705 |
2013-14 | 4,884 | 8,995 |
Note: Planning inspectorate decisions, including written representations, hearings and inquiries.
The table shows that since the National Planning Policy Framework was introduced in March 2012, the number of appeals is lower, as is the number allowed. 99% of decisions are made locally with only approximately 1% of planning applications overturned on appeal. This is in the context of rising housing starts, higher housing construction and rising planning permissions. This means there is more local decision-making, and our reforms are supporting badly-needed new homes within a locally-led planning system.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect on mortality rates of the provisions of off-patent drugs outside their licensed indications in cases where research supports the use of those drugs.
Answered by George Freeman
We have no plans to make such an assessment as national prescribing data does not record the indication for which a drug has been prescribed.
The responsibility for prescribing rests with the doctor or prescriber, taking into account their patient’s needs and relevant clinical guidance. Good communication between practitioners and patients is essential and prescribers should always involve patients in decisions about the treatment proposed. When prescribing outside a drug’s licensed indications, practitioners should explain to their patients why they are proposing that course of action.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what further discussions his Department has had with (a) NHS England and (b) the Health and Social Care Information Centre on the inclusion of musculoskeletal conditions in the care.data programme.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department wrote to the Medical Director of Arthritis Research UK on 12 May 2014 (a copy is attached) saying NHS England would be willing to engage with them to look at the inclusion of musculoskeletal conditions in the care.data programme.
NHS England has had discussions with a range of stakeholders, including Arthritis Research UK, to establish a range of changes are needed to ensure that the dataset suits the needs of all. These changes include expanding the list of codes to cover a wider range of diagnoses, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, and linking to other datasets, not just to hospital data. The care.data programme board has agreed that a public consultation will be conducted after the end of the pathfinder stage. The purpose of this consultation will be to allow all stakeholders the opportunity to have their say about any expansion to the dataset in an open and transparent manner.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the level of uptake of care plans amongst people with arthritis; and what steps his Department plans to take to widen access to care planning.
Answered by Norman Lamb
On 8 January 2015, NHS England published the results from the latest GP Patient Survey. The survey provides information on over 880,000 patients’ overall experience of primary care services and their overall experience of accessing these services. The survey contains the questions, Do you have a written care plan?, and the following table provides the results from patients who identified themselves as having either arthritis or a long term joint problem or a long term back problem .
| Do you have a written care plan? | ||
Yes | No | Don’t Know | |
Of patients who have arthritis or a long-term joint problem | 5.6% | 90.8% | 3.6% |
Of patients who have a long-term back problem | 4.5% | 91.2% | 4.3% |
More information about the GP Survey can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/2015/01/08/gp-patient-survey-2014/
The Government’s Mandate to NHS England makes clear that all patients with a long-term condition should be offered a personalised care plan. NHS England is developing resources to support practitioners and commissioners to introduce effective personalised care planning in their local areas, including the recently launched handbooks on personalised care and support planning, which can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/out-frwrk/dom-2/ltc-care/
NHS England is also working with GP practices to identify the 2% of their patient population most at risk of hospital admissions so care plans can be developed for them as the top priority.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with a musculoskeletal condition have a care plan.
Answered by Norman Lamb
On 8 January 2015, NHS England published the results from the latest GP Patient Survey. The survey provides information on over 880,000 patients’ overall experience of primary care services and their overall experience of accessing these services. The survey contains the questions, Do you have a written care plan?, and the following table provides the results from patients who identified themselves as having either arthritis or a long term joint problem or a long term back problem .
| Do you have a written care plan? | ||
Yes | No | Don’t Know | |
Of patients who have arthritis or a long-term joint problem | 5.6% | 90.8% | 3.6% |
Of patients who have a long-term back problem | 4.5% | 91.2% | 4.3% |
More information about the GP Survey can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/2015/01/08/gp-patient-survey-2014/
The Government’s Mandate to NHS England makes clear that all patients with a long-term condition should be offered a personalised care plan. NHS England is developing resources to support practitioners and commissioners to introduce effective personalised care planning in their local areas, including the recently launched handbooks on personalised care and support planning, which can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/out-frwrk/dom-2/ltc-care/
NHS England is also working with GP practices to identify the 2% of their patient population most at risk of hospital admissions so care plans can be developed for them as the top priority.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which department or team within NHS England is responsible for the development and implementation of proposals for a national molecular diagnostic testing service in the NHS.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England’s Clinical and Scientific Policy and Strategy Team are responsible for policy relating to molecular diagnostics.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England plans to publish full details of the decisions it makes during the prioritisation exercise for new specialised services to be commissioned in 2015-16
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England is currently consulting on the principles and process by which it makes investment decisions in specialised services. The outcome of future investment decisions taken by NHS England will be published in accordance with the new process once it has been finalised. Views and comments on whether, when and how these decisions are published can be submitted as part of the current consultation.
The consultation can be found at:
https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/investing-in-specialised-commissioning
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will work in partnership with charitable organisations to increase awareness of stem cell donation among young people.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Since 2010 the Department has provided almost £16 million additional funding to improve the provision of cells in the United Kingdom. Bone marrow donors are recruited by NHS Blood and Transplant and the partner charity Anthony Nolan. Departmental funding has allowed these organisations money to recruit young male donors most likely to be suitable to donate bone marrow. Anthony Nolan recruit donors in a variety of ways including groups of university students or ‘Marrow Groups’ that encourage younger individuals to register.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the availability of shared accommodation for people under 35 in receipt of housing benefit.
Answered by Steve Webb
No assessment has been made of the availability of shared accommodation for single people under 35. However the Department commissioned an independent evaluation of the changes to Local Housing Allowance, including the impacts on single people under 35. The final report was published last year and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-monitoring-the-impact-of-changes
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken, since the debate in the House on legislation of the sale of puppies and kittens on 4 September 2014, to brief local authorities on the requirements for people in the business of breeding dogs to obtain a relevant licence.
Answered by George Eustice
As I promised during the debate, my Department has written to all local authorities reminding them that the overriding factor when considering whether a dog breeder should be licensed is whether they are in the business of breeding and selling dogs. We also pointed out that local authorities can add conditions to individual pet shop licences restricting the species of animals sold. I have placed a copy of the letter in the House libraries.