Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications for his Department's policies are of the Crisp Commission Report on mental health; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
As a result of the recommendations from the Crisp Commission and the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, the Government set a national ambition in April 2016 to eliminate inappropriate out of area placements (OAPs) for adult acute inpatient care by 2020/21.
To ensure progress towards this ambition in 2016/17, the Department asked that areas put in place local action plans to achieve reductions in OAPs during 2016/17. NHS England will seek assurance that plans are in place, as well as demonstrable reductions, through the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework. In addition, NHS Improvement will ensure best practice is shared more widely.
On the wider Crisp Commission recommendations, NHS England is working with the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) to develop an evidence-based treatment pathway for adult acute mental health care (including older adults), covering both inpatient and community settings from referral through to discharge, so that adult acute inpatient care can be used effectively for patients who need it. A national quality assessment and improvement scheme developed by the RCPsych will be launched during 2017/18, with the aim of improving acute care to meet the pathway standards during 2018/19.
NHS England has committed to publish a formal response to the Commission’s report shortly.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has conducted a dilapidation survey of Stonehouse Barracks.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not conducted a dilapidation survey of Stonehouse Barracks. The estimated date of release is 2023. The MOD holds condition records as part of its normal estate maintenance programmes; dilapidation and other surveys will be undertaken in the early stages of the disposal process.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has undertaken a dilapidation survey of the Citadel in Plymouth.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not conducted a dilapidation survey of the Citadel in Plymouth. The estimated date of release is 2024.
The MOD holds condition records as part of its normal estate maintenance programmes; dilapidation and other surveys will be undertaken in the early stages of the disposal process. The Citadel is a historic Grade 2 monument, which the MOD has taken great care to maintain under the direction of English Heritage; this maintenance will continue up to the disposal date.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy that Devonport dockyard is considered a potential location for the building of new ships as part of his National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
As the hon. Member will be aware, although ship building in Devonport has ceased, the dockyard plays a leading role in UK naval ship repair, maintenance and support.
The Government published Sir John Parker's independent report to inform the National Shipbuilding Strategy in full on 29 November. It is important that the Government gives Sir John's work the full consideration that it deserves. I have asked Ministry of Defence officials, working with others across Government, to examine the report and recommendations, and to discuss them with Industry. Sir John has set Industry the challenge to deliver higher productivity and shorter build cycle times, and it will be for Industry to consider the optimum locations to base their shipbuilding work.
The Government's response in spring 2017, which will be the National Shipbuilding Strategy, will detail how we are dealing with all of Sir John's recommendations.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans to give the Crown Estate notice that it will be releasing its tenancy of the Citadel.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The estimated date of disposal for the Royal Citadel is 2024. The Department will ensure the appropriate amount of notice is given to the Crown Estate; however the date for this is not yet known.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.19 of the Autumn Statement 2016, how much of the £450 million funding for trialling digital signalling technology to expand capacity and improve reliability will be allocated to improving signalling on the Great Western line from Paddington to Cornwall.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the 2016 Autumn Statement, Government announced £450 million to trial innovative digital rail signalling technology to increase capacity and reliability on our railways. A range of schemes are being considered and the exact location and scope will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has for the inclusion of HIV and AIDS within its Leaving No-One Behind framework.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The Leave No One Behind Promise means we will focus on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, which includes groups affected by HIV and AIDS. The UK’s recent £1.1 billion pledge to the Global Fund to fight AIDs, TB and Malaria is a practical example of this commitment.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to decriminalise dispensing errors by pharmacists.
Answered by David Mowat
We have consulted on our proposals to put in place a defence to the criminal sanction for inadvertent dispensing errors and received good support from patients, carers, healthcare professionals, pharmacy organisations and other bodies. We are working through the necessary processes to change the law. We are in the final stages of clearance and hope to lay the Order shortly.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many local authorities have published an autism strategy; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all local authorities are producing such strategies.
Answered by David Mowat
This information is not held centrally.
The autism strategy Think Autism published in 2014 and statutory guidance published in 2015 for local authorities and National Health Service organisations encourages the effective development of local autism strategies for meeting the needs of adults with autism in their local population, as identified in their local needs assessments. Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups should work together to commission services for children with special educational needs, including autism. This should include publishing a ‘Local Offer’ of services.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the government of Malawi on growing alternative crops other than tobacco such as (a) tea and (b) maize.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The UK has regular discussions with the Government of Malawi on the reforms needed to diversify Malawi’s agricultural base. During my recent visit to Malawi, I urged the Malawian Government to make progress on the policy environment for agribusiness, and particularly emphasised the need for reform to maize markets.
The UK provides particular support to the expansion of oilseeds and rice as alternative crops. Through the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund we also support a tea business, and through AgDevCo we invest in groundnuts, sugar, paprika/chillies and macadamia nuts.