Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to promote cardiopulmonary resuscitation in schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Many schools already choose to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillator awareness as part of their personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) teaching, using the services of organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance.
The British Heart Foundation has offered to provide free CPR training kits to every secondary school in the country, allowing young people to gain first-hand experience of this important life-saving skill. We have used our social media channels to raise awareness of this resource and have agreed to work with the British Heart Foundation to continue to promote this kit to schools. We expect many schools to take up this offer.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to promote British food and drink exports.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The agri-food sector is worth over £100bn and employs one in eight people. The food and drink manufacturing sector – largest in the UK - exported nearly £19bn last year, including chocolates to Belgium, pork to China and chillies to India.
Supporting and encouraging businesses to take the opportunities that exporting presents is one of my Department’s top priorities. Officials are working with the industry and UKTI to develop a new Action Plan.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of growth in the economy.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK economy grew by 2.6 per cent in 2014, the fastest in the G7. Growth is balanced – with all 3 major sectors (services, construction, and manufacturing) of the economy growing by 2.5 per cent or more for the first time since records began in 1990.
760,000 new SMEs, 1.85 million new private sector jobs, inflation at record lows - this government's long term economic plan is working.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Be Clear on Cancer regional pilot in ovarian cancer on (a) survival rates, (b) early diagnosis and (c) general awareness of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
For each Be Clear on Cancer campaign there is a comprehensive evaluation process. Data is collected on a number of metrics to reflect the possible campaign impact on key elements of the patient pathway. Metrics evaluated include survival rates, indicators for earlier diagnosis and general awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms.
For the regional ovarian pilot in the North West, we have so far been able to look at the following metrics:
- cancer awareness levels;
- urgent general practitioner (GP) (two week wait) referrals for suspected gynaecological cancers;
- ovarian cancers diagnosed following a two week wait referral;
- all ovarian cancers diagnosed and recorded in the cancer waiting times database;
- conversion rate (percentage of two week wait referrals resulting in a cancer diagnosis); and
- detection rate (percentage of Cancer Waiting Times (CWT) recorded cancers resulting from a two week wait referral).
Some of the information required to fully evaluate campaigns takes longer to collate and analyse but gradually over time, when combined together, the metrics we analyse build up a detailed picture of potential campaign effects. This will include analysis of the following data:
- GP attendances;
- diagnostic tests, including CA125;
- numbers of cancers recorded by the National Cancer Registration Service;
- stage at diagnosis; and
- one year survival.
The National Cancer Intelligence Network (part of Public Health England) have confirmed that they will publish a full and final evaluation report for the regional ovarian cancer pilot campaign as soon as possible, when analysis of all metrics is complete. However, in advance of a final evaluation report, they aim to publish an interim report containing the cancer awareness levels and the results from the analysis of CWT data before the end of February 2015, at which time we will share these results with the ovarian cancer expert group and ovarian cancer charities.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Medical Workforce Census 2013, published in December 2014, what plans he has to facilitate integration between child health services and child mental health services.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The Department is working closely with our partners to look at wider system improvements to support the integration of children’s services. This was the focus of a Children’s Health and Wellbeing Partnership seminar on 16 July, which brought together over 50 representatives of national and local government, national health organisations and voluntary sector partners to share expertise and encourage innovation around integrated care and support for children and young people. Following this, the Partnership agreed a work programme on integration, including development of testing pricing and incentive models; sharing best practice across organisations working on integration; using the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing taskforce to extend learning from Special Educational Needs pathfinders; and bringing together and promoting the case for information sharing, including the use of the National Health Service number in Children’s Social Care.
The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being Taskforce will consider and make proposals on how we can provide more joined up and accessible services built around the needs of children, young people and their families. Its terms of reference make it clear the Taskforce will establish how improvements can be made including consideration of barriers which prevent change and how these can be overcome. This includes barriers and opportunities for empowerment of the children and young people’s workforce and training provision to develop high-quality services.
The Taskforce brings together a range of experts from across health, social care and education and it has sought the views of young people, their families and carers as well as those working with children and young people to inform their work. A government report of the work of the Taskforce will be published in spring 2015.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will carry out a review of the adequacy of statutory assistance given to single homeless people.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have no current plans to change or review the homelessness legislation. England has one of the strongest safety nets in the world and local authorities are required to secure accommodation for any eligible person who finds themselves homeless through no fault of their own and who is in priority need. In 2013-14 23% of all those accepted by local authorities as owed the main homelessness duty were single homeless people. Local authorities are also under a duty to provide free advice and information about homelessness and preventing homelessness to anyone in their district seeking help.
This Government has increased investment in homelessness services over the lifetime of this Parliament. We have invested over £500 million to support local authorities and voluntary sector agencies to help the most vulnerable in our society. We have launched an £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund for local authorities which will improve council services for single people facing the prospect of homelessness. 34 projects, working across 168 local authorities will provide support for up 22,000 single homeless people. We are helping single homeless people find and sustain accommodation in the private rented sector through our £13 million funding to Crisis. By 2016 we expect the Crisis scheme to have helped 10,000 single homeless people since it started in 2010. Local authorities also work hard to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place. They have helped 700,000 households at risk of homelessness find new accommodation or stay in their own home since July 2010.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Medical Workforce Census 2013, published in December 2014, what plans he has to increase the community paediatric workforce.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Health Education England (HEE) Workforce Plan for England, published in December 2014, confirmed an increase in children’s nurse commissions in 2015/16 by 161 (7.4%) on 2014/15 commissions.
Between May 2010 and October 2014, the full-time equivalent number of nurses, midwives and health visitors recorded as working in the area of Paediatric Nursing has increased by 624 (4%) from 15,795 to 16,419. Not all the staff working in this area will be children’s nurses and only some of these may be working in community settings; the National Health Service occupational codes distinguishes nursing staff by the ‘area’ in which they work and their ‘level’; it does not distinguish the setting in which they work.
The local education and training boards work with providers in their area, including employers, to contribute to HEE’s overall future workforce plan. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure they have the right staff, with the right skills to deliver high quality care, which includes supporting their continuing professional development.
HEE has established a Children and Young People programme to provide leadership in this area. The programme is being led by the President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and, working with partners, will ensure that our current and future healthcare workforce is sustainable and equipped to deliver high quality care, reducing variations in physical and mental health outcomes for children and young people.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure progress on price negotiations with Novartis for the Meningitis B vaccine.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with Novartis for supply of the meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation as soon as possible. The introduction of an NHS MenB immunisation programme for infants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Meningitis B vaccine is added to the childhood immunisation programme in 2015.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with Novartis for supply of the meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, Bexsero® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation as soon as possible. The introduction of an NHS MenB immunisation programme for infants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Pudsey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will meet bodies representing cancer sufferers to discuss the evaluation of the Be Clear on Cancer regional pilot for ovarian cancer.
Answered by Jane Ellison
For each Be Clear on Cancer campaign there is a comprehensive evaluation process. Data is collected on a number of metrics to reflect the possible campaign impact on key elements of the patient pathway.
The National Cancer Intelligence Network (part of Public Health England) have confirmed that they will publish a full and final evaluation report for the regional ovarian cancer pilot campaign as soon as possible, when analysis of all metrics is complete. However, in advance of a final evaluation report, they aim to publish an interim report containing the cancer awareness levels and the results from the analysis of Cancer Waiting Times data before the end of February 2015, at which time we will arrange a meeting with Public Health England and ovarian cancer charities to discuss these results.