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178231

registered interest
date	05/02/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Grandparents' Association
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure the continued funding of the Grandparents' Association.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This government is committed to building on the excellent work already in place to strengthen family relationships and as the Prime Minister announced at the Relationships Alliance summit in August 2014, we will be investing the same amount of funding in 2015/2016 as we have done in 2014/2015.</p><p> </p><p>Grandparents Association are subcontracted by Relate who are one of the lead suppliers delivering relationship support services. DWP will be funding this Relate contract in 2015/16 at the same level as they have received in 2014/15. It is Relate’s responsibility to decide how they manage this contract and which partners / sub-contractors they involve in supporting delivery of these services.</p><p> </p><p>However, we would encourage existing providers to make use of the valuable skills and expertise that are offered by the third sector, such as Grandparents Association.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/02/2015 15:08:31 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177876

registered interest
date	04/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Gastrointestinal Cancer
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to increase early diagnosis of gastro-intestinal cancers.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223332
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2015 answer text <p><em>Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer </em>(January 2011), is backed by over £750 million over the four years up to 2014-15, including over £450 million to achieve earlier diagnosis of cancer. The £450 million was designed to support direct general practitioner (GP) access to key diagnostic tests including flexible-sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy to support the diagnosis of bowel cancer. In 2012, the Department published ‘Direct access to diagnostic tests for cancer: best practice referral pathways for general practitioners’ which set out where a direct referral for tests may benefit patients and lead to a faster diagnosis. The earlier diagnosis money is also supporting additional tests and treatment in secondary care and centrally led Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) campaigns which aim to raise awareness of the symptoms of cancer and get symptomatic patients to present earlier.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The BCOC national Oesophago-Gastric campaign to raise awareness of the main symptoms of these cancers launched on 26 January and will run until 22 February. The campaign uses a wide range of media, including national television and radio advertising, to promote the key message “Having heartburn, most days, for three weeks or more could be a sign of cancer” and “Food sticking when you swallow could be a sign of cancer”.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The campaign is aimed at people over 50, the age group most at risk of developing oesophago-gastric cancers, and their friends and family to raise awareness of the symptoms of persistent heartburn and food sticking and to encourage people with either of these symptoms to visit their GP.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is in the process of updating current ‘Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer (2005)’ to ensure that these can continue to support GPs to identify patients with suspected cancer symptoms including gastrointestinal symptoms, and urgently refer them as appropriate. NICE’s anticipated publication date for the revised guidelines is May 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are currently rolling out Bowel Scope Screening (BSS, technical name flexible sigmoidoscopy) to people aged 55 years of age. BSS is an alternative and complementary bowel screening methodology to home testing kits and involves having a thin, bendy tube put a short way into the rectum and lower bowel. The doctor uses the scope to look at the inside wall of the bowel, and remove any small growths (polyps) that are there. Bowel cancers usually develop very slowly from these polyps, known medically as adenomas. By removing them at an early stage it is possible to prevent bowel cancers from developing</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We exceeded our target of 30% of BSS centres operational by the end of March 2014 (22 out of 62, 35%), and Public Health England (PHE) is confident of meeting the commitment of having 60% of centres operational by 31 March 2015 (currently 32 are operational, 52%). PHE is also confident of meeting the commitment of 100% (62) centres operational by the end of December 2016.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As at the end of December 2014, 75,322 invitations had been issued and 25,828 BSS procedures had been performed. Uptake stood at approximately 44% and ranged from 38% in the lowest site to 50% in the highest. 1,154 people had been referred to colonoscopy following BSS, with 25 cancers detected and 490 people with high/intermediate risk polyps and 370 people with low risk polyps managed/removed.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>On 11 January NHS England announced a new independent cancer taskforce to develop a five-year action plan for cancer services to improve survival rates and save thousands of lives. The taskforce will produce a statement of intent by March 2015, and will aim to publish the new strategy in the summer.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 11/02/2015 17:59:07 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177877

registered interest
date	04/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to reduce A&E admissions arising from alcohol-related harm.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223335
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2015 answer text <p>We have set out the Government’s approach to reducing alcohol-related harm in the Government’s Alcohol Strategy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In November 2014, Public Health England (PHE) published ‘Alcohol care in England’s hospitals: An opportunity not to be wasted’. The report summarises the evidence of specialist alcohol services’ contribution to patients in secondary care, including the evidence and cost effectiveness of what alcohol care teams can do, such as contributing to a potential reduction in alcohol–related accident and emergency (A&amp;E) attendances. It also explores the interventions that these services might provide and describes current understanding about service provision.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>PHE regional centres are also running conferences to highlight the value of alcohol care teams (including Alcohol Liaison Nurses) in hospitals for local stakeholders and are supporting local partners who wish to improve existing services or establish new ones.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>PHE has also published guidance to improve support for young people in A&amp;E with alcohol related problems. It is aimed at A&amp;E clinicians, hospital managers, substance misuse and young people’s commissioners and includes a set of key questions or prompts for professionals to help them develop care pathways within A&amp;E and into other services for young people.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are also taking a number of other actions, for example, by encouraging better sharing of anonymised data on these attendances between National Health Service bodies and the police. This can provide intelligence for licensing decisions, enabling targeting of premises who are contributing to irresponsible sales and drunkenness.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 223333 question first answered 11/02/2015 14:53:50 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177878

registered interest
date	04/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	St Mary's Hospital Paddington
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason a decision was taken to withdraw funding for the Paddington Alcohol Test programme at St Mary's Hospital NHS Trust.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223334
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2015 answer text <p>We are advised that the Paddington Alcohol Test is an assessment tool for evaluating whether patients have alcohol-related problems.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We understand that the alcohol health worker at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington is commissioned by the Public Health Substance Misuse, Sexual Health and Offender Health Commissioning Team at Westminster City Council and has been provided by the organisation Turning Point.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>For more information, the hon. Member may wish to contact the Public Health team at Westminster City Council.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 11/02/2015 14:22:42 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177879

registered interest
date	04/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Gastrointestinal Cancer
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to increase the uptake of screening programmes for gastro-intestinal cancers amongst ethnic minorities in (a) Ealing, Southall, (b) England and (c) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223336
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2015 answer text <p>Public Health England (PHE) is working with NHS England via the Public Health Section 7A agreement to develop a system of performance improvement through the use of performance floors around uptake of cancer screening, including bowel cancer screening, and strengthened governance for screening. The PHE Marketing Strategy 2014 to 2017, published in July 2014, states that PHE will work with the national screening programme to trial mechanisms for improving uptake, particularly amongst disadvantaged groups.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Between January and April 2014, Cancer Research UK (with support from PHE, NHS England - London region, the Department of Health and the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme) tested a number of different approaches to raising awareness of the programme and reducing barriers to participation in London. The approaches tested included various different combinations of an endorsement of the programme from Cancer Research UK, a ‘kit enhancement’ designed to make it easier for people to complete the test, and outdoor advertising to raise awareness of the programme. The evaluation of the programme showed that although the endorsement letter did not significantly impact uptake of screening on its own, the endorsement letter and kit enhancement together increased uptake by between 0.9% to 2.7%. Similar results were seen for the outdoor advertising campaign and the endorsement letter combined. The outdoor advertising campaign, endorsement letter and kit enhancement, when all were taken together, increased uptake by between 2.1% to 6% among 60 to 69 year olds, and 2.6% to 4.6% among 70 to 74 year olds. These results are promising, and Cancer Research UK plan some further testing in partnership with the Welsh Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in early 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The ASCEND study, which is funded by the National Institute for Health Research aims to increase uptake of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme amongst socially deprived and culturally diverse communities. This study is due to conclude in February 2016 having commenced in March 2011, and we look forward to the findings and learning how to engage better with these communities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 11/02/2015 16:34:18 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177880

registered interest
date	04/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the roll-out of alcohol care teams among acute providers to reduce the readmission of patients presenting with alcohol-related harm.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2015 answer text <p>We have set out the Government’s approach to reducing alcohol-related harm in the Government’s Alcohol Strategy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In November 2014, Public Health England (PHE) published ‘Alcohol care in England’s hospitals: An opportunity not to be wasted’. The report summarises the evidence of specialist alcohol services’ contribution to patients in secondary care, including the evidence and cost effectiveness of what alcohol care teams can do, such as contributing to a potential reduction in alcohol–related accident and emergency (A&amp;E) attendances. It also explores the interventions that these services might provide and describes current understanding about service provision.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>PHE regional centres are also running conferences to highlight the value of alcohol care teams (including Alcohol Liaison Nurses) in hospitals for local stakeholders and are supporting local partners who wish to improve existing services or establish new ones.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>PHE has also published guidance to improve support for young people in A&amp;E with alcohol related problems. It is aimed at A&amp;E clinicians, hospital managers, substance misuse and young people’s commissioners and includes a set of key questions or prompts for professionals to help them develop care pathways within A&amp;E and into other services for young people.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are also taking a number of other actions, for example, by encouraging better sharing of anonymised data on these attendances between National Health Service bodies and the police. This can provide intelligence for licensing decisions, enabling targeting of premises who are contributing to irresponsible sales and drunkenness.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 223335 question first answered 11/02/2015 14:53:50 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177512

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Anaemia: Vitamin B12
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what evidence the standard time between prescribed injections of replacement vitamin B12 for pernicious anaemia sufferers was determined; and if he will review the guidance on that time.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223094
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p>The treatment of pernicious anaemia, the result of a vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency, is well established and reported in the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH) document, <em>Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Cobalamin and Folate disorders</em>, which was updated in May 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Current clinical practice within the United Kingdom is to treat pernicious anaemia with Vitamin B12 intramuscular injections. The guideline states that standard maintenance therapy for patients presenting without neurological symptoms is 1,000 microgrammes every three months. Those with initial neurological symptoms should receive 1,000 microgrammes every two months. The guideline can be found via the BCSH website at the following link:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.bcshguidelines.com/" target="_blank">www.bcshguidelines.com</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>However, the frequency with which vitamin B12 injections are provided to patients with pernicious anaemia is matter for individual clinicians, taking into account the relevant clinical guidance, the prescribed dose and the patient’s response to the treatment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 10/02/2015 12:16:40 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177520

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Musculoskeletal Disorders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, purusant to the Answer of 26 January 2015 to Question 221173, if he will make it his policy to require NHS England to (a) improve the collection of data relating to musculoskeletal conditions and (b) determine the number of people with musculoskeletal conditions who have had an operation cancelled for non-clinical reasons in this financial year.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223006
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p>The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects information in Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) on Outpatients and Admitted Patient Care at diagnosis and procedure level, which includes data relating to musculoskeletal conditions. HES does not, however, include information on cancelled operations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>NHS England collects and publishes quarterly data on elective operations cancelled on or after the day of admission for non-clinical reasons. It does not collect a breakdown of the type of operations that have been cancelled, or the diagnosis of the patients affected.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department has no plans to request changes to either of these data collections, neither does NHS England have any current plans to change data collections. However, the NHS England National Clinical Director for Musculoskeletal Services is working closely with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance to develop thinking around how improvements might be made to data sources in this area.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 10/02/2015 12:19:39 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177522

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	NHS: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his assessment is of the effect on service providers of the proposed methodology for determining national prices for NHS services.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223008
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p>The ‘Impact assessment for the proposals set out in the ‘2015/16 National Tariff Payment System: A consultation notice’ document can be accessed under the Supporting Documents heading via the following link:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/national-tariff-payment-system-201516-a-consultation-notice" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/national-tariff-payment-system-201516-a-consultation-notice</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The section entitled ‘Key findings: impacts on providers’ can be found on pages 4-7 of this document.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 10/02/2015 16:40:08 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

177553

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Crime: Ealing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of (a) violent crime and (b) theft in Ealing, Southall constituency.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	223007
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2015 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading East answering member printed Mr Rob Wilson question first answered 05/02/2015 14:10:44 answering member 1556 label Biography information for Mr Rob Wilson attachment 1 file name PQ 223007 ONS 38.pdf title ONS Letter to Member - Trend Levels
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma