Graeme Morrice

Labour - Former Member for Livingston

First elected: 6th May 2010

Left House: 30th March 2015 (Defeated)


Graeme Morrice is not a member of any APPGs
Scottish Affairs Committee
28th Jan 2013 - 30th Mar 2015
Scottish Affairs Committee
25th Oct 2011 - 23rd Jan 2012


Division Voting information

Graeme Morrice has voted in 953 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

19 Oct 2011 - Deferred Division - View Vote Context
Graeme Morrice voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 28 Labour Aye votes vs 71 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 306 Noes - 95
View All Graeme Morrice Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Justine Greening (Independent)
(13 debate interactions)
Esther McVey (Conservative)
(10 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Scotland Office
(56 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(54 debate contributions)
Department for Work and Pensions
(25 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(24 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Graeme Morrice has not made any spoken contributions to legislative debate
View all Graeme Morrice's debates

Latest EDMs signed by Graeme Morrice

18th March 2015
Graeme Morrice signed this EDM on Tuesday 24th March 2015

MEASURING THE COST OF LIVING

Tabled by: Frank Doran (Labour - Aberdeen North)
That this House believes that the Retail Price Index (RPI) remains the most accurate measure of the rise in the cost of living faced by UK workers; notes that over many decades the majority of pay bargaining in the UK has traditionally taken the RPI as its main reference point …
47 signatures
(Most recent: 25 Mar 2015)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 20
Independent: 2
The Independent Group for Change: 1
Green Party: 1
10th March 2015
Graeme Morrice signed this EDM on Tuesday 24th March 2015

POSTAL WORKERS AND CYBERSTREETWISE PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN

Tabled by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
That this House calls on the Government to withdraw the Cyberstreetwise publicity campaign which makes a joke of dogs biting postal workers; notes that over 3,000 postal workers are injured every year and that two were nearly killed in 2007-08; believes that education, training, encouraging responsible dog ownership, enforcement and …
32 signatures
(Most recent: 25 Mar 2015)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 14
Independent: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
View All Graeme Morrice's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Graeme Morrice, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Graeme Morrice has not been granted any Urgent Questions

2 Adjournment Debates led by Graeme Morrice

Monday 5th March 2012
Tuesday 28th June 2011

1 Bill introduced by Graeme Morrice


The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to create a specific offence relating to assault on those whose work brings them into face-to-face contact with members of the public; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 30th October 2012

Graeme Morrice has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
4 Other Department Questions
8th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the Smith Commission's recommendations to devolve the licensing of fracking companies to Scotland.

The UK Government has welcomed the Smith Commission Agreement and has committed to delivering draft clauses by 25 January 2015. That was the clear commitment made to people during the referendum.

The Department will now prepare draft clauses in order that the Agreement can be implemented, but most of the powers needed to make Scottish decisions on Shale are already devolved to Holyrood, including all decisions on whether or not to grant planning and permitting consent for shale development.

8th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the Smith Commission's recommendations to devolve shale gas mineral access rights to Scotland.

The UK Government has welcomed the Smith Commission Agreement and has committed to delivering draft clauses by 25 January 2015.

The Department will now prepare draft clauses in order that the Agreement can be implemented. It is worth noting that most of the powers needed to make Scottish decisions on Shale are already devolved to Holyrood, Including all decisions on whether or not to grant planning and permitting consent for shale development.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State reviewed the situation on 23 January 2014 and was content for no action to be taken on this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

I have no plans to end the Department's check-off arrangements.

To ask the Attorney General, whether the Law Officers' Departments have any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

These arrangements are kept under review.

19th Mar 2015
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on the deduction of trade union subscriptions from payroll in the Civil Service.

This is matter that is delegated to individual Departments in the Civil Service.

This information is a matter for departments.

17th Jun 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to prevent employers who engage in blacklisting receiving Government contracts.

The blacklisting of employees is an unacceptable and unlawful practice, and Government takes any such allegations very seriously.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South on 2 April 2014 (Official Report) Column Ref: 721W.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts the Government holds with (a) Johnson & Johnson, (b) Ethicon and (c) BARD; and what the value was of contracts with each such company.

Since January 2011, as part of the Government's transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder at:

https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings his Department has had for which the check off system of paying trade union fees was on the agenda.

As was the case under the previous administration, details of internal meetings are not normally published.

Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

15th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of nuisance calls made by companies in (a) the UK and (b) abroad; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of such calls to (i) older and more vulnerable customers and (ii) others.

No estimate has been made about the level of nuisance calls made by companies in the UK or abroad, as this type of information is not readily available. However, tackling nuisance calls is a priority for the Department, including those that are made to the elderly, vulnerable and other consumers. We published the first ever Nuisance Calls Action Plan on 30 March 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuisance-calls-action-plan-unveiled. This set out our achievements to date, work underway and proposed actions for the future, which included both legislative and non-legislative measures. We are currently pursuing these measures, which as a combination are beginning to make a significant difference for the benefit of all consumers.

15th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of nuisance calls made by companies in (a) the UK and (b) abroad to customers registered with the Telephone Preference Service; and if he will bring forward proposals to increase fines for businesses that breach the law on nuisance calls.

No estimate has been made about the level of nuisance calls made by companies in the UK or abroad to Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered consumers, as this type of information is not readily available. However, tackling nuisance calls is a priority for the Department, including those that are made to consumers who are registered with the TPS. We published the first ever Nuisance Calls Action Plan on 30 March 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuisance-calls-action-plan-unveiled.This set out our achievements to date, work underway and proposed actions for the future, which included both legislative and non-legislative measures. We are currently pursuing these measures, which we believe that as a combination are beginning to make a significant difference for the benefit of consumers. The Information Commissioner’s Office’s Office (ICO) can issue a substantial monetary penalty of up to £500,000 to any organisation for breaching the TPS and therefore we are not looking to increase this further. However, we have consulted between 25 October and 6 December 2014, proposing to lower or preferably remove the legal threshold, as this will make it easier for the ICO to issue more monetary penalties. The Government’s Response will follow shortly in 2015. Details of enforcement action taken to date by ICO can be viewed at: http://ico.org.uk/enforcement/action/calls

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what evaluation his Department has undertaken of the roll out of superfast broadband in rural communities in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland.

The results of an impact study on the Government's broadband programmes published in November 2013 showed that the programmes would achieve a return by 2024 of £20 for every £1 invested. The study did not disaggregate these results across the UK but 89 per cent of the programme benefits were expected to accrue to areas outside London and the South East of England. Funding of £100.8 million of the Government's initial £530 million superfast broadband programme has been allocated to Scotland and the Government announced an indicative funding allocation of a further £20.99 million for Scotland from the additional £250 million programme in February 2014.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

Check-off is a matter delegated to Departments and it is for them to determine the appropriateness of continuing with the current arrangements. DCMS is in the process of reviewing its current arrangements for provision of check-off.

Helen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of emergency telephone coverage in West Lothian local authority area.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not made any specific assessment of the adequacy of emergency telephone coverage in the West Lothian local authority area. However, the Department and the independent national telecommunications regulator (Ofcom) work closely with all the Scottish emergency services and communications providers on matters such as this through the Government's 999/112 Liaison Committee. All the Scottish emergency services have been key contributors both in discussions on next generation access to 999 and in reviewing the code of practice that defines how emergency services and telecommunications providers work together.

15th Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review paragraph 3.25 of the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage; and if she will bring forward proposals to amend that framework to ensure that all nursery staff are adequately trained in paediatric first aid.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework requires all nurseries and all pre-schools to have on duty a trained pediatric first aider. They must be on the premises at all times when children are present and accompany children on outings. Although providers are required to take into account the number of children, staff and layout of premises to ensure that a pediatric first aider is able to respond to emergencies quickly, in a recent debate, initiated by the hard work of the parents of Millie Thompson and founders of Millie’s Trust, I committed to undertaking a review of the first aid requirements to see if there is any further action needed on this important issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

I refer the hon. Member to the response published 1 April 2014, Official Report, Column 632W.

9th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what level of funding his Department provides to tackle the effects of climate change; and if he will make a statement.

Defra spent £8.3 million in 2013-14 under its core adapting to climate change programme. This included £4.1 million to the Met Office Hadley Centre for the provision of world-leading climate science, and £1.6 million to the Environment Agency's Climate Ready support service to help organisations across England adapt to a changing climate. Adaptation is mainstreamed across Government. Other departments and other Defra programmes also fund activities that build resilience to climate change.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Leicester South on Thursday, 03 April 2014: Official Report column 765w.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision. [194039]

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA is currently reviewing the provision of check-off for trade union subscriptions.

29th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent progress has been made on negotiations to agree the Sustainable Development Goals.

The first session of intergovernmental negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals has concluded. The Open Working Group proposal includes 17 goals and 169 targets. The UK supports the breadth and balance of the proposal but will be arguing for a more concise and workable agenda as negotiations progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

These arrangements are kept under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

The Department has undertaken a review into the removal of check off arrangements and is considering the next steps following this review.

17th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that personal independence payment applicants do not suffer financial hardship due to delays deciding their claims.

Claimants already in receipt of Disability Living Allowance will continue to receive it while their personal independence payment (PIP) claim is being assessed. Most claimants to PIP will already be receiving some element of financial support, for example through earnings or through receipt of other benefits such as employment and support allowance. No successful new claimant to PIP will lose out financially as claims will be backdated.

17th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payment following an adverse effect to a medical procedure.

No data on causation of a health condition or disability are collected for disability living allowance or personal independence payment.

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current actual average clearance time is for a workplace capability assessment.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment referrals to Atos Healthcare in each of the last three years is as follows:

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 1,553,839

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,742,593

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 1,495,159

For the period October 2008 to May 2014, there have been 3,431,528 Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment cases processed by Atos Healthcare within 35 days.

The latest (April 2014) national Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) is 118.9 days.

There are a range of financial remedies available within the Medical Services contract to address service level failure. However this is a matter of commercial in confidence between the Department of Work and Pensions and its supplier Atos Healthcare.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Allowance cases that were referred to Atos Healthcare processed and returned within 35 days in each of the last three years is as follows:

a). UK

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 767,674

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,073,987

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 249,305

b). Scotland

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 97,951

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 133,923

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 58,326

c). West Lothian Local Authority Area

The information requested is not available

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many workplace capability assessments have been submitted to Atos, processed and returned within 35 working days in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) West Lothian local authority area in each of the last three years.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment referrals to Atos Healthcare in each of the last three years is as follows:

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 1,553,839

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,742,593

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 1,495,159

For the period October 2008 to May 2014, there have been 3,431,528 Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment cases processed by Atos Healthcare within 35 days.

The latest (April 2014) national Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) is 118.9 days.

There are a range of financial remedies available within the Medical Services contract to address service level failure. However this is a matter of commercial in confidence between the Department of Work and Pensions and its supplier Atos Healthcare.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Allowance cases that were referred to Atos Healthcare processed and returned within 35 days in each of the last three years is as follows:

a). UK

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 767,674

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,073,987

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 249,305

b). Scotland

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 97,951

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 133,923

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 58,326

c). West Lothian Local Authority Area

The information requested is not available

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what penalties his Department is able to levy on workplace capability assessment providers who miss targets.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment referrals to Atos Healthcare in each of the last three years is as follows:

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 1,553,839

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,742,593

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 1,495,159

For the period October 2008 to May 2014, there have been 3,431,528 Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment cases processed by Atos Healthcare within 35 days.

The latest (April 2014) national Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) is 118.9 days.

There are a range of financial remedies available within the Medical Services contract to address service level failure. However this is a matter of commercial in confidence between the Department of Work and Pensions and its supplier Atos Healthcare.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Allowance cases that were referred to Atos Healthcare processed and returned within 35 days in each of the last three years is as follows:

a). UK

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 767,674

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,073,987

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 249,305

b). Scotland

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 97,951

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 133,923

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 58,326

c). West Lothian Local Authority Area

The information requested is not available

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many workplace capability assessments have been processed by Atos within 35 working days to date.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Work Capability Assessment referrals to Atos Healthcare in each of the last three years is as follows:

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 1,553,839

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,742,593

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 1,495,159

For the period October 2008 to May 2014, there have been 3,431,528 Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment cases processed by Atos Healthcare within 35 days.

The latest (April 2014) national Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) is 118.9 days.

There are a range of financial remedies available within the Medical Services contract to address service level failure. However this is a matter of commercial in confidence between the Department of Work and Pensions and its supplier Atos Healthcare.

The number of Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Allowance cases that were referred to Atos Healthcare processed and returned within 35 days in each of the last three years is as follows:

a). UK

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 767,674

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 1,073,987

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 249,305

b). Scotland

01/06/2011 to 31/05/2012 – 97,951

01/06/2012 to 31/05/2013 – 133,923

01/06/2013 to 31/05/2014 – 58,326

c). West Lothian Local Authority Area

The information requested is not available

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to measure the performance of each Jobcentre Plus office.

Jobcentre Plus offices' performance are measured in a variety of ways including in respect of how quickly they help get people off benefits and into work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department uses a working assumption for the timescale for a work capability assessment report to be processed by Atos.

Atos Healthcare is expected to clear Work Capability Assessments within an Actual Average Clearance Target (AACT) of 35 working days. This is to handle the referral from the date it is received from the Department and includes the time for processing and completing paperwork relating to Work Capability Assessments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

These arrangements are kept under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what budget is allocated to each Jobcentre Plus office to reimburse jobseekers' travel expenses; and how each such budget is decided.

Each jobcentre is allocated funding to support claimants move towards and into work, and this could include meeting their travel expenses. For internal planning purposes each District Manager will estimate of the likely number of claimants requiring additional support and the cost within that locality but the information is not routinely collated and reported centrally. District plans are reviewed regularly to ensure they make best use of available funding and all local priorities can be met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes his Department has in place to evaluate the roll out of personal independence payments.

The Department has plans to undertake an evaluation of PIP. We published our outline PIP evaluation proposals in December 2012.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180969/pip-evaluation-proposals.pdf

Additionally, PIP will be subject to two independent reviews, the first of which will be completed by the end of 2014. We will use this review to understand how the PIP assessment is working in practice and carefully consider any recommendations made by the independent reviewer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes his Department has in place to monitor the welfare of personal independence payment applicants awaiting a decision on their claim.

The Department does not routinely monitor the welfare of people applying for benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many formal client complaints were brought against Jobcentre Plus staff in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not available prior to July 2010, however data is available as follows:

July 2010 – March 2011

April 2011 – March 2012

April 2012 – March 2013

April 2013 – March 2014

Scotland

815

1,070

983

773

National (England, Scotland & Wales)

6,180

8,979

16,864

15,481

DWP completed the incremental roll-out of a new complaints process in December 2012 which encouraged the recording of complaints. The data provided spans both processes.

As complaints are not recorded by local authority area or constituency, this level of data isn't available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days were lost due to illness among Jobcentre Plus staff in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years.

DWP has robust and effective measures in place for managing sickness absence and has succeeded in cutting sickness absence from an annual average of 11.1 days per employee in 2007 to 6.9 days per employee currently. To place this in context the Civil Service average is 7.6 days.

Jobcentre Plus was re-structured and absorbed into a revised Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Operations structure in October 2011. Since that point, it has no longer existed as a separate organisation. This means the information beyond September 2011 is not available.

In accordance with cross government arrangements; the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reports sick leave expressed as average working days lost (AWDL) per employee, over a rolling 12 month period

The following table shows Jobcentre Plus AWDL for 2009/10 and 2010/11. Information was not available for the period April to September 2011 because this was less than a 12 month period.

2009/10

2010/11

UK

8.8

8.6

Scotland

8.2

7.3

West Lothian LA Area

9.6

7.4

Livingston Constituency*

10.9

6.1

*Information by Parliamentary Constituency is not held directly but information is available by office, therefore we have created a combined figure for the two offices in the Constituency – Livingstone Jobcentre and Broxburn Jobcentre.

To put these reductions into context, if Average Working Days Lost in DWP was still at the level it was in 2007, the Department would be paying over £27.5m more in sick pay than it is at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many reported assaults there have been on members of staff in Jobcentre Plus in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years.

All incidents of unacceptable behaviour are taken very seriously by the department and particularly those of a physical assault. Jobcentres have a robust set of control measures in place to reduce such risk, and work with the police and departmental solicitors to ensure appropriate punitive action is taken against those who assault our staff. In September 2011 a new online incident reporting system was introduced to support staff and improve the quality of incidents reported.

It is also important to note that physical assaults, whether resulting in injury or not, on staff within jobcentres* are very rare and should be viewed in context of the millions of interactions undertaken by our staff each year.

*Incident figures reported by the department include our security officers / Customer Care Officers (CCO's) as staff on Jobcentre premises, by default.

Actual Physical Assaults on staff within Jobcentres

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

UK

339

331

465

669

634

Scotland

22

12

31

38

27

West Lothian LA

(Livingston, Bathgate, Broxburn combined figure)

1

3

2

2

0

Livingston

1

1

2

0

0

NB. Actual Assaults are defined into three categories

- No injury/Less than Cuts and Bruises

- Cuts and Bruises

- More than Cuts and Bruises

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many meetings (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) disability groups and charities and (ii) providers of the Work Capability Assessment in each of the last five years.

Ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders about the Work Capability Assessment, including our health assessment providers, disability representative groups and charities.

The current contractual agreement between DWP and Atos Healthcare contains a number of key performance indicators. DWP monitors and discusses performance with Atos on a weekly basis.

7th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients waited longer than four hours in A&E departments in 2014.

Of almost 22.4 million attendances at all accident and emergency departments in England in 2014, 94.5% of patients were seen within the four hour standard. Of these, just over 1.2 million patients spent over four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.

17th Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinicians he consulted when developing his policy in relation to the Off-patent Drugs Bill.

We have not consulted on this Bill. In developing our response to the Bill, we have taken advice from clinicians and officials at NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and taken account of views expressed by other stakeholder organisations.

27th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects of changes to the nursery milk scheme on the supply of milk.

A modernised Nursery Milk Scheme is currently under development and expected to be tendered in due course. The aim of the scheme remains to supply nursery milk to all eligible settings.

The Government’s response to the consultation document Next Steps for Nursery Milk was published on 27 March earlier this year setting out the preferred option for modernising the scheme. The Impact Assessment, also published on 27 March sets out the impact of the preferred option, including any impact on the supply of milk. These documents are attached and also available at the following web links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-the-nursery-milk-scheme-more-cost-effective

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2014/110

It is the Department’s intention to ensure that a modernised Nursery Milk Scheme includes opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, and farmers, to be fully involved with the scheme.

27th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes to the nursery milk scheme on the ability of schools to fulfil the requirements of the School Food Standards in relation to milk.

A modernised Nursery Milk Scheme is currently under development and expected to be tendered in due course.

The assessment of any effects of the changes to the Nursery Milk Scheme are part of ongoing discussions between officials via a cross Government Nursery Milk Scheme Task and Finish Group.

The changes have no impact on either the current School Food Standards Regulations or the new School Food Standards Regulations which come into force on 1 January 2015.

The Nursery Milk Scheme is available to all children under five who attend an eligible childcare setting for two hours per day or more. Eligible settings include child-minders, day care providers, private and local authority run nurseries. The School Food Standards apply to schools rather than nursery and private childcare and child minder settings.

22nd Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will establish a register of babies naturally born before 24 weeks gestation.

All live births in England and Wales must be registered, regardless of gestational age. Data on live births by gestation are collected by the Office for National Statistics and published annually (as part of the statistical bulletin on gestation-specific infant mortality in England and Wales).

There are no current plans to establish a separate register of babies born before 24 weeks gestation.

21st Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on changing the law relating to designation of babies born before 24 weeks' gestation as stillborn.

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified eight items of correspondence received since 1 July 2013 about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

Since 1 July 2013, two written parliamentary questions have been received about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation.

I met the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) in April 2014 to discuss the Registration of Stillbirths 2013-14 private members (ten minute rule) Bill. The Bill was also raised by several hon. Members in a Westminster Hall debate about stillbirth and infant mortality on 26 March 2014.

21st Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received about the establishment of a register of babies stillborn before 24 weeks' gestation.

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified eight items of correspondence received since 1 July 2013 about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

Since 1 July 2013, two written parliamentary questions have been received about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation.

I met the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) in April 2014 to discuss the Registration of Stillbirths 2013-14 private members (ten minute rule) Bill. The Bill was also raised by several hon. Members in a Westminster Hall debate about stillbirth and infant mortality on 26 March 2014.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have required further operations due to complications with transvaginal mesh implants in each of the last three years; and what the cost of such procedures was.

The Department of Health does not hold information on the number of patients who have required further operations due to complications with transvaginal mesh implants in each of the last three years or the costs of these operations.

The Department has had two meetings in which polypropylene transvaginal mesh implants were either discussed or on the agenda.

NHS England manages the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) for patient safety incident reports from the NHS. NHS England shares incident reports concerning harms arising from medical devices with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Manufacturers of medical devices such as transvaginal mesh implants are legally required to report adverse incidents (ie death, serious injury or potential serious injury) involving their devices to the MHRA. General Medical Guidance published in February 2013 makes it clear that clinicians should report medical device incidents to the MHRA, and make information available to patients about how they can report side effects to the MHRA. The MHRA also encourages voluntary reporting of adverse incidents by healthcare workers, carers, patients and members of the public and participates in monthly telephone meetings with regulators in other European Union member states to share information about medical device safety.

The Department is currently engaged in work to assess the effectiveness of existing arrangements for reporting complications relating to transvaginal mesh implants. NHS England is leading this work, which also involves the MHRA, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the relevant professional societies (the British Society of Urogynaecology and the British Association of Urological Surgeons).

Finished Consultant Episodes for women who have received a primary or secondary operative procedure for the insertion of Transvaginal Mesh, Transobturator Tape, Transvaginal Slings and Transvaginal Tape.

Procedure

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

Insertion of Transvaginal Mesh

1,636

1,524

1,310

Insertion of Transobturator Tape

5,426

4,885

4,476

Insertion of Transvaginal Sling

130

134

135

Insertion of Transvaginal Tape

8,087

8,172

7,627

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Note: Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

Adverse events reported to MHRA by Health Professionals concerning Vaginal tape and mesh implants are as follows

Vaginal Tapes for Stress Urinary Incontinence

Vaginal Mesh for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Vaginal Mesh for unknown* indication

2011

3

1

0

2012

23

31

2

2013

27

20

0

Up to March 2014

16

7

0

*The reporter did not provide enough information on what type of mesh it was

Number of patient safety incidents relating to mesh used in gynaecological procedures reported to the NRLS (Year of occurrence by reported degree of harm)

No Harm

Low

Moderate

TOTAL

2011

0

2

4

6

2012

7

4

3

14

2013

4

1

1

6

TOTAL

11

7

8

26

Search strategy: All incidents from gynaecological specialties in the NRLS were searched on 2 December 2013 for the keyword ‘mesh'

Adverse events reported to MHRA by patients/members of the public concerning Vaginal tape and mesh implants are as follows

Vaginal Tapes for Stress Urinary Incontinence

Vaginal Mesh for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Vaginal Mesh for unknown* indication

2011

33

7

3

2012

26

2

0

2013

30

10

3

Up to March 2014

7

0

0

*The reporter did not provide enough information on what type of mesh it was

No incidents relating to transvaginal mesh have been reported to the NRLS by patients.

The Department has answered 11 previous Parliamentary Questions, 27 letters from hon. Members and Peers and 17 letters from members of the public since 1 September 2011. The Chief Executive of the MHRA has replied to six letters from hon. Members since 1 September 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of healthcare professionals who (a) are aware of and (b) use the databases of the British Society of Urogynaecology and the British Association of Urological Surgeons to record adverse effects in transvaginal mesh implants.

The Department, NHS England and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have been working collaboratively to address the serious concerns that have been raised about transvaginal mesh implants. A working group has been set up to discuss these and will cover a range of issues including better collection and coordination of information on patients outcomes including complications, incident reporting and the need for a register. It will also consider how the British Society of Urogynaecology/ the British Association of Urological Surgeons databases can assist in providing information on the use of transvaginal mesh implants, patient outcomes and complications and the use of these databases by professionals. The working group will also look at ways of working with devolved administrations to improve incident reporting to the MHRA and the development of patient consent forms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from (a) patients, (b) professional bodies, (c) the MHRA and (d) mesh manufacturers on the use of the databases of the British Society of Urogynaecology and British Association of Urological Surgeons to record adverse effects in transvaginal mesh implants.

The Department, NHS England and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have been working collaboratively to address the serious concerns that have been raised about transvaginal mesh implants. A working group has been set up to discuss these and will cover a range of issues including better collection and coordination of information on patients outcomes including complications, incident reporting and the need for a register. It will also consider how the British Society of Urogynaecology/ the British Association of Urological Surgeons databases can assist in providing information on the use of transvaginal mesh implants, patient outcomes and complications and the use of these databases by professionals. The working group will also look at ways of working with devolved administrations to improve incident reporting to the MHRA and the development of patient consent forms.