Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many personal importation licences have been granted to EU citizens travelling to the UK with cannabis-based medication in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
No personal import licences for cannabis based medication or any other schedule 1 substances have been granted in the last five years for either EU or non-EU citizens. Cannabis and preparations of cannabis are controlled Class B drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and listed in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs 2001 Regulations (MDR).
The Home Office operates a policy of issuing personal import licenses, in limited circumstances, to those travelling with controlled drugs listed in Schedule 2 – 4 (Part I) of the MDR and which are prescribed for personal use. This policy does not apply to Schedule 1 substances.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many personal importation licences have been granted to non-EU citizens travelling to the UK with cannabis-based medication in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
No personal import licences for cannabis based medication or any other schedule 1 substances have been granted in the last five years for either EU or non-EU citizens. Cannabis and preparations of cannabis are controlled Class B drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and listed in Schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs 2001 Regulations (MDR).
The Home Office operates a policy of issuing personal import licenses, in limited circumstances, to those travelling with controlled drugs listed in Schedule 2 – 4 (Part I) of the MDR and which are prescribed for personal use. This policy does not apply to Schedule 1 substances.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on dealing with offenders who use cannabis to treat a serious medical condition.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not collect data on this.
Decisions on disposal options for those who possess cannabis for any reason are an operational matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people using cannabis in the UK for medicinal purposes; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not collect data on this.
Decisions on disposal options for those who possess cannabis for any reason are an operational matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much prescriptions for Sativex were issued in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Information is not collected centrally on the number of prescriptions issued. However, information is available on the number of prescription items dispensed for Sativex in England between 2010 and 20141.
Sativex prescription items written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England | ||
| Prescription items (000s) | Net ingredient cost (£000s) 2 |
2010 | 2.5 | 841.8 |
2011 | 3.0 | 1,185.0 |
2012 | 2.8 | 1,141.0 |
2013 | 2.8 | 1,158.1 |
2014 | 2.7 | 1,148.3 |
Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system data provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre
Notes:
1 2015 full year data will be published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on 7 April 2016 and will be available using the following link:
http://www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/prescostanalysiseng2015
2 Net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of medicinal cannabis use to the NHS in each of the last three years.
Answered by George Freeman
We have made no such estimates.
Herbal cannabis is not licensed as a medicine and, under section 7(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a pharmacist would need to obtain a licence from the Home Office if they were to dispense cannabis.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the difference in cost to the public purse of people using medicinal cannabis rather than prescription drugs in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
We have made no such estimates.
Herbal cannabis is not licensed as a medicine and, under section 7(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a pharmacist would need to obtain a licence from the Home Office if they were to dispense cannabis.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people using cannabis in the UK for medicinal purposes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
We have made no such estimates.
Herbal cannabis is not licensed as a medicine and, under section 7(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a pharmacist would need to obtain a licence from the Home Office if they were to dispense cannabis.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans are in place to alleviate the increased demands on neighbouring GP practices when a practice closes.
Answered by Alistair Burt
NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.
To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.
There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.
Asked by: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what obligations NHS England has to provide patients access to a GP practice.
Answered by Alistair Burt
NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.
To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.
There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.