Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

This is excellent news which will be welcomed by my constituents who need to access effective cystic fibrosis medicines:

NHS England has today announced it has secured a definitive agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to make available all three of their UK-licensed cystic fibrosis medicines. 

This means NHS patients will now have full access to Orkambi, Symkevi and Kalydeco, and around 5000 people may now take up these treatments. There is no cap on patient numbers, and each and every patient in England who might benefit can now get these treatments, free on the NHS. Clinicians will be able to begin prescribing these drugs within 30 days.

NHS England has been able to finalise this negotiation because the company agreed confidential commercial terms that constitute good value for British taxpayers and agreed to submit its drugs for full NICE appraisal.

The agreement provides access to all three drugs for all current licensed indications, as well as future licence extensions too. 

Investment in world-class, cutting edge technologies and treatments is at the heart of the NHS Long Term Plan. Over the last two years, as envisaged by the Accelerated Access Review, NHS England has established an expert commercial drugs team which has been working closely with industry and NICE, and has successfully negotiated a number of innovative deals, making new and promising treatments available for NHS patients. Recent such ‘smart deals’ include:

• a deal to make ocrelizumab, an innovative multiple sclerosis drug available;
• a ground-breaking deal which could eliminate Hepatitis C;
• a £300 million saving after negotiating deals with five manufacturers on low cost versions of the health service’s most costly drug, adalimumab;
• striking the first full access deal in Europe for CAR-T therapy via the Cancer Drugs Fund, which can potentially cure some children and adults with blood cancers where other treatments have failed, and;
• reaching a deal to make the life-extending lung cancer drug pembrolizumab available for routine use on the NHS
• a deal to make nusinersen available – the first treatment that targets the underlying cause of spinal muscular atrophy 

I have received this update from Wokingham Borough Council:

Wokingham Borough Council takes another step forward in its fight against congestion as its major highways project reaches another milestone with the final section of the North Wokingham Distributor Road (NWDR) receiving planning permission.

Once complete, the full NWDR, which is scheduled to open in its entirety to traffic in autumn 2021, will connect the A329 near the BP garage on Reading Road, with the A329(M) Reading to Bracknell motorway near the Coppid Beech roundabout junction. It will provide a link from Winnersh to the A329(M) enabling road-users direct access without the need to go through Wokingham town centre which will also help to alleviate congestion in the town centre.

Sections of the NWDR are already operational, with other sections due to commence construction shortly.  The construction on the final section of the NWDR, referred to as Ashridge Farm, planned to start in Autumn 2020 and detailed design work is already underway. Site preparation and utilities re-routing works begin later this autumn.

When complete, the new road will provide access to the developments at Matthewsgreen, Kentwood Farm and Keephatch Beech and provide these areas with convenient and direct access to the motorway network giving access to both the A329 (M) and the M4.   It will also provide a link from Winnersh (A329 Reading Road) to the Coppid Beach Roundabout with the A329(M).

“We are building vital new strategic roads and carrying out significant highway improvements which will help facilitate growth in the borough and alleviate congestion,” said Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport.

“We are committing substantial investment, secured from developers, in a wide range of infrastructure, including new schools, open spaces, sports, leisure and community facilities, and roads, amounting to nearly £1 billion of investment”.

NWDR is part of the council’s  major highways project that also consists of South Wokingham Distributor Road, Winnersh Relief Road, Arborfield Relief Road and Barkham Bridge, as well as the completed Shinfield Eastern Relief Road, all of which are being built to minimise the impact of traffic growth around the new housing developments and surrounding areas.

For further information on the major highways project visit the council’s website and search major new roads

I attended the Parliamentary launch today of Transport for the South East’s strategy. I stressed to them the road improvements we need on the recently identified strategic local networks, where they now have a role in progressing or lobbying for schemes.

They said their immediate priority was to get the government to back a third river crossing for Reading, where Oxfordshire has been reluctant in the past.

The Executive summary they gave me mainly concerns general principles and a thirty year view. They are consulting on it, so people with ideas and views might like to log onto their site www.transportforthesoputheast.org.uk

The event will take place on Saturday 12 October at St Crispin’s Leisure Centre between 11:00am & 3:00pm.

It is designed for children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers. It will showcase the support, activities and services available throughout the Borough and how to access them. It is also open to all families who are waiting for a diagnosis. Activities for children include a climbing wall, a trampoline, a bouncy castle and face painting. Admission is free.

On Monday during the Manchester conference I  talked again to the management of Heathrow airport concerning aviation noise over the Wokingham constituency.

They told me of the progress they are making with encouraging quieter jets and better flying techniques and operating practices to try to control noise, in line with suggestions I have advanced before in discussion with them. 

They also gave me the bad news that there is a further delay in reconsidering the current routes over the constituency, where changes were  imposed without consultation but  are now subject to extensive consultation to try to amend them.  

They agree that people need respite from aircraft noise, and accept that noise is particularly bad when they are operating in easterly winds. They will call for more evidence from local people as they approach making more changes. In  the meantime I think it most important people adversely affected by noise should always use the Noise complaint line for Heathrow to remind them of the continuing dislike of what they have done.  

The 20th anniversary concert by the Beenham Wind Orchestra last night was tremendous entertainment. From the first bars of Sparke’s Yorkshire Overture to the final chords of John Williams the orchestra sustained a great sound and showed their enthusiasm for the music they make.

The Suite of English folk songs was particularly fine, with the subtle and haunting melodies of Nonesuch my favourite. Karl Jenkins’s Palladio was a modern classic with its memorable proportions, and Derek Bourgeiose’s Serenade put us all in party mood.

It was a pleasure to attend and to see such a lively and positive group of musicians playing items they obviously love. I wish them every success for their next twenty years.

Today I attended the visit by HRH the Princess Royal to Wokingham CAB offices and to the Borough Council.

The Princess Royal thanked the volunteers and staff of the CAB for all their excellent service over the years and talked a little about the 80th anniversary of the national CAB.

The CAB introduced her to three people who had found CAB services most valuable, to staff, supporters and many of the past and present volunteers who make it all possible.

It was a pleasure to join in the day’s celebration and to associate myself with the Princess Royal’s words for the CAB both local and national.

I have received this letter from the Secretary of State for Transport:

Dear John

The Thomas Cook Group has confirmed to my Department that it has ceased trading and been placed into compulsory liquidation. I am writing to set out the steps the Government is taking to support passengers and staff affected, and where your constituents can find further information if needed [see Annex below].

I recognise that this is a distressing situation for all involved, and I would like to assure you that the Government is committed to supporting those affected, including by providing repatriation flights free of charge. We have been contingency planning for some time to prepare for this scenario. The Government and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have run similar operations in the past and will be working hard to minimise disruption for passengers and assist Thomas Cook’s staff.

Despite the preparations and previous experience, the task before us represents the largest peacetime repatriation undertaken by the UK Government – more than 150,000 Thomas Cook customers are currently abroad. Some disruption and delay is inevitable and we ask for understanding, particularly for the Thomas Cook staff who, together with UK Government staff either in place or en route, are working to ensure the safe return of customers.

All Thomas Cook flights have now been cancelled and the CAA and UK Government are working together to get passengers home as close as possible to their planned date. Normally, the CAA’s responsibility for bringing passengers back would extend only to customers whose trips are covered by the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) scheme, with the costs of assisting those passengers falling to the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATTF).

However, due to the unprecedented size of this operation there is insufficient capacity in the commercial aviation market to enable all of Thomas Cook’s non-ATOL passengers to get home on other airlines. Some passengers would have to wait for a week, or longer, and many would suffer financial and personal hardship while they waited for an available flight with another airline. With tens of thousands of passengers abroad and with no easy means of returning to the UK, I have therefore instructed the CAA to bring home without charge all those currently abroad and due to return to the UK.

Our advice to passengers at this stage is to be patient and follow the guidance given by the CAA. People should complete their holidays and, in most circumstances, will not be flown home ahead of their scheduled return date. A small number of passengers may need to book their own flight home and reclaim the costs. Passengers should check the dedicated website for more information – thomascook.caa.co.uk

The decision by the Thomas Cook Group’s board will be deeply upsetting for their employees. DWP’s Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service is there to help workers get back into employment. The Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Managers across the UK are ready to engage with the administrators to get started on this vital work. In the event of any redundancies, there are special arrangements for employees who are owed redundancy pay and notice pay by their insolvent employer: the Redundancy Payments Service in the Insolvency Service can pay statutory amounts owed to the former employees from the National Insurance Fund. Further information on pension questions can be found below. A cross-government Task Force is also being established to address the impact on employees and local communities (more detail will be shortly available)

Finally, I want to address directly the issue of the cost of this operation. The operation is modelled on the successful repatriation of passengers after the collapse of Monarch Airways. The final cost of that operation to taxpayers was about £50m. The repatriation effort for Thomas Cook is about twice the size. It has also been suggested in the press that the Government could have avoided the collapse with a bailout of up to £250m for the company and its shareholders. This was simply not the case, with no guarantee that such an injection would have secured the future of the company.

Should your constituents have any further questions, please direct them towards the CAA website (thomascook.caa.co.uk) in the first instance. Colleagues are also welcome to contact me with any questions.

Yours ever,
Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT

 

ANNEX: Information for Thomas Cook customers and staff

Thomas Cook customers (including with those with flights, hotels or both)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Department for Transport (DfT) have put in place an emergency plan to help Thomas Cook customers return to the UK – flights will be free of charge (or can be claimed back) while additional hotel costs, in the event of a departure delay, can be claimed on insurance. If Thomas Cook customers do not have insurance or are covered by ATOL, a hardship fund will be accessible to cover these costs in reasonable cases.

• Thomas Cook customers seeking information on their flights and on other issues should visit the dedicated website at thomascook.caa.co.uk – the best and quickest way to get information and access the helpline.
• British nationals overseas who require specific consular assistance, for example if they have a medical condition or issues with their travel documents, will be referred to consular staff from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
• Contact details for UK embassies and consulates can be found through https://www.gov.uk/world/embassies
• Wider consular assistance offered by the Foreign Office is set out in our guide to Supporting British nationals abroad: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-british-nationals-abroad-a-guide

Passengers arriving back in the UK on special repatriation flights:

The CAA will attempt to fly people to the airport they had originally booked. This will not always be possible and in such cases the CAA will arrange onward transfer the customers original return destination in the UK. MHCLG will work with local authorities and their Local Resilience Forums to provide welfare support for passengers requiring this, for example, if they arrive at anti-social hours.

For more information see thomascook.caa.co.uk

People booked and about to travel with Thomas Cook?

People in the UK should not go to the airport – there will be no further outbound Thomas Cook flights for passengers. In these cases, ATOL-protected trips will be refunded in line with the scheme. For those who do not have ATOL cover, they may be able to recover the cost of their holiday through their own credit or debit card company, or some travel insurance policies. Passengers should also contact their travel company to see if they can change their holiday or claim a refund. More information is available on the dedicated CAA website.

Thomas Cook Staff

The Government’s Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service stands ready to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. A Department for Work and Pensions’s Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service Team will be live across the UK and ready to begin working with administrators as soon as possible.

A cross-government Task Force is also being established to assist the staff and high-streets affect.

Staff with specific employment questions (including pensions) should visit thomascook.caa.co.uk or https://www.ppf.co.uk/

Customers with a future booking

For those who’ve booked holidays, hotels, flights or other services, they should visit thomascook.caa.co.uk for information on options to seek refunds.

Contact number

The CAA’s website is the best ‘source of truth’ during this operation (thomascook.caa.co.uk). The CAA’s call centre for Thomas Cook customers can be contacted as follows:

• Phoning from the UK (reduced rate): 0300 303 2800
• Phoning from overseas: +44 1753 330 330

 Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced  changes to the way that train delays are recorded, benefiting consumers by making it easier to hold train companies serving Wokingham and West Berkshire  to account. Under the old system, trains are considered delayed if they are 5 or 10 minutes late. This will now change to measuring punctuality to a single minute of its scheduled arrival time. This  Government has made improving the punctuality of trains one of its top transport priorities and this new measure will make it easier to identify trains that are not performing as they should for passengers. Decent, reliable transport connections are vital, not just to boost growth and bring our regions together, but to rejuvenate some of the towns that often feel left behind in this country.

Under the Conservatives, the railways are undergoing the biggest modernisation since the Victorian times, with £48 billion being spent on new trains, track upgrades and making sure passengers have access to better and more reliable data. The new plans will also give passengers detailed information on the causes of train delays, ensuring passengers always feel that they are being provided with the best possible service.

I have received the enclosed update from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about pension flexibility for NHS Clinicians:

Dear John

PENSION FLEXIBILITY FOR NHS CLINICIANS

I’m writing to update you on the urgent steps that the Government is taking to resolve the pension tax issue that is affecting delivery of frontline NHS care for patients. Yesterday I published a consultation on a new package of pension flexibilities for senior NHS clinicians who face annual allowance tax charges, including consultants, GPs and top nurses.

The NHS Pension Scheme is a highly valuable part of the package of pay, terms and conditions for NHS staff, which continues to compare very favourably with schemes in other sectors. It provides hard working and dedicated staff with security in retirement after decades of public service and patient care.

The Government provides tax incentives to encourage pension saving across society. Pension scheme contributions can therefore be made tax-free. However, the cost of providing this tax incentive is very substantial so there are restrictions on the amount of pension saving that receives tax relief.

The relative generosity of the NHS Pension Scheme means that for some staff, largely senior doctors, changes to the way that these restrictions operate has resulted in their pension growing to a level beyond their tax-free allowance. A tax charge is levied on the value of pension growth that exceeds the tax-free allowance. This is causing significant financial concerns to senior clinicians, with many now looking closely at whether it is in their financial interest to do extra work for the NHS.

The Government recognises that in response to concerns about annual allowance tax charges, some clinicians are seeking to control their income and pension growth by limiting or even reducing their NHS work to avoid breaching their annual allowance for tax-free pension saving.

Discussions with the medical profession and employers have highlighted the need for clinicians to have wide-ranging pension flexibility to control the amount of tax-free pension saving they build up in the NHS Pension Scheme and so manage their annual allowance tax liability without reducing their workload.

Accordingly, the consultation proposes giving senior clinicians the option to:

• Choose a personalised pension growth level at the start of each tax year (1 April) and pay correspondingly lower contributions. The level chosen would be a percentage of the normal scheme contribution in 10% increments. For example, 50%, 30%, or 70% of the full accrual level.
• Fine-tune their pension growth towards the end of the tax year when they are clearer on total earnings. This will allow them to ‘top-up’ their pensions to the maximum amount without hitting their tapered annual allowance limit.

This flexibility will allow clinicians to tailor the level of growth in their NHS pension so they can maximise their contribution to patient care without sudden annual allowance tax penalties and whilst sustaining growth in their pensions.

The Government is committed to ensuring that hard-working clinicians who provide additional care for NHS patients do not find themselves considering reducing their work commitments, as a result of the interaction between their pay, their pension and the tax regime that surrounds this. The consultation therefore seeks views on how new important flexibilities in the way the NHS Pension Scheme operates can ensure that senior clinicians are rewarded properly for additional work whilst managing the impact on their pension and their tax liabilities in a fairer manner.

It’s vital that we get this right, so we want NHS staff and employers to contribute their views to the consultation so that we get these changes right. The consultation is open until 1 November 2019 and I ask you to encourage interested constituents to have their say. Subject to the consultation outcome and amendment of NHS Pension Scheme regulations, the new flexibilities would be in place ready for the next tax year.

The Government also recognises need for urgent action to help retain and maximise the contribution of our highly-skilled clinical workforce. NHS Employers last week published guidance on possible local approaches that employers can consider taking immediately to mitigate the impact of pension tax on their workforce this tax year.

Taken together, I believe these actions are a clear statement of intent by Government to find an urgent and comprehensive solution to this issue and ensure hardworking NHS staff are not penalised for working overtime. It’s all part of our commitment to the NHS.

Yours ever,

MATT HANCOCK