The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account he plans to take of dietary inequality and food insecurity in the planned childhood obesity strategy.
Jane Ellison
Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are currently on the waiting list for a carers’ assessment.
Alistair Burt
There is no central collection of data on the average and longest wait for a carer’s assessment after an initial request was made since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014. Nor is data collected centrally on the number of people currently on the waiting list for a carer’s assessment.
Data on the number of carers assessed during the financial year 2014-15 by local authority is attached. It should be noted that these figures include both joint and separate assessments from the cared for person. The source for this data is Short and Long Term Support (SALT), England 2014-15. This return is collected and published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Link to SALT:
http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB18663
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have received a carers’ assessment since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014.
Alistair Burt
There is no central collection of data on the average and longest wait for a carer’s assessment after an initial request was made since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014. Nor is data collected centrally on the number of people currently on the waiting list for a carer’s assessment.
Data on the number of carers assessed during the financial year 2014-15 by local authority is attached. It should be noted that these figures include both joint and separate assessments from the cared for person. The source for this data is Short and Long Term Support (SALT), England 2014-15. This return is collected and published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Link to SALT:
http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB18663
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) average and (b) longest wait was for a carers’ assessment after an initial request was made since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014.
Alistair Burt
There is no central collection of data on the average and longest wait for a carer’s assessment after an initial request was made since the introduction of the Carers Act 2014. Nor is data collected centrally on the number of people currently on the waiting list for a carer’s assessment.
Data on the number of carers assessed during the financial year 2014-15 by local authority is attached. It should be noted that these figures include both joint and separate assessments from the cared for person. The source for this data is Short and Long Term Support (SALT), England 2014-15. This return is collected and published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Link to SALT:
http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB18663
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the funding which Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services received from the public purse has been recovered by the Government; and if he will establish an investigation into that body’s handling of its finances.
Ben Gummer
This is a matter for Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which managed the contract with Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services (CNCS).
NHS England advises that the CCG has paid CNCS the sums it was contractually due. The CCG will endeavour to recover costs incurred as a result of the provider failure.
Local commissioners will conduct a review of the contract with CNCS, and the contingency process, to see if procurement processes can be strengthened in the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications are for his policy on private NHS contractors carrying out healthcare services of the failure of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services to be able to continue to provide such services; what steps his Department is taking to ensure that other such contractors continue to provide the services for which they are contracted; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for securing the provision of services to meet the needs of their population. The Department expects CCGs to hold providers to account in a way which works effectively in their area.
CCGs are free to commission services from the provider that they feel offers the best services for the local population in line with the legislative framework. We do not anticipate that the failure of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services will affect this policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of planned budget reductions for community pharmacy on patient and health services in (a) Sheffield and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Alistair Burt
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
NHS England has a statutory duty to ensure the adequate provision of National Health Service pharmaceutical services across England and will ensure that duty continues to be met in Sheffield.
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020-21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of community pharmacies to (a) local minor ailments services, (b) needle exchanges and (c) local commissioned services; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the closure of such pharmacies on (i) such services, (ii) patient care, (iii) GP practices and (iv) hospitals.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the contribution of community pharmacies to local minor ailment services, needle and syringe exchange services and other locally commissioned services. However, information available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that during 2014/15, 1,863 community pharmacies were commissioned to provide local minor ailment services and 29 were commissioned to provide needle and syringe exchange services, as National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities are, however, able to commission local services and it is very likely that local authorities commission needle and syringe exchange services from community pharmacies and CCGs commission minor ailment services. However, this information is not available nationally.
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an important role in delivering services such as management of minor ailments locally, needle and syringe exchange services and other locally commissioned services. The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering high quality clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim. The community pharmacy proposals for 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered in respect to the public sector equality duty, the family test and relevant duties of the Secretary of State under the NHS Act 2006. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
Local commissioning and funding of services from community pharmacies will be unaffected by these proposals.
NHS England has taken account of the potential impact of a pharmacy minor ailments service on general practitioner services and other parts of the NHS. The findings of the Minor Ailment study (‘MINA’ study), conducted by the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with NHS Grampian and the University of East Anglia, on behalf of Pharmacy Research UK in 2014, were considered. In addition, evaluations of local minor ailments schemes have continued to inform decision-making about local commissioning of such schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) Healthwatch England, (b) Healthwatch Enfield and (c) other patient groups on the decision by NHS Royal Free Foundation Trust to grant Google DeepMind access to NHS patient records.
George Freeman
The Department has received no representations from patient groups on this subject.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will receive further funding from the Government to provide any extra A&E care required as a result of Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services no longer providing such care.
Ben Gummer
Additional funding for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (SFHFT) would be a matter for the local clinical commissioning groups.
NHS England advises that SFHFT has neither requested nor received additional funding as a result of the new caretaker arrangements. Nottingham Emergency Medical Services, the new caretaker provider of out of hours urgent care services at King’s Mill and Newark hospitals, has met the needs of the patients.
We are advised by NHS England that in the period since the handover took place there has been no material impact on the performance of either SFHFT or the mid Nottinghamshire health and social care system against the national four-hour accident and emergency standard.