Blog

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of total NHS expenditure spending on maternity services represented in each of the last 10 years.

    Ben Gummer

    Not all of the information requested is collected centrally. Data for primary care trusts (PCTs) secondary healthcare commissioning spend on maternity services for the years 2005/06 to 2012/13 is shown in the tables below. Maternity services may also be commissioned in primary care environments. However, it is not possible to separately identify the amount of primary care expenditure on maternity services from the statutory accounting data collected by the Department.

    Table 1: 2005/06 to 2007/08. NHS expenditure figures on a pre-Clear Line of Sight resource budgeting basis.

    Year

    Maternity services commissioned by PCTs 2005/06 to 2012/13
    ( £ billion)

    Spend on maternity services as % of NHS revenue expenditure

    2005/06

    1.67

    2.25%

    2006/07

    1.62

    2.06%

    2007/08

    1.79

    2.07%


    Source:
    NHS (England) Summarised Account (2005/06 to 2010/11)

    Table 2: 2008/09 to 2012/13. NHS expenditure figures on an aligned basis following the HM Treasury’s Clear Line of Sight programme.

    Year

    Maternity services commissioned by PCTs 2005/06 to 2012/13
    ( £ billion)

    Spend on maternity services as % of NHS revenue expenditure

    2008/09

    1.97

    2.25%

    2009/10

    2.41

    2.55%

    2010/11

    2.53

    2.60%

    2011/12

    2.62

    2.61%

    2012/13

    2.58

    2.52%


    Source:
    NHS (England) Summarised Account (2005/06 to 2010/11) and the Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts (2011/12 and 2012/13).

    Notes:

    1. Commissioning expenditure on maternity services relates to the payments made by commissioners to providers for delivery of maternity services.
    2. The Clear Line of Sight HM Treasury alignment project simplified financial reporting to Parliament by ensuring improved consistency between accounts and HM Treasury budgeting rules.

    Following the abolition of PCTs and strategic health authorities at 31 March 2013, NHS England became responsible for the commissioning of healthcare in England via the network of individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The Department does not collect data on maternity services spend by CCGs.

    NHS England has published expenditure on ‘maternity and reproductive health’ services commissioned by CCGs for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £2.8 billion (4% of total CCG expenditure). CCG spend represents a proportion of overall NHS expenditure on maternity services. NHS England also commissions some services that were previously included within PCT estimates, such as antenatal screening services. NHS England is currently reviewing the data on direct commissioning expenditure and plans to publish this when finalised.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many organisations submitted applications for his Department’s tender for the provision of the tobacco control legislation enforcement contract awarded in 2013.

    Jane Ellison

    Section A7 of Schedule One, entitled ‘Grounds for discretionary rejection’ is available at:

    https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/1072169/

    The schedule does not describe a review.

    Two applications were submitted for the current tobacco control legislation enforcement contract.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many secondments have taken place between his Department and the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards in the last 15 years; and in what capacity each such secondment was undertaken.

    Jane Ellison

    At senior civil servant level (SCS) there have been no secondments between the Department and the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards.

    For civil servants and posts at grades lower than SCS, no such secondments have taken place, as far back as our central records for these secondments extend, that is, back to 2009.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) contracts and (b) grants have been awarded by the tobacco policy team in his Department in each of the last five years; what the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) purpose of the contract or grant, (iii) financial value, (iv) job title of the lead official overseeing the procurement process was in each such case; and whether ministerial approval was required or given in each such case.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13135, if he will place in the Library a copy of the review described at section A7 of Schedule One of the contract for the provision of tobacco control legislation enforcement undertaken by the contractor.

    Jane Ellison

    Section A7 of Schedule One, entitled ‘Grounds for discretionary rejection’ is available at:

    https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/1072169/

    The schedule does not describe a review.

    Two applications were submitted for the current tobacco control legislation enforcement contract.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve children and young people’s mental health services.

    Alistair Burt

    Children and young people’s mental health is a priority area for this Government. We are committed to delivering the vision set out in Future in mind through the launch of a major system-wide transformation programme working alongside our partners in Government and arm’s length bodies. This will improve access and make services more widely available across the country.

    To support this transformation, an additional£1.4 billion funding has been made available over the course of this Parliament for spending on children and young people’s mental health, of which we are spending £173 million this year, including £30 million on eating disorders. This will be used to improve community-based services so that young people are helped earlier and are less likely to need to go into hospital. It will also enable the expansion and extension of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme so that a wider range of those who need it are able to access high quality and evidence-based interventions wherever they may live. All clinical commissioning groups have been asked to work with their partners to develop Local Transformation Plans to transform their local offer to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

    A national programme of work will support local areas, including the extension and expansion of the use of evidence- based interventions, tackling stigma, improving data and information to inform greater transparency and accountability and developing a specialist and stronger workforce.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he Department has made of the effect of the availability of different cancer drugs being available in Scotland and Wales to those in England on the treatment of cancer in England.

    George Freeman

    No such assessment has been made.

    It is for the Scottish and Welsh Governments to decide which cancer drugs should be made routinely available in Scotland and Wales.

    In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is the independent body which makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, including cancer drugs, and other health technologies based on thorough assessment of the best available evidence.

    The Cancer Drugs Fund has helped over 72,000 cancer patients in England, to access life-extending drugs that would not otherwise have been available to them.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to hospital trusts on the account they should take of the availability of transport links when making decisions on reconfiguring services across two sites; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS.

    NHS England has issued guidance on Planning and Delivering Service Change for Patients. As part of this guidance, NHS England specifies that: ‘Based on evidence and national clinical reference groups’ advice, commissioners need to determine the appropriate range of providers and interplay of key access requirements such as travel time.’

    All commissioners proposing reconfiguration must include an analysis of travelling times and distances in their Pre-Consultation Business Case. As part of the Best Practice Check guidelines issued by NHS England, commissioners are asked: ‘Has the travel impact of proposed change been modelled for all key populations including analysis of available transport options, public transport schedules and availability/ affordability of car parking?’ and asked to provide evidence of this through a travel impact assessment.

  • Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he has any plans to inform NHS users of the actual costs of visits, treatments and prescriptions.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government intends to publish the indicative medicine costs to the National Health Service on the dispensing label of all medicines dispensed in the community in England costing more than £20 from late 2016.

    Reference costs, which show the average unit costs to National Health Service hospital trusts of treatments and visits, are published annually by the Department on the Government website. There are no plans to inform patients of these costs each time they use the service.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department gives to NHS trusts on hiring temporary doctors and nurses.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has not issued specific guidance to National Health Service trusts on hiring temporary doctors and nurses. It has, however, commissioned NHS Employers to offer advice, guidance and good practice. The NHS Employers’ guides on sourcing temporary staffing can be found at

    http://www.nhsemployers.org/search-results?q=sourcing+temporary+staffing+exterrnally

    The Department also encourages NHS trusts requiring temporary staff to use the Crown Commercial Services’ Framework agreements wherever possible. Agencies on these Framework agreements are required to support trusts improve their commissioning of temporary staffing.