Blog

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the level of TUPE contract protection available to fraud staff currently employed by local authorities who will be transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the single fraud investigation service.

Esther McVey

DWP has considered whether the creation of SFIS falls within the TUPE definitions. The regulations state “…the transfer of administrative functions between public administrative authorities is not a relevant transfer” (for the purpose of TUPE). After careful consideration, DWP has concluded that benefit fraud investigations fall within this category, and as such, TUPE would not apply.

DWP has however, made clear that the success of SFIS is a priority and we intend to transfer staff currently working on fraud investigations from Local Authorities. To effect those transfers, DWP will apply the approach set out in the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector (COSOP) and staff will transfer under a Statutory Transfer Scheme (STS) as provided for under Section 38 of the Employment Relations Act 1999. In line with COSOP, the terms and conditions for transferring staff will be protected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department made of the prevalence of grade down-banding of podiatrists employed within the NHS.

Dr Daniel Poulter

There has been no assessment made by the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) of the prevalence of grade down-banding of podiatrists employed within the National Health Service.

NHS Employers are responsible for their workforce structure. Grade down-banding or changing the pay structure of the role to a lower grade, is a measure undertaken by some NHS organisations due to re-organisation and restructure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and the rate of lower limb amputations.

Dr Daniel Poulter

The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not personally received representations on the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and rate of lower limb amputations.

I regularly meet with the Allied Health Professions Federation. At the last meeting held in February 2014, representatives from the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists attended and a wide range of issues were discussed, including prevention of lower limb amputations.

We are not currently able to correlate the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and rate of lower limb amputation in those with diabetes. However, on 14 July 2014, NHS England will be launching the National Diabetes Footcare Audit (a new module to be incorporated into the National Diabetes Audit) which will allow this relationship to be explored.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the standard of podiatry services in the NHS.

Dr Daniel Poulter

There has been no assessment made by the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), on the standard of podiatry services in the National Health Service. Podiatrists are professionally regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and are accountable for their practice via the fitness to practise process. Registered podiatrists are required to maintain ongoing continued professional development to ensure that their clinical skills are maintained. This is a mandatory requirement by the HCPC.

Health organisations are expected to follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard on diabetes requires that people with diabetes that have foot ulcers, or are at risk of developing them, have regular check-ups from a team specialising in foot protection. It also requires that people are seen and treated by a specialist healthcare team within 24 hours if they have foot problems needing urgent medical attention.

NICE guidelines recommend annual foot checks. This is included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework which incentivises general practitioners to perform and record a foot examination in people with diabetes.

NHS England also plans to launch a National Diabetes Footcare Audit in July 2014, which aims to establish the extent to which national guidelines on the management of diabetic foot disease are being met. This will provide local teams with the evidence needed to tackle any identified differences in practice which will lead in turn to an overall improvement in management and outcomes for patients.

Some elements of podiatry services are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of regulated activities, including NHS and independent providers, have to register with CQC and meet a set of requirements of safety and quality.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote best practice in NHS podiatry services in (a) NHS England, (b) health and wellbeing boards and (c) clinical commissioning groups.

Dr Daniel Poulter

The Mandate from the Government to NHS England holds NHS England to account for improving patient care. Within NHS England, the National Clinical Director for Rehabilitation and Recovery in the Community and the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer are leading on work to improve adult rehabilitation services including collection and dissemination of best practice, which will serve to enhance the care of those with foot diseases.

NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve footcare services for people with diabetic foot disease. Some of these actions are in line with Diabetes UK’s foot campaign “Putting Feet First” while others go beyond the suggestions included in the campaign.

The actions include the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set which contains an indicator on “Complications associated with diabetes including emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis and lower limb amputation”; the launch of a National Diabetes Footcare Audit scheduled for July of this year; and an NHS Improving Quality pilot project to reduce the premature mortality associated with diabetic foot disease.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what correspondence he has received relating to reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in each of the regions of England in each of the last three years.

Dr Daniel Poulter

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified four items of correspondence about reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in England, three were received in 2012 and one was received in 2014. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

Following the Westminster Hall debate on 4 December 2013 about Podiatry services, secured by the hon. Member for Corby (Andy Sawford); the Chief Executive of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, wrote to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison) who responded to the debate, expressing concern about the reduction of podiatrists staffing levels in some areas.

In that debate the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health explained that “in situations in which services need to be changed, the NHS commitment is to make sure decisions are made in a clear and transparent way, so that patients and the public can understand how services are planned and delivered. Through the mandate, NHS England is responsible for services and for working with local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that their services are based on the needs of the local population within the resources available and there has to be evidenced-based best practice”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from the (a) Local Government Association, (b) Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (c) Welsh Local Government Association on issues of staff protection, finance and timing in relation the proposal to establish a single fraud investigation service.

Esther McVey

DWP has worked very closely with the Local Government Association, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association throughout the life of the Project and continues to do so. All three organisations hold regular meetings with the Project and also have representatives on the key consultative and governance groups, for example the SFIS Project Steering Committee.

The subject of staff terms and conditions has been discussed and we have assured all our stakeholders that terms and conditions of employment will be protected. This protection will be documented in the transfer order and employees transferring will not be subject to less favourable terms and conditions when they join DWP. This is in line with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practise for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector.