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  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid in prescription charges in England and Wales in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not have an audited figure for the total amount paid in prescription charges in England in the community for 2015-16. However, provisional data for this 2015-16 financial year indicates that, up to the end of February 2016, £402.7 million was paid. An additional £124.4 million was also paid up to the end of March 2016 through the purchase of prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs). For 2014-15, which is the latest year for which we have an audited figure, revenue from prescriptions charges dispensed in the community, including PPC revenue, totalled £503.9 million. Approximately 90% of prescriptions are dispensed in England without charge.

    Prescription charges were abolished in Wales in 2007, and the Department does not have data on prescription charges collected in Wales for prescriptions issued in England.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33687, what funding and support (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have provided to integrate blood-borne virus testing into mobile digital radiology screening for active TB in line with NICE guidance NG33 of January 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    As yet, no funding has been allocated to include blood-borne virus (BBV) testing into mobile screening outreach services.

    NHS England has provided additional funding to the London ‘Find & Treat’ mobile health unit so that they can offer latent Tuberculosis testing and treatment. The Find & Treat service continues its discussions with the Hepatitis C Trust to work in partnership to provide on-the-spot screening for hepatitis C and onward care.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance NG33 published in January 2016 suggests that integrating BBV testing into mobile digital radiology screening services would be good practice. NHS England has expressed an interest to consider this further, and discussions continue with the lead London Clinical Commissioning Groups.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) the Nursing and Midwifery Council, (b) the Royal College of Midwives, (c) the Royal College of Nursing and (d) Independent Midwives UK on changes to midwifery regulation.

    Ben Gummer

    The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and Independent Midwives UK (IMUK) have all been involved in discussions concerning the proposed changes to midwifery regulation.

    On 22 January 2016 the Department, on behalf of the four United Kingdom Chief Nursing Officers and their external partners, published plans for a new non-statutory system of midwifery supervision that will meet the need for clinical supervision of midwives in clinical practice, and peer review for those not in clinical practice. The NMC, RCM and IMUK were consulted on and contributed to the published proposals.

    The Royal College of Nursing has not been involved in the above discussions, as midwifery regulations do not affect nurses.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33687, what new investment which is in line with the Collaborative TB Strategy for England has been made to deliver (a) TB awareness raising, (b) TB case finding and screening and (c) treatment for (i) homeless people and (ii) other under-served sectors of the population.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England has resourced a National Tuberculosis (TB) Office to support implementation of the Collaborative TB Strategy for England, including working with stakeholders on awareness raising and case finding and treatment. The National TB Office is also overseeing the work of a Task and Finish group, which is looking at how to tackle the needs of those with TB in under-served populations, including homeless people. The group will present their findings to the National TB Programme in the autumn. Currently, however, there is no new investment being specifically targeted at the homeless population.

    NHS England has provided new investment, £10 million in 2015/16 and a further £10 million for 2016/17, to support latent TB infection testing and treatment which includes funding for TB awareness raising and TB case finding and treatment. The latter service is of particular relevance to the homeless population.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the University of Bristol study of the mortality rates of people with learning disabilities in NHS care, commissioned by NHS England and announced on 18 June 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    The University of Bristol has appointed the programme team who will oversee the mortality review programme and has consulted with interested parties on the methodologies and approaches to be used. A pilot review programme is underway in the North East and Cumbria which will be used to inform how the programme operates as it is rolled out. A plan is now in place to roll out the review across all regions of England between now and 2018, with pilots starting in other parts of the country during 2016/17. Additional resources have been made available to support regions in this work.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to allow NHS bodies to designate people other than midwives as the lead clinical practitioner for women in pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period.

    Ben Gummer

    There are no such plans. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has recently written to its external partners to provide reassurances about the proposed changes to midwifery supervision regulation and confirmed that there will be:

    ― No change to the protected title of ‘midwife’. Also the protected function of ‘attendance on a woman in childbirth’ will remain. Other than in an emergency or as part of training, only a midwife or medical practitioner can deliver a baby.

    ― No change to the scope of midwifery practice, which is much wider than the narrow protected function and is reflected in the standards of competence for registered midwives and their Code.

    On 21 April, the Department launched a consultation on the proposed changes to the NMC’s governing legislation to remove midwifery supervision from statute. The proposals do not suggest that midwifery supervision and the education and training to support this role will cease to exist, but that the additional tier of regulation for midwives will be removed resulting in a clear separation of the role and purpose of the supervision and regulation of midwives. The consultation closes on 17 June 2016.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015, HCWS113, on Publication of Learning not Blaming and Review of NHS Leadership, what plans he has for a reporting mechanism to replace Local Supervising Authorities following the implementation of his plan to end statutory supervision of midwives.

    Ben Gummer

    In the ‘Learning not blaming: The government response to Freedom to Speak Up, the Public Administration Select Committee report on clinical incidents, and the Morecambe Bay Investigation’, the Government accepted the recommendation to remove the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) current responsibility and accountability for statutory supervision of midwives in the United Kingdom and committed to changing the law as speedily as possible.

    The abolition of the statutory Midwifery Committee at the NMC is a consequence of the Law Commission review of professional regulators. The Midwifery Committee does not have a role in the statutory supervision of midwives. The NMC is considering how midwifery advice will be secured by the NMC if the Midwifery Committee is, after consultation, abolished. It has set up a Midwifery Panel of interested parties to do this.

    The proposals for a new design of supervision for midwifery, incorporated setting up a task force in each country of the UK under the auspices of each UK Chief Nursing Officer. They are currently working through plans to create new mechanisms and considering what systems and processes will replace the Local Supervising Authorities.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement to the House of 16 July 2015, HCWS113, on Publication of Learning not Blaming and Review of NHS Leadership, what assessment he has made of the consistency of the abolition of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s statutory Midwifery Committee with his plan to end the statutory supervision of midwives.

    Ben Gummer

    In the ‘Learning not blaming: The government response to Freedom to Speak Up, the Public Administration Select Committee report on clinical incidents, and the Morecambe Bay Investigation’, the Government accepted the recommendation to remove the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) current responsibility and accountability for statutory supervision of midwives in the United Kingdom and committed to changing the law as speedily as possible.

    The abolition of the statutory Midwifery Committee at the NMC is a consequence of the Law Commission review of professional regulators. The Midwifery Committee does not have a role in the statutory supervision of midwives. The NMC is considering how midwifery advice will be secured by the NMC if the Midwifery Committee is, after consultation, abolished. It has set up a Midwifery Panel of interested parties to do this.

    The proposals for a new design of supervision for midwifery, incorporated setting up a task force in each country of the UK under the auspices of each UK Chief Nursing Officer. They are currently working through plans to create new mechanisms and considering what systems and processes will replace the Local Supervising Authorities.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the combined effect of the (a) increase in national insurance contributions and (b) one per cent 2015-16 pay increase for NHS staff which both took effect from 1 April 2016 on the take-home pay of NHS nurses.

    Alistair Burt

    The impact on take-home pay for National Health Service nurses, of the combined effect of these measures will depend on individual circumstances, in particular how much they are paid, whether they are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, whether they also received an annual increment and their personal tax allowance.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on ensuring that children attending educational settings have access to on-site support for continence problems.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Education on this issue. The Department for Education has published guidance for schools and the support that should be provided for pupils with medical needs which is set out in the document Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions, available at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions–3

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