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

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all people diagnosed with HIV have access to (a) pre-exposure prophylaxis and (b) other treatments.

    Jane Ellison

    Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new use of HIV drugs which has shown clinical effectiveness in research trials at preventing HIV in people at high risk of getting HIV such as men who have sex with men and people with HIV-positive partners. PrEP would not be suitable for people who already have diagnosed HIV. However, in July 2015, NHS England approved a significant new investment in a ‘Treatment as Prevention’ programme whereby HIV drugs are offered to all newly diagnosed patients whatever their CD4 count. Previously, treatment would begin when the CD4 count has declined to 350 cells/mm3 or less. This will significantly decrease the chance of HIV transmission between individuals and also reduces the risk of illness in the person with HIV.

    The National Health Service continues to deliver excellent HIV treatment and care for people with HIV with referrals into services within two weeks of diagnosis.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce report published in February 2016; and what governance arrangements have been put in place to support the implementation of those recommendations.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is working with delivery partners to carefully consider the Taskforce’s recommendations, and aims to publish an Implementation Plan in the summer that will set out how Government and partners will deliver the recommendations.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many regulatory bodies there are in the health sector; and what the direct annual cost to his Department is of running each such body.

    Ben Gummer

    The regulatory bodies in the health sector are listed in the table below.

    Arm’s Length Body (ALB) /Executive Agency (EA) Regulatory Bodies [1]

    Care Quality Commission

    Health Research Authority

    Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority

    Human Tissue Authority

    Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

    NHS Improvement [2]

    Other Bodies

    Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

    Professional Regulatory Bodies

    General Chiropractic Council

    General Dental Council

    General Medical Council

    General Optical Council

    General Osteopathic Council

    General Pharmaceutical Council

    Health & Care Professions Council

    Nursing & Midwifery Councils

    Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland

    The funding provided via Parliamentary funding or Grant in Aid for 2013/14 and 2014/15 for the ALB/EA regulatory bodies and the Professional Standards Authority is attached. Data for 2015/16 is not yet available.

    The professional regulatory bodies are independent of government and there is no direct cost to the Government because they are funded through the registrants’ fees.

    [1] As defined in the Cabinet Office’s Categories of Public bodies: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80075/Categories_of_public_bodies_Dec12.pdf

    [2] From 1 April 2016, NHS Improvement is the operational name for an organisation that brings together Monitor and NHS Trust Development Authority.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with hepatitis C commenced treatment in (a) England and (b) each Operational Delivery Network area between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on patient treatment is ordinarily documented in the detailed patient records held by service providers, and not held centrally by NHS England.

    For the period 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016, based on information supplied by clinicians treating people with chronic hepatitis, NHS England estimate that 5,895 patients started treatment.

    Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) were launched in August 2015 and therefore data by ODN as requested (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016) are not held.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2016 to Question 20586, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on achieving the aims of the draft Hepatitis C Improvement Framework and the decision to withdraw that draft framework.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department continues working with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to advance the public health ambitions set out in the initial framework to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C.

    Both PHE and NHS England are fully committed to improving hepatitis C outcomes including the long-term reduction in transmission of the virus in which treatment has a potentially major role to play.

    NHS England has been working on plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2016 to Question 20586, for what reasons the draft Hepatitis C Improvement Framework has been withdrawn.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department continues working with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to advance the public health ambitions set out in the initial framework to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C.

    Both PHE and NHS England are fully committed to improving hepatitis C outcomes including the long-term reduction in transmission of the virus in which treatment has a potentially major role to play.

    NHS England has been working on plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the sources of public finance will be for Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints; whether each such footprint will have separate accounts; and whether such footprints will have the ability to borrow.

    George Freeman

    Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprints are not statutory entities and therefore will not have the ability to borrow. As set out in the NHS England Board paper in December 2015, organisations covered by the STP footprints may collectively apply to operate using a system control total.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether public consultation was undertaken prior to the formation of Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints.

    George Freeman

    The NHS Shared Planning Guidance (December 2015) asked each area to develop a proposed Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprint, engaging with local authorities and other partners on what this should look like.

    The footprints were reviewed by the national bodies with regard to: geography (including patient flow); scale; fit with footprints of existing change programmes; financial sustainability; and leadership capacity.

    STPs are not statutory entities but collective discussion fora which aim to bring together health and care leaders to support the delivery of improved health and care based on the needs of local populations.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the legal status is of Sustainability and Transformation Plan (a) footprints and (b) leadership teams.

    George Freeman

    Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprints and leadership teams do not have legal status or legal duties. The local, statutory architecture for health and care remains, as do the existing accountabilities for provider and local authority chief executives and clinical commissioning group accountable officers. Health and care organisations remain accountable for their individual organisational plans, which should form part of their footprint’s STP.

  • 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 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in England on a child protection plan have been (a) referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and (b) received treatment from CAMHS in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    This data has not been collected centrally. However, in February this year for the first time the Health and Social Care Information Centre began collecting a range of data about children and young people’s use of secondary mental health services via the new Mental Health Services Dataset. This includes data on whether children and young people using services are, or have been, subject to a child protection plan. Data quality and quantity will take time to build, but we expect a range of national reports to be developed during the course of 2016.