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

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the contracting out of healthcare provision to the private and charity sector does not lead to fragmentation or waste in NHS provision.

    Ben Gummer

    Our position on who should provide services is taken to ensure patients receive the best possible services and outcomes. These decisions are taken by the local clinical commissioning groups, which are clinically led and therefore best placed to act for the benefit of their patients.

    Competition for quality, on the basis of fixed national tariffs, is one of a number of tools available to commissioners to drive greater integration in healthcare provision across the National Health Service.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he last met junior doctors or their representatives.

    Ben Gummer

    The Secretary of State meets frontline staff, both medical and non-medical, on a regular basis.

  • 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 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2016 to Question 29233, how much of the annual allocation of £130 million for carers’ breaks has been spent so far in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    Every local area is required to set out in their Better Care Fund the plan for the level of resource that will be dedicated to carer-specific support, including how it has met its minimum contributions for funding towards carers’ breaks. Delivery against these plans is a matter for local determination.

  • 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 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23475, on what date in March 2016 he expects the first report on progress against the referral to treatment element of the Early Intervention Psychosis access standard to be published.

    Alistair Burt

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre Monthly Statistics – Provisional January 2016, which includes experimental statistics relating to the Early Intervention for Psychosis access standard, is scheduled to be published on 31 March 2016.

  • 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 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30123, on prescriptions: learning disability, what he plans to include in the programme of work to reduce inappropriate prescribing; and what the timetable for that programme is.

    Alistair Burt

    I am planning to meet NHS England officials in April to discuss action to reduce the inappropriate prescribing of medication for people with a learning disability. The work programme and timeframe have not yet been agreed.

  • 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 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the proportion of people aged (a) under and (b) over 18 who have a diagnosable mental health condition who access medical support.

    Alistair Burt

    No estimate has been made of the proportion of people under and over 18 years of age with a diagnosable mental health condition who access medical support as information held centrally is not sufficient for such an estimate to be made.

  • 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 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to signpost commissioners to other appropriate services since the decision was taken not to prescribe specialist psychological services for deaf people as a specialised service; and what (a) number and (b) proportion of clinical commissioning groups commission specialist psychological services for deaf people.

    Alistair Burt

    The 2015 Adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Workforce Census report will be published by NHS England in early summer. Included within the report will be the number of services that currently provide therapy in British Sign Language (BSL) and how many therapists deliver these therapies nationally. People who wish to be referred to IAPT services that require BSL services may seek advice from their general practitioner. Information about local NHS services, including IAPT, is also available on the NHS Choices website.

    Information is not collected centrally on the number or proportion of clinical commissioning groups which commission specialist psychological services for deaf people.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking in response to the Oxleas Plus supplement option for pensions offered by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust.

    Alistair Burt

    National Health Service organisations have the freedom to make changes to the reward offer they make to staff; having regard to the legal framework. The NHS Pension Board has referred Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust to the Pensions Regulator (TPR) even though TPR has already found the option for pensions offered by the Trust was not an inducement and therefore not a breach of law.

    However, the NHS Pension Board concluded that there was additional information, which may not have been considered in relation to the earlier referral, and that given the potential wider implications of this issue, a further in-depth investigation by TPR was merited.

    The NHS Pension Board is awaiting TPR’s decision. The Secretary of State for Health will consider any subsequent advice from the NHS Pension Board.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average number of hours of weekly respite or support family carers are able to access; and what targets his Department has for such provision.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not hold information on the average number of hours of weekly respite for carers. We are working with councils to improve data in this area for future iterations of the Short and Long Term Care data collection, including on respite care (also known as replacement care).

    The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. This includes a right to an assessment on the appearance of needs for support that will look at a carer’s wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role, including replacement care where appropriate. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015-16.

    We have also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The equivalent annual allocation of £130 million for carers breaks is now included in the Better Care Fund.

    The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will publish a patient-friendly guide to inform responses to the consultation on proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    George Freeman

    NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) consultation on draft proposals on the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund closed on 11 February 2016. The NHS England Board agreed a way forward, on 25 February 2016, which will see the new arrangements for the Fund going live on 1 July 2016.

    NHS England and NICE adopted a number of different approaches to engage with audiences. This included holding four webinars for stakeholders and two face-to-face events in London and Manchester alongside a number of individual meetings with key stakeholder groups including patient organisations and cancer charities.

    NHS England has advised that it will publish a consultation report on its website in due course. Further information is available at:

    www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/cdf-consultation

    “