Tag: Baroness Hollins

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the introduction of the new funding system for supported housing, what guarantees they plan to give that guidelines for local authorities will be sufficiently robust to ensure that there are no trade-offs between different groups in need of supported housing.

Lord Freud

The Secretary of State announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 15 September 2016 that a formal consultation document will be published shortly. This consultation will consult on appropriate safeguards to ensure that funding continues to support vulnerable groups and promotes the supply of supported housing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees they plan to give that, once the new funding system for supported housing comes into place in 2019–20, existing tenants will not be affected negatively by any changes.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance policy until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. The new funding model will include a ring-fenced local top-up to ensure that funding is used only for supported housing provision and will support existing tenants.

The funding will be administered locally so that local authorities can respond flexibly to local need. We believe local authorities are best placed to make decisions about how to support vulnerable people in their areas and to commission the supported housing services that are needed locally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for monitoring the impact of the new funding system for supported housing on people with a learning disability after 2019.

Lord Freud

The Secretary of State confirmed in his written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 15^th September that the Government will shortly be publishing a consultation document on supported housing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the remit and funding of the National Learning Disabilities Mortality Review of premature deaths in people with learning disabilities includes a review of the investigations carried out by NHS Trusts into unexpected deaths for that patient group; and if not whether they intend to alter the remit.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme is managed by the University of Bristol on behalf of NHS England. The contract with the University focusses on supporting local reviews of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities; the investigation processes and draws together learning from the reviews. The remit for this work does not include a review of the investigations undertaken by NHS trusts into unexpected deaths for this patient group. There is no current intention to alter this remit.

The current programme is piloting local reviews of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities, as the first stage of rolling these out across England by 2018. These reviews will be the key first step to ensure local processes are in place to inform the co-ordination of future investigations of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities by NHS trusts. There will be clear protocols put in place to ensure that any unexpected deaths are subject to a multidisciplinary review, covering the totality of the person’s care, to assess the causes of death and any actions which could have been taken to prevent that death.

The Mortality Review Programme will provide strategic support for the local review process, develop a core data set for use by local review teams and support both the development of action plans in response to a death and the identification of recurrent themes at local, regional and national levels. The case reviews will support health and social care professionals, and others, to identify, and take action on, the avoidable contributory factors leading to premature deaths by people with learning disabilities whilst the identification of regional and national themes will inform wider action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of Mazars’ report investigating unexpected deaths at Southern Healthcare, they intend to establish a national review into premature deaths for people with mental illness, in addition to those with learning disabilities.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 requires registered mental health providers to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about deaths of people detained or liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. In addition, the CQC monitors data provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre through the Mental Health Minimum Data Set on deaths of mental health hospital patients.

The CQC will be undertaking a wider review into the investigation of deaths in a sample of all types of National Health Service trust (acute, mental health and community trusts) in different parts of the country. As part of this review, the CQC will assess whether opportunities for prevention of death have been missed, for example by late diagnosis of physical health problems.

There are currently no plans to establish a national review into premature deaths of people with mental illness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will link GP registers of people with learning disabilities and ONS mortality data to enable comparisons of age and cause of death between people with learning disabilities and the general population at a national level, and to measure change over time.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department of Health is currently working with Public Health England, NHS England, the Health and Social Care Information Centre and the Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to consider the feasibility of linking different datasets in order to compare outcomes for people with learning disabilities with the general population. This aims to help reduce inequalities and poor outcomes, including premature mortality, in people with learning disabilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2014-06-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that people with learning disabilities are not excluded from NHS England’s five-year strategic plan for National Health Service commissioners to improve quality of and access to health care, outlined in Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2014/15–2018/19.

Earl Howe

The Government’s Mandate to NHS England, sets out our ambitions for the health service, which include an objective that NHS England ensures clinical commissioning groups work with local authorities to ensure that vulnerable people, particularly those with learning disabilities and autism, receive safe, appropriate, high quality care. NHS England sets out how it will achieve the objectives in the Mandate in its 2014-15 – 2016-17 business plan. The Government will hold NHS England to account for its achievement.

Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2014/15 to 2018/19sets out a framework within which commissioners will need to work with providers and partners in local government to develop five year plans to secure the continuity of sustainable high quality care for all. Building on Everyone Counts, NHS England is beginning a programme of work to consider how to improve quality of and access to health care for people with learning disabilities. Within the framework there is specific reference to Transforming Care: A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital. This is a non-negotiable item that NHS England expects to be part of every relationship between commissioners and providers. As part of this, clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and specialised commissioners should work together to implement the core specification which describes the core principles that must be present in all education, health and social care services for children, young people, adults and older people with learning disabilities and/or autism who either display, or are at risk of displaying, behaviour that challenges.

NHS England is committed to work to reduce premature mortality amongst people with learning disability, including actions in response to the Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities.