Tag: David Amess

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office has received various representations on the £35,000 settlement threshold for Tier 2 (the skilled worker category) since it was announced in 2012.

The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. Prior to the announcement, both the Home Office and the independent Migrant Advisory Committee carried out a consultation on the changes. PhD level roles and those in shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012, which includes details of relevant consultation. The impact assessment is available on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people employed by Southend Hospital under Tier 2 visas from outside the European Economic Area are earning less than £35,000; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

This information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Secretary of State for Health and the Home Secretary have discussed the Government’s policy on immigration when it has been raised at internal government meetings.

The Home Secretary asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the operation of the Tier 2 route of entry into the United Kingdom and they held a public consultation, which closed on 25 September 2015.

However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses from non-European Economic Area countries granted Tier 2 visas between 6 April 2012 and 5 April 2013 and employed on an annual salary of less than £35,000 are employed by (a) Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and (b) Essex teaching hospitals.

Ben Gummer

This information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department was consulted by the Home Office on the impact assessment for the proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Secretary of State for Health and the Home Secretary have discussed the Government’s policy on immigration when it has been raised at internal government meetings.

The Home Secretary asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the operation of the Tier 2 route of entry into the United Kingdom and they held a public consultation, which closed on 25 September 2015.

However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the mechanisms used by NHS England to collect information on patient experience include metrics on (a) shared decision-making and (b) self-management.

Ben Gummer

NHS England collects patient experience information through a programme of national patient experience surveys, which depending on the survey, are managed by either NHS England or the Care Quality Commission.

National surveys containing questions that can be used to assess the extent to which patients feel they are being involved in shared decision-making include: the National Survey of Bereaved People, the Cancer Patient Experience Survey, the GP Patient Survey, and surveys in accident and emergency, maternity, mental health and inpatient settings.

Questions asking patients about their view and support to self-manage are included in both the Cancer Patient Experience Survey and the GP Patient Survey and in addition, NHS England is testing the use of a Patient Activation Measure within the National Health Service, to support self-management and person centred care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many stakeholders responded to the consultation on the Call to Action on improving eye health and provision of NHS eye health services.

Alistair Burt

NHS England received 330 responses to the Call to Action on improving eye health and provision of NHS eye health services.

The total identifiable spend by NHS England on the Call to Action was £34,184. This consisted of £25,950 for engagement events and £8,234 for the compilation of responses. Figures provided are exclusive of VAT. No consultants were employed.

There are no current plans for NHS England to publish a report on the Call to Action, however, the findings have been discussed with commissioners and stakeholders. Work is underway to develop local and national responses to the findings as part of NHS England business plan for 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent (a) in total and (b) on consultancy and engagement events for the Call to Action on improving eye health and provision of NHS eye health services.

Alistair Burt

NHS England received 330 responses to the Call to Action on improving eye health and provision of NHS eye health services.

The total identifiable spend by NHS England on the Call to Action was £34,184. This consisted of £25,950 for engagement events and £8,234 for the compilation of responses. Figures provided are exclusive of VAT. No consultants were employed.

There are no current plans for NHS England to publish a report on the Call to Action, however, the findings have been discussed with commissioners and stakeholders. Work is underway to develop local and national responses to the findings as part of NHS England business plan for 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) financial and (b) environmental guidance NHS England provides to clinical commissioning groups on delivering sustainable healthcare in England.

Alistair Burt

In its mandate for NHS England, the Government sets a clear objective for NHS England to work with others to secure unprecedented improvements in value for money across the NHS in order to maximise resources for frontline patient care.

NHS England has responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations. While NHS England does not set explicit financial savings targets for commissioners, CCGs are required to manage their expenditure within their allocation whilst meeting the business rules as set out in the planning guidance, which include setting aside a 0.5% contingency and planning for 1% of their allocation to be invested non-recurrently. To demonstrate that the requirements of the planning guidance have been fulfilled, a CCG is required to submit clear and credible plans that are financially sustainable. Tools are available to support CCGs in establishing whether they are applying their allocation in a financially sustainable way.

With regard to environmental guidance, in January 2014 the Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) for NHS England and Public Health England launched a Sustainable Development Strategy for the NHS, Public Health and Social Care System. The Strategy is complemented by a number of specific modules, one of which focuses on commissioning and procurement.

There is guidance on the SDU website on how CCGs can embed sustainable development in all the work they do, especially as commissioners of services and local system leaders. This guidance was written jointly by the SDU and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Service Condition 18 of the he NHS Standard Contract 2015-16, which is mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners for all contracts for healthcare services other than for primary care, relates to sustainable development. The clause requires providers to take all reasonable steps to minimise their adverse impact on the environment and to maintain a sustainable development plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress NHS England has made on making care for people with long-term conditions (a) more personalised and (b) better coordinated in the last year.

Jane Ellison

NHS England’s Five Year Forward View sets out a number of high level objectives that will support better long term condition (LTC) care. Delivery of these objectives is being supported in a number of ways across NHS England and with partners. These include improving professional and public awareness of person centred co-ordinated care and supporting commissioners through the development of a LTCs commissioning toolkit, a LTC dashboard and personalised care and support planning handbooks.

In January 2015 NHS England and the Coalition for Collaborative Care published the personalised care and support planning handbooks which were coproduced with representatives from commissioning organisations, care practitioners, patients, carers and policy experts. The handbooks provide practical information and theory on how to introduce personalised care and support planning and encourage reflection and innovation for local approaches to implementation and include supplementary information for commissioners, advice on practical delivery and effective multi-disciplinary working. The Integrated Personal Commissioning Programme, a joint NHS England and Local Authority led programme, began in April 2015 and aims to better coordinate an individual’s health and social care funding, giving them more control over how this money is used through person-centred care planning and personal budgets.

NHS England is taking steps to roll out personal health budgets which will offer people with LTCs more choice and control over the care and support they receive.