Tag: David Amess

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions on the levels of religious diversity in free schools and new academies; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

Numbers of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year
Academic year of opening
2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
Free Schools and New Provision Academies	0	7	12	22	15	12	68

“

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to increase the use of e-consultations in the management of long-term conditions.

Jane Ellison

It is estimated that around 9.5 million people in the United Kingdom lack basic digital literacy skills and 6.5 million have never been online in their lives. Those experiencing digital exclusion tend to be older, poorer, and are more likely to be disabled than the rest of the population. Digital health training has the potential to reduce demand on face-to-face health services by helping people identify the most appropriate way to seek non urgent medical advice. It can also empower people who have a long term condition (LTC) with the knowledge to better manage their health.

NHS England is working on building digital skills for people who have never used the internet as part of its Widening Digital Participation. This provides assisted digital access in community settings such as libraries, community centres and general practitioner practices. Since 2013, NHS England has been working with a social enterprise, the Tinder Foundation, to support people in getting online and gaining basic digital skills for their own health. To date over 250,000 people have been engaged in the Widening Digital Participation programme.

In November 2014, the National Information Board published Personalised Health and Care 2020. This sets out how the NHS and social care will harness the information revolution to support the delivery of high quality safe and effective treatment and new models of care that will provide more integrated and co-ordinated care closer to home.

People living with LTCs will have the opportunity to take greater agency and control over their own health and wellbeing by utilising bespoke endorsed apps, using remote and assistive technologies, accessing key information in their care record and drawing that information into a personal health record. Mobile digital technology can support clinicians to enable patient self-care, access expertise and increase capacity via virtual consultations, and utilise decision support tools.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) free schools and (b) academies have been affected by the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions on oversubscribed schools in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

Numbers of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year
Academic year of opening
2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
Free Schools and New Provision Academies	0	7	12	22	15	12	68

“

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential of existing digital technologies to (a) improve care for people with long-term conditions and (b) empower patients who are not yet digitally enabled.

Jane Ellison

It is estimated that around 9.5 million people in the United Kingdom lack basic digital literacy skills and 6.5 million have never been online in their lives. Those experiencing digital exclusion tend to be older, poorer, and are more likely to be disabled than the rest of the population. Digital health training has the potential to reduce demand on face-to-face health services by helping people identify the most appropriate way to seek non urgent medical advice. It can also empower people who have a long term condition (LTC) with the knowledge to better manage their health.

NHS England is working on building digital skills for people who have never used the internet as part of its Widening Digital Participation. This provides assisted digital access in community settings such as libraries, community centres and general practitioner practices. Since 2013, NHS England has been working with a social enterprise, the Tinder Foundation, to support people in getting online and gaining basic digital skills for their own health. To date over 250,000 people have been engaged in the Widening Digital Participation programme.

In November 2014, the National Information Board published Personalised Health and Care 2020. This sets out how the NHS and social care will harness the information revolution to support the delivery of high quality safe and effective treatment and new models of care that will provide more integrated and co-ordinated care closer to home.

People living with LTCs will have the opportunity to take greater agency and control over their own health and wellbeing by utilising bespoke endorsed apps, using remote and assistive technologies, accessing key information in their care record and drawing that information into a personal health record. Mobile digital technology can support clinicians to enable patient self-care, access expertise and increase capacity via virtual consultations, and utilise decision support tools.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) free schools and (b) academies with a religious character have been oversubscribed in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

Numbers of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year
Academic year of opening
2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
Free Schools and New Provision Academies	0	7	12	22	15	12	68

“

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 assessment she has made of the potential effect on nurses from the Philippines working in the NHS of 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 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. 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. This included the potential effect on nurses. 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.

On 15 October, the Home Secretary announced that nurses will be added to the list on a temporary basis, pending a full review by the independent Migration Advisory Committee. This will ease pressure on the NHS at a time when the Government is introducing tough new controls on costly agency spending. It will help the NHS improve continuity of care for patients, invest in the frontline and maintain safe staffing levels. The Home Office has not made any assessment of the impact of the policy specifically on nurses from the Philippines working in the NHS.