Tag: Lord Birt

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to match national and local capacity with demand for maternity services, and when they expect a balance to be achieved.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Maternity services are included in the key objectives set out in the Mandate between the Government and the NHS England. The Mandate states that women should receive better care during pregnancy and have a named midwife responsible for ensuring personalised, one-to-one care.

In its report Better Births: Improving Outcomes of maternity services in England, the National Maternity Review (which was sponsored by NHS England) set out a vision for future models of maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. It recommends that providers and commissioners should come together as “local maternity systems” and develop a local vision for improved maternity services based on the principles contained within the report. A copy of Better Births is attached.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will now be expected to consider the conclusions of Better Births and what changes they may need to make to local services in light of those conclusions. CCGs are expected to understand local demand for maternity services, including listening to what women in their communities want, and consider their health needs in designing services. This should also be reflected in the development of five year Sustainability and Transformation Plans which cover wider geographical ‘footprints’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what obligations they intend to place on companies to list their foreign workers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

The Government will shortly be consulting on proposals to tighten the Resident Labour Market Test, which businesses have to undertake before sponsoring individuals under Tier 2 (General), the skilled work route for non-EEA nationals.

This is not about listing foreign workers or so-called “naming and shaming” of companies. This information will not be published. The proportion of international workers in a company is one of the pieces of information that we might decide to take into account, as part of our work to ensure that companies take reasonable steps to recruit at home before looking to bring in workers from abroad.

We will listen to businesses throughout the consultation and use that feedback to inform our decisions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times in the three years since 1 May 2013 the maternity unit at Peterborough City Hospital has closed its doors to women about to give birth.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not available centrally. This information may be obtained from Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Robert Hughes, Chair of the Trust, informing him of the noble Lord’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to publish a consultation paper setting out and assessing the different routes to Brexit.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government is consulting widely through meetings all over the country with academics, think tanks, businesses, charities, universities and more to ensure that all views can be reflected in our analysis of the options for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many breaches of government websites occurred in 2014.

Lord Bridges of Headley

For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of cyber security attacks. The Government takes cyber security very seriously; from 2011 to 2016, we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme. We plan to almost double investment in cyber security to £1.9bn over the next five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many midwives are currently employed in NHS maternity services, and how many additional midwives will be needed in 2017 to enable the effective operation of the service.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The latest statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that as at 31 January 2016, there were 21,581 full-time equivalent midwives employed in the National Health Service in England, 21,398 of these work in NHS maternity services.

NHS organisations are best placed to decide how many staff they employ tailoring services to meet the needs of their patients and local communities, to deliver safe care.

The Department has set up Health Education England to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. It is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply that reflects the needs of local service users, providers and commissioners of healthcare.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the drop in the value of sterling in recent months reflects the markets’ view of the likely future health of the UK economy.

Lord Young of Cookham

The UK has an inflation target, not an exchange rate target, and Her Majesty’s Government does not express a view on the level of exchange rates. Instead, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly in response to economic conditions and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.

This framework means we do not need to introduce exchange rate controls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 23 November (HL3395), how many breaches of government websites there were in 2014 where no national security considerations apply.

Lord Bridges of Headley

For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of cyber security attacks. GCHQ typically responds to an average of 70 sophisticated attacks on government networks per quarter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many midwives in the UK will complete their training in 2016.

Lord Prior of Brampton

It is not possible to predict with certainty how many midwives currently studying in the United Kingdom will successfully complete their training in 2016. All students studying midwifery need to successfully complete their course and pass their exams in order to complete their training and graduate from their courses.

Health Education England forecast that the total number of midwives due to complete their training in 2016 is 1,902.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to respond to the Care Quality Commission’s finding that the adult social care sector is approaching tipping point”.”

Lord Prior of Brampton

We welcome The state of health and adult social care in England in 2015/16 report from the Care Quality Commission. The independent regulator was set up to give a single authoritative account to the Department on issues such as this.

The report shows that 70 per cent of adult social care services are rated good or better and that improvement is taking place all over the country.

Social care is critical in enabling older people to retain their independence and dignity. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances, the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. The Government is giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. This will increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

Through the Care Act, we have a reformed care system that means local authorities are in a better position to meet the care needs of people who need them most. Councils now have greater flexibility to arrange care, as well as give greater choice and control to individuals.

The Department will continue to work with providers and their trade bodies, who have come together as a taskforce to understand financial challenges in the sector. The Department is also working to support local authorities meet their Care Act duties to improve commissioning and encourage an effective care market.