Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the NHS of the predicted loss of 35 per cent of current clinical pharmacologist consultant posts through retirements in the next decade and the reduction in the number of training grade clinical pharmacologist posts, as set out in the report by the British Pharmacological Society, A Prescription for the NHS: Recognising the value of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that there has not been a reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologists employed in the National Health Service in England.

As part of its workforce planning, Health Education England (HEE) take account of a range of factors including forecast rates of retirement. HEE has recently undertaken a review of the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics workforce, the findings of which will contribute to future workforce planning for this specialty in England.

It is for the respective Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to consider workforce planning for their health system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the process is for ensuring that quick decisions are made about the treatment of critically ill infants suffering from hypophosphatasia in cases where effective drug treatment is available.

Lord Prior of Brampton

National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Highly Specialised Technologies evaluations. If the drug is not recommended, and until NICE’s final guidance is issued, it would be for NHS England to decide whether to make it available to patients.

NICE is currently evaluating asfotase alfa (brand name Strensiq) for the treatment of paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia under its Highly Specialised Technologies programme, which looks at drugs for very small patient populations.

The Evaluation Committee’s preliminary recommendation, published in December 2015 for consultation, was not to recommended asfotase alfa, within its marketing authorisation, for long-term enzyme replacement therapy in paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia to treat the bone manifestations of the disease.

NICE makes its recommendations based on the available evidence and in consultation with stakeholders, including manufacturers and patient groups.

This is not NICE’s final guidance and its recommendations may change after consultation. NICE currently expects to publish its final guidance to the NHS in October 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-07-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Cost Effectiveness Methodology for Immunisation Programmes and Procurements working group’s final report has been provided to the Department of Health, and if so, when that report will be published.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department received the Cost Effectiveness Methodology for Immunisation Programmes and Procurements report on 20 July 2016. The report will be published in due course. A decision on consultation has not yet been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to refer Hewlett-Packard Co (Ltd) to the Competition and Markets Authority for making their printers incompatible with non-HP printer cartridges.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government does not have the power to direct the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to undertake investigations into breaches of competition law. The CMA is an independent authority which decides on which cases to investigate based on available evidence.

If there is evidence that Hewlett-Packard is acting in an anti-competitive manner, this should be provided to the CMA which will assess it against its published prioritisation principles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an additional allocation will be made to the National Health Service to compensate for the costs of the proposed increases in fees set out in the options in the consultation paper published by the Care Quality Commission on 2 November.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Government policy for fee-setting regulators is that their chargeable costs should be fully covered through their fees income, in line with HM Treasury Guidance set out in ‘Managing Public Money’.

The proposed fees increases being consulted upon for 2016-17 reflect the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) commitment to achieving full cost recovery, in line with Managing Public Money, within the period of the Spending Review. The fees being charged are therefore funding the CQC as an effective regulator. They allow the CQC’s tough inspection regime to drive up standards across the country, which in turn ensures quality and safety of health and social care provision.

The CQC’s new regulatory model, led by three specialist Chief Inspectors, provides for robust monitoring and inspection of hospitals, adult care providers and general practitioners.

Our expectation is that National Health Service providers should be able to absorb these increases within their overall income which will depend, amongst other factors, on the outcome of the Spending Review and the subsequent tariff setting process for 2016-17.

The Department has also announced that it will make up to £15 million available for general practice in order to cover this and other pressures in 2016/17.

It is for providers to ensure that they have the appropriate capacity and capability in place in order to deliver a safe, high quality service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 2 November (HL2987 and HL2988), what assessment they have made, if any, of whether the Chairman of the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group ignored the agreed terms of reference of that group by publishing his report without consulting the members of that group, and if so, why.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As the Herbal Medicines and Practitioners Working Group was an independent Group, governance arrangements and internal mechanisms were a matter for the Chair and its members to resolve. The remit of the Group was to consider the issues around herbal medicines and herbal practitioners, and report in 2015 with recommendations on the way forward. The overall remit was met.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recourse or right of appeal is available to a member of the public removed from, or prevented from working with, a local healthwatch by the contractors.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department currently has no plans to undertake an investigation in to the performance of local Healthwatch organisations. In March 2015 the Department published a report commissioned from the King’s Fund – Local Healthwatch: Progress and promise – which set out the progress that local Healthwatch have made since being established in 2013. Transparency about the performance of local Healthwatch organisations is provided through the annual reports which they are required to publish. Reports on how the local Healthwatch network as a whole is operating and the nature of the support needed to deliver their activities effectively are discussed at quarterly public meetings of the Healthwatch England Committee.

Arrangements for ensuring local Healthwatch statutory activities are delivered in each area are a matter for local authorities. The Local Government Association has published guidance to support local Healthwatch and local commissioners in putting in place good governance arrangements, which includes clarity about the roles of all parties involved.

Neither the Department nor Healthwatch England are aware of local Healthwatch contractors refusing to engage with the public in their area. Where Healthwatch England is made aware of concerns in relation to local Healthwatch around governance or local relationships with specific individuals or organisations, it seeks to provide support to resolve these where appropriate. Members of the public are able to raise concerns though the complaints process of the local Healthwatch or the commissioning local authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the NHS Strategic Projects Team is to be held to account for the advice it gave to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group, and to the NHS Commissioning Board, on the contract for older people’s services in Cambridge and Peterborough.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England advises that it will be commissioning an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership LLP to deliver urgent care for the over 65s and adult community services. This will include the role of the Strategic Projects Team. NHS England is also considering how similar contracts will be managed and assured in the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of patients who are unable to access dermatology specials when they need them.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We have made no such assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the awarding of the Staffordshire Cancer and End of Life Services Contract will be delayed pending publication of the investigation commissioned by NHS England into the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership to deliver urgent care for the over-65s and adult community services.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England advises that the award of any contract for the cancer and end of life service procurements in Staffordshire will take place only after NHS England has carried out an assurance exercise around the proposed arrangements. The design of this assurance exercise will be informed by the outcome of the review of the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and UnitingCare Partnership.