Tag: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why special financial provision is having to be provided by the Department of Health, and not NHS England, for the treatment of people infected with hepatitis C through contaminated blood when the treatment of all patients is covered by mandated NICE guidance.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are currently consulting on a number of proposals to reform the current payment schemes for those infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C through National Health Service-supplied blood/blood products. As part of that consultation, we are keen to hear views on whether those infected with hepatitis C and whose infections have yet to progress to advanced stages would be interested in receiving enhanced access to the new effective drugs sooner than is currently available to them on the NHS following publication of the latest National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) treatment guidance for hepatitis C. The NHS is prioritising access to the new treatments for all patients with hepatitis C on the basis of clinical need and not on the route of transmission. There are three NICE Guidance documents attached:

1. Ledipasvir–sofosbuvir;

2. Daclatasvir; and

3. Ombitasvir–paritaprevir–ritonavir with or without dasabuvir for treating chronic hepatitis C.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the gateway reviews undertaken during the work on the Uniting Care Partnership Contract in the light of the review by David Stout into the causes of the termination of the Contract.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England advises that following its initial independent review into the termination of the contract between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and Uniting Care Partnership LLP, it is commissioning a second review to investigate specific areas in further detail. This will include an investigation into the effectiveness of the gateway review process.

NHS England advises that the scope and timescale for this has yet to be agreed and it will consider publication as part of this review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the fair-share Transformation Fund for Greater Manchester was calculated.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has allocated £450 million to Greater Manchester, representing their fair share of available transformation budgets over the five year period.

The Greater Manchester share is calculated by applying Greater Manchester’s total target Clinical Commissioning Group allocation as a percentage of the national amount to the relevant national policy and transformation funding. The Transformation Fund is being deployed in accordance with the priorities set out in the Greater Manchester Strategic Plan. A copy of the Plan is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to replace direct funding of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency by fees paid by industry.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) operates as a government trading fund and recovers 92% of its total regulatory costs from fees and charges. In addition it receives income from the Department in recognition for the Agency providing both a devices service and a biologicals service from the National Institute for Biological Standards Control.

In 2016/17 the Department is purchasing a devices service of £8.1 million plus capital funding of £1 million which covers the remaining 8% of its regulatory costs.

The MHRA and the Department are considering charging the devices service directly to industry by fees.

The MHRA is also looking at the potential for increasing fees from international work over the coming years.

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 UK’s research capacity of the reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologist posts within the NHS.

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 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total combined overall spending on vaccines procurement and administration (1) nationally, and (2) locally, including awareness campaigns, in each year from 2012–13 to the current financial year.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England were formed on 1 April 2013, therefore spend information can only be provided from 2013/2014 financial year onwards. Total combined spend for 2015/16 is not yet available.

Overall spend on procurement and the administration of vaccines, including communications spend for campaigns, is split between PHE and NHS England. The total combined overall spend can only be provided at a national level. Local level information is not readily available. Spend information is provided in the following table.

Approximate combined vaccine procurement and vaccine administration spend for England

Financial Year	2013/2014	2014/2015
Vaccine procurement and vaccine administration spend (£ million)	578	616

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 recommendations will be subject to public consultation, and if so, when.

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, in the light of NHS England having secured lower prices for the latest Hepatitis C drugs, whether they expect that progressively more patients will be treated in 2016–17 and future years.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department’s Commercial Medicines Unit has recently concluded a tender which has resulted in some reductions in the cost of new hepatitis C drugs. These, and future reductions, support NHS England’s plans to increase treatment rates. NHS England has funded providers to treat 10,000 patients in the financial year 2016-17, and is expecting to treat more patients in the second half of the financial year. NHS England is already planning to increase treatment in 2017-18 to 12,500 patients, and is working with stakeholders to develop plans for a Strategic Multi-Year Procurement which aims to further improve the cost of these treatments and the opportunity to roll out treatment further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what surplus they forecast for the NHS Pension Scheme in 2015–16 and 2016–17.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The NHS Pension Scheme is a ‘pay as you go’ pension scheme without financial assets. The last valuation in 2012 identified a deficit of £10.3 billion in the notional fund which is met by contributions from employers.

No additional contribution is expected from the National Health Service in 2016-17. NHS employers will continue to pay the standard employer contribution rate of 14.3%.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to investigate potential conflicts of interest when Clinical Commissioning Groups enter into contracts with companies in which one or more of their board members has a financial interest.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England is responsible for ensuring that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are effective and well led, including ensuring that conflicts of interest are properly managed in such a way as to ensure they do not undermine the integrity of commissioning decisions.

To do this, NHS England has developed an assurance framework for CCGs. CCGs are now required to complete a quarterly self-certification, which askswhether:

– Any potential conflicts of interest have arisen during the last quarter;

– The public register has been updated; and

– There is a record in each case of how the conflict of interest has or is planned to be managed.

This certification then forms the basis of an assurance conversation between the CCG and NHS England.

Work is currently underway to develop the 2016/17 CCG assessment framework and this will maintain the focus on conflicts of interest.