Tag: Lord Mawson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why forensic medical services are an exception under Schedule 2 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014; why such healthcare services are considered equivalent to other healthcare settings and whether they are subject to the same level of scrutiny; and whether they plan to amend those Regulations to allow the Care Quality Commission powers of inspection of healthcare facilities in police custody.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) document The scope of registration (CQC, 2015) includes a section about those health and care services that lie outside its duties to regulate, and for which providers are not required to register. Within this section, the document classes forensic medical services as a “third party exemption”, because these services are commissioned and paid for directly by police bodies, which are considered to be the “customer” of these services. This differs from healthcare services commissioned and funded by the National Health Service, in which services are arranged and organised for the benefit of patients. A copy of The scope of registration is attached.

Nevertheless, the CQC regularly takes part in joint inspections of police healthcare services, in partnership with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. The Department, with the CQC and others, is currently considering whether to amend Schedule 2 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in order to remove the current exemption, and strengthen the CQC’s contribution to these joint inspection arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the decision to cancel the transfer of police custody healthcare services to the NHS, whether they will put into place, and ensure the appropriate funding for, any recommendations made about minimum standards and quality of such police custody healthcare services for vulnerable detainees as a result of the forthcoming independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody.

Lord Bates

The decision not to pursue the transfer of custody healthcare commissioning from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to NHS England was taken in the context of wider decisions about the Provisional Police Funding Settlement for 2016/17, details of which were announced to Parliament in a written statement by the Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice and Victims on 17 December.

The Government is clear that Police and Crime Commissioners should retain full flexibility to be able to prioritise resources towards police custody healthcare functions based on their local needs.

A number of sources of information and guidance are available to PCCs to inform their commissioning of custody healthcare services.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1983 (PACE) sets out the statutory framework for custodial care and the rights and entitlements of a detainee in police custody. The College of Policing, as the professional body for policing, has published Approved Professional Practice (APP) on custody and detention. Police officers and staff are expected to have regard to the APP in discharging their responsibilities.The APP references wider guidance published by professional medical bodies including the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. In addition there is a NHS England national service specification setting out clinical standards for the commissioning and provision of police custody healthcare functions. This is currently being reviewed and updated.

In many police force areas the close ties which PCCs have established to local NHS England commissioners over recent years have already helped to drive up the standards and quality of provision. On 11 February my Rt Hon Friend the Home Secretary and my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Health wrote to Police and Crime Commissioners and NHS England Commissioners encouraging them to continue to build upon this work to further improve healthcare service delivery.

Any recommendations made by the forthcoming independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody will be carefully considered in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2014-06-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many full-time equivalent general practitioners have been employed by the National Health Service in each of the last five years.

Earl Howe

General Practitioners (GPs) are independent contractors who hold contracts with NHS England to provide primary healthcare services for the National Health Service.

The annual National Health Service General and Personal Medical Services workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of GPs working in the NHS in England at 30 September each year. The numbers of full-time equivalent GPs working in the NHS in England from 2009 to 2013 are shown in the following table. The latest available statistics are as at 30 September 2013 and were published on 25 March 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact assessments have been carried out regarding the implementation of the Union Customs Code and its impact on micro and small businesses’ access to simplified procedures, the requirement to provide a six-digit Harmonised Tariff Code and changes to existing transit procedures.

Lord Deighton

HM Revenue and Customs has been formally consulting with UK trade bodies and businesses about the impact of the European Commission’s draft proposals for regulations to enable implementation of the Union Customs Code. Discussions have considered the impact of requirements to provide a six-digit commodity code that is needed for enhanced safety and security purposes and changes to existing transit arrangements which have enabled us to preserve a valuable simplification for movement of goods albeit in a different form. Trade views have been invaluable in informing the UK position, helping us to influence negotiations with the Commission and Member States and in securing agreement to necessary changes where possible. The UCC represents a package of measures to modernise and simplify customs procedures and requirements while also addressing the need to tighten safety and security and fight against fraud measures and its impact is being assessed in this overall context.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2014-05-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often ministers of the Department of Health visit local communities across the country to verify that the figures in relation to health and social care on which policy is based equate with the facts that people experience on the ground.

Earl Howe

Ministers in the Department frequently undertake visits to a wide range of health and social care settings across the country during which they meet a large numbers of staff, service users and patients.

Since May 2010 Ministers in the Department have undertaken a total of 646 official visits.