Tag: Melanie Onn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects on general practices of increases in the number of patients presenting at GP surgeries in the last 12 months; and what steps he is taking to ensure that GP surgeries can cope with the number of patients presenting.

Alistair Burt

We recognise the vital job that general practitioners (GPs) do. We know how hard GPs and their practice teams work and the challenges that they are facing in providing care for growing numbers of older people and patients with more complex needs.

Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that the number of patients registered with a GP has increased from 28,595,310 in 2015 to 28,893,403 in 2016, an increase of 1.0%. The GP Patient Survey, published in January 2016 shows a slight decline in the number of patients reporting that they are able to get a convenient GP appointment. Taken together, this suggests that GP workload may be increasing.

The Government is committed to providing the support GPs need so they can spend more time with patients. The new contract will see an investment of £220 million for 2016 to 2017, and we are keen to reduce administrative demands on those delivering care where practicable.

We are also investing in the primary and community care workforce and are committed to increasing the workforce by 10,000 by 2020, including an extra 5,000 doctors working in general practice.

GPs are changing the way patients can access GP appointments, not just 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. The Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund is a £175 million investment to test improved and innovative methods of accessing general practice, including opening from 8am to 8pm on weekdays and weekends; better use of telecare and apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, telephone and email; and more integrated services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of the veterans badge.

Mark Lancaster

The annual cost of Armed Forces Veterans’ Badges from November 2014 to October 2015 was £44,655.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many kinship carers her Department estimates will be eligible for the Government’s proposed free 30 hours of childcare.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Kinship carers will be able to access the existing 15 hour early education entitlement for any three and four year old children in their care. In addition, two year olds who are looked after by a local council or have left care under a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or adoption order are entitled to 15 hours per week of early education.

In respect of the extended entitlement for three and four year olds, kinship carers who have parental responsibility for the child will be able to access the extended entitlement provided that they are earning the equivalent to 16 hours a week at National Minimum or Living Wage and their income does not exceed £100,000. This includes employed and self-employed kinship carers.

The Department does not hold information on the number of kinship carers who would meet the income eligibility criteria and who have three or four year old children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure the continued development of GP networks.

Alistair Burt

The Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund has enabled groups of general practitioner (GP) practices, often collaborating with others such as community pharmacies or ambulance services, to provide new and expanded services together. Operating under a single contract within a local area and sharing work and resources has enabled the 2,500 practices in the programme to significantly develop their networks.

Most of the GP Access Fund schemes have, through the programme, strengthened their arrangements for collaboration, developed a more prominent identity with patients, and grown their leadership and management capabilities. This has been facilitated by the support programme put in place by NHS England, helping the networks to make faster progress on issues such as information technology, governance and care redesign. It has also built a legacy of more cohesive and capable teams for the future.

NHS England has supported the creation of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ network of federations, which is growing rapidly as a high quality resource for practices wishing to deepen their collaboration and improve services for patients. Funding for this to continue into 2016/17 has been confirmed.

The New Care Models Programme is also supporting networks of GP practices to come together with community, mental health and hospital services to provide more joined-up care for patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-10-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the homelessness prevention grant will continue to be paid to local authorities after the phasing out of the core local government grant.

Greg Hands

We want a radical reshaping of the relationship between central and local government, ending the merry go round of clawing back local taxes into Whitehall and handing them out again in the form of grants. We will do this by giving local government full retention of its Business Rates by 2020, meaning all income from local taxes will go towards funding local services. We will work closely with the sector over the coming weeks and months to ensure local people have more control over how their money is spent. This will mean looking at the grants that currently go from central government to local authorities, and the range of responsibilities central government asks local government to deliver. There will still be redistribution between councils so that councils don’t lose out just because their area starts from a weaker position. We will set out more detail at the Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the homelessness prevention grant.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Homelessness Prevention Grant is part of our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services. It has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010.