Tag: Norman Lamb

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many people applied for disabled facilities grants, (b) how many such applications were successful and (c) what the average grant award was in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

Brandon Lewis

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect information on the number of people who applied for a Disabled Facilities Grant or the number of successful applicants. Information on the number of grants completed and the average cost per grant for the years 2009-10 to 2014-15 is provided in the table below.

The above data is provided by local housing authorities in their annual Logasnet returns. LOGASnet is the Department of Communities and Local Government’s web-based data capture and payments system. The data is not audited by DCLG.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NHS England to announce its public consultation on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.

Jane Ellison

NHS England does not now consider pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV to be suitable for prioritisation of specialised commissioning spend as it is a preventative measure. However given the potential benefits in this area, NHS England wants to build on the work to date and will be making available up to £2 million over the next two years to run a number of early implementer test sites. These will be undertaken in conjunction with Public Health England and will seek to answer the remaining questions around how PrEP could be commissioned in the most cost effective and integrated way to reduce HIV and sexually transmitted infections in those at highest risk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to assess the extent to which Sustainability and Transformation plans address (a) mental health provision in a locality and (b) the case for the integration of mental and physical health.

George Freeman

Sustainability and Transformation Plans are multi-year, high-level and place-based plans. Local health and care systems have been asked to ensure that they have a shared understanding of where they are in relation to the three challenges set out in the Five Year Forward View (health and wellbeing, care and quality, finance and efficiency) and where they need to be by 2020/21. They are expected to build on this to present an overall strategy for their geographic footprint and identify the 3-5 key priorities required to realise their vision. These priorities will not be the same for each area. Those areas with more advanced plans will be expected, in addition, to set out how they will deliver a number of national priorities including improvements in mental health services. In addition, NHS England and other arm’s length bodies have established a programme to implement the national strategy for mental health developed by the Mental Health Taskforce. The strategy is designed to reduce variations in access to and quality of support for people with mental health conditions and to ensure that services meet people’s physical and mental health needs in an integrated way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons his Department did not include the eight key actions, recommended by Public Health England in its report, Sugar reduction: the evidence for action, published in October 2015, in the Government’s childhood obesity plan.

Nicola Blackwood

We launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. Our plan focuses on actions that are likely to have the biggest impact on childhood obesity. The policies in the plan are informed by the latest research and evidence, including from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition report Carbohydrates and Health, Public Health England’s evidence package Sugar reduction: the evidence for action, other government departments, debates in this House and various reports from key stakeholders including the Health Select Committee.

We are confident that the measures we have announced will make a real difference to obesity rates. Though we are clear in our goals and firm in the action we will take, the launch of this plan represents the start of a conversation, rather than the final word.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the change in the publication date of the Mental Health Taskforce report to January 2016.

Alistair Burt

The independent Mental Health Taskforce has committed to delivering a costed five year mental health strategy for the NHS. Following the important announcement in the Spending Review that the Government is investing an additional £600m in mental health during this period, in line with the priorities identified in the strategy, the Taskforce is now finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be ready for publication by NHS England in the New Year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) median and (b) maximum length of stay was in inpatient child and adolescent mental health services in (i) England and (ii) by provider in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt

While accurate data is not currently available to answer this question, the new Mental Health Services Dataset requires all providers to submit data that includes length of treatment from 1 January 2016. This data will become available as soon thereafter as data quality allows.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what reports she has received from (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) other police forces of delays in processing Disclosure and Barring Service applications; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides a formal monthly performance report to the Home Office and Home Office Ministers. This includes updates on the performance of police forces in meeting the Service Level Agreement (SLA) standards for the time taken to complete local disclosure checks.

The DBS monitors the performance of all police disclosure units and works closely with any force, including the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), not meeting its targets. An MPS Gold Group is overseeing the recovery plan in place at the MPS and Home Office officials maintain a close oversight of the progress being made by assessing weekly reports and through regular attendance at the Group.

It is a priority of the MPS, DBS and the Home Office to see improvements as quickly as possible and I will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average waiting time was to be assessed by an occupational therapist for disabled facilities grants in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

Brandon Lewis

This data is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of Crown immunity on the ability to bring legal action on liability for the infection of patients with contaminated NHS blood.

Jane Ellison

The Department’s assessment is that Crown immunity does not limit an individual’s right to redress via legal action. Crown immunity does not protect from civil suit, but only from criminal prosecution. Indeed, some affected persons did bring an action in 1988, which was settled out of court, without establishment of liability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that engagement and consultation with key stakeholders, communities and local voluntary sector organisations is undertaken within each Sustainability and Transformation plan footprint prior to finalisation of those plans.

George Freeman

As set out in the NHS Shared Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, the success of Sustainability and Transformation Plans will depend on having an open, engaging, and iterative process that involves patients, carers, citizens, clinicians, local community partners including the independent and voluntary sectors, and local government through health and wellbeing boards. The arm’s length bodies responsible for the NHS Five Year Forward View – NHS England, NHS Improvement, the Care Quality Commission, Public Health England, Health Education England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – have asked for local engagement plans as part of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan process, building where appropriate on existing engagement through health and wellbeing boards and other local arrangements. Where plans propose service changes, formal consultation will follow in due course in line with good practice and legislative requirements. The arm’s length bodies will be holding conversations with each area to assess their plans for local engagement.