Tag: Norman Lamb

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 2 of Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, how much of the £8.4 billion real terms increase in NHS funding by 2020-21 is allocated to mental health; whether that figure includes funding for children and young people’s mental health announced before the 2015 General Election; and under which of his Department’s budget headings that funding has been allocated.

Alistair Burt

Regarding the £8.4 billion real terms increase in funding, NHS England (NHSE) does not stipulate a specific spend level for commissioning bodies, this is to be determined by national policy directives like parity of esteem and specific local needs based assessment. At a commissioning stream level, NHSE has set a principal commitment to achieving mental health parity of esteem. Through its assurance process NHSE will hold individual commissioners to account for increasing spend on mental health in line with their increase in allocations, taking account of the additional mental health funding that has been received.

The difference between the 2015/16 funding for children’s and young people’s mental health in NHSE baseline and subsequent increase in funding over the five-year period from 2016-17 to 2020-21 is included in the £8.4 billion growth in the Mandate.

The Department allocates funding to NHS England as set out in the government’s mandate to NHSE and accompanying financial directions. The mandate to NHSE for 2016-17 and accompanying directions are both available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-mandate-2016-to-2017

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of prescription charges on people with multiple sclerosis; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

We have not made an assessment of the effect of prescription charges on those with multiple sclerosis. However, there are a number of prescription charge exemptions in place, in England, for which someone with multiple sclerosis may qualify. These include exemptions based on age and low income, such as certain out of work benefits and the NHS Low Income Scheme, which support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. Where someone does not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates can be purchased. The 3-month and 12-month certificates allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as they need for £29.10 and £104, respectively.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Health Education England will have a budget to commission training for clinical psychology, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies and child psychotherapy in 2017-18 at the same levels as in 2016-17.

Ben Gummer

As with all arm’s length bodies, Health Education England’s (HEE) programme budget for 2017-18 is subject to business planning and cannot be confirmed at this stage. HEE will set out its plans for future workforce training commissions in its Workforce Plan for England which is expected to be published by the end of December 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposed changes in the level of community pharmacy funding on 100 hour pharmacies.

David Mowat

The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health under the National Health Service Act 2006. Our assessment considers a range of potential impacts in respect to the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services and access to NHS pharmaceutical services, including supplementary hours and 100 hours per week pharmacies. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on incorporating discussion of organ donation and transplantation into the school curriculum.

Jane Ellison

The National Curriculum sets the minimum requirements for what schools should teach and schools can build on that knowledge to cover topics such as organ donation and transplantation based on the needs of their pupils. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have recently launched updated resources for teachers and others to promote discussion around organ donation in learning environments. These resources will be promoted to teachers in England early in the New Year. The lessons packs are available online at

https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/about-donation/educational-resources/

In addition Anthony Nolan, an organisation part-funded by the Department of Health, delivers an education programme in partnership with NHSBT, through which volunteers deliver talks in schools and colleges to students aged 16 -18.

Departmental officials and NHSBT will continue to explore additional opportunities to promote organ donation and transplantation to school age children.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the training provision and capacity that will be required to ensure that child and adolescent mental health services have the appropriate number of staff to meet future demand for such services.

Ben Gummer

The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development.

HEE sets out its commissioning intentions based upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who come together as members of HEE’s Local Teams.

HEE’s national workforce plan for England is an aggregate of local teams’ plans, but the advice and input of clinical advisors and patient representatives, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders, is also listened to and considered. It is this discussion and involvement locally and nationally that makes this a plan for the whole of the National Health Service in England.

Additionally, HEE’s mandate makes a commitment to work to achieve the vision expressed by Future in Mind including ensuring the priorities for workforce development in mental health are addressed in the life course approach to workforce planning.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for how many days each hospital in England issued a (a) black and (b) red alert in each of the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison

Information on black and red alerts is not collected centrally as this is an operational matter for trusts, clinical commissioning groups and their local partners to determine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 2 of Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, how much of the £8.4 billion real terms increase in NHS funding by 2020-21 is allocated to mental health; whether that figure includes funding for children and young people’s mental health announced before the 2015 General Election; and under which of his Department’s budget headings that funding has been allocated.

Alistair Burt

Regarding the £8.4 billion real terms increase in funding, NHS England (NHSE) does not stipulate a specific spend level for commissioning bodies, this is to be determined by national policy directives like parity of esteem and specific local needs based assessment. At a commissioning stream level, NHSE has set a principal commitment to achieving mental health parity of esteem. Through its assurance process NHSE will hold individual commissioners to account for increasing spend on mental health in line with their increase in allocations, taking account of the additional mental health funding that has been received.

The difference between the 2015/16 funding for children’s and young people’s mental health in NHSE baseline and subsequent increase in funding over the five-year period from 2016-17 to 2020-21 is included in the £8.4 billion growth in the Mandate.

The Department allocates funding to NHS England as set out in the government’s mandate to NHSE and accompanying financial directions. The mandate to NHSE for 2016-17 and accompanying directions are both available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-mandate-2016-to-2017

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many junior doctors work in the NHS.

Ben Gummer

The latest monthly workforce statistics (December 2015), published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show the total number of doctors in training in the National Health Service in England is 52,424 (headcount) 50,977 (full time equivalent).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Mental Health Taskforce’s report, entitled The five-year forward view for mental health, published in February 2016, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendation that an equalities champion for mental health be approved; and what responsibilities that champion will have for women’s mental health.

Alistair Burt

The Government is working with delivery partners to carefully consider the independent Mental Health Taskforce’s recommendations and aims to publish a strategic implementation plan in the autumn that will set out how Government and partners will deliver the recommendations, including that of equalities champion.