Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ellie Reeves – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Women’s Health Strategy for England

    Ellie Reeves – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Women’s Health Strategy for England

    The parliamentary question asked by Ellie Reeves, the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge, in the House of Commons on 24 January 2023.

    Ellie Reeves (Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)

    What recent steps he has taken to implement the women’s health strategy for England.

    Alex Davies-Jones (Pontypridd) (Lab)

    What recent steps he has taken to implement the women’s health strategy for England.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)

    Last summer we published the first Government-led women’s health strategy for England, which sets out our 10-year ambition to boost the health and wellbeing of women and girls and to improve how the health and care system listens to them. I am pleased that we have set out the first eight priorities for the first year of the women’s health strategy, and that we are already delivering on many of them.

    Ellie Reeves

    After 13 years of Conservative Government, more than half of maternity units now consistently fail to meet safety standards. Almost 40,000 women now wait over a year for gynaecological treatment, up from just 15 women 10 years ago. Women in the poorest areas are dying earlier than the average female in almost every comparable country. At every stage of a woman’s life, her health is being compromised. When will these failures be reversed, and when will we see real investment in the NHS workforce and in women’s health?

    Maria Caulfield

    I am sorry that the hon. Lady does not welcome our announcement of this country’s first women’s health strategy, which is putting women as a priority at the heart of the health service.

    We have eight priorities for this year. We are rolling out women’s health hubs around the country as a one-stop shop to make healthcare more accessible to women. We are improving women’s health provision by setting out a women’s health area, with reliable information, on the NHS website. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to support women’s health in the workplace. We are recognising pregnancy loss by developing the first ever pregnancy loss certificate for babies who are born and lost before 24 weeks. We are improving and standardising access to in vitro fertilisation for same-sex couples around the country. And we are launching the first ever hormone replacement therapy prepayment certificate in April. That is some of the work we are doing, and I am disappointed the hon. Lady does not recognise that effort.

    Alex Davies-Jones

    A stated intention of the women’s health strategy is to explore mechanisms to publish national data on the provision and availability of IVF, on which there has since been no Government progress. This issue affects families and would-be parents across the country. We know all too well that a postcode lottery exists, and it is just not good enough. Will the Minister support my private Member’s Bill to address this issue, which is due to have its Second Reading on 24 March?

    Maria Caulfield

    I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for the work she is doing in this space. I was in the Chamber when she presented her Bill last week and I can reassure her that, as part of the work we are doing with integrated care boards, we are collating and publishing data on the commissioning of fertility services, so that women in each part of the country can not only see what services are available to them, but compare what is being offered locally. That is happening in England; I cannot comment about what is being done in Wales. Let me also say that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is publishing data about add-ons, which I know is a particular interest of hers. We want to make sure that that information is available on the NHS, so that women can make an informed decision.

    Chloe Smith (Norwich North) (Con)

    I welcome that update, and the tone and, as always, the calm confidence with which the Minister provides it. Does she agree with me and with the Chancellor that the NHS has to help people back into work?

    Maria Caulfield

    I thank my right hon. Friend for her kind words. I absolutely agree on that, which is why helping women back into work and dealing with their health issues in the workplace is one of the first eight priorities of the women’s health strategy. We are working with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on that. Last night, I had a roundtable with tech and STEM— science, technology, engineering and maths—employers, and they were desperate to keep their women in the workforce and to recruit more. Whether we are talking about young women who need support as they go through endometriosis or IVF treatment, or older women who are dealing with the menopause, we are absolutely committed to supporting women’s health needs in the workplace.

    Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)

    I welcome the recent announcement of enhanced breast cancer facilities at Kettering General Hospital. Is that not just the sort of extra investment we need to improve the delivery of women’s health services?

    Maria Caulfield

    I thank my hon. Friend, who has always been campaigning for better health services in Kettering. Let me reiterate what he has just said: that announcement followed the announcement last week of £10 million for NHS breast screening services, to provide 29 new mobile units and static breast care units across England.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the shadow Minister.

    Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)

    The women’s health strategy was an opportunity to fundamentally change the inequalities women face. Women were promised a clinical women’s health lead in the NHS, yet a former Health Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), admitted that there has not even been a discussion about establishing the role. Women in east Kent were promised change after the damning review of local maternity services, yet the Care Quality Commission is now threatening the trust there with enforcement action. Time after time, women’s voices are at best being ignored and at worst being silenced. So I ask the Minister: when will this Government stop letting women down with empty promises? Is the women’s health strategy worth the paper it was written on?

    Maria Caulfield

    Perhaps the shadow Minister will reflect on her comments when she receives the “Dear colleague” letter later today outlining the eight priorities areas for our first year of the strategy, with work such as the prepayment certificate for hormone replace treatment being done already; it is launching in April and saving women hundreds of pounds on the cost of HRT. May I say that I am gobsmacked by the Labour party’s position on this? Not only does it struggle most days to define what a woman actually is—for reference, it is a female adult human—but it cannot stand up for women either. There was no greater example of that than what we saw in this Chamber last week, when Labour Members were heckling the hon. Member for Canterbury (Rosie Duffield) and intimidating my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Miriam Cates). Come back to us when the Labour party is reflecting on the behaviour of its own MPs before dictating to us.

    Mr Speaker

    Let me just remind people: these are questions to the Government.

  • Janet Daby – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Retention and Recruitment of NHS Workers

    Janet Daby – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Retention and Recruitment of NHS Workers

    The parliamentary question asked by Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, in the House of Commons on 24 January 2023.

    Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)

    If he will bring forward a plan to increase (a) retention and (b) recruitment of NHS staff.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    What steps he is taking to ensure that gaps in the NHS workforce are filled.

    Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)

    What progress he has made on increasing the number of doctors and nurses in the NHS.

    The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)

    The long-term workforce plan that is being developed by NHS England will help to ensure that we have the right staff numbers with the right skills to deliver high-quality services in the future.

    Janet Daby

    Is the Secretary of State fully aware that under this Government every part of the NHS is in crisis? Are the Government satisfied with the fact that, as medical students in their second year told me recently, the shortage of staff on hospital wards and the pressures on those wards are affecting their training? The students also told me that they had little aspiration to work as junior doctors in the UK after qualifying, because of the acute strain on the NHS and because they felt undervalued. Does the Secretary of State know about this, and what is he going to do about it?

    Steve Barclay

    We see a considerable number of applications for medical undergraduate places, far in excess of the number of places available. We have boosted the number of places—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) chunters from the Opposition Front Bench, but when I was last in the Department and the Chancellor had my role, we increased the number of medical undergraduate places by 25%. Indeed, we have more doctors and nurses than we had last year, and 3.5% more full-time equivalent staff: we have over 42,000 more people working in the NHS than we had last year.

    Jim Shannon

    The British Heart Foundation has reported that by the end of August 2022 a record 346,000 people were waiting for heart care. Despite the best efforts of NHS staff, workforce shortages are affecting primary and secondary care services. Can the Secretary of State explain how the Government’s comprehensive NHS workforce plan will address specific gaps in the workforce, especially those in cardiology services?

    Steve Barclay

    The hon. Gentleman has raised an important issue. I think that, in particular, we should look at our approach to major conditions, and I will say more about our thinking in that regard at the start of topical questions. I also think that we need to look at the issue of heart conditions in the context of the wider debate about excess deaths; we know that there is a particular issue in the 50 to 64-year-old cohort. As well as providing those extra doctors and clinicians—and from next autumn we will also have the additional medical doctor degree apprenticeship route—we need to look at methods of upstream testing, particularly in respect of heart conditions.

    Karl MᶜCartney

    In reference to my right hon. Friend’s earlier answers, we are keen to see the success of the new Lincoln medical school leading to more locally trained NHS professionals working across Lincolnshire. What more can the Government do to remove barriers to entry to ensure that anyone who can do so is able to train to become a doctor, nurse, dentist or dental nurse in our NHS, specifically in Lincoln and Lincolnshire?

    Steve Barclay

    My hon. Friend raises an important point on two levels. The first relates to how we boost recruitment in areas such as Lincolnshire, and the new medical school in Lincoln will play a key part in that. The second relates to how we increase the retainability of staff in those parts of the country, and having more on-the-job training and apprenticeships is a key way of doing that. That is why things like the new medical doctor degree apprenticeship will be particularly relevant to cohorts of the population in areas such as Lincoln.

    Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)

    One of the biggest issues my local hospitals raise with me in outer London is the impact of Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone expansion, with nurses and other staff facing charges of £12.50 per shift or £25 if they are working nights. Given that 50% of London’s emergency service workers live outside the capital, does the Minister agree that the Mayor and the Labour party should stop ignoring Londoners and drop their ULEZ tax rate?

    Steve Barclay

    My hon. Friend raises an important point about the additional costs that the London Mayor is imposing not just on NHS staff but on all staff working in the capital, in contrast to the approach the Chancellor has taken to energy support to help staff across the workforce, including in the NHS, with the cost of living.

    Sir Gary Streeter (South West Devon) (Con)

    Most of the GP practices in South West Devon report to me that their biggest challenge is recruiting new doctors. Does my right hon. Friend have an estimate of the number of young doctors finishing their training this year who are likely to want to become GPs, and can he reassure us that that is a greater number than the number who are likely to retire in the next 12 months?

    Steve Barclay

    My hon. Friend raises two important themes. The first relates to how many are in training, and I think it is around 4,000. We have boosted the number of GP training places and we have looked at medical schools as a specific issue. Also, he will have seen some of the changes being made around pensions in order to better retain staff, mindful of those clinicians who are leaving the profession, and further discussions are taking place with Treasury colleagues in that regard.

    Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)

    In Shropshire there are 14% fewer GPs and 29% fewer GP partners than in 2019, yet in the period from April to November 2022, they provided 6% more appointments. It is this additional workload that is causing burnout in GP practices and a flight from the profession. What is the Secretary of State doing to improve the retention of GPs as well as recruitment?

    Steve Barclay

    It is important to look at the number of doctors in general practice, and those numbers are up. There are 2,298 more than there were in September 2019, so we are increasing the number of doctors. What is also important is getting the right care at the right time within primary care, which is about the wider workforce—the paramedics, the mental health support and others working in primary care—and there are an extra 21,000 there. This is enabling GPs to see more patients a day and allowing more patients to get the right primary care, perhaps not from a doctor but from others who can offer specialised support.

    Eddie Hughes (Walsall North) (Con)

    One of the best ways to improve recruitment and retention is to make sure that staff have an excellent working environment, which is why I campaigned for a new urgent and emergency care department at Walsall Manor Hospital. I was successful, and it is opening in March. Will one of the ministerial team join me to celebrate this success?

    Steve Barclay

    I welcome my hon. Friend’s drawing attention to the investment that has been made, which is in no small part due to his campaigning and championing his constituents, as he does so assiduously. I think the Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince) has plans to join him to mark the opening of that important facility, which shows our investment in the estate within the NHS.

    Mr Speaker

    There will be a 24-hour service at Chorley as well, I hope.

    Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)

    One way to improve retention and recruitment of NHS staff at Northwick Park Hospital, which serves my constituency and which I believe the Secretary of State visited last Thursday, would be to invest in doubling its intensive care beds. Did the Secretary of State discuss that issue with the chief executive of Northwick Park when he visited last week? Will he tell us when he might be able to announce funding for the new 60-bed unit that Northwick Park needs?

    Steve Barclay

    The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of bed capacity at Northwick Park, but my discussions with the chief executive were more in the context of how step-down capacity will relieve pressure on A&E. The hon. Gentleman will know that Northwick Park has one of the busiest, if not the busiest, A&Es in London on many days, and the chief executive spoke to me about the value of adding extra bed capacity from a step-down perspective, much more so than from an intensive-care perspective. If there are specific issues for intensive care, I am happy to follow them up with the hon. Gentleman.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the shadow Minister.

    Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)

    In mental health we rely on staff, not shiny machinery, so why is the Secretary of State rehashing old announcements and scrapping plans? It is because the Government have run out of ideas. Labour has a plan. We will recruit 8,500 more mental health professionals, ensuring a million more patients get treated every year. We will double the number of medical school places. We will train 10,000 extra nurses and midwives every year, and we will focus on retaining the fantastic staff we already have. Where is the Government’s plan? We have had our plan for two years, but they are binning theirs.

    Steve Barclay

    It is slightly odd for the hon. Lady to talk about a plan when she does not agree with the plan of the shadow Health Secretary, the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting). He plans to use the private sector, which he describes as “effective and popular,” whereas the hon. Lady said:

    “In my own brief in mental health we have use of the private sector, which ultimately often lets patients down.”

    First, the hon. Lady does not agree with the shadow Secretary of State. [Interruption.] The hon. Lady chunters, but she asked about a plan when she does not agree with her own Secretary of State.

    Secondly, the hon. Lady talked about shiny new equipment. I am delighted that she allows me to draw the House’s attention to yesterday’s announcement of a fleet of 100 new mental health ambulances, which will relieve pressure on A&E. I am delighted that she gave me an open door to highlight that investment, which is part of our £2.3 billion investment in mental health.

  • Jack Lopresti – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Ambulance Cover on Strike Days

    Jack Lopresti – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Ambulance Cover on Strike Days

    The parliamentary question asked by Jack Lopresti, the Conservative MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, in the House of Commons on 24 January 2023.

    Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)

    What steps he is taking to ensure that ambulance services continue to operate during strikes.

    The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)

    We have introduced a range of contingency measures, such as the provision of military personnel, who are available to assist with the driving of ambulances, and community first responders, who can help before ambulances arrive on the scene.

    Jack Lopresti

    Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking call handlers at the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust—and the public—for halving the number of 999 calls to the trust over the last month, and reducing average call answering times by 95%, to just three seconds? Will he also join me in expressing dismay at the approach taken by the Leader of the Opposition during the most recent session of Prime Minister’s Question Time in seeking to sow fear in the hearts of my constituents and others for his own narrow political gain?

    Steve Barclay

    I am happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the work of call handlers at the South Western Ambulance Service, and to the staff there as a whole. He is right to draw attention to the improved performance that we have seen in recent weeks, and also right to point out that all parts of the United Kingdom have faced considerable challenges, particularly over the Christmas period when we saw a significant spike in flu levels.

    Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)

    We have just heard in the Health and Social Care Committee that on strike days there was a drop in service demand, but also value added by the increased clinical support, resulting in better and more cost-effective decisions. Why does that happen on strike days rather than on every single day of the year?

    Steve Barclay

    We are taking a number of steps to improve performance, and not just on strike days—but I thought the hon. Lady was going to refer to the comment that she made about those on her own Front Bench, when she said:

    “I think what our health team need to do is really spend more time in that environment with clinicians to really understand what drives them.”

    We on this side of the House are spending a significant amount of time with clinicians, and it is important that those on the hon. Lady’s Front Bench do so as well.

  • John Redwood – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Pausing the Ban on New Petrol and Diesel Vehicles

    John Redwood – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Pausing the Ban on New Petrol and Diesel Vehicles

    The parliamentary question asked by John Redwood, the Conservative MP for Wokingham, in the House of Commons on 18 January 2023.

    John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)

    As we are very short of commitments to assemble more EVs in the United Kingdom, which would be needed to create battery demand, will the Minister pause the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles until our EV capacity has caught up? Otherwise, the industry will shrink too much.

    Graham Stuart

    I thank my right hon. Friend, whose economic insights I always value and appreciate. However, we are committed to electric and zero-emission vehicles and we will not stimulate investment in those sectors by removing the mandates that drive consumer choice and have led to such a significant change in our road transport emissions. We are going to have even more ambitious steps.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the number of spare parts his Department has for equipment no longer in use; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that spare parts for such equipment are not held in storage.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Since the introduction of the Defence Equipment and Support Inventory Management Strategy (IMS) in 2012 the level of obsolete stock held has substantially reduced; currently, items identified as obsolete represent less than 0.2 per cent of the total value of inventory held by the Ministry of Defence. As at 1 April 2015 the IMS has achieved an overall stock reduction of £8.7 billion against a strategic target of £9.5 billion set for 31 March 2016. We are also working with industry to optimise inventory further and reduce the logistics footprint, while supporting operations and maintaining availability to the Front-line Commands.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on interpreters working on behalf of the UK armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan who wish to seek resettlement in the UK.

    Penny Mordaunt

    For information on Iraq, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Earl Howe, to the noble Lady, Baroness Jolly, in the House of Lords to Question HL3606.

    In Afghanistan, the Ex-Gratia Redundancy Scheme offers nearly 500 eligible local staff, including interpreters, the opportunity to apply for relocation to the UK. More than 200 have already been granted visas and have moved to the UK with their immediate families. Others are going through the application process or are still in our employment.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide paramedics with on-the-spot blood diagnostic devices for the detection of medical conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    The provision of medical equipment for front-line ambulance service staff falls within the responsibility of individual ambulance trusts. Paramedics already do have access to, and routinely carry, some blood-testing devices for example, to check for blood sugar.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost was of alterations and refits to the six naval Type 45 destroyers to ensure they are fit for purpose.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified. A programme was established in 2014 to implement these changes and continues to deliver positive results. In addition, and as announced in the Strategic Defence and Secuity Review 2015, we are planning to improve system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity . Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with several competing industrial partners.

    The total cost and timetable of implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision. To reveal our current estimates would prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to extend the meningitis B vaccination programme to all infants.

    Jane Ellison

    National immunisation programmes are introduced on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters. Following JCVI’s recommendation, we introduced a Meningococcal B (MenB) infant programme.

    Since September 2015, all infants aged two months have been offered the MenB vaccine, followed by a second dose at four months and a booster at 12 months.

    We are proud to have been the first country in the world to introduce a national, publicly-funded MenB immunisation programme for infants using the Bexsero vaccine.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.19 of the report, Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates, published on 16 March 2016, what consultation with industry his Department undertook when considering which technologies will be added or removed from the list of qualifying technologies for the first-year allowance scheme for energy-saving and environmentally-beneficial technologies.

    Damian Hinds

    At Budget 2016, the Government announced changes to 100 percent enhanced capital allowances for energy-saving and environmentally-beneficial (water-efficient) technologies.

    Each autumn, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consult manufacturers and suppliers. DECC and Defra then recommend to Treasury Ministers updates to the schemes.

    Details of the changes will be set out in Treasury Order 2001/2541 for energy and 2003/2076 for water in the next few months. As is routine, an impact assessment will be published alongside the Order.