Tag: Paula Sherriff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff were paid off-payroll in each agency for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three financial years for which information is available.

Jane Ellison

The number of people paid off payroll, in both of the Department’s agencies, for the last three financial years are presented in the table below.

The information given is an average for each financial year. Off payroll staff includes all agency workers, contractors and consultants.

Number of People Paid Off Payroll by Financial Year
Financial Year	Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency	Public Health England
	Average Headcount	Average Headcount
2013-14	41.17	279
2014-15	43.33	167
2015-16	40.08	179

Notes

1. An average figure for the year has been used to take account of staff who leave and/or join within the year.

2. Headcount refers to the total number of staff in both part-time and full-time employment.

3. The figures in the table also includes the off payroll workers earning £220 or more per day and reported separately in the agencies respective annual resource accounts.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with Sussex clinical commissioning groups about patient transport service provider Langfords going into administration.

Mr Philip Dunne

This is a matter for local commissioners.

NHS England has confirmed that Coperforma, holder of the non-emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) contract for Sussex, informed High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group (HWLH CCG) on 16 June 2016 that a receiver had been appointed for VM Langfords – transport provider sub-contracted to deliver PTS in East and West Sussex. A number of South East Coast Ambulance Services (SECAmb) staff had been transferred to VM Langfords employment.

HWLH CCG met with Coperforma on 17 June 2016 and was assured that a plan was already in place for additional transport capacity to mitigate any loss of capacity that this situation may cause.

HWLH CCG is working closely with Coperforma and the unions (Unison and GMB) to work through the implications for ex SECAmb staff, to ensure the processes followed are in keeping with employment legislation and good practice and that the impacts on service delivery are kept to a minimum.

There have been no discussions between Ministers in the Department and Sussex CCGs about PTS provider VM Langfords going into administration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has requested the British Transport Police Authority to set out options for a reduction in the British Transport Police budget.

Claire Perry

As part of the Spending Review process, the Department made clear to the British Transport Police Authority that any potential options for making efficiency savings in the British Transport Police’s budget, (aside from spending related to counter-terrorist activity, which was excluded from that process), needed to minimise any impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on extension of their remit to include root cause analysis of complaints and investigations.

Ben Gummer

In 2015-16, Health Ministers have not met the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) specifically to discuss extending its remit to include root cause analysis of complaints and investigations. However, Ministers do keep the issue of professional regulation under regular review and the Department has frequent discussions with professional regulators, including the NMC. Such discussions can cover a range of subjects including complaints handling and fitness to practise (FtP) processes.

The NMC has a statutory duty to investigate if an allegation is made that a nurse or midwife does not meet its professional standards and, where necessary, to take action to safeguard the health and well-being of the public. Such investigations do not extend to investigating concerns, or their root cause, beyond determining the FtP of the individual registered nurse or midwife involved.

The NMC reports that it works closely with other regulatory bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission and shares information that raises systemic concerns. As part of its 2015-20 strategy the NMC committed to sharing its data with other bodies responsible for quality and safety and to make anonymised data available to third parties where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the NHS was of treating children born with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison

The information is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors have applied for a Certificate of Good Standing in the last six months.

Ben Gummer

The Department does not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who holds responsibility for (a) funding, (b) commissioning and (c) regulating the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Jane Ellison

No specific discussions have been held about the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception. The continuing professional development of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual employers. Health Education England has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas.

Funding and commissioning of contraceptive services outside of the GP Contract is the responsibility of local authorities though the ring-fenced public health grant. Local authorities are mandated to ensure the provision of open access contraception services that enable reasonable access to a broad range of contraceptive substances and appliances (including intra-uterine methods) and advice on preventing unintended pregnancy. While not directly comparable because of changes in data collection, intra-uterine contraception fitted in sexual and reproductive health services increased from 65,300 in 2004/05 to 121,900 in 2014/15.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what financial checks clinical commissioning groups are required to make on companies which tender contracts for patient transport services in the NHS.

David Mowat

It is for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to satisfy themselves of the financial viability of any provider of patient transport, or of any other service, to which it intends to award a contract.

It is for CCGs to determine how best to meet their statutory functions and duties and their standing financial instructions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many police officers from the British Transport Police were deployed in (a) London and (b) the rest of the UK in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

Claire Perry

The table below sets out the number of officers deployed in each year since 2009-10.

Year	Deployed Officers in B Division (London)	Deployed Officers in the rest of the UK
2009-10	1,518	1,360
2010-11	1,541	1,379
2011-12	1,534	1,364
2012-13	1,541	1,305
2013-14	1,507	1,350
2014-15	1,531	1,359

As at January 2016, the total number of deployed officers both in London and across the rest of the UK is 3046, which is the largest number of officers since the creation of the British Transport Police Authority in 2004.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on presumed consent for organ donations in England.

Jane Ellison

There have been no such recent discussions although this subject has been discussed during debates on organ donation. Our efforts remain focussed on the delivery of the seven year United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy published by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) on 11 July 2013. We are taking specific action to encourage registration on the Organ Donor Register, to promote discussion within families about donation and to increase consent rates to organ donation, particularly raising awareness of donation in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population.

Organ donation rates are 62% and transplant rates some 44% higher than they were in 2008. This has been achieved mainly through a strengthening of the donation infrastructure, by increasing the number of specialist nurses and by improving retrieval arrangements.