Tag: Poulter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of junior doctors not rostered on at evenings and weekends as a result of the terms of the current junior doctor contract.

Ben Gummer

NHS Employers’ evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration – “Reform of national contracts for consultant doctors and doctors and dentists in training”¹ – published in December 2014 during the hon. Member’s tenure as a Minister, included a profile of how the hours worked by doctors in training were spread across the week.

We have evidence that hospital leaders consider the junior doctors’ contract to be a significant barrier to delivering more seven-day services. NHS Providers’ written evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration on contract reform for consultants and doctors and dentists in training² stated that the junior doctor contract is still a significant source of barriers to seven day working and reform of the junior doctor contract is also required to support trusts to deliver more seven-day services. In particular, the pay banding system for junior doctors needs to be reviewed. There were concerns from employers that the banding system is too complicated, can create “perverse incentives” for junior doctors and hospital management, and means that providing more seven-day services is unfeasible, since more junior doctors would be working outside core hours and receive premiums under the current banding system. NHS Providers also believe that more hours in a day and more days of the week need to be defined as core hours, as the current arrangement does not support the delivery of more seven-day services or reflect the needs and expectations of today’s patients.

Future working patterns are for individual employers to determine. The evidence on doctors’ working patterns has not altered since the hon. Member was a Minister for Health.

¹ http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/pay-and-reward/pay/medical-pay/ddrb-evidence—in-detail/consultants-and-junior-doctors-contract-reform-submission-of-evidence-to-the-ddrb

² http://www.nhsproviders.org/resource-library/written-evidence-ddrb-special-remit/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to make global mental health a priority of her Department.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK’s health focus in developing countries is on improving the provision of basic health services for the poor by supporting health system strengthening, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines. Increasing coverage, equity, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including non-communicable diseases, like mental disorders and dementia.

DFID is helping countries to make fairer, transparent and evidence-based decisions about how to set priorities and allocate resources in health. We are also funding programmes that are directly supporting work on mental health, such as under our Health Partnership Scheme and to Ghana’s Health Sector Support Programme. In addition we support research on mental health through our PRIME (Programme for Improving Mental health carE) programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial assistance to support rural community pubs.

Andrew Percy

We are providing £1.85 million towards the £3.62 million ‘More Than a Pub’ Community Pub Business Support Programme which will, over 2016/17 and 2017/18, help local communities to acquire their local pubs. The programme offers wrap-round support including specialist advice, grants and loans.

From 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2016 we provided Pub is The Hub with £270,000 to deliver 80 diversification projects and 100 new community-focussed services and facilities for rural pubs, and from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2015 provided Plunkett Foundation with £80,000 to support communities to own their local pubs.

This is in addition to wider Government measures supporting pubs including the freeze in beer duty at Budget 2016, which followed cuts in the previous three Budgets, and the scrapping of the beer duty escalator.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England spent per head on mental health in each year since 2008.

George Freeman

NHS England was formed in April 2013.

The table below shows actual expenditure by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on mental health in 2013/14 and 2014/15 and forecast spend in 2015/16. This does not include spending on mental health services directly commissioned by NHS England.

Total actual expenditure by on mental health by CCGs across all providers for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and the total forecast expenditure for 2015/16

2013/14 actual spend (£ billion million)	2014/15 actual spend (£ billionmillion)	2015/16 forecast spend (£ billion million)
9.6	10.1	10.6

Source: NHS England

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Attorney General on increasing the number of solicitors participating in pro bono activities.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The UK has an unrivalled concentration of expert and talented legal practitioners who are dedicated to the delivery of pro bono services. The SoS has been clear that those who benefit financially from our legal culture must do much more to help protect access to justice for all. The MoJ has had constructive discussions with the legal sector about how we can best achieve this and we look forward to continuing that dialogue. The subject has been discussed at official level with the Attorney General’s Office and the legal professions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the future military capacity of Wattisham Airbase.

Harriett Baldwin

The estate optimisation strategy aims to provide a more efficient and better quality Defence estate to support our Armed Forces, which will be fit for purpose for future generations.

This long-term, detailed work seeks to identify a rationalised Defence estate which more appropriately meets the needs of our Armed Forces by being of better quality, more cost effective and more efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall, by 2040.

No decision about the future of individual sites has been made at this point, other than those that have been previously announced

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that the access and waiting time standards for mental health set out in the NHS Five Year Forward plan are implemented in full.

Ben Gummer

The Government provides direction and ambitions for the National Health Service through the NHS Mandate. NHS England are held to account in achieving the NHS Mandate commitments including the new mental health access and waiting time standards detailed in the NHS Mandate for 2015/16.

NHS England published guidance in February this year for clinical commissioning groups that set out how the new access and waiting time standards for mental health services are to be introduced and implemented.

Implementation of the new access and waiting time standards is supported by an £80 million funding package for 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to promote improvement in standards of mental health globally.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID’s principal approach is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. We also support research, together with specific work on mental health in some countries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the future of Wattisham Airbase.

Harriett Baldwin

The estate optimisation strategy aims to provide a more efficient and better quality Defence estate to support our Armed Forces, which will be fit for purpose for future generations.

This long-term, detailed work seeks to identify a rationalised Defence estate which more appropriately meets the needs of our Armed Forces by being of better quality, more cost effective and more efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall, by 2040.

No decision about the future of individual sites has been made at this point, other than those that have been previously announced

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Written Statement of 4 November 2015, HCWS288, whether all current junior doctors will receive an 11 per cent pay rise under the proposed new contract.

Ben Gummer

We have consistently said that average earnings will remain the same under the new contract. Basic pay would increase by an average of 11%, under our firm offer, as a result of ending banding payments and redistributing current earnings, placing more in basic pay.

This is something that the British Medical Association (BMA) said they wanted and that the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration has long recommended. All those moving fully onto the new contract would be paid on these terms.

The hon. Member will note that the BMA has now returned to direct negotiations with NHS Employers, having walked away from discussions in October 2014.