Tag: Rosie Cooper

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Lancashire residents were admitted to a mental health unit that was not their nearest facility in urgent or emergency situations because of a lack of beds since April 2012; how many such patients lived in West Lancashire constituency; and how much has been spent on private sector provision for such patients.

Norman Lamb

The data is not collected centrally.

Information on out of area placements for mental health patients in Lancashire and the costs of private sector provision for such patients may be obtained from NHS England’s Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral Area Team.

Patients may be referred out of area for specialised mental health treatment for a number of reasons. In all cases, places will be found in the nearest possible facility.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to (a) process claims for personal independence payments and (b) receive a work capability assessment appointment.

Mr Mark Harper

Claimants to employment and support allowance (ESA) are not being asked to claim personal independence payment (PIP). PIP was introduced in April 2013 to replace disability living allowance (DLA) for working age people (between 16 and 64 years old) and operates an entirely separate assessment from the work capability assessment used for ESA claims. From October 2013 we have begun inviting some existing claimants of DLA to claim PIP. The current arrangements for this can be found on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-personal-independence-payment-toolkit-for-partners/the-personal-independence-payment-pip-toolkit-for-partners .

We are continuously looking at ways to increase the number of decisions made on PIP claims and to improve the claims process.

Internal DWP processes and the assessment part of the process are taking longer than expected and some claimants are taking longer than anticipated to return their claim forms but we are working closely with both PIP assessment providers as part of our plans to speed up the end to end claimant journey. We have introduced improvements in communications to claimants about the type of evidence they can supply to speed up their claim and we are taking action to support the assessment providers in clearing backlogs of work.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the main reasons for the time taken to process personal independence payment claims.

Mr Mark Harper

Claimants to employment and support allowance (ESA) are not being asked to claim personal independence payment (PIP). PIP was introduced in April 2013 to replace disability living allowance (DLA) for working age people (between 16 and 64 years old) and operates an entirely separate assessment from the work capability assessment used for ESA claims. From October 2013 we have begun inviting some existing claimants of DLA to claim PIP. The current arrangements for this can be found on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-personal-independence-payment-toolkit-for-partners/the-personal-independence-payment-pip-toolkit-for-partners .

We are continuously looking at ways to increase the number of decisions made on PIP claims and to improve the claims process.

Internal DWP processes and the assessment part of the process are taking longer than expected and some claimants are taking longer than anticipated to return their claim forms but we are working closely with both PIP assessment providers as part of our plans to speed up the end to end claimant journey. We have introduced improvements in communications to claimants about the type of evidence they can supply to speed up their claim and we are taking action to support the assessment providers in clearing backlogs of work.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in West Lancashire constituency have waited more than nine months to receive a work capability assessment interview in the last three years.

Mr Mark Harper

This information is not reported to us by Atos.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department made of the staffing levels required to efficiently process the transfer of employment and support allowance claimants to the personal independence payments claims.

Mr Mark Harper

Claimants to employment and support allowance (ESA) are not being asked to claim personal independence payment (PIP). PIP was introduced in April 2013 to replace disability living allowance (DLA) for working age people (between 16 and 64 years old) and operates an entirely separate assessment from the work capability assessment used for ESA claims. From October 2013 we have begun inviting some existing claimants of DLA to claim PIP. The current arrangements for this can be found on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-personal-independence-payment-toolkit-for-partners/the-personal-independence-payment-pip-toolkit-for-partners .

We are continuously looking at ways to increase the number of decisions made on PIP claims and to improve the claims process.

Internal DWP processes and the assessment part of the process are taking longer than expected and some claimants are taking longer than anticipated to return their claim forms but we are working closely with both PIP assessment providers as part of our plans to speed up the end to end claimant journey. We have introduced improvements in communications to claimants about the type of evidence they can supply to speed up their claim and we are taking action to support the assessment providers in clearing backlogs of work.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role NHS England plays in the development of advice given by the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group to Ministers on which specialised services should be included in regulations setting out those services which NHS England must commission.

Norman Lamb

NHS England puts forward proposals to the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG), and provides information to support the Group’s considerations chiefly via its Clinical Reference Groups. NHS England also provides expert members of PSSAG in areas such as finance, informatics, medicine and nursing. Further information about NHS England’s input to the process by which advice is prepared for ministers is set out in the publication "Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group – Recommendations to Ministers" published on 2 May 2014, which includes a complete list of PSSAG members. www.gov.uk/government/publications/specialised-service-recommendations-to-ministers In addition, as required by section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006 (as amended), NHS England is consulted before regulations are made by the Secretary of State.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the Law Commission’s draft bill on the regulation of health and social care professionals.

Dr Daniel Poulter

The Department worked closely with the Law Commission on its review of legislation governing regulation of healthcare professionals and after almost three years of review, consultation and development the Law Commission published its recommendations, along with a draft Bill on 2 April 2014.

This work will help us make sure the system is fit for the future and continues to protect patients. The Department is considering the Law Commission’s proposals with great interest and is working closely with the regulatory bodies and the Professional Standards Authority to inform our response to the Law Commission, which we will publish in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the inclusion of a bill on modernisation of the regulation of nurses and midwives in the Queen’s Speech.

Dr Daniel Poulter

We have not received representations on the inclusion of a bill on modernisation of the regulation of nurses and midwives. However, the Department has received representations on taking forward the Law Commission’s work from a number of organisations, including:

– professional regulatory bodies;

– patient safety groups;

– the Professional Standards Authority; and

– medical professional associations.