Written Statements

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Written Statements

Tuesday 26 November 2024

Regulation of NHS Managers: Consultation

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

Ensuring strong and accountable NHS leadership will be critical to fixing a broken NHS and delivering our health mission. We know the important role that high-quality leadership plays in fostering a positive, compassionate, and transparent culture within the NHS while ensuring that local organisations are anchors of growth and opportunity in the areas that they serve.

Currently, NHS managers and leaders are not a regulated profession. Today, I am announcing that the Department of Health and Social Care is launching a 12-week consultation on options for the regulation of NHS managers, as part of a programme of work to meet the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce professional standards for, and regulation of, NHS managers. This issue, and the related question of the duty of candour, has been variously highlighted by the Kark review (2019), the infected blood inquiry (2024) and the ongoing Thirlwall inquiry into events at the Countess of Chester hospital.

It is essential that managers are also supported with the skills they need to deliver transformation and increase productivity in the NHS, which is why today’s consultation forms part of a wider programme of leadership and management development work to equip the NHS with the leaders needed to deliver our 10-year plan. This includes establishing a college of executive and clinical leadership to champion and enhance the support available to NHS leaders, and asking Sir Gordon Messenger, through the 10-year plan process, to look at how we can accelerate efforts to develop more systematic talent management in the NHS.

This consultation seeks views from all partners, including health and care organisations, regulators, professional bodies, health and care managers and senior leaders, the public, patients, and other health and care staff, on the most effective way to strengthen oversight and accountability of NHS managers.We are seeking views on:

the type of regulation that may be most appropriate for managers

which managers should be in scope for any future regulatory system

what kind of body should exercise such a regulatory function

what types of standards managers should be required to demonstrate as part of a future system of regulation

the sequencing of the introduction of a regulatory regime for NHS managers, alongside work that is already being undertaken by NHS England to support their development

a new professional duty of candour to cover NHS managers, and making managers accountable for responding to concerns about patient safety.

We are today also publishing a separate report on the findings of the Department’s call for evidence—launched in April 2024—on the existing statutory duty of candour on providers, which is a key step to fulfilling a recommendation from the infected blood inquiry. We will use the findings of our consultation on manager regulation, and the call for evidence, to help inform the final response to the Department’s review of the statutory duty of candour.

Views from partners will be critical in informing further policy decisions during the next phase of this work to support and improve NHS leadership. We will publish our findings and set out next steps following the closure of the consultation.

[HCWS251]

Radioisotope Shortage

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

I am today updating the House that the temporary reduction in the production of radioisotopes has been resolved and that the supply of affected radioisotopes has returned to normal.

Throughout the shortage, my Department worked with industry, the NHS, in particular the radiopharmacy community, and the devolved Governments to make best use of available stock, ensuring critical patients were prioritised. Suppliers and NHS trusts and hospitals displayed great flexibility throughout this incident. Thanks to this collaborative approach from all parts of the system, we were able to manage the unique challenges presented by radioisotope shortages and help ensure fair and equitable access for UK patients.

This will have been a challenging time for patients and their loved ones as well as healthcare professionals. Services are returning to normal, and the NHS is working to book in patients who have had scans delayed, while continuing to ensure patients with the most critical needs are prioritised.

My Department will continue to monitor supplies of the affected radioisotope.

[HCWS248]

Immigration Rules Change

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)]

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a statement of changes in immigration rules.

Introduction of a visa requirement on Colombia

We are today introducing a visa requirement on all visitors from Colombia. Nationals of Colombia will also be required to obtain a direct airside transit visa if they intend to transit via the UK, having booked travel to another country. The visa requirement comes into force at 15:00 GMT today.

Consequently, the planned change to allow nationals of Colombia to apply for an electronic travel authorisation from 27 November 2024 for travel to the UK from 8 January 2025 will no longer be introduced.

There will be a four-week, visa-free transition period for those who already hold confirmed bookings to the UK obtained on or before 15:00 GMT 26 November 2024, where arrival in the UK is no later than 15:00 GMT, 24 December 2024. Arrangements are in place so that Colombian nationals can apply for visas. We are publicising the changes so that travellers are aware and can plan accordingly.

We are taking this action due to an increase in the number of Colombian nationals travelling to the UK for purposes other than those permitted under visitor rules since the visa requirement was lifted in November 2022. This has included a significant and sustained increase in asylum claims, and high rates of refusals at the border, due to people travelling without the intention of visiting for a permitted purpose. This increase in asylum claims and refusals has added significantly to operational pressures at the border, resulting in frontline resource being diverted from other operational priorities.

The decision to introduce a visa requirement has been taken solely for migration and border security reasons. Our relationship with Colombia remains a strong and friendly one. Any decision to change a visa status is not taken lightly, and we keep the border and immigration system under regular review to ensure it continues to work in the UK national interest.

Changes relating to the Ukraine schemes

Almost three years on from the start of the conflict, we continue to stand firm with the people of Ukraine, and to show that those who need our help are still warmly welcomed in the UK. We have extended that welcome to nearly 250,000 people who have come to the UK (or had their existing permission in the UK extended) under the Ukraine schemes. To provide future certainty, in February, the UK Government announced that Ukrainians with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes would be able to extend their permission for a further 18 months through the creation of a new Ukraine permission extension scheme. Applications are due to open in early 2025, and the immigration rules we lay today will provide people with further certainty about their future by outlining the requirements of the new scheme.

The bespoke scheme will provide the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare, and education that Ukrainians have enjoyed under the existing schemes. The scheme will also be fee-free, with applications being accepted within the last 28 days of their current permission—in line with most other visas routes—to ensure Ukrainians have sufficient time to apply to the scheme.

Ukraine permission extension scheme opening

The overarching principle of UPE is to provide continued sanctuary in the UK for those who still need it while the war in Ukraine continues. Under the principles of the Ukraine schemes, UPE will continue our generous offer to those Ukrainians, and their eligible family members, who are already here. It is open to those who have previously been granted permission in the UK under the Ukraine schemes (or leave outside the rules on the same basis) who meet the criteria for applying. Applicants will also be required to have been resident in the UK (and islands) and/or Ukraine since holding permission under the Ukraine schemes.

Individuals should apply before their current permission expires. This is important, because as is the case with all other visa routes, those who allow their permission to lapse will lose their rights to receive benefits and healthcare, and to work and rent. Work is under way to mitigate any risks associated with this, and my Department will continue to work closely with other Departments, and in particular with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Works and Pensions, to ensure that people make an application in time.

Under UPE, there will need to be adequate care and accommodation arrangements in place for children, in order to meet our safeguarding obligations. Where a child is not in the UK with their parent, we will seek parental consent to confirm their current living situation. In some cases, referral to the local authority where the child is living will be necessary. We are also aware that different members of some family units under the Ukraine schemes will currently have differing periods of permission, as they may have applied to come to the UK at different times due to their personal circumstances. Due to this, where a Ukrainian child is resident in the UK with their parent and both hold permission under the Ukraine schemes, the child’s period of permission granted to them under UPE will be aligned with that of their parent. We believe there is merit in aligning with the parent in the best interests of the child.

Ukraine extension scheme closure

In May this year, we closed the Ukraine extension scheme to all individuals, except to UK-born children with a parent who has, or has had, Ukraine scheme permission; they have still been able to apply under UES to regularise their permission in the UK. Upon the opening of the UPE scheme in early 2025, we will close the UES route completely, and UK-born children will instead apply through UPE, though they will not need to have had prior permission. This will streamline the visa routes by channelling all in-country applications through UPE, removing any confusion that might otherwise be created by having two “extension” schemes open at the same time. There is no change to the eligibility requirements for UK-born children in this regard.

Ending use of open-ended permission to travel letters

Additionally, we are ending the use of permission to travel letters in the Ukraine schemes. PTT letters were issued as part of an exceptional biometric deferral application process, implemented in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to allow those fleeing war to quickly reach sanctuary in the UK. However, this process closed to new applicants on 7 December 2023, and all Ukraine scheme applicants are now required to attend a visa application centre to provide their biometrics before travelling.

We have provided advanced notice to applicants who have been issued with a PTT letter but not yet travelled to the UK, to ensure that any individual who wishes to use it has the opportunity to do so before restrictions take effect. Any applicants who have not travelled to the UK when the restrictions take effect will be informed that their PTT letters can no longer be used. The Homes for Ukraine scheme will remain open and uncapped for those who wish to reapply for sanctuary in the UK. This change is therefore not a reduction of support for Ukraine, and the UK Government remain steadfast in their support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

Changes to long residence route

We have always been clear that the Ukraine schemes provide temporary sanctuary in the UK only while the war in Ukraine remains ongoing, and that they are not a route to settlement in the UK. This is in line with the express wishes of the Ukrainian Government, who will need their nationals to return to help rebuild the country when it is safe to do so. To reflect this, we are making a minor change to the eligibility requirements for the long residence route, to make it clear that permission to stay in the UK under the Ukraine schemes, including the new UPE, cannot be used to qualify for permission to stay or settlement under the long residence route. This change brings the rules in step with the already established policy position.

These changes to the immigration rules are being laid on 26 November 2024. On the changes that introduce a visa requirement on Colombia, due to the need to safeguard the operation of the UK’s immigration system, those changes will come into effect at 15:00 GMT on 26 November 2024.

The changes regarding the long residence route will come into effect on 18 December 2024; the changes to open the Ukraine permission extension scheme and close the Ukraine extension scheme will come into effect on 4 February 2025; and the changes to end the use of open-ended permission to travel letters will come into effect on 13 February 2025.

[HCWS250]

Older People's Housing Taskforce

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

The Government have today published the report of the older people’s housing taskforce. Copies will also be deposited in the House Library.

Concluding in May 2024, the older people’s housing taskforce undertook an assessment of public and private specialised and supported older people’s housing, with a particular focus on the private market for those on middle incomes, and explored options for the provision of greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people. There is rightly significant national interest in the taskforce’s findings.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the chair of the taskforce, Professor Julienne Meyer, and all its members for producing such a comprehensive, detailed and well-researched report. I would also like to express my gratitude to the many stakeholders who contributed to the work of the taskforce.

The Government recognise the importance of increased supply and improving the housing options for older people in later life, and we will give careful consideration to the many recommendations set out in the report.

Providing a range of safe, suitable housing for older people in later life helps them live independently, safely and well, for longer. It can enhance the wellbeing of our senior citizens and reduce demand on adult social care services and the national health service. The Government have committed to building 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, including those to meet the needs of older people, and we will consider this issue further as we develop our long-term housing strategy.

We are determined to create a more diverse housing market; one that delivers homes quickly and responds to the needs of a range of communities. Through the recent consultation on proposed reforms to the national planning policy framework, we tested proposals to promote the delivery of mixed-use sites, including housing designed for specific groups such as older people. We have also indicated our intention to consider further planning policy changes in the future as we move to produce a more streamlined and accessible suite of policies, and we will ensure that considerations around older people’s housing inform our approach.

We are also working with the Planning Advisory Service to meet the recommendation of the taskforce for guidance to provide more clarity on how planning use classes apply to specialist older people’s housing.

As the report also makes clear, older people’s housing has not been immune to the challenges faced by other residential leaseholders across the country. The Government remain fully committed to providing homeowners with greater rights, powers and protections over their homes by quickly implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

We will also take further steps over the Parliament to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end, including reinvigorating commonhold by modernising the legal framework as well as restricting the sale of new leasehold flats. We will consult on the best way to achieve this, and consider the needs of all parts of the housing market as we do this, including older people’s housing.

The Government are committed to helping older people to live comfortably and independently at home for as long as possible. The Minister for Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Aberafan Maesteg (Stephen Kinnock), and I thank the taskforce for their important contribution to this agenda.

[HCWS249]

“Get Britain Working” White Paper

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)]

Today, the Government have published the “Get Britain Working” White Paper—bringing forward the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation, and turning a Department of welfare into a genuine Department for work. This takes the first steps towards delivering our bold ambition of an 80% employment rate, through a decade of national renewal.

The UK is the only country in the G7 whose employment rate has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. We have a near-record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness or disability. Almost a million young people are not in education, employment or training. Millions are stuck in low paid, insecure work.

To turn the page on this, nothing short of a fundamentally different approach is needed. Our White Paper brings in three major reforms to:

Create a new jobs and careers service, overhauling jobcentres from a one-size-fits-all service that overwhelmingly focuses on administering benefits into a genuine public employment service providing personalised help and support. We will bring jobcentres together with the National Careers Service in England, beginning with a pathfinder early next year. We will work closely with mayors and local leaders to ensure the new service is rooted in local communities and properly joined up with local health and skills support. We will work closely with employers, so that it better meets their needs. We will also test, trial and develop a radically improved digital offer, using the latest technologies and AI to provide up-to-date information on jobs, skills and other support, and to free up work coach time. This is backed with £55 million of initial funding.

Establish a new youth guarantee in England to ensure that every young person is earning or learning. We will bring together all the different support for 18 to 21-year-olds, under the leadership of mayors and local areas, to ensure that all young people have access to education, training, and employment opportunities once they reach 18, and that no one misses out. Backed with £45 million of funding, we have announced eight trailblazers for our youth guarantee—in Liverpool City Region, the West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, West of England, and two areas in Greater London. We have also announced a new national partnership to provide exciting new opportunities for young people in sports, arts and culture. We will invest in young people and give them the choices and chances that they deserve, but in return, they will have a responsibility to take up the training or work that is on offer.

Address the growing and unsustainable problem of people being out of work due to poor health. We are already taking action to drive down waiting lists, including with targeted support at the 20 NHS trusts with the highest economic inactivity. We are joining up employment and health support, for example by expanding individual placement support and piloting new WorkWell services. However, we need to go much further and faster to tackle this issue.

To meet the scale of the challenge, we will devolve new funding, powers and responsibilities to tackle economic inactivity to mayors and local areas. Because local leaders know their communities best, we will support all areas in England to produce local “Get Britain Working” plans, joining up work, health and skills support. Today we have announced eight trailblazers, backed by £125 million of funding—in West Yorkshire, North East, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Wales, York and North Yorkshire, and two Greater London areas. To kick-start this work, we are funding a new supported employment programme called “Connect to Work”—backed by £115 million of initial funding for next year.

Alongside this action, we have announced an independent “Keep Britain Working” review. This will look at the role of UK employers and Government in tackling health-related economic inactivity and creating and maintaining healthy workplaces. This will be led by the former chair of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield, and will report in the autumn.

And we will bring forward in the spring a Green Paper setting out proposals on reforming the health and disability benefits system. This will ensure that disabled people and those with health conditions have the same rights and opportunities as everybody else, including the right to work; that they are treated with dignity and respect; and that the system responds to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions that so many people are living with today. We will work closely with disabled people and representative organisations as we develop our proposals.

Many of the policy areas described in this White Paper are devolved in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Where this is the case, the focus of this paper is on the actions that the UK Government will take in England. The UK Government will work closely with the devolved Governments to maximise positive outcomes and learning across the UK, while respecting devolution settlements. Within Great Britain, we will work with the Scottish and Welsh Government to ensure that all aspects of our new approach to delivering employment support partner effectively with devolved provision. That includes, but is not limited to, skills, health and careers, as well as Scottish and Welsh Government funded employment support.

To deliver change, we need action across Government, which is why this White Paper has been developed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Education, and with input from the Department for Health and Social Care and many other Departments.

Our “Get Britain Working” White Paper brings forward the real reforms needed to help more people into better jobs, to give young people the chance of a better life, and to make sure that our employment and social security system understands that a healthy nation and a healthy economy are two sides of the same coin. This is how we get Britain working again, and how we get Britain growing again.

[HCWS252]