Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government who is responsible for ensuring that pharmacies in women's prisons are stocked correctly and take into account prisoners' illnesses; and how many qualified clinicians are on duty each day.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England contracts prison healthcare and pharmacy services directly via its Health and Justice regional commissioning teams, which also assure the contracts.
Contracted providers are expected to enable access to a prescription dispensing pharmacy service, which can be on-site or via an externally contracted pharmacy, that meets the same standards as those provided by community pharmacies.
The provider is responsible for ensuring the service meets the standards set out in the National Health Service’s health and justice national prison primary care service specification. These include the expectation that dispensed medicines are provided for supply to the patient within specific timeframes, with the pharmacy deciding which medicines to keep in stock based on the usual items prescribed.
The contracted provider will decide how many qualified clinicians need to be on duty each day based on the health needs and size of the prison population, and the admission, release, and transfer rates at the prison. The provider provides the regional commissioning team with information about the workforce and service delivery arrangements as part of the contract monitoring information and service assurance.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the interim report Infant formula and follow-on formula market study by the Competition and Markets Authority published on 8 November.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Infant feeding is critical to a baby’s healthy growth and development. The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life, and that includes helping families to access support to feed their baby.
We welcome the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) infant formula and follow-on formula market study interim report, and will carefully consider its findings and options. We will continue to engage with the CMA ahead of the publication of its final report in February 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays experienced by children’s hospices in receiving the £25 million annual NHS England funding, which is now distributed by Integrated Care Boards, and what steps they are taking to ensure timely access to this funding in future years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While 2023/24 marked the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant in its previous format, in 2024/25, NHS England continued to provide an additional £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of grant funding from 2023/24. For the first time, this funding was transacted by integrated care boards (ICBs), on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before.
The Department and NHS England are aware that the shift to the dissemination of funding via ICBs in 2024/25 has not been as smooth a transition as we would have hoped. However, we are working closely with NHS England to resolve any remaining issues to the 2024/25 funding, and we are also jointly considering the future of this important funding stream beyond 2024/25.
The Minister of State for Care recently met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the co-chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All-Party Parliamentary Group, Lord Balfe, to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which children’s hospices rely on the annual £25 million funding from NHS England; and what plans they have to secure this funding beyond 2024–25 to prevent a shortfall in services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While 2023/24 marked the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant in its previous format, in 2024/25, NHS England continued to provide an additional £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of grant funding from 2023/24. For the first time, this funding was transacted by integrated care boards (ICBs), on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before.
The Department and NHS England are aware that the shift to the dissemination of funding via ICBs in 2024/25 has not been as smooth a transition as we would have hoped. However, we are working closely with NHS England to resolve any remaining issues to the 2024/25 funding, and we are also jointly considering the future of this important funding stream beyond 2024/25.
The Minister of State for Care recently met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the co-chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All-Party Parliamentary Group, Lord Balfe, to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that children's hospices can continue to provide lifeline care if the £25 million annual funding from NHS England is not extended beyond 2024–25.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While 2023/24 marked the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant in its previous format, in 2024/25, NHS England continued to provide an additional £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of grant funding from 2023/24. For the first time, this funding was transacted by integrated care boards (ICBs), on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before.
The Department and NHS England are aware that the shift to the dissemination of funding via ICBs in 2024/25 has not been as smooth a transition as we would have hoped. However, we are working closely with NHS England to resolve any remaining issues to the 2024/25 funding, and we are also jointly considering the future of this important funding stream beyond 2024/25.
The Minister of State for Care recently met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the co-chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All-Party Parliamentary Group, Lord Balfe, to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement a robust system to track the school nurse workforce to enable informed decision-making and resource allocation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The child health workforce, including school nurses, who lead the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme is central to how we support children, young people, and families.
We are also committed to training the staff we need to ensure everyone receives care from the right professional, when and where they need it. We will want to assure ourselves, and the National Health Service, that the current workforce plan will deliver the reform needed. We will also need to do this in light of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Local authorities are best placed to determine local workforce needs, as they know their communities best. Determining the skills and workforce requirements should be underpinned by a local plan and led by the area’s identified health needs.
The Chief Public Health Nurse Office has established a programme of work which aims to improve the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, which includes school nursing. This will include a review of the school nursing workforce data in England.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to end the geographical disparity in care by ensuring equitable distribution of school nurses on the basis of need.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The child health workforce, including school nurses, who lead the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme is central to how we support children, young people, and families.
We are also committed to training the staff we need to ensure everyone receives care from the right professional, when and where they need it. We will want to assure ourselves, and the National Health Service, that the current workforce plan will deliver the reform needed. We will also need to do this in light of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Local authorities are best placed to determine local workforce needs, as they know their communities best. Determining the skills and workforce requirements should be underpinned by a local plan and led by the area’s identified health needs.
The Chief Public Health Nurse Office has established a programme of work which aims to improve the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, which includes school nursing. This will include a review of the school nursing workforce data in England.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of school nurses to ensure adequate coverage across the country.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The child health workforce, including school nurses, who lead the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme is central to how we support children, young people, and families.
We are also committed to training the staff we need to ensure everyone receives care from the right professional, when and where they need it. We will want to assure ourselves, and the National Health Service, that the current workforce plan will deliver the reform needed. We will also need to do this in light of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Local authorities are best placed to determine local workforce needs, as they know their communities best. Determining the skills and workforce requirements should be underpinned by a local plan and led by the area’s identified health needs.
The Chief Public Health Nurse Office has established a programme of work which aims to improve the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, which includes school nursing. This will include a review of the school nursing workforce data in England.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the NHS, (2) NICE, and (3) MHRA, to ensure that NHS patients can access licensed treatments for Alzheimer's disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department officials have had a number of conversations with colleagues in NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to discuss the progress of key regulatory decisions and the National Health Service's preparations for the adoption of any licensed and NICE recommended treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
The NICE is currently developing guidance for the NHS on the use of several potential new medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as currently consulting on its draft guidance on the use of lecanemab. The NICE has determined that the benefits of this first new treatment are just too small to justify the significant cost to the NHS. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently, and on the basis of the available evidence of costs and benefits. We understand how disappointing the NICE’s draft guidance will be to all those affected, but we need to make sure that the finite resources of the NHS are only spent on treatments that are clinically and cost effective, to ensure patient and taxpayer benefit. The NICE’s draft recommendations are now open to consultation, and the NICE will take the comments received fully into account in developing its final guidance.
Lecanemab is the first disease modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with a marketing approval in Great Britain, and to ensure the health system is prepared for future advances in treatments, a dedicated NHS England team is already looking ahead to 27 other treatments which are currently in advanced clinical trials, that could potentially be approved by 2030.
Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to undertake a review into levels of childhood obesity and the role that the promotion of meals, snacks and drinks in early years settings can play in combatting this trend.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet, for the learning, development, and care of children from birth to five years old. The EYFS requires that where children are provided with meals, snacks, and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced, and nutritious. The EYFS also refers to example menus and guidance, which support parents, carers, and anyone working with children, to provide healthy food options. The Department for Education has also very recently published a range of tools and advice to support childminders, nursery leaders, and pre-school practitioners to improve the food offered in early years settings on the Help for early years providers platform.