Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 17 September (HL1069), whether Alan Milburn's commercial interests in healthcare were declared to the department when he provided advice to Ministers and officials; and whether the discussions with Ministers and officials included topics which touched on private sector involvement in healthcare.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said in the House of Commons on 9 September 2024, “The right honourable Alan Milburn is a former Member of this House, a member of the Privy Council and a former Health Secretary. There is a clear distinction between inviting people with a wide range of experience and perspectives into the Department to have policy debates and to generate ideas, and having meetings that are about transacting Government business. I can assure the House that nothing commercially sensitive has been shared with Alan Milburn.”
He also said that “transparency matters. That is why meetings in my Department, and their attendees, will be published in the right and proper way on a quarterly basis.” As part of this quarterly return, and in line with guidance, we will be listing the purpose of the meetings.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 17 September (HL1071), how many Departmental meetings since the last general election Alan Milburn has attended where Ministers were not present.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Central Government Corporate Transparency Commitments require Government Departments to publish details of Ministers and Senior Officials meetings with external individuals or organisations on a quarterly basis. We will be publishing the meetings that Alan Milburn attended, in accordance with the Transparency guidelines.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 9 September (HC Deb col 578), whether Alan Milburn declared his financial interests to the Permanent Secretary; what steps have been taken to mitigate conflicts of interest in the advice from Mr Milburn; whether they will place a copy of any such declaration in the Library of the House; and whether Mr Milburn has signed a confidentiality agreement with the Department.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care stated in Parliament on 9 September 2024, it is absolutely right that people appointed to roles in public life declare their conflicts of interest so that they can be assessed when taking decisions or exercising powers to ensure that they are doing so in a way that manages those conflicts of interest and no conflict arises. Alan Milburn does not have a role in the Department of Health and Social Care.
It is also entirely legitimate for Government Departments to invite people with a wide range of experience and insight to advise on policy debates and discussions. We do not ask them all to declare their interests.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings Alan Milburn has had with the Department of Health and Social Care or NHS England since the general election (1) with, and (2) without, Ministers being present; and whether his commercial and financial interests were declared ahead of such meetings.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care stated in Parliament on 9 September 2024, the Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn is a former Member of the House of Commons, a member of the Privy Council and a former Secretary of State for Health. At every Departmental meeting he has attended, he has been present at the request of ministers.
Ministerial meetings attended by third parties are declared in the quarterly transparency publication on GOV.UK. The Secretary of State also assured the House of Commons that nothing commercially sensitive has been shared with Alan Milburn.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 9 September (HC Deb col 578), whether Alan Milburn joined any ministerial discussions, or viewed any ministerial papers, relating to private sector involvement in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care stated in Parliament on 9 September 2024, the Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn is a former Member of the House of Commons, a member of the Privy Council and a former Secretary of State for Health. At every Departmental meeting he has attended, he has been present at the request of ministers.
Ministerial meetings attended by third parties are declared in the quarterly transparency publication on GOV.UK. The Secretary of State also assured the House of Commons that nothing commercially sensitive has been shared with Alan Milburn.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between life-long exercise and long-term health; what steps they are taking to promote life-long exercise; and what support they give to voluntary initiatives such as the Daily Mile and Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The importance of physical activity across the life-course is highlighted in the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines published in September 2019, including: good physical and mental development in childhood, prevention and management of health conditions in adulthood and maintaining functionality in later years. A copy of the Guidelines is attached.
Public Health England (PHE) promotes physical activity across the life course, including: resources for healthcare professionals through the Moving Healthcare Professionals Programme; public campaigns such as ‘Change4Life’ and ‘One You’, including digital behaviour change tools such as Couch to 5K; resources for schools, such as the ‘What works in schools and colleges’ guide; and resources for local areas such as the physical activity data tool.
PHE partners with many voluntary sector partners to promote the benefits of exercise, including supporting the new ‘We are undefeatable’ campaign by 16 health charities which aims to support people living with long-term conditions to get more active.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the benefits to date of bringing health and social care together in one political portfolio, and (2) the benefits that will arise in future years of bringing the two areas together.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department was renamed the Department of Health and Social Care in January 2018 and took on responsibility for the Social Care Green Paper.
Whilst we have made no specific assessment, the Department has been working on bringing health and social care together to achieve whole-person, integrated care with the National Health Service and social care systems operating in a joined-up way. The Better Care Fund continues to drive forward the integration of health and social care in England.