Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan for fixed recoverable costs for claimant legal costs in dental clinical negligence claims to come into effect.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on a wide range of matters, including clinical negligence costs reform, and we will announce our position in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the NHS capital estate, and according to what timeframe.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service fit through the future through our 10-Year Health Plan. The first step in the process was Lord Darzi’s independent review of the NHS in England, which highlighted the undercapitalisation across the NHS. We are committed to reversing this trend and are due to publish an updated Capital Strategy in Autumn 2025.
The updated strategy will include clear funding assumptions for the NHS estate, accounting for the Government’s 10-Year National Infrastructure Strategy and the outcome of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve and update the regulation of fertility services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 provides the legislative framework for regulating fertility treatments, and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the United Kingdom’s independent regulator of fertility treatments.
The HFEA published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which outlines 15 recommendations under four key themes to reform the current fertility legislative framework. Additional analysis has been requested from the HFEA and will inform the Government’s position on how we might move forwards to improve the regulatory regime. Any law reform will need to be considered within the context of the Government’s broader legislative programme.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Care Quality Commission concerning the process of timely onboarding of new clients and patients having access to services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has regular performance discussions with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). These discussions include, but are not limited to, the CQC’s ratings of general practices and the CQC’s registration process.
The CQC has experienced significant delays in registering providers and publishing updated ratings. Between 2023 and March 2024, the CQC rolled out a new IT system. The delays are partially the result of an increase in registration applications and failures in the CQC’s IT system. The CQC is undertaking rapid changes to increase the number of assessments, provide updated ratings, and speed up its registration process for timely onboarding of new providers, with 25,230 completed since April 2024. It has recently reported that the 500 assessments stuck in its IT system have now reduced to 301 and will gradually result in updated ratings.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Care Quality Commission concerning the reliability of ratings for GP practices.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has regular performance discussions with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). These discussions include, but are not limited to, the CQC’s ratings of general practices and the CQC’s registration process.
The CQC has experienced significant delays in registering providers and publishing updated ratings. Between 2023 and March 2024, the CQC rolled out a new IT system. The delays are partially the result of an increase in registration applications and failures in the CQC’s IT system. The CQC is undertaking rapid changes to increase the number of assessments, provide updated ratings, and speed up its registration process for timely onboarding of new providers, with 25,230 completed since April 2024. It has recently reported that the 500 assessments stuck in its IT system have now reduced to 301 and will gradually result in updated ratings.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the independent economic analysis of community pharmacy commissioned by NHS England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. This work is nearing completion and will be published at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to fully review the medicines supply market, particularly with regard to shortages of medicines and their costs.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to fully review the medicines supply market. Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes, or distribution and regulatory issues. We have drawn on up-to-date intelligence and data on the root causes of medicine supply issues, with manufacturing problems being the most dominant root cause.
The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and the Department and NHS England are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work, to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to incorporate a role for chiropractors in national musculoskeletal health prevention strategies.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving health outcomes for the over 17 million people in England with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions forms a key part of the Government's missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.
Prevention, early detection, and treatment of these conditions using a multidisciplinary approach can enable people to live in good health and remain independent. As such, the Government recognises the role chiropractic treatment can play in supporting people with MSK-related pain.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the use of 'units of dental activity' for the remuneration of dental work, in favour of patient-centred system which prioritises prevention.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
There are no perfect payment systems, and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver a system that is better for patients and the profession.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in reforming the NHS dental contract, and what plans they have to roll out a new patient-centred system.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. There are no perfect payment models and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver genuine improvements for patients and the profession.
We are continuing to work with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to deliver our shared ambition to improve access to treatments for NHS dental patients.