Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to integrated care boards in England about (1) the projected reduction in headcount as a result of the abolition of NHS England, and (2) the balance between maintaining staff (a) at the 'place' level and, (b) in the integrated care board administration.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure to achieve a 50% cost reduction in their running cost allowance. NHS England provided additional guidance to ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and NHS foundation trusts on 1 April 2025, where ICBs were tasked with developing plans by the end of May setting out how they will manage their resources to deliver across their priorities.
The Government understands the importance of communities and places, which is why NHS England will be working closely with the ICBs to support the development of these plans, ensuring that their implementation reduces duplication and supports patient care.
We continue to analyse and assess impacts of all kinds and will work collaboratively across both organisations to put in place plans to ensure the continuity of services and patient safety.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to announce the full membership of the board of Skills England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government announced the executive and non-executive leadership team of Skills England on 11 February. The chair of the board is Phil Smith, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Cisco UK and Ireland, and the vice chair is Sir David Bell, vice chancellor of the University of Sunderland. Sarah Maclean and Tessa Griffiths jointly serve as CEOs of Skills England, and Gemma Marsh is deputy CEO.
The government has also been recruiting additional non-executive board members for Skills England. The department received a large number of high-calibre applicants, who have undergone a rigorous selection process to ensure a diverse Board with the necessary skills and experience to support and challenge Skills England in its vital work. The full membership of the Board will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 9 April (HL6031), whether the Cabinet Office has issued guidance in respect of departmental headcount reduction to ensure that outsourced services match the cost reduction and efficiency gains imposed on in-house services.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are numerous government arms-length bodies and agencies that spend public money, including to deliver services on behalf of government departments. These bodies have specified budgets and are accountable to the relevant government department. Financial planning for these bodies is therefore part of each department’s spending review process.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 9 April (HL6031), whether they have issued guidance to departments to avoid headcount and expenditure reductions arising not from internal efficiency and increased productivity, but from outsourcing activities.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are numerous government arms-length bodies and agencies that spend public money, including to deliver services on behalf of government departments. These bodies have specified budgets and are accountable to the relevant government department. Financial planning for these bodies is therefore part of each department’s spending review process.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what changes are to be introduced from June in relation to the unrestricted transportation or accompaniment of domestic animals within the Common Travel Area; and what further requirements or registration procedures will be imposed from this summer.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Northern Ireland Pet Travel Scheme will launch on 4 June. This allows for the smooth and straightforward movement of pet dogs (including assistance dogs), cats and ferrets from Great Britain to Northern Ireland while ensuring that any pet movements into EU Member States, including Ireland, remain subject to relevant EU law requirements. The Scheme removes the need for costly health treatments and single use certificates. Instead, pet owners from Great Britain can register for a single, lifelong pet travel document, which confirms that the pet is microchipped and will not move into the European Union. Further information can be found here - Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Travelling to Northern Ireland - GOV.UK.
Pet owners in Northern Ireland will not face any requirements beyond the need for their pet to be microchipped.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review: interim report, published on 18 March, what plans they have to revisit guidance to allow awarding bodies time to submit new versions of post-16 diploma-size qualifications that overlap with Cycle 1 T Level subjects for approval alongside T Levels routes.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government considered which qualifications are needed alongside T Levels and A levels in its rapid review of qualifications reform at the end of last year and retained funding for 157 qualifications that were previously due to have funding removed following that review. The government will retain funding for these qualifications until we consider that they are no longer needed. The government also made clear that we will not allow for other types of large qualifications in T Level areas. This is because T Levels are high quality qualifications and should be the qualification of choice for those who wish to study a large qualification in T Level areas.
Alongside A levels and T Levels, learners can study alternative level 3 qualifications. These currently include applied general qualifications and technical and vocational qualifications, which are being reformed into Alternative Academic Qualifications and Reformed Technical Qualifications. 74 of these newly reformed level 3 qualifications were approved in May 2024 and will be available to teach from this August, with more to follow in 2026.
The department has also removed the additional requirements to the rules of combination until 2027. This change allows providers greater flexibility to create study programmes that best suit individual learner needs.
Removing the additional requirements on the rules of combination will ensure that we are not pre-empting recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review on curriculum pathways and longer-term qualifications reform.
The department will consider the Review’s recommendations, including on qualification types and sizes, when they are published later this year, and we will update guidance to awarding organisations following our consideration of the Review’s final report.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 9 April (HL6405), whether they have taken steps to assess the potential for reducing costs and increasing productivity from retaining Gov Facilities Services Limited in-house.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Government Facility Services Limited was created in 2018 as a government company to ensure continuity of facilities management services to prisons in the South and East of England following the collapse of the previous contracted supplier, Carillion. This was always planned to be a transient organisation whilst the Department decided on how the Prison and Probation estate would be maintained in the future.
A 2023 assessment conducted in partnership with the Cabinet Office determined that an insourced solution was not the preferred option for future prison maintenance services. The assessment was conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidance and was consistent with the options appraisal approach prescribed by HM Treasury Green Book. Financial analysis determined that an outsourced option would be more cost effective and deliver the best value for money. The value and performance of the Department’s service providers are subject to ongoing contract management and are reviewed and changed, where appropriate, to align with the business requirements.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent analysis has been undertaken of additional costs or savings arising from the decision to outsource Gov Facilities Services Limited, and what steps have been taken to revisit this decision since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has initiated a programme of work to secure new, competitively tendered contracts for the provision of maintenance services for prisons. As the procurement process is currently live, information regarding costs and savings is commercially and market sensitive and therefore not able to be disclosed at the current time. In November 2024, I approved plans to proceed with re-procuring the delivery of facilities management services through the private sector, with a focus on ensuring that future contracts incentivise suppliers’ performance and maintain a focus on delivery outcomes. This approach is kept under constant review to ensure we get the best value for taxpayers’ money.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of their announcement of a 15 per cent reduction in Civil Service running costs over the next four years, what plans they have to monitor a similar cost reduction in government activities carried out under outsourcing arrangements.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As the Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement, Government departments will aim to reduce their administrative budgets by 15% by the end of the decade. Savings on back‑office functions are expected to total £2.2 billion in 2029-30 whilst ensuring that front line services are prioritised. Individual departments are responsible for delivering these reductions in administrative budgets, which can include savings relating to outsourced providers.
More generally, as part of ongoing contract and commercial management of the suppliers providing services into Government buildings, costs are consistently reviewed and where changes to services or efficiencies identified, these are implemented.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis has been undertaken of the variation in the cost of providing first appointments for those presenting with long Covid symptoms at different hospital trusts across England; and what are the highest and lowest per-patient costs for such initial consultations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is an outpatient activity speciality for post-COVID-19 syndrome services, also known as long COVID services, with a treatment function code (TFC) of 348. The average costs for a first-time appointment for those presenting with long COVID symptoms for the 2023/24 financial year were as follows:
- for face to face attendance to a consultant-led appointment, the cost was £595;
- for face to face attendance to a non-consultant led appointment, the cost was £205;
- for non-face to face attendance to a consultant-led appointment, the cost was £595; and
- for non-face to face attendance to a non-consultant led appointment, the cost was £205.
The attached table shows a breakdown of highest, lowest, and average costs of face to face and non-face to face, as well as consultant led and non-consultant led, appointments for those presenting with long COVID symptoms.
Many patients may have been referred to other specialities and then subsequently been identified as suffering from long COVID and may, therefore, be being treated under a different speciality. This could include respiratory medicine, with a TFC of 341, cardiology, with a TFC of 320, and neurology, with a TFC of 400. Outpatients will only include the speciality the patient was seen in, and not what the patient was seen for, unless they were referred to a specific long COVID clinic. The average cost is available on the national cost collection publication on the NHS.UK website, in an online only format.