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Written Question
NHS Trusts: Governing Bodies
Friday 30th May 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024 (CP1218), what guidance they have issued to NHS Trusts about the election of governors to hospital trusts.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has not published any guidance following the English Devolution White Paper on the election of governors to National Health Service foundation trusts.

The Model Election Rules set out the process by which governors are elected and are included in every NHS foundation trust's constitution. The NHS Foundation Trust Model Core Constitution, a copy of which is attached, published in 2013 by Monitor, now NHS England, requires NHS foundation trusts to comply with these rules.


Written Question
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Friday 23rd May 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of providing free prescriptions for the population of England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The most recent estimate of the cost of free prescriptions for the population of England is £10 billion for 2023/24. This is based on the difference between there being no prescription charge for all and requiring all patients to pay the then single charge of £9.65 per item.

These figures do not correspond to the revenue that would be raised if any exemptions were removed, because some people would buy a pre-payment certificate, and some might not follow up to get the medication.


Written Question
Speech and Language Therapy
Tuesday 13th May 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many speech and language therapists are employed in each integrated care board area in England, and how many of these work in criminal justice settings.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold information on the total number of speech and language therapists employed in each integrated care board area in England. Therapists will be employed by National Health Service trusts, where data is held, but will also be directly employed by other providers, including schools, local authorities, and third sector or charitable organisations, for which data is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) speech and language therapists employed by NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England, as of January 2025, by integrated care board area:

Integrated care board area

FTE speech and language therapists

Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire

44

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes

11

Birmingham and Solihull

288

Black Country

126

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

70

Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West

155

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

225

Cheshire and Merseyside

436

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

79

Coventry and Warwickshire

157

Derby and Derbyshire

134

Devon

135

Dorset

113

Frimley

93

Gloucestershire

62

Greater Manchester

548

Hampshire and Isle of Wight

160

Herefordshire and Worcestershire

100

Hertfordshire and West Essex

134

Humber and North Yorkshire

174

Kent and Medway

220

Lancashire and South Cumbria

201

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland

123

Lincolnshire

57

Mid and South Essex

65

Norfolk and Waveney

69

North Central London

548

North East and North Cumbria

516

North East London

438

North West London

304

Northamptonshire

47

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

164

Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

46

Somerset

70

South East London

394

South West London

194

South Yorkshire

224

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

104

Suffolk and North East Essex

126

Surrey Heartlands

53

Sussex

205

West Yorkshire

328

England total

7,739

These staff will provide services in a range of settings, but the Department does not hold information on how many may work in criminal justice settings.


Written Question
Prisons: Speech and Language Therapy
Tuesday 13th May 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - 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 6 May (HL6997), which organisation holds the information requested regarding speech and language services in prisons in England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

This information would be held at a local level by the prison healthcare providers.


Written Question
Prisons: Speech and Language Therapy
Tuesday 6th May 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government (1) which prisons in England and Wales have commissioned speech and language therapy services, and (2) how many speech and language therapists are employed in each prison.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information requested is not held centrally by NHS England, regarding prisons in England. Prison healthcare in Wales is devolved to the Welsh administration.


Written Question
NHS: Offenders
Friday 21st March 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what restrictions are placed on people convicted of a criminal offence who seek employment in the National Health Service.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Having a criminal record does not necessarily mean that a person cannot work in the National Health Service. Local employers should have robust and effective recruitment and background check requirements aligned with the NHS Employment Check Standards issued by NHS Employers, to ensure individuals they employ are suitable, skilled, competent and safe to carry out the role they are being appointed to do. This includes a criminal record check for all eligible positions.

Employers must consider the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order 1975 when asking for criminal record information. Any recruitment decision needs to be made on a case-by-case basis balancing the risks associated with any given role. The exception to this rule is where recruiting to a regulated activity under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and where individuals are prohibited from working with adults and/or children who are in receipt of health care or services.


Written Question
Health Services: Prisons
Monday 27th January 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the names of the current healthcare providers for each prison in England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Due to the size of the data, a table showing the names of the current healthcare providers for each prison in England is attached. This does not include providers sub-contracted to provide services for substance use, neurodiversity, mental health, or dental, amongst other services.


Written Question
Neurodiversity: Prisoners
Friday 17th January 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - 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 13 January (HL3801), where the information sought in the question is held if not centrally.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

This information is held on a local level by the healthcare providers for each respective prison.


Written Question
Prisoners: Neurodiversity
Monday 13th January 2025

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, how many prisoners arriving in custody were screened for a neurodivergent need in the year to March 2024, and what proportion this represented of the total.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information requested is not held centrally.


Written Question
Health Professions: Reviews
Monday 2nd December 2024

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what were the terms of reference of the reviews they have commissioned of six healthcare regulators, to be led by Dr Penny Dash.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In July, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asked Dr Penny Dash to carry out a review, looking at patient safety across the health and care landscape in England, within the context of the wider regulation and improvement of the quality of care. The guidance, Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape: terms of reference, published on 15 October 2024, is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online-only format.