Asked by: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of refreshed Joint Forward Plans from each integrated care board.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Joint forward plans (JFPs) are produced by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are publicly available on the respective websites of the ICBs. The Government does not hold any central records of these JFPs and there are no plans to place copies of the JFPs in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the commissioning of specialised services is not adversely affected by the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we take forward the work to integrate NHS England into the Department, we will continue to analyse and assess impacts of all kinds. This will include putting in place plans to ensure continuity of specialised services, with patient safety at the forefront of our work.
Asked by: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will appoint a National Clinical Director for Rare Diseases following the integration of NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. NHS England and the Department are strongly supportive of clinical leadership and recognise the critical need to incorporate clinical expertise into our work. The national clinical directors are a key part of this approach and play an important role in policy development and implementation.
We are currently in the initial phases of scoping and designing a new integrated Department that aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our healthcare system. As part of this process, we are carefully considering the future role of national clinical directors. While no specific decisions have been made yet, we are open to considering the benefit of appointing a National Clinical Director for Rare Diseases following the integration of NHS England into the Department, subject to funding arrangements.