Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Autumn Statement on 17 November that the NHS will be given £3.3 billion additional funding, what proportion of that funding will be spent on rebuilding community NHS dentistry services in areas with (1) no, or (2) low, take-up of new adult NHS patients, such as Stockport.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England will publish its planning guidance and funding allocations for 2023/24 in due course.
NHS England asked dental practices to return to full delivery of contracted activity from July 2022. In September, we announced how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care. This includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. We will also streamline processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the additional £3 billion funding for the NHS announced in the Spending Review will be earmarked for implementing integrated transport plans for District General Hospitals, including Stepping Hill Hospital, to mitigate the effect of street parking on the wellbeing of adjacent residential neighbourhoods.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In England, National Health Service organisations are locally responsible for planning their transport requirements for patients, visitors and staff. This includes working with their local authorities to promote sustainable transport and provide a safe and integrated transport network via identified initiatives.
Guidance on transport planning is provided to the NHS in Health Technical Memorandum 07-03 NHS car-parking management: environment and sustainability 2015 edition. A copy is attached. There are currently no plans to update this with regards to sustainability transport plans.
The additional £3 billion funding for the NHS next year, on top of the long-term settlement, will be used to support the NHS recovery from the impact of COVID-19. There are currently no plans to use this funding to support trusts with implementation of integrated transport plans.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue guidance to NHS England on the rapid deployment and financing of integrated transport plans for District General Hospitals, including Stepping Hill in Stockport.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In England, National Health Service organisations are locally responsible for planning their transport requirements for patients, visitors and staff. This includes working with their local authorities to promote sustainable transport and provide a safe and integrated transport network via identified initiatives.
Guidance on transport planning is provided to the NHS in Health Technical Memorandum 07-03 NHS car-parking management: environment and sustainability 2015 edition. A copy is attached. There are currently no plans to update this with regards to sustainability transport plans.
The additional £3 billion funding for the NHS next year, on top of the long-term settlement, will be used to support the NHS recovery from the impact of COVID-19. There are currently no plans to use this funding to support trusts with implementation of integrated transport plans.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of new workers required to replace workers from other EU countries who may leave the health and social care sector following the UK's withdrawal from the EU; and what measures they are putting in place to ensure that sufficient numbers are recruited and trained.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department’s priority is to ensure that the 167,000 European Union staff currently working in the health and social care sectors are not only able to stay, but feel welcomed and encouraged to stay in the United Kingdom.
As part of this work, the public testing phase of the EU Settlement Scheme opened on 21 January 2019. Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 21 January 2019, from 30 March 2019 onwards, EU nationals will not have to pay a charge to make an application. Any application made before that date, including those that have already been made, will be reimbursed.
We have also introduced a range of measures to support increased recruitment and retention across the health and care system, including national recruitment campaigns that illustrate the diverse and fulfilling career opportunities available in the National Health Service and social care.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in assessing business and ethical risks when selecting private sector contractors such as Virgin Care for public service contacts, what weight they give to a company's tax structure and payments record.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
‘Preferred contractor status’ is not a recognised procurement term. Private sector companies bidding for individual National Health Service contracts have to follow a well-established procurement process which identifies and selects a shortlist of bidders and then a preferred bidder, which is awarded the contract after final due diligence. NHS England have advised that information on NHS contracts entered into by local commissioners is not held centrally.
It will be for the individual NHS organisations to assess the finances of any potential providers. During the procurement process, the finances of potential providers should be tested by finance professionals to assess the financial stability and ability to undertake the services to the required level of the contract. The Department recommends the use of a Standard Selection Questionnaire (first published in September 2016). Under the ‘Grounds for Mandatory Exclusion’, it states that the procuring authority reserves the right to use its discretion to exclude a provider where it can demonstrate by any appropriate means that the provider is in breach of its obligations relating to the non-payment of taxes or social security contributions.
After a contract is awarded to a provider the NHS organisation is under an obligation to oversee the delivery of services and assuming there are no concerns then the contractor will be paid as agreed under the contract. How the contractor manages their financial affairs is a matter for the contractor not the NHS commissioner, unless the commissioner becomes aware that the contractor is acting illegally, not paying taxes as an example, in which case there may be a duty to report this and act appropriately under the terms of the contract.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they gave to the tax status of Virgin Care when awarding that company preferred contractor status with the NHS last year.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
‘Preferred contractor status’ is not a recognised procurement term. Private sector companies bidding for individual National Health Service contracts have to follow a well-established procurement process which identifies and selects a shortlist of bidders and then a preferred bidder, which is awarded the contract after final due diligence. NHS England have advised that information on NHS contracts entered into by local commissioners is not held centrally.
It will be for the individual NHS organisations to assess the finances of any potential providers. During the procurement process, the finances of potential providers should be tested by finance professionals to assess the financial stability and ability to undertake the services to the required level of the contract. The Department recommends the use of a Standard Selection Questionnaire (first published in September 2016). Under the ‘Grounds for Mandatory Exclusion’, it states that the procuring authority reserves the right to use its discretion to exclude a provider where it can demonstrate by any appropriate means that the provider is in breach of its obligations relating to the non-payment of taxes or social security contributions.
After a contract is awarded to a provider the NHS organisation is under an obligation to oversee the delivery of services and assuming there are no concerns then the contractor will be paid as agreed under the contract. How the contractor manages their financial affairs is a matter for the contractor not the NHS commissioner, unless the commissioner becomes aware that the contractor is acting illegally, not paying taxes as an example, in which case there may be a duty to report this and act appropriately under the terms of the contract.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of mandatory labelling on all alcoholic products on the incidence of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government is committed to improving the labelling of alcoholic drinks, including a warning to avoid alcohol for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. It is not mandatory to include warnings on drinking in pregnancy on labels. However, as part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, alcohol retailers and producers have a responsibility to help raise this awareness and have committed to putting an agreed warning or a pregnancy warning logo on 80% of labels on bottles and cans.
An independent market survey has been carried out which we expect to be published shortly.
The evidence is that health information on labels should not be considered a standalone measure, but part of broader efforts to raise consumer awareness and education on the health risks linked to alcohol consumption.
This is supported by research commissioned by the Department in 2005 to review the evidence around the effectiveness of alcohol harm reduction communications and related campaigns.
The Chief Medical Officer is currently overseeing a United Kingdom-wide review of all alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives.
The review will specifically include consideration of health risks for women from alcohol consumption. We expect to be able to consult on new draft guidelines by summer 2015.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average length of time between diagnosis of a mental health condition and the commencement of talking therapies in the Greater Manchester area.
Answered by Norman Lamb
By March 2015, we expect measurable progress towards achieving true parity of esteem, where everyone who needs it has timely access to evidence based services. This includes extending access to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme to children and young people and those out of work.