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Written Question
NHS: Per Capita Costs
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the NHS costs each household in England per year.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service is funded through general taxation and not as a discrete charge to individual households.

A hypothetical calculation can be done to estimate the average cost of the NHS per household using two statistics: the NHS resource (revenue) budget 2021/22, which is £150.6 billion, and the Office for National Statistics housing count for England, which is 23.4 million (at Census 2021).

Based on a division of these statistics, in 2021/22, the average cost per household computes to approximately £6,430.


Written Question
Health Professions: Pay
Monday 28th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the maximum hourly rates for NHS (1) consultants, (2) doctors, and (3) nurses.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Pay Review Body process is the established mechanism for determining pay increases in the public sector, outside of negotiating multi-year pay and contract reform deals.

For consultants and doctors, the hourly basic pay rate based on 40 hours per week at the top of the pay scale is £57.12 per hour.

The majority of National Health Service nurses are paid on the Agenda for Change contract at bands 5 to 7, although the highest band 9. Nurses at the top of band 9 earn £55.99 per hour. This refers to basic pay and does not include allowances or premiums for unsocial hours or the High Cost Area Supplement.


Written Question
NHS: Pay
Monday 28th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the maximum hourly rates for NHS (1) agency consultants, (2) doctors, and (3) nurses.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

For agency medical consultants, maximum hourly rates are determined by NHS England’s price cap, which includes worker pay and all expenses such as travel and accommodation. The current level is £80.61 or £107.47 for unsocial hours, defined as those outside of 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday and bank holidays. There are exceptions, including for circumstances concerning patient safety and suitable rates for extra-contractual working hours are agreed locally.

For doctors employed on nationally agreed terms and conditions, the highest hourly pay rate is that of a medical consultant. The hourly basic pay rate based on 40 hours per week for a consultant at the maximum of the pay scale is £57.12 per hour. This does not include enhancements for working unsocial hours.

The majority of National Health Service nurses are paid on the Agenda for Change contract at bands 5 to 7, although the highest is band 9. Nurses at the maximum of band 9 earn £55.99 per hour. This refers to basic pay and does not include allowances or premiums for unsocial hours or the High Cost Area Supplement. In 2015, measures to reduce agency spend were introduced, including price caps, procurement frameworks and expenditure ceilings. These have contributed to the reduction of spending on agency staff from £3.6 billion in 2015/16 to £2.4 billion in 2020/21.


Written Question
NHS: Agency Workers
Monday 28th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the use of agency staff in the NHS, and (2) any potential impact of the use of agency staff on existing NHS staff shortages.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The introduction of agency rules in 2016 has reduced expenditure on agency staff by approximately £1.2 billion, from £3.6 billion in 2015/16 to £2.4 billion at the end of 2020/21. Agency spend as a percentage of the total wage bill has decreased from 7.9% in 2015/16 to 3.7% in 2020/21.

Reducing the use of agency staff must be balanced with providing safe care to patients. Trusts are able to use flexible staffing to respond to situations where there is insufficient staff. In September 2022, NHS England re-established measures to address spending on agency staff, including a system expenditure limit.


Written Question
NHS: Agency Workers
Monday 28th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to cap NHS agency staff budgets, including for doctors and nurses.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2015, the Government introduced several measures to reduce agency spend, including price caps, procurement frameworks and expenditure ceilings. These measures have contributed to the reduction in National Health Service spending on agency staff from £3.6 billion in 2015/16 to £2.4 billion in 2020/21. In September 2022, NHS England re-established measures to control spending on agency staff, including a system expenditure limit.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Thursday 3rd March 2022

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the city of Bath has had no COVID-19 lateral flow tests available for over two weeks; and what steps, if any, they are taking to rectify this situation.

Answered by Lord Kamall

No specific assessment has been made. However, since Christmas 2021, the UK Health Security Agency has increased both the supply of tests and distribution capability. Since January 2022, we have delivered seven million tests a day through GOV.UK and 90 million tests a week through all delivery channels.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Disease Control
Friday 23rd April 2021

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission at (1) vaccination centres, and (2) associated transport hubs.

Answered by Lord Bethell

NHS England and NHS Improvement have stated that vaccination sites should be administering the vaccine in line with best infection prevention and control procedures, including social distancing, ventilation and wearing masks. Large scale centres should have an environmental risk assessment in place which is expected to cover requirements for ventilation in a pandemic when transmission and virus shedding is a significant concern. A copy of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance COVID-19 Vaccination Centres: Operating Framework. Information and guidance on operating Vaccination Centres is attached.

The Department for Transport has produced guidance for transport operators to help them keep transport settings safe and reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. This includes regular disinfecting and thorough cleaning of transportation, ensuring availability of hand sanitiser and enabling social distancing at transport hubs. A copy of Coronavirus: Safer transport guidance for operators is attached.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Friday 12th March 2021

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether COVID-19 vaccines will be made available to (1) the private health sector, and (2) independent pharmacies.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Vaccinations are being delivered at a wide range of sites across the country, including independent pharmacies. The COVID-19 vaccination is only available through the National Health Service to eligible groups and it is a free vaccination.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Monday 8th March 2021

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of Israel's approach to administering COVID-19 vaccinations.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We have not made any formal assessment of the vaccine deployment outside the United Kingdom’s own programme.

However, Ministers and officials continue to monitor vaccine deployment programmes across the world, including Israel’s, and share learnings and collaborate internationally on the role of deploying safe, effective vaccines in response to COVID-19.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Hotels
Thursday 4th March 2021

Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the total cost to date of discharging patients recovering from COVID-19 from hospitals to hotels.

Answered by Lord Bethell

This data is not held centrally. NHS England and NHS Improvement will be evaluating the use of this approach over the coming weeks.