Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the outcome of the national recruitment campaign for care workers, ‘Made with Care’.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Due to the fragmented nature of the adult social care sector and no centralised operational recruitment data tracking, it is not possible to assess the number of new adult social care workers expected to be recruited as a result of campaign activity.
However, to mitigate this, proxy measures have been developed to assess campaign impact, which include visits to the campaign website and searches for a job in adult social care during the campaign period.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the launch of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Older People’s Housing Taskforce launched on 16th May. The independent Taskforce, led by Professor Julienne Meyer, is looking at how the country can provide greater choice of housing for older people, and will report to Government within around 12 months. The panel of 19 Taskforce members was announced at the inaugural meeting, with a spread of expertise across the retirement housing sector including providers, academia, social care, local authority leaders and property investment.
Since the launch, the Taskforce has been meeting on a regular basis to progress its work. On 24th July, the Taskforce launched a Call for Evidence, which is open until 18th September for representations from the sector.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what access social service departments have to expert advice, such as that from medical attendants, when assessing applications for social care.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Act 2014 sets out the framework within which local authorities carry out their responsibilities for undertaking appropriate care and needs assessments. Furthermore, the Act sets out how local authorities should work with other experts, such as health services, to ensure the packages of support meet the needs of people drawing on care.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for social care have been waiting more than six months for their assessment to be concluded in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for social care have been assessed for need and have been funded after having been means tested in each of the past 10 years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
Eligible needs are those which relate to, for example, maintaining personal hygiene and nutrition, and maintaining and developing relationships, and which significantly impact on the adult’s wellbeing. Full details of the eligibility requirements can be found in The Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014.
We do not currently hold data on how many applications for social care have been assessed for need. Through a new data collection, Client Level Data, we are beginning to collect event-level information from local authorities on adult social care activity. This will include records of assessment of eligible needs and the funding status of local authority-commissioned services.
To assess means, local authorities must follow The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care and Support Statutory (CASS) guidance. The responsibility for interpreting and applying the Regulations and the CASS guidance rests with local authorities.
Whether or not a person qualifies for any financial support towards their care costs depends on their capital assets as follows: anyone who has above the upper capital limit of £23,250 is expected to meet the full cost of their care; anyone who has below the lower capital limit of £14,250 pays what they can afford from income only; and anyone between the above two limits pays what they can afford from income plus a contribution from their assets.
A means-tested contribution from assets is determined by tariff income, which assumes that a person can afford to pay £1 per week for every £250 of assets between the limits. In 2021/22 there were almost 1,978,550 requests for support from new clients received by local authorities. Data on the funding of means testing done in the past 10 years is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria social service departments use to assess the (1) need, and (2) means, of applicants for social care.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
Eligible needs are those which relate to, for example, maintaining personal hygiene and nutrition, and maintaining and developing relationships, and which significantly impact on the adult’s wellbeing. Full details of the eligibility requirements can be found in The Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014.
We do not currently hold data on how many applications for social care have been assessed for need. Through a new data collection, Client Level Data, we are beginning to collect event-level information from local authorities on adult social care activity. This will include records of assessment of eligible needs and the funding status of local authority-commissioned services.
To assess means, local authorities must follow The Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care and Support Statutory (CASS) guidance. The responsibility for interpreting and applying the Regulations and the CASS guidance rests with local authorities.
Whether or not a person qualifies for any financial support towards their care costs depends on their capital assets as follows: anyone who has above the upper capital limit of £23,250 is expected to meet the full cost of their care; anyone who has below the lower capital limit of £14,250 pays what they can afford from income only; and anyone between the above two limits pays what they can afford from income plus a contribution from their assets.
A means-tested contribution from assets is determined by tariff income, which assumes that a person can afford to pay £1 per week for every £250 of assets between the limits. In 2021/22 there were almost 1,978,550 requests for support from new clients received by local authorities. Data on the funding of means testing done in the past 10 years is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat the abuse of NHS staff.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working in the National Health Service had a fundamental right to be safe at work. NHS England’s NHS Violence Reduction Programme aims to prevent and reduce violence and aggression from patients, their families and the public, and mitigate the effects of violence and abuse on NHS staff.
A key part of this has been the creation of Violence Prevention and Reduction Standards, which help NHS organisations assess their arrangements for managing the risk of violence towards staff. Work is underway with integrated care systems to improve system working and skill mix training in tackling violence, embedding a longer term, preventative approach in line with the World Health Organization and Home Office guidance.
NHS England has invested £8.4 million into the ambulance service sector to explore the efficacy of body worn cameras in reducing violence and abuse. All ambulance trusts are now trialling the cameras and an independent evaluation is underway with a final report expected at the end of the 2024. In addition, NHS England have been working with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, to produce a national communications campaign in response to the rising levels of aggression, verbal and physical assaults against NHS ambulance staff.
The Government legislated last year through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act to double the sentence for assaults on emergency workers to a maximum of two years.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (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 extent of abuse of NHS staff.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not currently have a national mechanism to capture and report incidents of violence and aggression in the National Health Service. Data is held at a local level.
At a national level, data on self-reported violent incidents is gathered through the NHS Staff Survey. Results from the 2022 NHS Staff Survey indicated that 14.7% of NHS staff have self-reported that they have experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months.
27.8% of NHS staff who completed the NHS Staff Survey experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse in the last 12 months from patients or service users, their relatives or members of the public. This figure is similar to previous years’ NHS Staff Survey data.
NHS England has commissioned a number of data insight workstreams to better understand the current landscape of statistics, data reporting and associated challenges. This includes a national review of all available data and intelligence sources, an analysis of the costs of violence to the health care system in England and a review of the impact on the safety and wellbeing of NHS staff.
The Ministry of Justice collects data on prosecution, conviction and sentences for the offence of assault on an emergency worker, although it does not identify the type of emergency worker. This data is available in the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly and the Outcomes of Offence Tool and Offence Group Classification: Criminal Justice System Statistics Quarterly: December 2022, a copy of which is attached.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many incidents of abuse of NHS staff have resulted in criminal prosecution in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not currently have a national mechanism to capture and report incidents of violence and aggression in the National Health Service. Data is held at a local level.
At a national level, data on self-reported violent incidents is gathered through the NHS Staff Survey. Results from the 2022 NHS Staff Survey indicated that 14.7% of NHS staff have self-reported that they have experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives or other members of the public in the last 12 months.
27.8% of NHS staff who completed the NHS Staff Survey experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying or abuse in the last 12 months from patients or service users, their relatives or members of the public. This figure is similar to previous years’ NHS Staff Survey data.
NHS England has commissioned a number of data insight workstreams to better understand the current landscape of statistics, data reporting and associated challenges. This includes a national review of all available data and intelligence sources, an analysis of the costs of violence to the health care system in England and a review of the impact on the safety and wellbeing of NHS staff.
The Ministry of Justice collects data on prosecution, conviction and sentences for the offence of assault on an emergency worker, although it does not identify the type of emergency worker. This data is available in the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly and the Outcomes of Offence Tool and Offence Group Classification: Criminal Justice System Statistics Quarterly: December 2022, a copy of which is attached.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they plan to offer Ukrainian refugees housed with British families when the initial six month period of the Homes for Ukraine scheme ends.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
As we move towards the next phase of the programme, we have set out options and support available to sponsors and guests that are coming to the end of their initial six-month sponsorship. Updated guidance is published on gov.uk for sponsors, guests, and local councils. This includes information on rematching, and helping guests to live independently by providing guidance on the UK housing market, support in developing necessary language skills and finding jobs.
The guidance for the Homes for Ukraine guests, hosts and councils setting out all the support options available to them can be accessed (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils#four-to-6-months-after-guests-have-moved-to-your-area