Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 18 February 2019 (HL13524), when they plan to publish the revised version of the F10 prescription form, featuring a tick box for Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free NHS prescriptions.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The new FP10 National Health Service prescription form, which includes a tick box for Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free prescriptions, is now being printed. Once the contractor has built sufficient stock to meet orders from the NHS, the form will be distributed.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Manzoor on 22 January (HL12835), what is the reason for the delay in updating the FP10 prescription form; how many low income patients on Universal Credit claiming free prescriptions have received a penalty notice; and how many of those penalty notices have been withdrawn because they were issued in error.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
A revised version of the FP10 prescription form, featuring a dedicated tick-box for use by Universal Credit (UC) claimants who meet the criteria for free National Health Service prescriptions, recently received Ministerial clearance. Any change to the form involves major system and software updates across the NHS to allow the re-designed form to be used and processed. The revised paper form is currently being prepared for testing, to ensure it is compatible with the scanners used by the NHS Business Services Authority. The revised form will be introduced at the earliest opportunity.
At present, both UC and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants who are eligible for free NHS prescriptions, are ticking exemption box K on the FP10 prescription form to ensure they get the free prescriptions to which they are entitled. As a result, the NHS Business Services Authority is not able to confirm how many penalty charges notices have been issued to UC Claimants, and therefore how many were issued to UC claimants who had a valid prescription charge exemption.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 20 December 2018 (HL12362), how they plan to ensure that Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free prescriptions know that they should tick box ‘K’ for income-based jobseekers allowance.
Answered by Baroness Manzoor
A wide range of activity has been undertaken to publicise the workaround that eligible Universal Credit (UC) claimants should tick box ‘K’ for income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance until the FP10 prescription form is updated to include a new UC tick box. Information about this workaround has been made available on relevant websites including those for the NHS Business Services Authority, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the National Health Service website. This information has been shared with relevant professionals including Department for Work and Pensions work coaches and case managers, Citizens Advice advisers and pharmacists to enable them to support UC claimants with correctly completing the declaration on the back of the FP10 prescription form. Arrangements have also been made to ensure that if UC claimants accidentally tick the wrong box on the FP10 prescription form but can prove their eligibility for free NHS prescriptions, the NHS Business Services Authority is able to waive associated penalty charges upon being contacted.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the FP10 prescription exemption form will be updated to include an exemption box for Universal Credit claimants entitled to free prescriptions; and what guidance they have provided to Universal Credit claimants claiming free prescriptions before the updated form becoming available.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Work is ongoing to update the FP10 prescription form, to include a new exemption tick box for use by Universal Credit claimants, at the earliest opportunity. In advance of this update Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free National Health Service prescriptions, should tick box ‘K’ for income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of NHS England’s proposals to restrict prescriptions for medicines that can be purchased over the counter on the health and well-being of those on low incomes.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As part of the NHS England consultation, Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: A consultation on guidance for CCGs, NHS England has published a full Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment which covers groups protected by the Equality Act 2010 and those people on low income and ethnic minorities. A copy of the document, Equality and Health Inequalities – Full Analysis Form – Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care, is attached.
In the summer months most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight on the skin. It is also found in some foods – oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and fortified foods, such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals.
The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances states that vitamins and minerals should be prescribed only in the management of actual or potential vitamin or mineral deficiency, and are not to be prescribed as dietary supplements. We understand that NHS England’s current consultation is in line with this. Prescribing vitamin D for maintenance would be classed as a treatment for prevention or as a dietary supplement.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of NHS England's consultation on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010, including women, ethnic minorities, children, and older people.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As part of the NHS England consultation, Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: A consultation on guidance for CCGs, NHS England has published a full Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment which covers groups protected by the Equality Act 2010 and those people on low income and ethnic minorities. A copy of the document, Equality and Health Inequalities – Full Analysis Form – Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care, is attached.
In the summer months most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight on the skin. It is also found in some foods – oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and fortified foods, such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals.
The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances states that vitamins and minerals should be prescribed only in the management of actual or potential vitamin or mineral deficiency, and are not to be prescribed as dietary supplements. We understand that NHS England’s current consultation is in line with this. Prescribing vitamin D for maintenance would be classed as a treatment for prevention or as a dietary supplement.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of NHS England’s proposals to limit prescribing of vitamin D maintenance treatments on at-risk groups outlined in the NICE Public Health Guideline 56, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, ethnic minorities, children, and older people.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As part of the NHS England consultation, Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: A consultation on guidance for CCGs, NHS England has published a full Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment which covers groups protected by the Equality Act 2010 and those people on low income and ethnic minorities. A copy of the document, Equality and Health Inequalities – Full Analysis Form – Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care, is attached.
In the summer months most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight on the skin. It is also found in some foods – oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and fortified foods, such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals.
The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances states that vitamins and minerals should be prescribed only in the management of actual or potential vitamin or mineral deficiency, and are not to be prescribed as dietary supplements. We understand that NHS England’s current consultation is in line with this. Prescribing vitamin D for maintenance would be classed as a treatment for prevention or as a dietary supplement.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of NHS England’s proposals to limit access to prescription-based vitamin D maintenance on low-income families.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As part of the NHS England consultation, Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: A consultation on guidance for CCGs, NHS England has published a full Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment which covers groups protected by the Equality Act 2010 and those people on low income and ethnic minorities. A copy of the document, Equality and Health Inequalities – Full Analysis Form – Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care, is attached.
In the summer months most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight on the skin. It is also found in some foods – oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and fortified foods, such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals.
The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances states that vitamins and minerals should be prescribed only in the management of actual or potential vitamin or mineral deficiency, and are not to be prescribed as dietary supplements. We understand that NHS England’s current consultation is in line with this. Prescribing vitamin D for maintenance would be classed as a treatment for prevention or as a dietary supplement.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what forms of data they hold on the level of care available to older people needing care in (1) their own homes, (2) care homes, (3) nursing homes, and (4) nursing homes with dementia support; and whether they have plans to improve the data.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Data on the level of care available to older people needing care is not held centrally. NHS Digital collects, analyses and publishes data on local authority funded social care activity, including outcomes for users and carers, finance and user experience.
NHS Digital keeps its data under review as part of its commitment to ensuring information is relevant, useful and up to date.
In addition, the Care Quality Commission collects data on all care providers. It covers every hospital, care home, general practitioner, dentist and care home agency in England as well as other types of service like ambulances, prison care services and hospices.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the viability of (1) the care home sector, and (2) the private home care provider sector, in the light of local government expenditure restraint and the implementation of the National Living Wage.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.
As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.
Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.