Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 1 February 2023 to Question 133573 on Income Support, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of the minimum income guarantee on the (a) living standards and (b) quality of life of disabled people.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The minimum income guarantee (MIG) will increase in line with inflation, by 6.7%, from 6 April 2024. The revised rates were published in the 2024 Local Authority Circular on 9 February. The MIG rates are reviewed annually. No specific assessment has been made, nor is there one planned, on the impact of the level of the MIG on the quality of life of disabled people and local authority budgets.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the level of the minimum income guarantee on (a) the quality of life of disabled people and (b) local authority budgets.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The minimum income guarantee (MIG) will increase in line with inflation, by 6.7%, from 6 April 2024. The revised rates were published in the 2024 Local Authority Circular on 9 February. The MIG rates are reviewed annually. No specific assessment has been made, nor is there one planned, on the impact of the level of the MIG on the quality of life of disabled people and local authority budgets.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with NHS England on expanding the provision of clinical care for Tourette Syndrome.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent discussions have taken place.
The majority of services for people with Tourette syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of Tourette syndrome, subject to local prioritisation and funding.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what factors its Department (a) considers and (b) advocates as a priority on the cross-agency topic prioritisation group; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cross-agency topic prioritisation group includes senior executives from NICE, NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department. When deciding which topics to prioritise for guideline development, and in what order, the group considers system priorities and clinical need, including factors such as the health and care burden, the evidence base and variation in practice. To build on the work of this group, NICE’s Chief Medical Officer is establishing a new prioritisation board. NICE will make further information about the factors this board will consider in its decisions available on its website in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS treatment.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which pilots of the Federated Data Platform were (a) not successful (b) suspended and (c) withdrawn; and if he will list the reasons for each withdrawal.
Answered by Will Quince
No pilots have been assessed as unsuccessful, been suspended or withdrawn.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Palantir has failed to meet in (a) part and (b) full the terms of any of its contracts with his Department since January 2020
Answered by Will Quince
The contract in place between NHS England and Palantir for provision of Foundry Services and the data management platform since 12 December 2020 has provided NHS England with the core capabilities as set out within the contract, including a core platform usage licence, Data Integration and Analytics Capabilities, Supply Management Capability, Immunisation and Vaccination Management Capability, Workforce Analytics Capability, Integrated Planning Tool and Adult Social Care Dashboard.
Throughout the delivery and provision of these capabilities, NHS England can confirm that Palantir has met its obligations as set out within the terms. Throughout the life of the contract, NHS England have not had cause to utilise a Performance Improvement Plan or manage underperformance of the contract.
Palantir are managed via NHS England Contract Management Framework to ensure that performance is monitored and measured, the National Health Service receives value for money, stakeholder expectations are managed, robust governance is in place, risks are actively managed and mitigated, delivery is ensured and the end user outcomes are maximised.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the role of walk-in centres in preventative healthcare.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. Although there is variation in nomenclature and services provided, Walk-in Centres are typically Type three accident and emergency services (similar to Urgent Treatment Centres, Minor Injury Units, or Urgent Care Centres). A defining characteristic of a service qualifying as a Type three department is that it treats at least minor injuries and illnesses and such services can involve elements of preventative advice relevant to a condition with which someone presents.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will introduce provisions to ensure that meaningful and informed consent is sought from each patient before any of their health or social care data is transferred onto the Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Data on the Federated Data Platform (FDP) will be transferred from existing data sets, which have a lawful basis for collection and processing. Therefore, seeking the consent of individuals for the transfer of these datasets will not be required. NHS England is committed to transparency on the way data is used within the FDP to ensure that patients are informed of the choice to opt out, where applicable and how to do so. It is also committed to publishing information on who is accessing data and for what purpose.
Data protection law and the common law duty of confidentiality will continue to apply. There must always be a valid lawful basis for the collection and processing of personal information, with transparency about the use of data within federated data platforms, as defined under the applicable legislation. The FDP will be used as separate instances to provide access to data for both the primary use of data, such as direct patient care and the secondary use of data, such as its use in analysis and planning. This will be based on specific use cases which set out the data specification and data classification and access controls which will be used. Where confidential patient information is being used to support direct care within the FDP, explicit consent would not be required as this data has implied consent for use.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the information published in the Prior Information Notice for the NHS Federated Data Platform is accurate.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The published Prior Information Notice is accurate and is available at the following link:
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009960-2022