Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's press release of 9 November entitled £40 million for GPs to keep vulnerable patients out of hospital this winter, whether the £40 million referred to is additional to the funding which would normally be made available through the GP contract.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The £40 million of funding for the GP Winter Proactive Care Programme has been repurposed and targeted at the most vulnerable patients after efficiency and validation checks were conducted against existing general practice (GP) lists to ensure that, where patients have moved out of an area, practices are no longer being paid on the capitation basis for those individuals. Maintaining accurate patient lists ensures practices are funded for the patients they actually care for. We have been successful in providing digital services for patients to tell us they are still at their registered address, to reduce load on GPs. 40% to 43% of confirmations in the last three months have come from patients, up from 10% to 15%. Safeguards are in place and no patient will be removed from a list on the basis of not replying to a single piece of correspondence.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's press release of 9 November entitled £40 million for GPs to keep vulnerable patients out of hospital this winter, what discussions she has had with the British Medical Association's GP Committee on the funding.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The £40 million of funding for the GP Winter Proactive Care Programme has been repurposed and targeted at the most vulnerable patients after efficiency and validation checks were conducted against existing general practice (GP) lists to ensure that, where patients have moved out of an area, practices are no longer being paid on the capitation basis for those individuals. Maintaining accurate patient lists ensures practices are funded for the patients they actually care for. We have been successful in providing digital services for patients to tell us they are still at their registered address, to reduce load on GPs. 40% to 43% of confirmations in the last three months have come from patients, up from 10% to 15%. Safeguards are in place and no patient will be removed from a list on the basis of not replying to a single piece of correspondence.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of MHCLG’s statement of 29 October on Local Government Reorganisation on the (a) future borders, organisation and work of ICBs, (b) timing of the abolition of integrated care partnerships and (c) drawing up of neighbourhood health plans.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS379 on integrated care board (ICB) boundary changes, made on 14 October.
The Health Bill removes the requirement for ICBs and their partner local authorities to establish integrated care partnerships.
ICBs and local authorities should, through Health and Wellbeing Boards, develop locally owned Neighbourhood Health Plans for implementation from at least 2027/28. These plans should continue to be developed in areas undergoing local government reorganisation.
Further information on the Government's progress and plans for devolution, including in relation to deputy mayors, will be set out in the forthcoming Devolution Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what differences there will be in the role of ICBs in areas with (a) a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor for Health and Social Care, (b) a Mayor but no Deputy Mayor for Health and Social Care and (c) neither.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS379 on integrated care board (ICB) boundary changes, made on 14 October.
The Health Bill removes the requirement for ICBs and their partner local authorities to establish integrated care partnerships.
ICBs and local authorities should, through Health and Wellbeing Boards, develop locally owned Neighbourhood Health Plans for implementation from at least 2027/28. These plans should continue to be developed in areas undergoing local government reorganisation.
Further information on the Government's progress and plans for devolution, including in relation to deputy mayors, will be set out in the forthcoming Devolution Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made on making ICBs’ borders coterminous with those of strategic authorities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS379 on integrated care board (ICB) boundary changes, made on 14 October.
The Health Bill removes the requirement for ICBs and their partner local authorities to establish integrated care partnerships.
ICBs and local authorities should, through Health and Wellbeing Boards, develop locally owned Neighbourhood Health Plans for implementation from at least 2027/28. These plans should continue to be developed in areas undergoing local government reorganisation.
Further information on the Government's progress and plans for devolution, including in relation to deputy mayors, will be set out in the forthcoming Devolution Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made, for the last full year for which data are available, of the total number of individuals who were employed in the NHS at any point during the year under a ‘zero-hours’ contract, including but not limited to bank staff arrangements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held centrally in the form requested.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of people employed in the NHS who (a) have a zero-hours contract, for example as a bank staff arrangement as their sole or primary employment with the NHS, and (b) have a zero-hours contract with the NHS, for example as a bank staff arrangement where this is not their sole or primary employment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held centrally in the form requested.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the total number in the NHS of (a) people with a bank staff contract and (b) bank-only staff at the most recent date for which data are available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held centrally in the form requested.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what projection she has made of the potential impact of each 0.1% point increase in Agenda for Change pay over and above 2.4% in 2027/8.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) were given additional funding to cover the Agenda for Change pay award for 2026/27 confirmed in February, and as such, the delivery of NHS ICB and provider plans has been unaffected.
The Government’s written evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) for 2027/28, including assessments of the impact of different potential pay increases, is available at the following link:
All decisions on the scale and funding of future pay awards will be announced to Parliament in the normal way in due course once we receive recommendations back from the independent NHSPRB.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 2026/7 Agenda for Change pay award on other NHS spending.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) were given additional funding to cover the Agenda for Change pay award for 2026/27 confirmed in February, and as such, the delivery of NHS ICB and provider plans has been unaffected.
The Government’s written evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) for 2027/28, including assessments of the impact of different potential pay increases, is available at the following link:
All decisions on the scale and funding of future pay awards will be announced to Parliament in the normal way in due course once we receive recommendations back from the independent NHSPRB.