Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in each year since 2021.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the amount the Department spent on consultancy fees, each year since 2021:
Year | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
Spend | £4,092,000 | £252,815,000 | £188,978,000 |
Source: the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts within the Accountability Report, in the table on expenditure on Consultancy, Agency and Temporary workers.
The value for 2020/21 has been amended from previous Parliamentary Questions as a prior year adjustment for 2020/21 was reflected in the 2021/22 Annual Report and Accounts to account for £17,365,000 for the vaccine taskforce, which was transferred from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, amending the value for 2020/21 from £171,613,000 to £188,978,000. The table excludes the date for 2023/24. Fully audited figures for 2023/24 will be available upon the publication of the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts later this year.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the email of 18 July 2024 from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton on care supporters.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have responded to the Hon. Member’s letter.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the recommendations of Blood Cancer UK's Action Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential implications of its policies based on the recommendations of Blood Cancer UK’s Action Plan.
However, we will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster. This is supported by NHS England’s key ambition on cancer to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.
The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Lord O'Shaughnessy review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and to ensure that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to NHS patients, including those with blood cancer.
Professor Lord Darzi has undertaken an independent investigation into the state of the NHS, the findings of which will feed into the Government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future. The Government will therefore set out any further priorities on cancer and health in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 help improve pancreatic cancer outcomes.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working with NHS England to deliver interventions to improve outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer across England. Early diagnosis is imperative to improving outcomes for all types of cancer, especially pancreatic due to the non-specific nature of its symptoms. As the first step to ensuring faster diagnosis and treatment, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
For pancreatic cancer specifically, NHS England is providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer. NHS England is additionally creating pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms, and is increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests.
Additionally, the Getting it Right First-Time team in NHS England is undertaking a deep dive into pancreatic cancer, which will highlight good practice and actions National Health Service providers need to take to improve services. NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer, aiming to provide regular and timely evidence to cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase the consistency of access to treatments and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 improve the (a) supply and (b) availability of ADHD medications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of our intensive work, some issues have been resolved. Many strengths of lisdexamfetamine and all strengths of atomoxetine capsules and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available. We are working to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate. These are anticipated to resolve by August and October 2024, respectively.
We have engaged with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to discuss the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are asking suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term.
The Department has worked with specialist clinicians to develop management advice for National Health Service clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with NHS England on the workload of pathology services staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had no recent discussions with NHS England on this subject. However, the Department will continue to engage with NHS England on a variety of issues, including staff workload.
We recognise that staff across the National Health Service have been under considerable pressure. We are committed to tackling staff shortages, and want to improve organisational culture and working conditions so that we can keep staff healthy and motivated, and retain vital skills and experience in the NHS.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 support community pharmacies in (a) Liverpool Walton constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including by cutting red tape.
The Department and NHS England are currently consulting Community Pharmacy England on the contractual arrangements for community pharmacies in England including Liverpool Walton for 2024/25.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to announce the pay award for NHS workers for 2024-25.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department has submitted its evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body, the Doctors and Dentists Pay Review Body, and the Senior Salaries Review Body, in order for them to make recommendations on a pay uplift for National Health Service workers for 2024/25. We will carefully consider the pay review bodies’ comments and recommendations when we receive them, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of parking spaces designated for disabled people at NHS hospitals.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Disabled blue badge holders are entitled to free hospital car parking in line with the Government’s commitment to provide free hospital car parking for those with the greatest need. Disabled patients and visitors receive free parking for the duration of their attendance at, or visit to, the hospital. Disabled employees receive free parking while at the hospital, for purposes relating to their employment.
National Health Service organisations decide locally on the provision and type of car parking spaces, in line with the policy set out by the Department, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to take steps to implement recommendations in the report by the APPG on Hormone Pregnancy Test entitled Bitter Pill: Primodos - the forgotten thalidomide, published on 27 February 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We remain hugely sympathetic to the families who believe that they have suffered because of using Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs). In 2017 an independent Expert Working Group (EWG) conducted a comprehensive review of the available scientific evidence and concluded that the data did not support a causal association between the use of HPTs, such as Primodos, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This remains the Government’s position. The Government has committed to reviewing any new evidence related to HPTs and a possible causal association with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
On the recently published recommendations of the HPT All-Party Parliamentary Group, we have no plans to set up an independent review to examine the findings of the EWG. In the interests of transparency, all evidence collected and papers considered by the EWG were published in 2018, along with full minutes of its discussions. Details of conflicts of interests and how these were managed were also published. The Government is reviewing Professor Danielsson’s publication to consider if it presents any new evidence or analyses not already considered by the EWG on HPTs, and will be seeking independent expert advice from the Commission on Human Medicines in due course.