Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
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 ensure that the CQC, NHS, local authorities, care providers and other relevant organisations are co-operating effectively to strengthen the discharge of their collective oversight and duty-of-care responsibilities to minimise the risks of harm to people in (a) mental health, (b) learning disability and (c) other care settings.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Mental Health Safety Improvement programme focuses on improving patient safety for those who use inpatient mental health and learning disability services. This work brings together individuals and organisations concerned with safer care and improved outcomes in mental health.
We are consulting on new duties to ensure the adequate supply of community services, placing Care, Education and Treatment Reviews on a statutory footing and putting in place a single point of Ministerial oversight. In any setting, local authorities must safeguard people with care and support needs who are at risk, in cooperation with the Care Quality Commission, care providers and other relevant organisations. These duties have remained through the pandemic and we have supported the sector with guidance, training and increased funding for local authorities.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
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 ensure that local authorities where people are placed in care are undertaking their statutory Care Act 2014 Section 42 safeguarding duties consistently.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We work collaboratively with leaders in local government to support sector-led improvement in safeguarding practice and fund the Care and Health Improvement Programme. We have supported experts including the Social Care Institute for Excellence to provide information and resources on safeguarding. The Health and Care Bill will introduce a new duty for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties, including safeguarding. The Department is working closely with the CQC and other stakeholders to design a system which will ensure the best possible outcomes for care users.