Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the annual additional lorry miles on concrete deliveries that would rise from cutting the weights of volumetric concrete mobile from 2028.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A call for evidence ran from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for VCMs. The following factors were considered: reduction in payload per journey, increased waste, and increased vehicle mileage.

Information received did not provide any compelling evidence for permitting a weight limit exemption specifically for VCMs on the grounds of increased lorry miles.

Current exemptions to weight limits for VCMs will expire in 2028. This policy is being maintained.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, from what date Baroness Casey is contracted to start work on the social care commission.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Baroness Casey of Blackstock will start work on her independent commission into adult social care later this month, April 2025. Baroness Casey of Blackstock and her team are currently in the process of setting up the Independent Commission, ahead of its formal launch.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which of NHS England's current responsibilities will be outsourced to private sector consultancies or external firms when it is abolished.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in organisational design will be.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which of NHS England's responsibility will not be brought into the Department of Health and Social Care, following NHS England's abolition.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in organisational design will be.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of NHS England's staff who will be retained in a new roles within government or other public services when NHS England is abolished.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.

As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the projected net change in (a) civil service and (b) public sector employees is as a result of abolishing NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.

As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what new roles at director level or above he plans to create in his Department following the closure of NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.

As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what environmental impact assessment she has carried out ahead of a decision on whether to ban volumetric concrete mobile plants in 2028.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department ran a call for evidence from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for Volumetric Concrete Mixers (VCMs). The outcome of my department’s review into volumetric concrete mixers was published on 18 March. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/volumetric-concrete-mixers-review

Whilst some VCM operators have argued that heavier VCMs could reduce overall trips and emissions, the increased road and bridge damage would result in more frequent repairs, offsetting these potential benefits.

VCMs will continue to be permitted on our roads, but as planned, a temporary weight limit exemption for this type of vehicle will end on 31 March 2028. This is not a ban or change in policy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England executives that receive redundancy packages will be eligible to be rehired into civil service roles and retain those redundancy payments.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements of the team required to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

The Department and NHS England will communicate information about these reforms to staff at the earliest opportunity and are committed to a culture of transparency.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of NHS England's staff were clinically qualified as of 1 March 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of 1 March 2025, 15% of all NHS England staff were registered with a clinical professional body. Examples of clinical professional bodies include the General Medical Council, the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Clinical registrations have been used as a proxy to identify clinically qualified staff. There could be clinical qualified staff in NHS England that either do not require registration for their role or they have not recorded it on the electronic staff record.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent staff were employed by NHS England as of 1 March 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed by NHS England as of 1 March 2025 was 14,957.12 FTE.

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