Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost to the NHS has been of employing a midwife on a full-time basis in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department’s estimates of the average cost to the National Health Service employing one midwife at a full-time equivalent (FTE) are set out in the following table in each of the last five years. These costs include total earnings, national insurance and pension contributions.
| Estimated Average Pay bill per FTE (Midwife) |
2013-14 | £46,053 |
2014-15 | £45,955 |
2015-16 | £46,096 |
2016-17 | £47,224 |
2017-18 | £47,381 |
Source: The Department’s Headline HCHS pay bill metrics, which are based primarily on earnings statistics published by NHS Digital, supplemented by employer pension and national insurance contributions estimates informed by unpublished and unvalidated data from the Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse.
Pay bill per FTE levels do not depend solely on pay policy and pay awards. They also reflect patterns in those leaving and joining the workforce and the impact this has on average experience and pay levels, and they reflect patterns in non-basic earnings such as overtime which can fluctuate.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the cost of training a student midwife is paid by (a) the student, (b) his Department and (c) other sources.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
In England, the initial cost of training a midwife is paid by the Government. Part of this is in the form of student loan outlay, which the student accesses for tuition fees and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company.
The following table shows indicative Government costs for each year of training a midwife who lives outside of London and away from home. It shows the maximum possible amount of each payment type available. Midwifery courses typically last three years.
Additional funding to students may also be available through the Student Loans Company and the Learning Support Fund. This is available to those with adult and child dependants, and for those in exceptional hardship. They may also be eligible for reimbursement of additional travel costs to attend clinical placements.
The amount shown in the table is paid by the Department directly to hospital trusts for a student’s clinical placement.
The amount paid back by the student depends on how much they earn during their career. If the loan is not fully repaid after 30 years it is written off. For example, once a student enters the workforce they pay their loans back at a rate of 9% of their earnings over the repayment threshold of £25,000. This equates to £15 a month for a student earning £27,000 a year.
Systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibilities of the devolved administrations in each of those countries.
2018/19 Indicative cost to the Government of training a midwife for each year of their training
Payment type | Cost | Paid by |
Costs of training | ||
Tuition fee loan to the university | £9,250 | Initially by Student Loans Company. Paid back by the student over time depending on earnings. |
Clinical placement funding to the placement provider | £1,383 + Market Forces Factor | Department of Health and Social Care |
Additional costs for living support | ||
Maintenance loan to the student | £8,700 | Initially by Student Loans Company. Paid back by the student over time depending on earnings. |
Long courses loan to the student | £1,116 | |
Notes:
- Based on a student who lives away from their parents.
- Based on a student who lives outside of London and is eligible for the maximum amount of maintenance allowance available.
- Based on a student on a 42-week course, of which 20 weeks are on clinical placement.
- Placement funding includes Market Forces Factor (MFF). The MFF compensates for difference in the cost of providing training in different parts of the country.
Sources:
Tuition fee loan:
Maintenance loan:
Long courses loan:
Clinical placement funding:
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many student midwives were in receipt of a bursary in each academic year since 2016-17; what the average bursary paid to a student midwife was in each of those years; and what the total cost of those bursaries was to his Department in each of those years.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The following table shows the number of midwifery students in receipt of bursary funding in the last two completed academic years and the average payment per student.
Academic Year | Student Count1 | Total Value of Payments (£)2 | Average Per Student (£) |
2016/17 | 6,485 | 35,798,444 | 5,520 |
2017/18 | 4,146 | 23,815,211 | 5,744 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Notes:
1Any student who received any element of bursary funding whilst enrolled on a midwifery course
2Total payment(s) of any award element, i.e. Basic Award or supplementary allowances
In August 2017 the education funding system changed with all new pre-registration undergraduate nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students accessing student loans for tuition fees and living costs rather than a National Health Service bursary. In August 2018 postgraduate pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students also began to access student loans.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the reasons that midwives have provided for leaving NHS employment in each of the last five years for which information is available.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the reasons recorded for midwives leaving the National Health Service in England, as at 1 April in each year between 2013-2018 and the first two quarters of 2018-19, headcount:
Reason for Leaving | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 First two quarters |
Total | 2,912 | 2,996 | 2,956 | 2,858 | 2,782 | 1,497 |
Of which |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dismissal | 77 | 88 | 69 | 79 | 69 | 38 |
End of Fixed Term Contract | 43 | 34 | 52 | 53 | 46 | 13 |
Flexi Retirement | 141 | 143 | 150 | 195 | 165 | 86 |
Mutually Agreed Resignation - Local Scheme with Repayment | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Mutually Agreed Resignation - Local Scheme without Repayment | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mutually Agreed Resignation - National Scheme with Repayment | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Others | 370 | 346 | 127 | 28 | 26 | 13 |
Redundancy - Compulsory | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Redundancy - Voluntary | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Retirement - Ill Health | 30 | 29 | 31 | 39 | 29 | 8 |
Retirement Age | 523 | 586 | 603 | 578 | 592 | 297 |
Voluntary Early Retirement - no Actuarial Reduction | 45 | 41 | 63 | 56 | 43 | 22 |
Voluntary Early Retirement - with Actuarial Reduction | 28 | 36 | 27 | 31 | 34 | 12 |
Voluntary Resignation - Adult Dependants | 13 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 4 |
Voluntary Resignation - Better Reward Package | 25 | 39 | 19 | 16 | 42 | 12 |
Voluntary Resignation - Child Dependants | 58 | 49 | 45 | 46 | 33 | 36 |
Voluntary Resignation - Health | 44 | 34 | 54 | 75 | 66 | 43 |
Voluntary Resignation - Incompatible Working Relationships | 14 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 13 |
Voluntary Resignation - Lack of Opportunities | 22 | 25 | 14 | 21 | 20 | 11 |
Voluntary Resignation - Other/Not Known | 524 | 500 | 557 | 505 | 442 | 237 |
Voluntary Resignation - Promotion | 86 | 113 | 102 | 110 | 120 | 69 |
Voluntary Resignation - Relocation | 563 | 560 | 598 | 605 | 628 | 355 |
Voluntary Resignation - To undertake further education or training | 83 | 71 | 71 | 44 | 46 | 42 |
Voluntary Resignation - Work Life Balance | 225 | 287 | 344 | 355 | 353 | 190 |
NHS Improvement is leading a direct support programme to work with trusts with the highest attrition rates to identify improvements and improve retention to close the supply gap.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
o ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what correspondence he has received from (a) local authorities in Staffordshire and (b) the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust on the future of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust; and if he will place a copy of such correspondence in the Library.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has received one item of relevant correspondence from a local authority in Staffordshire, which is attached. There has been no correspondence from the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust on the future of the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department provides to Police and Crime Commissioners on the proportion of their budget that should be used for the running of their offices.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government does not issue guidance to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on the proportion of their budget that should be used for administration costs. Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, it is the responsibility of PCCs to determine how each police area’s funding settlement is allocated, including setting the police force budget and the running of the PCC’s office.
The 2011 Act specifies that PCCs must publish key information as prescribed by the Secretary of State. The Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) order 2011 (and amended in 2012) sets out what information must be published: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/3050/contents/made
The publication of this information enables the local electorate to judge whether the PCC is making the best use of public money at the ballot box.
Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) have the power to scrutinise the actions and decisions of PCCs and enable the public to hold them to account. They have oversight of the commissioner’s key documents, decisions and reports, and conduct the majority of their business in public, ensuring information is available to the electorate.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the fifty fourth report of the Public Accounts Committee of Session 2013-14 entitled COMPASS: provision of asylum accommodation, HC 1000, what measures his Department have in place to respond to the lessons learned following the transition to and implementation of the COMPASS contracts in preparations for the transition to the new contracts.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Since the establishment of the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation Project in the autumn of 2016, there has been extensive consideration of lessons learnt from the existing contracts, stakeholder feedback and external review documents, including the fifty fourth report from the Public Accounts Committee.
The new contracts include over 400 substantive changes that will provide a more accessible and easy to navigate system which ensures the safety, security and welfare of service users and their host communities. These changes will include a longer mobilisation and transition period; improved data quality and sharing with providers and a more robust contract compliance regime to improve accommodation standards.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff (a) are employed directly by (b) are seconded to and (c) work under contract to his Department.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The number of staff employed in the Department for International Trade (DIT) and UK Export Finance (UKEF) as at 31 August 2018 is shown in the table below.
| Core DIT | UKEF |
|
Directly employed by DIT | 2852 | 313 |
|
Seconded to DIT | 21 | - |
|
Working under contract to DIT | 309 | 20 |
|
The staff who are directly employed include only those who are on DIT payroll (for domestic staff) or on FCO payroll and then recharged to DIT (for overseas staff).
Those who are seconded are those who are working in DIT and subject to a secondment agreement.
Staff working under contract include contractors and agency staff who have been procured from Government frameworks.
These totals do not include employees working in DIT who are not paid directly through the DIT payroll.
All data above includes those working in the UK and overseas.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration reporting centres have been (a) closed and (b) relocated since May 2015.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Home Office reporting centres have not been closed. We have rationalised some of our police reporting locations in England and Wales to some of our Home Office reporting centres or larger regional police stations to effectively manage the reporting population.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people subject to reporting requirements are not disadvantaged financially if the nearest immigration reporting centre is closed.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Those who are eligible for help with travel costs will have a fixed amount added to their support account in order to purchase tickets to enable them to travel to their new reporting location. The facility for those not automatically entitled to travel expenses, but who are required to report and are destitute, to apply for expenses under ‘exceptional needs’ will remain.