Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the (a) negotiations for NHS access to and (b) appraisal of Ocrelizumab as a treatment for primary progressive MS.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent an effective use of NHS resources.
NICE is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of ocrelizumab for treating primary progressive multiple sclerosis, with final guidance expected in June 2019. NHS England and Roche have now reached a commercial agreement and on 9 May NICE published final draft guidance which recommended ocrelizumab within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating early primary progressive multiple sclerosis with imaging features characteristic of inflammatory activity in adults. Ocrelizumab will now be routinely available for eligible adults.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to support Care Commissioning Groups that experience a disproportionate level of population growth.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
NHS England is responsible for decisions on the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources between clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This process is independent of Government. NHS England take advice from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a group of academics and other experts.
ACRA has recommended a new approach to health inequalities which was reflected in the CCG allocations published on 10 January 2019.
Population figures for all programme allocations are based on general practitioner registered list sizes, as they have been since 2013-14. Increases for future years are based on the Office for National Statistics estimates of population trends for resident populations, which is the only consistent and robust national data set available to use for this purpose.
Full details of the CCG allocations announcements for 2019-20 to 2023-24 can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, when the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation plans to start its review of the inequalities adjustment to the funding formulae.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
NHS England is responsible for decisions on the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources between clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This process is independent of Government. NHS England take advice from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a group of academics and other experts.
ACRA has recommended a new approach to health inequalities which was reflected in the CCG allocations published on 10 January 2019.
Population figures for all programme allocations are based on general practitioner registered list sizes, as they have been since 2013-14. Increases for future years are based on the Office for National Statistics estimates of population trends for resident populations, which is the only consistent and robust national data set available to use for this purpose.
Full details of the CCG allocations announcements for 2019-20 to 2023-24 can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Person Based Resource Allocation formula on reducing health inequality in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) other high-growth areas.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
NHS England is responsible for decisions on the weighted capitation formula used to allocate resources between clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). This process is independent of Government. NHS England take advice from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), a group of academics and other experts.
ACRA has recommended a new approach to health inequalities which was reflected in the CCG allocations published on 10 January 2019.
Population figures for all programme allocations are based on general practitioner registered list sizes, as they have been since 2013-14. Increases for future years are based on the Office for National Statistics estimates of population trends for resident populations, which is the only consistent and robust national data set available to use for this purpose.
Full details of the CCG allocations announcements for 2019-20 to 2023-24 can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NICE on the (a) timeframe for the publication of decision of the NICE evaluation committee meeting held on 23 October 2018 in relation to Spinraza and (b) potential availability of Spinraza on the NHS.
Answered by Steve Brine
Departmental Ministers and officials have spoken to colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on a number of occasions to enquire about the progress of the technology appraisal of nusinersen for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.
On 12 November, following NICE’s second appraisal committee meeting for nusinersen on Tuesday 23 October, NICE informed registered stakeholders that it and the manufacturer Biogen were continuing to progress discussions and as a result NICE was not in a position to provide the outcome of the committee’s deliberations.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase funding for continuous professional development funding for nurses in the NHS.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Different organisations have a range of responsibilities for training and development. Individual employers have responsibility for supporting staff with courses which are required to fulfil duties to work in their organisation and core employment requirements.
National funding through Health Education England (HEE) has historically been used to support development of the National Health Service workforce. HEE invests up to £300 million per year on supporting individuals in NHS employment achieve registered qualifications and a further £80 million on workforce transformation projects agreed locally, some of which has prioritised training courses for ongoing development.
HEE is considering alternative models for traditional continual professional development funding; for example, exploring routes for apprenticeships for post graduate qualifications that previously may have been funded directly at a national level.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the level of geographical variation of IVF funding; and whether it is his Department's policy that clinical commissioning groups implement NICE recommendations to commission funding for three cycles of IVF.
Answered by Philip Dunne
It is the Government's policy that clinical commissioning groups should have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems when commissioning services for which they are responsible. This includes the recommendation in the guideline that three cycles of in vitro fertilisation be offered to qualifying couples where the woman is under the age of 40 and one cycle where the woman is between the ages of 40 and 42.
The NICE guideline is evidence based best practice for clinicians but is not mandatory. The availability of National Health Service funded fertility treatment is and always has been a matter for local determination. Decisions on the level of service provision are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs and priorities.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on patient care of the requirements for routine outpatient clinics working out of a hospital to advise patients that any prescription must be brought to a regular GP to issue an FP10 prescription to then be taken to a pharmacy.
Answered by Steve Brine
No Departmental assessment has been made. Where a patient has an immediate need for medication following outpatient attendance, the hospital must supply that medication, rather than requiring the general practitioner (GP) to issue a prescription separately. The supply must be adequate to allow time for the patient’s GP to receive up-to-date information from the hospital about the patient’s care.
Asked by: Heidi Allen (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding he is providing for GP practices in new towns.
Answered by George Freeman
NHS England has a legal duty to fund the general practitioner (GP) services required to meet the reasonable needs of the population, both in old and new towns.
On 1 July, NHS England, together with Public Health England, launched an initiative to shape strong new communities that promote health and wellbeing, prevent illness and keep people independent.
The initiative is expected to include development of flexible health and care infrastructure that enables integration of GP services with other health and care provision.