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Written Question
Care Homes: Recreation Spaces
Thursday 5th September 2019

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it compulsory for all residential nursing and care homes to have outdoor recreational space.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

The Government has no plans to make it compulsory for residential care settings to have outdoor recreational space but is committed to ensuring that local authorities offer a meaningful choice of adult social care services to people in their local area. That is why the Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to shape their local markets and ensure that people have a range of high-quality, person-centred care and support options available to them, and that they can access the services that best meet their needs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on improving the experience of care and support for people using care services and recommends that day and residential care settings should enable people to choose from a range of leisure activities that allow them to participate in a variety of aspects of daily life. This includes recreational activities that take place outside the home.

The Care Quality Commission, which monitors, inspects and regulates the quality of adult social care services, is also clear that everyone should have the right to person-centred care that is tailored to and meets their needs and preferences.


Written Question
Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit
Monday 7th January 2019

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the accounting officer for his Department has sought a written ministerial direction for expenditure on contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Answered by Stephen Hammond

The Accounting Officer for the Department has not sought a written ministerial direction for expenditure on contingency planning for the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal.


Written Question
Dental Services: Prescriptions
Thursday 6th September 2018

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2018 to Question 160713, if he will publish that same information for dental prescriptions wrongly claimed as free.

Answered by Steve Brine

The following table shows numbers of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued each year since then for individuals who have claimed exemption from dental treatment charges, but that exemption could not be verified. It also shows the funds recovered from this activity.

PCN issued year

PCNs Issued

Value Recovered

2014

73,103

£3,459,178.70

2015

191,091

£9,021,841.80

2016

324,373

£15,500,230.70

2017

429,623

£16,885,447.67

2018

243,590

£8,023,643.66

Notes:

- Date range covered September 2014 – July 2018.

- Value recovered can change overtime.


Written Question
Drugs: Regulation
Monday 16th July 2018

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 21 November 2017, Official Report, column 352, when he plans to hold the ministerial meeting on the future of medical regulations.

Answered by Steve Brine

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord O’Shaughnessy) is arranging the ministerial meeting on the future of medical regulations as soon as possible, subject to diary constraints.


Written Question
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many fines were levied on people who wrongly claimed free prescriptions in each year for which information is available; and how much money was raised for the public purse from those fines.

Answered by Steve Brine

The NHS Business Services Authority assumed responsibility for the Prescription Exemption Checking Service in September 2014. The following table shows numbers of Penalty Charge Notices issued each year since then for individuals who have claimed exemption from prescription charges, but that exemption could not be verified. It also shows the funds recovered from this activity.

Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued year

PCNs Issued

Value recovered

2014

35,812

£525,658.38

2015

408,478

£7,308,289.64

2016

864,366

£13,825,459.09

2017

1,052,430

£18,180,971.12

2018

629,202

£9,745,351.97

Notes:

- Date range covered September 2014 – 1 July 2018

- Value recovered can change overtime


Written Question
NHS: Finance
Monday 25th June 2018

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) cash sum and (b) real terms increase in NHS funding is planned to be for (i) 2018-2019, (ii) 2019-2020, (iii) 2020-2021, (iv) 2021-2022 and (v) 2022-2023.

Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

My Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced a five-year funding agreement which will see the National Health Service budget grow by over £20 billion, in real terms, by 2023-24. The planned resource budgets for NHS England; and what these amount to as additional funding in real terms, are included in the following table. These planned increases will be confirmed at a future fiscal event, subject to an NHS plan that meets the tests we have set out.

Planned NHS England resource budgets, 2018-19 to 2023-24

NHS England Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (excluding depreciation)

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

New nominal budget (£ billion)

114.60

120.55

126.91

133.15

139.83

147.76

Cumulative real growth (2018/19 prices) (£ billion)

4.1

8.3

12.1

16.1

20.5

Real growth (%)

3.6%

3.6%

3.1%

3.1%

3.4%

Plus pensions funding (£ billion nominal)

1.25

1.25

1.25

1.25

1.25

Revised new nominal budget (£ billion)

114.60

121.80

128.16

134.40

141.08

149.01

This breakdown can also be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-sets-out-5-year-nhs-funding-plan


Written Question
Drugs: Regulation
Friday 2nd February 2018

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of his Department plans to respond to the remarks of the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland of 21 November 2017 made at the debate on medicines regulation, Official Report. columns 322 to 353.

Answered by Steve Brine

I responded to the hon. Member on 30 November 2017 and a copy of the letter is attached.


Written Question
NHS: Drugs
Friday 2nd February 2018

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of his Department plans to respond to the remarks of the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland of 21 November 2017 made at the debate on medicines regulation, Official Report. columns 322 to 353.

Answered by Steve Brine

I responded to the hon. Member on 30 November 2017 and a copy of the letter is attached.


Written Question
NHS: Fundraising
Thursday 20th July 2017

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of appeals for public fundraising to finance NHS healthcare and equipment on geographical health inequalities.

Answered by Philip Dunne

This information is not collected centrally. The Department does not set criteria to assess the merits of launching such appeals and no assessment has been made of their effect on geographical health inequalities. We are aware that many people are keen to support the National Health Service through charitable activity, often after they or their family have received good care from their local NHS.

NHS charities are independent of NHS trusts, their funds and assets are not Exchequer funds, and are held for the beneficiaries of the charity only. Funds donated to the NHS must therefore be managed separately from an NHS body’s own monies.


Written Question
NHS: Fundraising
Thursday 20th July 2017

Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria his Department has in place to assess the merits of launching appeals for public fundraising for NHS services and equipment.

Answered by Philip Dunne

This information is not collected centrally. The Department does not set criteria to assess the merits of launching such appeals and no assessment has been made of their effect on geographical health inequalities. We are aware that many people are keen to support the National Health Service through charitable activity, often after they or their family have received good care from their local NHS.

NHS charities are independent of NHS trusts, their funds and assets are not Exchequer funds, and are held for the beneficiaries of the charity only. Funds donated to the NHS must therefore be managed separately from an NHS body’s own monies.