Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Whately Excerpts

Tuesday 6th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

3. Whether he is taking steps to ensure that notices of decision for care homes do not lapse upon a change of ownership unless standards improve.

[The Minister for Social Care (Helen Whately)]

When a care home is taken over, the Care Quality Commission assesses and re-rates it under its new ownership. Previous notices of decision cannot legally be passed to a new provider, but they do inform the CQC’s approach to an assessment and how soon it takes place. During the time between the takeover and the CQC’s carrying out a new assessment, the legacy rating is shown on the CQC website.

[Taiwo Owatemi]

My constituents Brenda, Gary and Trina lost their parents after they were placed in Melbourne House care home, which the CQC later deemed to be “inadequate”. However, because the notice of decision lapsed on its transfer to the original owner’s family, the home, now known as Earlsdon Lodge, is able to operate as if nothing had happened. Will the Minister meet my constituents and me to explain exactly why that was allowed to happen, and what is being done to prevent it from happening to other families?

[Helen Whately]

I shall be happy to meet the hon. Member to look into that case, because I feel strongly about the importance of ensuring that everyone has access to good, if not outstanding, care in care homes.

[Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)]

4. If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of increasing the affordability of sun protection products on levels of skin cancer.

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[Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to improve the health of patients with arthritis awaiting NHS treatment.

[The Minister for Social Care (Helen Whately)]

NHS England has drawn on the work of Versus Arthritis, including its joint replacement support package, in the resources it provides to support people waiting for hip and knee replacements. Alongside that, we know that what people really want is faster treatment. That is why we are working so hard to cut waiting lists, which is one of the Prime Minister’s five key priorities.

[Neil Coyle]

I am glad that the Minister referenced Versus Arthritis, because it does great work, but it has significant concerns about the waits for treatment for people living with arthritis. While recognising the efforts of hard-working NHS staff, there are more than 800,000 people in England waiting for trauma and orthopaedic treatment, including more than 5,500 Southwark constituents waiting for treatment at Guy’s and St Tommy’s hospitals. Will the Minister meet staff from Versus Arthritis specifically to discuss how to better support people waiting for those treatments?

[Helen Whately]

As the hon. Member said, Versus Arthritis is doing really important work not only supporting people with arthritis while they wait for treatment, but better preparing them for surgery. What is really important, as I said a moment ago, is reducing those waits and the work that we are doing on that. We have already virtually eliminated two-year waits, and 18-month waits have been reduced by more than 90%, which is quite a contrast, we know, to the performance of the Labour-run NHS in Wales. I encourage Versus Arthritis to contribute to our call for evidence on the major conditions strategy where we are looking at what more we can do to support people with, among other things, muscular skeletal conditions.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

9. Whether he plans to provide funding for a new primary health care facility in East Sefton.

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[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

T6. More than one in 10 social care roles are vacant, and the biggest culprit in this recruitment and retention crisis is low pay. According to recent TUC analysis, a £15 an hour minimum wage for care workers would not only tackle staff shortages, but level up places such as the east midlands, introducing an £800 million economic boost. Will the Government introduce that?

[The Minister for Social Care (Helen Whately)]

I want to see the care workforce recognised and rewarded for the work that they do. That is one reason why we gave adult social care a record uplift to its funding of up to £7.5 billion in the autumn statement, for local authorities to fund care providers to pay their workforce in turn. That goes hand in hand with our workforce reforms to develop the skills and career opportunities for the care workforce.

[Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State read the report “Safe and Effective?” produced in April by a group of senior clinicians, which is very critical of the work of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency? If he has not yet read it, will he do so, please?