Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of recent trends in the level the social care capacity available to support discharges from hospitals in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Comparing December 2024 to December 2023, there was a 5% decrease in the average number of patients in hospital with delayed discharge at the end of each day. In December 2024, for patients with a length of stay of at least 14 days, an average of 33% of the delays were attributed to reasons relating to the capacity for onward care and support, due to issues with adult social care services, National Health Services, or housing. This proportion has come down from 37% in June 2024, when this figure was first published.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
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 increase (a) hospital and (b) social care capacity for winter 2024-25.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
December 2024 saw record numbers of people attending accident and emergency, a 7.5% increase on December 2023. Despite this, there were 5% fewer delayed discharges than in December 2023.
The Government will tackle delayed discharges by developing local partnerships working between the National Health Service and social care to make sure people do not spend longer than necessary in hospital, and to free up hospital beds. In the integrated care systems that face the most discharge delays, the Department is working directly with partners across health and social care to drive improvements.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings the Minister for Health (Secondary Care) has attended to review NHS performance on discharging patients from hospital.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers meet regularly with NHS England to discuss discharge and winter performance.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings the Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care) has had with the National health and social care discharge taskforce.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers meet regularly with NHS England to discuss discharge and winter performance.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings the Minister for Health (Secondary Care) has attended on (a) A&E performance and (b) flow through the emergency care system.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have attended regular winter preparedness meetings since 26 September 2024. Urgent and emergency care performance is a standing agenda item within these meetings.
In addition, I have meetings most days to discuss the reform and improvement of the health and care system, with performance and patient flow a regular matter in such discussions.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital visits the Minister for Health (Secondary Care) has made in the last six months; and which hospitals she visited.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 14 July 2024, I have engaged in a total of nine visits, of which the following five were hospitals:
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the next Pension Credit applications and awards dataset will be published.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The next publication of Pension Credit application statistics is due around the end of February 2025 and will cover the data up to week commencing 10 February 2025.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many more people she expects to be in employment as a result of proposals in the Get Britain Working White Paper.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11th December to question number PQ 17573.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is collecting data about use of the Household Support Fund to support pensioners who are no longer in receipt of the winter fuel payment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions publishes management information on the Household Support Fund, including details of the proportion of funding spent on households with pensioners, as well as the proportion spent on energy and water.
The latest management information, covering the scheme running from April 2023 to March 2024, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-4-management-information-for-1-april-2023-to-31-march-2024.
Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination that the Department for Work and Pensions have set out for the fund.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to publish a summary of findings from the call for evidence on fit note reform.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The call for evidence was launched under the previous government to seek views on how the current fit note process works and the support required to facilitate meaningful work and health conversations. It closed on the 8 July 2024 and received around 1,900 responses. Insights and responses gathered will play an important role in shaping ongoing policy development.