Asked by: Iain McKenzie (Labour - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of quarantine arrangements for people arriving in the UK from Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Medical advice, including from the Chief Medical Officer, is clear that quarantining returning healthcare workers, or others coming to the United Kingdom from Sierra Leone, is not a proportionate response to the level of risk Ebola represents to the public at this time. However, all protocols and procedures are kept under careful review, guided by the best scientific evidence, to ensure they remain appropriate in the light of changing circumstances
In addition, UK hospitals are well prepared to handle infectious disease and any patient displaying symptoms would be cared for by specialist staff in an isolation unit.
Asked by: Iain McKenzie (Labour - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support carers' wellbeing and mental health.
Answered by Norman Lamb
Carers are central to our reform of care and support and there are significant improvements in the Care Act for carers. The Care Act extends carers rights to an assessment, which is based on the appearance of a need for support and consideration of the impact of caring on the carer and the outcomes they wish to achieve. For the first time, local authorities have a duty to meet carers’ eligible needs for support based on an eligibility framework. The Act creates a well-being principle to underpin the care and support system. This means that the well-being and outcomes that matter to people will be at the heart of every decision that is made – this principle applies equally to carers.
Supporting carers to remain mentally and physically well is one of four key priorities of the coalition Government’s 2010 national carers’ strategy. We have set out our commitments to carers from 2014 – 2016 in the recently updated National Carers Strategy: Second Action Plan which also outlines the main achievements in recognising and supporting carers. The plan retains the four priorities of the 2010 strategy.
We are investing £400 million between 2011 to 2015, to improve National Health Service support for carers and to enable them to take a break from their caring responsibilities. The carers’ breaks funding of £130 million for 2015-16 will be in the Better Care Fund.
Support for carers is integral to the work NHS England is leading to improve the quality of life of people with long term conditions. Its action plan NHS England: Commitment to Carers contains eight priorities and 37 commitments that will help the NHS to deliver the care and support carers have said they need. It includes a specific commitment to “promote and work towards parity of esteem for carers so that mental health and wellbeing is considered and supported alongside physical health needs”.
Asked by: Iain McKenzie (Labour - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide financial incentives to GP surgeries to identify and refer carers to local councils for support.
Answered by Dan Poulter
NHS England has no plans to introduce a new enhanced service scheme for 2015-16 to incentivise general practitioner (GP) surgeries to identify and refer carers to local councils for support. However, some existing enhanced services do offer support for carers. For example, one of the requirements of the Dementia Enhanced Service, known as “Facilitating timely diagnosis and support for people with dementia”, is that GP practices should identify carers of people diagnosed with dementia.
If the carer is registered with the practice, he or she should be offered a health check, which would include signposting to any other relevant services to support their health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Iain McKenzie (Labour - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of carers on zero-hours contracts.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The Department does not collect this information centrally.
Terms and conditions of employment for social care workers are essentially a matter for local employers within the existing requirements of employment legislation.
Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, in England, collects information on the number of adult social care workers in England on zero-hours contracts.
The National Minimum Data Set for Social Care 2013 and Skills for Care workforce shows that there are an estimated 250,000 adult social care workers on zero-hours contracts.
Asked by: Iain McKenzie (Labour - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will provide additional financial support to carers.
Answered by Norman Lamb
We have legislated to give carers new rights, which mean that for the first time, they will have a legal right to receive support of their eligible needs. To meet the cost of these new rights, we are providing over £100 million in 2015-16 to local authorities, with consequent increases rising to around £300 million in 2019-20 and subsequent years.
We are investing £400 million between 2011 and 2015, to improve National Health Service support for carers and to enable them to take a break from their caring responsibilities. The carers’ breaks funding of £130 million for 2015-16 will be in the Better Care Fund.
Through the Carers Social Action Support Fund, Government has recently invested £700,000 in seven projects which will offer peer support and breaks that can make a difference to carers’ lives.
The Department of Health, together with the Government Equalities Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, is investing £1.4 million in a number of local pilots to explore ways in which to help people balance work with caring responsibilities.
In addition, we have set out our commitments to carers from 2014 – 2016 in the recently updated National Carers Strategy: Second Action Plan which also outlines the main achievements in recognising and supporting carers.
The Government recognises that carers play a vital role in looking after friends or family members who need support. That is why we have continued to uprate the level of Carer’s Allowance by the Consumer Price Index. Carer’s Allowance will increase from £61.35 to £62.10 in April 2015 as part of the annual uprating of benefits. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his 2014 Autumn Statement that the earnings limit in Carer’s Allowance will increase from £102 to £110 per week from April 2015.
People who are entitled to Carer's Allowance may have a carer premium, currently £34.20 a week, included in the assessment of income-related benefits such as Income Support and Housing Benefit. An equivalent additional amount for carers is included in the assessment of Pension Credit. A carer element will also be included in Universal Credit at the rate of £148.61 per monthly assessment period. This means that carers can receive these benefits at a higher rate than other recipients.
Asked by: Iain McKenzie (Labour - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to screen all visitors entering the UK from West Africa for Ebola.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The World Health Organization recommends exit screening remains in place at airports in affected countries, which will identify anyone who is symptomatic before they leave the country. This is an important measure employed to minimise the spread to other countries.
The Secretary of State laid out the steps the Government is taking to screen visitors to the United Kingdom in relation to Ebola during his statement to the House on 13 October 2014, Official Report, columns 38-56.