Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 impact of the New Hospital Programme Review on NHS staffing levels in Wave 2 and Wave 3 hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
An equality impact assessment was carried out for the review of the New Hospital Programme which included assessing the extent to which service users, including staff, might be impacted by these delivery proposals, with specific reference to the impact that these might have on relevant protected characteristics. This was laid in the House Library and published on 20 January, and is available at the following link:
Appropriate National Health Service staffing levels are determined locally. We will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 effectiveness of the Estates Safety Fund.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 2025/26 Estates Safety Fund is an essential first step towards addressing the poorest quality estates across the National Health Service and to ensuring hospitals are safe and sustainable. It will deliver vital safety improvements, enhance patient and staff environments, and support NHS productivity at approximately 400 hospitals, mental health units, and ambulance sites.
As my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the Spending Review, health capital budgets will increase to £14.6 billion by the end of the Spending Review period. Across this multi-year settlement, over £5 billion will be invested to address the most critical building repairs, and the 2025/26 Estates Safety Fund is the first step in delivering this targeted investment.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 6 June 2025 to Question 55942 on Drugs, what steps his Department is taking to source medications from other manufacturers; and for what reason there has been a shortage of Trandolapril since 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Trandolapril is supplied by two suppliers in the United Kingdom who are both currently experiencing manufacturing issues. The Department issued comprehensive management plans, including advice on alternative medicines, on 17 September 2024 to the National Health Service, general practitioners, and community pharmacies. This included advice on alternatives, and how to manage affected patients. Resupply of this medicine is expected on 3 October 2025.
The Department and NHS England work closely with all relevant manufacturers to resolve supply issues when they arise through a range of actions. This includes expediting future deliveries, diverting stock from other countries, and requesting that suppliers increase manufacturing capacity in the short and longer term to prevent and mitigate the impact on patients as much as possible.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 impact of immigration controls on staffing levels in (a) primary and (b) secondary care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas, who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience, and expertise. At the same time, we are also committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join the National Health Service. Following publication of our 10-Year Health Plan, we will produce a refreshed workforce plan, setting out how we will train and provide the staff that the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities and treat them on time again.
The immigration White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, will reshape our immigration system towards those who contribute the most to economic growth, with higher skills standards for graduates and workers. Every area of the immigration system, including work, family, and study, will be tightened up, to reduce record-high levels of net migration and restore control and order to the immigration system. The White Paper is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper
Health and Social Care Worker visa data is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which bodies are responsible for (a) monitoring (i) shortages and (ii) unavailability of NHS prescription medicines, (b) overseeing the manufacturing locations of brands licensed for use in the UK and (c) assessing potential supply risks where multiple brands are produced by the same third-party manufacturer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has overall policy, strategic, and operational responsibility for ensuring the continuity of the supply of medicines to the National Health Service in England. The Department works closely with NHS England, which has delegated responsibility for managing the continuity of supply for medicines procured on Medicines Procurement and Supply Chain Team frameworks. Manufacturers have a legal requirement to inform the Department of any supply issues. We work closely with industry, the NHS, manufacturers, and other partners across the supply chain to make sure patients across the United Kingdom can access the medicines they need.
The supply of medicines, including procurement, storage, allocation, and distribution is a devolved matter. However, we regularly engage with the devolved administrations to discuss potential supply issues.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regulates medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the UK. The Home Office issues controlled drug licences for companies that possess, manufacture, produce, or supply controlled drugs in England, Wales, or Scotland, and Department of Health (Northern Ireland) for Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Home Office's letter to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, dated 29 September 2023, what his Department's planned timetable is for the use of electronic signatures for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs within (a) secondary care and (b) the health and justice system.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is unable to confirm a timetable at this stage. Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and Misuse of Drug Regulations 2001 would be required to enable electronic prescribing in named settings, such as secondary care and the health and justice system. Changes to this legislation would require public consultation and agreement with Parliament under the affirmative procedure.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish the New Hospital Programme review’s scoring of each hospital’s full business case.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The review into the New Hospital Programme (NHP) did not assess schemes on the basis of full business cases, and not all schemes in the programme have reached this stage of development. Schemes were assessed based on a variety of factors, as set out in the Plan for Implementation, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome
Schemes were banded and prioritised into upper, middle, and lower thirds, and were then stress tested to generate a delivery schedule for the programme, in compliance with the NHP’s funding envelope.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in deprived communities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care, and work is underway to ensure that patients can access the 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments, with integrated care boards (ICBs) asked to make these available from 1 April 2025.
The most common reason children aged five to nine years old are admitted to hospital is for tooth decay. We have confirmed an investment of £11 million to rollout a national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five year olds. This will reach up to 600,000 children in the most deprived areas of England.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the North Devon constituency, this is the NHS One Devon ICB.
ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his oral contribution in response to the Question from the hon. Member for North Devon on 20 January 2025, Official Report, column 769, when he will visit North Devon District Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I remain committed to visiting North Devon District Hospital. Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the detailed results of each hospital's funding bid scoring against the Multi Factorial Review of the New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, set out a credible and deliverable plan for the new hospital schemes in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) on 20 January 2025, following the conclusion of the review of the NHP. The Plan for Implementation was laid in the House Library and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome
Estimated costs for each scheme are set out in the publication. However, these are estimates and the exact funding for schemes will be determined through the review and agreement of a Full Business Case, as is usual for large infrastructure projects.
Funding has been agreed with HM Treasury to cover 2025/26. Funding beyond this will be agreed in the Spending Review in spring 2025.