Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the 40,369 Pillar 2 covid-19 tests reported under delivery routes for 30 April 2020 were (a) ordered and (b) dispatched on (i) 26 April, (ii) 27 April, (iii) 28 April, (iv) 29 April and (v) 30 April 2020.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Between 26 – 30 April, over 73,000 home kits were ordered and over 64,000 were dispatched. The difference between the figures is due to the time at which an individual orders a home test, which subsequently impacts the time of its dispatch.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a White Paper on reforming the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We have committed to publishing a White Paper which will set out the Government’s response to Sir Simon Wessely’s Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983 and pave the way for reform of the Act.
We will publish our White Paper as soon as it is possible to do so. We will consult publicly on our proposals and will bring forward a Bill to amend the Act when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether data on the average waiting time standard for elective care being piloted by 12 NHS Trusts will continue to be collected during the postponement of elective surgery as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The monthly referral-to-treatment return continues to be collected from National Health Service trusts during COVID-19, including data on average waiting times at the 12 field test sites.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds data on (a) occupation and (b) gender of people who have requested a sick note from NHS 111 for self-isolation due to covid-19 symptoms.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 make sure the instruction to ensure bank staff and subcontractors receive full pay when in self-isolation, as referred to by NHS England and NHS Improvement in a letter of 2 March 2020 to NHS Trust executives, is (a) funded, (b) monitored, and (c) enforced.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is essential for infection control purposes that staff members who are told to self-isolate, do so as quickly as possible.
As such we have made sure that we have issued guidance to employers to ensure that all National Health Service staff, including bank workers and subcontracted staff who must be physically present at an NHS facility to fulfill their role, receive full pay should they need to self-isolate. Our guidance states that employers should use their usual methods for calculating full pay using agreed processes at a local level and in line with NHS terms and conditions.
NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to NHS organisations and providers on 17 March 2020 with details of updates to financial arrangements during the 2020/21 financial year, stating that NHS providers and commissioners must carefully record the costs incurred in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and report actual costs incurred on a monthly basis.
We are continuing to review our guidance and working closely with trade unions to monitor and address any related concerns as and when they arise.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) cleaners, (b) porters, (c) patient transport staff and (d) other outsourced NHS workers are eligible for the life assurance scheme for NHS and social care workers who die as a result of covid-19, announced on 27 April 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has launched a life assurance scheme for frontline National Health Service and social care staff. The scheme is non-contributory and pays a £60,000 lump sum where staff who had been recently working where personal care is provided to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 die as a result of the virus.
Cleaners, porters, patient transport staff and other outsourced NHS workers are eligible for the scheme, providing they satisfy the scheme eligibility criteria and were exposed to a high risk of contracting COVID-19, in circumstances where they could not reasonably avoid that risk because of the nature and location of their work.
As well as NHS employees, the scheme also covers staff who work for organisations that support the delivery of NHS services or work on an NHS contract, such as agency staff.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 his policy to recognise the marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency of any coronavirus (2019-nCoV) vaccine to ensure there is no risk of delay in the UK acquiring the vaccine in comparison to countries in the EU.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
As of 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom is in the Transition Period. During this time the UK will continue to follow EU legislation which includes European Medicines Agency processes and decisions until 31 December 2020. As such any European Union centrally authorised medicines, including any COVID-19 vaccine, would also be authorised in the UK.
The UK is a world leader in preparing for and managing public health incidents and on 3 March the Government published its action plan to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
Both the EU and the UK are committed to agreeing a future partnership by the end of 2020 and are working to achieve this. The Government is working to ensure that UK patients can access the best and most innovative medicines, whatever the result of negotiations with the EU on our future relationship. It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to agree a future partnership that keeps goods flowing, services being provided and business being done.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance to employers who provide contracted services to NHS Trusts to provide full pay to staff members self-isolating from the first day of isolation.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No one should be penalised for doing the right thing.
As part of our emergency COVID-19 legislation measures, Statutory Sick Pay will be paid from day one of sickness to support those affected by coronavirus. Those on zero-hour contracts will also receive Statutory Sick Pay or will be able to claim Universal Credit dependent on their circumstances.
Those who aren’t entitled to sick pay, including those who are self-employed, can make a claim to Universal Credit and/or new-style Employment and Support Allowance.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) retention and (b) recruitment incentives NHS employers provide to registered nurses.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The final NHS People Plan will be released in the coming months and will set out how the National Health Service will recruit and retain a well skilled workforce, including how we will improve the support that all NHS staff can expect to receive from their employer. For instance, increasing the availability of flexible working and occupational health.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to respond to the Royal College of Nursing’s report entitled Living in the Red: the cost of living crisis for London’s nursing workforce published on 30 January 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of individual employers to consider the overall reward package for their staff, including any travel and accommodation benefits.
The Agenda for Change (AfC) contract on which nurses are employed includes an additional allowance if staff work in and around London. The High Cost Area Supplement provides an additional 20% of basic salary for working in inner London and 15% in outer London. This means the starting basic pay for a nurse will be nearly £30,000 in inner London and over £28,600 in outer London and pay will be over £36,700 for nurses with at least four years’ experience in inner London and over £35,000 in outer London.
The AfC contract also includes the flexibilities for employers locally to use Recruitment and Retention Premia of up to 30% of basic pay if there is a particular need.
The Homes for NHS Staff Policy aims to improve access to affordable housing for staff employed within the National Health Service by securing an offer of first refusal on affordable homes developed on land owned or being disposed by NHS estate owners. NHS trusts in London, as employing organisations, have also developed additional accommodation offers and partnerships to respond to the requirements of their staff including rental model partnerships with housing providers where appropriate.
We are aware of the Royal College of Nursing’s report, we are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and are exploring options for the next Public-Sector Land programme and key worker accommodation. This includes how we might help tackle the NHS staff housing challenge and encourage the building of more homes, including an affordable housing contribution, in developments on public land.