Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with Independent Sector Providers on ensuring that staff (a) who deliver NHS services and (b) whose contracts do not include automatic pay uplifts receive any agreed pay uplifts as soon as possible.
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 has not held any discussions with independent providers on this topic.
Independent organisations, such as social enterprises and general practices, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. This includes the pay scales that they use, the extent to which pay awards are made, and when those awards are paid.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the Community Pharmacy Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Programme and independent prescribing generally will continue to be supported to maximise direct prescribing capability in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS England Pathfinder programme is running across England with the aim of developing a commissioning framework for community pharmacy clinical services with independent prescribing (IP) for National Health Service patients. We are working with integrated care boards and pathfinder sites, community pharmacies, to understand the key enablers for IP to be incorporated into community pharmacy. The programme learning will be across five key domains: clinical; digital; governance and safety; people; and funding and contracts. We hope to complete our evaluation by Autumn 2025, and to use this to inform planning for the incorporation of prescribing into community pharmacy clinical services. Further information on the NHS England Pathfinder programme is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/pharmacy/pharmacy-integration-fund/independent-prescribing/