Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2017 to Question 66178, what budget has been allocated to Individual Funding Requests in each of the last five years.
Answered by David Mowat
There is no specific budget allocated to Individual Funding Requests (IFRs). Approved IFRs are funded through the specialised commissioning budget allocation.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) have been considered by (a) the IFR Screening Group and (b) the IFR Panel in each of the last five years; how many of those IFRs have been approved; and what the total cost of those procedures was.
Answered by David Mowat
The following table sets out the number of Individual Funding Requests (IFRs) considered and approved in the last five years.
| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17* | Total |
Decisions made at IFR Screening Group | 1,493 | 953 | 633 | 345 | 3,424 |
Decisions made at IFR Panel | 428 | 402 | 300 | 80 | 1,210 |
Approved IFRs | 256 | 249 | 179 | 29 | 713 |
*based on the period from April to November 2016
It should be noted that all IFRs considered at the IFR panel will have previously been considered at a screening panel.
The cost of procedures approved through the IFR process is not routinely collected nationally.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure improved outcomes for patients who undergo stem cell transplantation in the last five years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The number of patients receiving potentially life-saving stem cell transplants in the United Kingdom continues to increase. The availability of suitably matched donors is a key factor in determining the outcome of stem cell transplantation. The Government has invested £16 million to improve stem cell transplantation services in the UK since 2010 with a further £3 million funding available for the current financial year. This funding has seen more efficient service delivery though the creation of a single unified bone marrow donor registry, more UK patients receiving a stem cell transplant (increasing from 802 in 2010/11 to 1060 in 2013/14) and over 60% of Black, Asian and minority ethnic patients finding a well matched donor compared to only 40% in 2010.
Further improvements include NHS Blood and Transplant introducing next generation sequencing technology that is quicker and more accurate in matching donor and patient and delivering improved clinical outcomes. Research is an important part of improving patient outcomes and the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Trials Network supports clinical trials on the development of novel treatment for patients with blood cancer.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review his current policy on prescription charging for patients with long-term health conditions.
Answered by Alistair Burt
There are no plans to change the existing list of medical conditions which provide eligibility to exemption from the prescription charge.
Other extensive exemption arrangements are in place, in England, based on age and income, to support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. Additionally, for those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.
Around 90% of prescription items are dispensed without a charge, a further 5% against PPCs and 5% are paid for at the point of dispensing.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department implemented the Civil Service Performance Management Policy on 1 April 2013 for Administration Officer to Grade 6 staff. On 31 March the end of the first year of implementation was reached and data was collated and analysed on a range of diversity strands, including disability and full/part time workers.
(i) Breakdown by disability status
Disability Status | 1 - Exceeded | 2 - Met | 3 – Improvement Needed | Grand Total | % Exceeded | % Met | % Improvement Needed |
Disabled | 10 | 90 | 8 | 108 | 9% | 83% | 7% |
Not disabled | 373 | 1031 | 36 | 1440 | 26% | 72% | 3% |
Unknown | 17 | 96 | 2 | 115 | 15% | 83% | 2% |
Grand total | 400 | 1217 | 46 | 1663 | 24% | 73% | 3% |
(ii) Breakdown by full/part time workers
Work pattern | 1 - Exceeded | 2 - Met | 3 – Improvement Needed | Grand Total | % Exceeded | % Met | % Improvement Needed |
Full time | 354 | 1024 | 41 | 1419 | 25% | 72% | 3% |
Part time | 46 | 193 | 5 | 244 | 19% | 79% | 2% |
Grand total | 400 | 1217 | 46 | 1663 | 24% | 73% | 3% |
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials in his Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department implemented the Civil Service Performance Management Policy on 1 April 2013 for AO to Grade 6 staff. On 31 March the end of the first year of implementation was reached and data was collated and analysed on a range of diversity strands, including gender, ethnicity and age.
The following tables represent the data collected:
Breakdown by gender
Gender | 1 - Exceeded | 2 – Met | 3 – Improvement Needed | Grand total | % Exceeded | % Met | % Improvement Needed |
Female | 245 | 705 | 19 | 969 | 25% | 73% | 2% |
Male | 155 | 512 | 27 | 694 | 22% | 74% | 4% |
Grand total | 400 | 1217 | 46 | 1663 | 24% | 73% | 3% |
Breakdown by ethnic group
Ethnic Group | 1 - Exceeded | 2 – Met | 3 – Improvement Needed | Grand total | % Exceeded | % Met | % Improvement Needed |
BME | 47 | 236 | 15 | 298 | 16% | 79% | 5% |
White | 333 | 872 | 29 | 1234 | 27% | 71% | 2% |
Unspecified | 20 | 109 | 2 | 131 | 15% | 83% | 2% |
Grand total | 400 | 1217 | 46 | 1663 | 24% | 73% | 3% |
Breakdown by age group
Age Group | 1 -Exceeded | 2 – Met | 3 – Improvement Needed | Grand total | % Exceeded | % Met | % Improvement Needed |
20-29 | 50 | 123 | 3 | 176 | 28% | 70% | 2% |
30-39 | 128 | 299 | 11 | 438 | 29% | 68% | 3% |
40-49 | 132 | 365 | 13 | 510 | 26% | 72% | 3% |
50-59 | 81 | 370 | 16 | 467 | 17% | 79% | 3% |
>=60 | 9 | 60 | 3 | 72 | 13% | 83% | 4% |
Grand total | 400 | 1217 | 46 | 1663 | 24% | 73% | 3% |
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Department implemented the Civil Service Performance Management Policy on 1 April 2013 for Administration Officer to Grade 6 staff. On 31 March the end of the first year of implementation was reached.
The overall distribution for the 2013-14 Performance Management year was:
Exceeded 440 (24%)
Met 1271 (73%)
Improvement needed 46 (3%)
Total 1663
A non-consolidated performance related award was made to those in the “Exceeded” category.