Lord Willis of Knaresborough Portrait

Lord Willis of Knaresborough

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 18th June 2010


2 APPG memberships (as of 24 Jan 2024)
Medical Research, Scientific
3 Former APPG memberships
Engineering, Personalised Medicine, Universities
National Plan for Sport and Recreation Committee
15th Oct 2020 - 24th Nov 2021
Long-Term Sustainability of the NHS Committee
25th May 2016 - 5th Apr 2017
Science and Technology Committee (Lords)
27th Oct 2010 - 30th Mar 2015
Liaison Committee (Commons)
11th Jul 2005 - 6th May 2010
Commons Science and Technology
1st Oct 2009 - 6th May 2010
Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee
10th Mar 2008 - 30th Sep 2009
Science and Technology Committee (Commons)
13th Jul 2005 - 30th Oct 2007
Science and Technology Committee
13th Jul 2005 - 30th Oct 2007
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
13th Jul 2005 - 30th Oct 2007
Draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill (Joint Committee)
15th May 2007 - 8th Aug 2007
Draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill (Joint Committee)
2nd May 2007 - 8th Aug 2007
Shadow Spokesperson (Education)
1st May 1997 - 5th May 2005
Education & Employment
29th Mar 1999 - 13th Nov 2000


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Willis of Knaresborough has voted in 312 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

17 Jan 2022 - Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Willis of Knaresborough voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Liberal Democrat Aye votes vs 65 Liberal Democrat No votes
Tally: Ayes - 124 Noes - 199
View All Lord Willis of Knaresborough Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Bethell (Conservative)
(10 debate interactions)
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Conservative)
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
(4 debate interactions)
Earl Howe (Conservative)
Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
(2 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(12 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(2 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(2 debate contributions)
Department for Education
(1 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
NHS Funding Act 2020
(3,882 words contributed)
Health and Care Act 2022
(1,293 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Lord Willis of Knaresborough's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Willis of Knaresborough, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord Willis of Knaresborough has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord Willis of Knaresborough has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they first started to collect data on care home deaths from COVID-19 in England.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Willis of Knaresborough
House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

01 March 2021

Dear Lord Willis,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking a) when data was first collected on care home deaths from COVID-19 in England (HL13542), b) when the weekly death toll of care home residents from COVID-19 in England was first published (HL13543), and c) how many care home residents in England died from COVID-19-related symptoms in each week from 1 September 2020 to-date (HL13546).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. The ONS produces a weekly report[1] on provisional deaths involving COVID-19, and from 19 January 2021 onwards it has included data on deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents in England and Wales in 2020 and 20212. The term "care home resident" used in this publication refers to all deaths where either (a) the death occurred in a care home or (b) the death occurred elsewhere but the place of residence of the deceased was recorded as a care home. The figures should not be confused with "deaths in care homes" as reported elsewhere, which refers only to category (a).

As well as the ONS mortality data, the Care Quality Commission (CQC; the independent regulator of health and social care in England) provides numbers of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes and care home residents in England. These data are based on the date the death was notified to the CQC and has been published by the ONS as part of the weekly bulletin3 since 28 April 2020. Data on whether the death was a result of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 has been collected by the CQC since 10 April 20204. Table 1 below shows the number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents, by week of notification to the CQC, starting from week ending 4 September 2020.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes residents, by week of notification, weeks ending 4 September 2020 to 19 February 2021, England[2][3][4]

Year

Week number

Week ending

Deaths involving COVID-19

2020

36

04/09/2020

21

2020

37

11/09/2020

39

2020

38

18/09/2020

49

2020

39

25/09/2020

58

2020

40

02/10/2020

83

2020

41

09/10/2020

105

2020

42

16/10/2020

142

2020

43

23/10/2020

217

2020

44

30/10/2020

293

2020

45

06/11/2020

456

2020

46

13/11/2020

533

2020

47

20/11/2020

622

2020

48

27/11/2020

706

2020

49

04/12/2020

645

2020

50

11/12/2020

692

2020

51

18/12/2020

731

2020

52

25/12/2020

746

2020

53

01/01/2021

934

2021

1

08/01/2021

1,245

2021

2

15/01/2021

1,750

2021

3

22/01/2021

2,365

2021

4

29/01/2021

2,387

2021

5

05/02/2021

1,848

2021

6

12/02/2021

1,223

2021

7

19/02/2021

843

Source: Care Quality Commission

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest

2https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/carehomeresidentdeathsregisteredinenglandandwalesprovisional

3https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/numberofdeathsincarehomesnotifiedtothecarequalitycommissionengland

4https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/publicationofstatisticsondeathsinvolvingcovid19incarehomesinenglandtransparencystatement

[2] Figures are for deaths CQC are notified of on the days specified. Figures only include deaths that were notified by 19 Feb 2021 and may be an underestimate due to notification delays.

[3] Figures are for people who were residents of a care home, regardless of where the death occurred. This is different to deaths occurring in care homes reported elsewhere.

[4]A death involving COVID-19 is based on the statement from the care home provider to the CQC: the assessment of whether COVID-19 was involved may or may not correspond to a medical diagnosis or test result or be reflected in the death certification

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they first published the weekly death toll of care home residents from COVID-19 in England.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Willis of Knaresborough
House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

01 March 2021

Dear Lord Willis,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking a) when data was first collected on care home deaths from COVID-19 in England (HL13542), b) when the weekly death toll of care home residents from COVID-19 in England was first published (HL13543), and c) how many care home residents in England died from COVID-19-related symptoms in each week from 1 September 2020 to-date (HL13546).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. The ONS produces a weekly report[1] on provisional deaths involving COVID-19, and from 19 January 2021 onwards it has included data on deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents in England and Wales in 2020 and 20212. The term "care home resident" used in this publication refers to all deaths where either (a) the death occurred in a care home or (b) the death occurred elsewhere but the place of residence of the deceased was recorded as a care home. The figures should not be confused with "deaths in care homes" as reported elsewhere, which refers only to category (a).

As well as the ONS mortality data, the Care Quality Commission (CQC; the independent regulator of health and social care in England) provides numbers of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes and care home residents in England. These data are based on the date the death was notified to the CQC and has been published by the ONS as part of the weekly bulletin3 since 28 April 2020. Data on whether the death was a result of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 has been collected by the CQC since 10 April 20204. Table 1 below shows the number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents, by week of notification to the CQC, starting from week ending 4 September 2020.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes residents, by week of notification, weeks ending 4 September 2020 to 19 February 2021, England[2][3][4]

Year

Week number

Week ending

Deaths involving COVID-19

2020

36

04/09/2020

21

2020

37

11/09/2020

39

2020

38

18/09/2020

49

2020

39

25/09/2020

58

2020

40

02/10/2020

83

2020

41

09/10/2020

105

2020

42

16/10/2020

142

2020

43

23/10/2020

217

2020

44

30/10/2020

293

2020

45

06/11/2020

456

2020

46

13/11/2020

533

2020

47

20/11/2020

622

2020

48

27/11/2020

706

2020

49

04/12/2020

645

2020

50

11/12/2020

692

2020

51

18/12/2020

731

2020

52

25/12/2020

746

2020

53

01/01/2021

934

2021

1

08/01/2021

1,245

2021

2

15/01/2021

1,750

2021

3

22/01/2021

2,365

2021

4

29/01/2021

2,387

2021

5

05/02/2021

1,848

2021

6

12/02/2021

1,223

2021

7

19/02/2021

843

Source: Care Quality Commission

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest

2https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/carehomeresidentdeathsregisteredinenglandandwalesprovisional

3https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/numberofdeathsincarehomesnotifiedtothecarequalitycommissionengland

4https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/publicationofstatisticsondeathsinvolvingcovid19incarehomesinenglandtransparencystatement

[2] Figures are for deaths CQC are notified of on the days specified. Figures only include deaths that were notified by 19 Feb 2021 and may be an underestimate due to notification delays.

[3] Figures are for people who were residents of a care home, regardless of where the death occurred. This is different to deaths occurring in care homes reported elsewhere.

[4]A death involving COVID-19 is based on the statement from the care home provider to the CQC: the assessment of whether COVID-19 was involved may or may not correspond to a medical diagnosis or test result or be reflected in the death certification

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many care home residents in England died from COVID-19-related symptoms in each week from 1 September 2020 to date.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician

The Lord Willis of Knaresborough
House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

01 March 2021

Dear Lord Willis,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking a) when data was first collected on care home deaths from COVID-19 in England (HL13542), b) when the weekly death toll of care home residents from COVID-19 in England was first published (HL13543), and c) how many care home residents in England died from COVID-19-related symptoms in each week from 1 September 2020 to-date (HL13546).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. The ONS produces a weekly report[1] on provisional deaths involving COVID-19, and from 19 January 2021 onwards it has included data on deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents in England and Wales in 2020 and 20212. The term "care home resident" used in this publication refers to all deaths where either (a) the death occurred in a care home or (b) the death occurred elsewhere but the place of residence of the deceased was recorded as a care home. The figures should not be confused with "deaths in care homes" as reported elsewhere, which refers only to category (a).

As well as the ONS mortality data, the Care Quality Commission (CQC; the independent regulator of health and social care in England) provides numbers of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes and care home residents in England. These data are based on the date the death was notified to the CQC and has been published by the ONS as part of the weekly bulletin3 since 28 April 2020. Data on whether the death was a result of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 has been collected by the CQC since 10 April 20204. Table 1 below shows the number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents, by week of notification to the CQC, starting from week ending 4 September 2020.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes residents, by week of notification, weeks ending 4 September 2020 to 19 February 2021, England[2][3][4]

Year

Week number

Week ending

Deaths involving COVID-19

2020

36

04/09/2020

21

2020

37

11/09/2020

39

2020

38

18/09/2020

49

2020

39

25/09/2020

58

2020

40

02/10/2020

83

2020

41

09/10/2020

105

2020

42

16/10/2020

142

2020

43

23/10/2020

217

2020

44

30/10/2020

293

2020

45

06/11/2020

456

2020

46

13/11/2020

533

2020

47

20/11/2020

622

2020

48

27/11/2020

706

2020

49

04/12/2020

645

2020

50

11/12/2020

692

2020

51

18/12/2020

731

2020

52

25/12/2020

746

2020

53

01/01/2021

934

2021

1

08/01/2021

1,245

2021

2

15/01/2021

1,750

2021

3

22/01/2021

2,365

2021

4

29/01/2021

2,387

2021

5

05/02/2021

1,848

2021

6

12/02/2021

1,223

2021

7

19/02/2021

843

Source: Care Quality Commission

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest

2https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/carehomeresidentdeathsregisteredinenglandandwalesprovisional

3https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/numberofdeathsincarehomesnotifiedtothecarequalitycommissionengland

4https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/publicationofstatisticsondeathsinvolvingcovid19incarehomesinenglandtransparencystatement

[2] Figures are for deaths CQC are notified of on the days specified. Figures only include deaths that were notified by 19 Feb 2021 and may be an underestimate due to notification delays.

[3] Figures are for people who were residents of a care home, regardless of where the death occurred. This is different to deaths occurring in care homes reported elsewhere.

[4]A death involving COVID-19 is based on the statement from the care home provider to the CQC: the assessment of whether COVID-19 was involved may or may not correspond to a medical diagnosis or test result or be reflected in the death certification

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
9th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in England in each of the past ten years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Dear Lord Willis,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in England in each of the past ten years (HL8003); and in each region of England in each of the past ten years (HL8004).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual suicide death registration statistics for England as part of our annual statistical release for the UK[1][2]. The latest available figures were published by the ONS in September 2020 and covered calendar years up to 2019 providing break downs by sex, age, and place of residence, including region.

Table 1 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in England.

Table 2 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in each region of England.

In England and Wales, deaths caused by suicide are investigated by coroners. Due to the length of time it takes to hold a coroner’s inquest, around half of the deaths registered in a given year occurred in the same year, with the remaining deaths occurring in previous years.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of suicides by sex registered between 2010 and 2019 in England

Year

Males

Females

Persons

2010

3,166

1,036

4,202

2011

3,420

1,098

4,518

2012

3,488

1,025

4,513

2013

3,688

1,039

4,727

2014

3,701

1,181

4,882

2015

3,600

1,220

4,820

2016

3,464

1,111

4,575

2017

3,328

1,123

4,451

2018

3,800

1,221

5,021

2019

4,017

1,299

5,316

Source: ONS

Table 2: Number of suicides by sex and English region registered between 2010 to 2019[3][4][5]

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Persons

North East

266

287

248

244

247

305

295

246

273

235

North West

709

682

634

661

674

727

716

704

675

616

Yorkshire & The Humber

660

577

462

469

544

451

502

482

464

380

East Midlands

456

400

341

352

399

426

385

376

365

323

West Midlands

534

514

500

446

477

571

477

453

433

450

East of England

626

614

468

526

494

520

456

440

483

445

London

616

661

568

580

735

552

516

577

585

574

South East

859

720

720

754

756

794

820

716

724

683

South West

590

566

510

543

494

536

560

519

516

496

Males

North East

218

226

198

179

185

242

229

198

218

172

North West

540

529

480

498

498

542

568

552

527

479

Yorkshire & The Humber

482

440

353

369

412

354

407

382

360

286

East Midlands

345

300

254

276

305

324

308

304

281

239

West Midlands

411

387

382

340

373

446

386

357

325

334

East of England

462

465

346

395

374

390

353

330

364

352

London

437

503

419

447

543

424

395

435

427

434

South East

657

526

524

556

563

604

627

538

526

501

South West

465

424

372

404

347

375

415

392

392

369

Females

North East

48

61

50

65

62

63

66

48

55

63

North West

169

153

154

163

176

185

148

152

148

137

Yorkshire & The Humber

178

137

109

100

132

97

95

100

104

94

East Midlands

111

100

87

76

94

102

77

72

84

84

West Midlands

123

127

118

106

104

125

91

96

108

116

East of England

164

149

122

131

120

130

103

110

119

93

London

179

158

149

133

192

128

121

142

158

140

South East

202

194

196

198

193

190

193

178

198

182

South West

125

142

138

139

147

161

145

127

124

127

Source: ONS

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/latest

[2]Due to operational difficulites, suicides registered in 2019 in Northern Ireland and Scotland were unavailable at the time of analysis, and so this year’s annual release is for England and Wales only. The ONS will update the UK figures at a later stage.

[3]Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). This includes all deaths from intentional self-harm for persons aged 10 years and over, and deaths where the intent was undetermined for those aged 15 years and over. The ICD codes used to select the deaths are show in Box 1.

ICD-10 codes

Description

X60-X84

Intentional self-harm

Y10-Y34

Injury/poisoning of undetermined intent


[4]Figures are for persons usually resident in each area, based on postcode boundaries as of May 2020.

[5]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘Suicide Registrations In The UK’ statistical bulletin.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
9th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in each region of England in each of the past ten years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Dear Lord Willis,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in England in each of the past ten years (HL8003); and in each region of England in each of the past ten years (HL8004).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual suicide death registration statistics for England as part of our annual statistical release for the UK[1][2]. The latest available figures were published by the ONS in September 2020 and covered calendar years up to 2019 providing break downs by sex, age, and place of residence, including region.

Table 1 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in England.

Table 2 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in each region of England.

In England and Wales, deaths caused by suicide are investigated by coroners. Due to the length of time it takes to hold a coroner’s inquest, around half of the deaths registered in a given year occurred in the same year, with the remaining deaths occurring in previous years.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of suicides by sex registered between 2010 and 2019 in England

Year

Males

Females

Persons

2010

3,166

1,036

4,202

2011

3,420

1,098

4,518

2012

3,488

1,025

4,513

2013

3,688

1,039

4,727

2014

3,701

1,181

4,882

2015

3,600

1,220

4,820

2016

3,464

1,111

4,575

2017

3,328

1,123

4,451

2018

3,800

1,221

5,021

2019

4,017

1,299

5,316

Source: ONS

Table 2: Number of suicides by sex and English region registered between 2010 to 2019[3][4][5]

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Persons

North East

266

287

248

244

247

305

295

246

273

235

North West

709

682

634

661

674

727

716

704

675

616

Yorkshire & The Humber

660

577

462

469

544

451

502

482

464

380

East Midlands

456

400

341

352

399

426

385

376

365

323

West Midlands

534

514

500

446

477

571

477

453

433

450

East of England

626

614

468

526

494

520

456

440

483

445

London

616

661

568

580

735

552

516

577

585

574

South East

859

720

720

754

756

794

820

716

724

683

South West

590

566

510

543

494

536

560

519

516

496

Males

North East

218

226

198

179

185

242

229

198

218

172

North West

540

529

480

498

498

542

568

552

527

479

Yorkshire & The Humber

482

440

353

369

412

354

407

382

360

286

East Midlands

345

300

254

276

305

324

308

304

281

239

West Midlands

411

387

382

340

373

446

386

357

325

334

East of England

462

465

346

395

374

390

353

330

364

352

London

437

503

419

447

543

424

395

435

427

434

South East

657

526

524

556

563

604

627

538

526

501

South West

465

424

372

404

347

375

415

392

392

369

Females

North East

48

61

50

65

62

63

66

48

55

63

North West

169

153

154

163

176

185

148

152

148

137

Yorkshire & The Humber

178

137

109

100

132

97

95

100

104

94

East Midlands

111

100

87

76

94

102

77

72

84

84

West Midlands

123

127

118

106

104

125

91

96

108

116

East of England

164

149

122

131

120

130

103

110

119

93

London

179

158

149

133

192

128

121

142

158

140

South East

202

194

196

198

193

190

193

178

198

182

South West

125

142

138

139

147

161

145

127

124

127

Source: ONS

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/latest

[2]Due to operational difficulites, suicides registered in 2019 in Northern Ireland and Scotland were unavailable at the time of analysis, and so this year’s annual release is for England and Wales only. The ONS will update the UK figures at a later stage.

[3]Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). This includes all deaths from intentional self-harm for persons aged 10 years and over, and deaths where the intent was undetermined for those aged 15 years and over. The ICD codes used to select the deaths are show in Box 1.

ICD-10 codes

Description

X60-X84

Intentional self-harm

Y10-Y34

Injury/poisoning of undetermined intent


[4]Figures are for persons usually resident in each area, based on postcode boundaries as of May 2020.

[5]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘Suicide Registrations In The UK’ statistical bulletin.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
31st Jan 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that sponsor organisations regularly change contractual terms for overseas healthcare employees without the agreement of the individuals concerned.

The Government expects all employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership.

The Department of Health and Social Care has recently published guidance aimed at candidates who are applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad, including information on working rights and standards.

Employers are strongly encouraged to follow the guidance available on gov.uk and the Acas website when considering changes to terms and conditions of employment.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
31st Jan 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that individual healthcare recruits from India are being charged significant sums of money to obtain a work permit and visa; and whether this is prohibited by section 6(i) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973.

We have noted the reports of unethical and exploitative practices in this sector. To address this the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has recently published guidance aimed at candidates who are applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad. It provides information on how to avoid scams, working rights and standards, what to consider when deciding whether to take a health or care job in the UK and where to go for further guidance, help or support.

Section 6 of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (EAA 1973) prohibits the charging of work-finding fees to work-seekers wherever they are recruited from, provided the agency is operating in Great Britain. Agencies are permitted to charge fees for other paid-for services and can pass on visa costs to work-seekers, but this should be clearly set out in writing to the work-seeker. The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate continues to work closely with DHSC to ensure their guidance aligns with these requirements.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
9th Sep 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote consumer confidence in buying online; and what assessment they have made of the performance of delivery companies in this regard.

Through the Consumer Right Act 2015 and other legislation, the Government ensures that consumers have specified rights when shopping online. Furthermore, the Government is consulting on measures to boost these online rights further, including proposals to prevent consumers being misled by fake reviews and preventing online exploitation of consumer behaviour.

Ofcom is the UK’s independent regulator of postal services. It monitors competition and consumer protection in the sector. Ofcom is currently conducting a review of postal regulation so that it remains relevant and fit for purpose in the light of market changes. It intends to publish a consultation later this year before concluding the review next year.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
8th Sep 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of home parcel deliveries during the last 18 months to the health and well-being of the UK; what conclusions, if any, they have drawn from any such assessment; and what plans they have to further regulate home parcel deliveries to protect the public interest.

The Government recognises the important role that postal services have played in helping to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on individuals, families and businesses throughout the country. We remain committed to ensuring the universal postal service, through the universal service obligation, remains affordable and accessible to all users.

Ofcom, as the UK’s designated independent regulator of postal services, is carrying out a review of the future regulatory framework for post which it aims to complete in 2022. As part of this review, Ofcom is considering whether extra consumer protections may be required and has sought views on the future regulation of the parcel delivery market. A Call for Inputs was launched on 11 March 2021 and closed on 20 May 2021. Ofcom intends to publish a full consultation on the future regulation of postal services later this year.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
27th Nov 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they provide local authorities with (1) guidance, or (2) obligations, in relation to funding provided by the Small Business Fund; and if so, whether the funding provided by Harrogate Council to the Harrogate Conservative Association is in line with any such guidance or obligations.

Local Authorities were provided with initial guidance on 24 March 2020 regarding the eligibility and distribution of the Small Business Grant Fund.

Under the Small Business Grant Fund, all business hereditaments which were on 11 March in receipt of either the Small Business Rates Relief or the Rural Rates Relief in the business rates system were eligible for a payment of £10,000. Eligible recipients were entitled to receive one grant per qualifying hereditament.

Local Authorities were responsible for determining eligibility for the Small Business Grant Fund in line with the guidance provided to them.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
5th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the briefing The Cost of Delaying Reform to Children’s Social Care, published in May, which summarised analysis commissioned by the children charities Action for Children, Barnardo’s, the Children’s Society, the NSPCC, and the National Children’s Bureau.

There needs to be a fundamental shift away from crisis intervention and towards earlier intervention, and the ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ Implementation Strategy and Consultation sets out how the department intend to achieve that. The consultation can be found attached. These are complex reforms, with complicated systemic interactions, and it is critical that we take a test and learn approach and make sure we have models that can be rolled out effectively.

Alongside the Implementation Strategy, the department has announced we are investing £200 million by 2024/25 to address urgent issues facing children and families, to lay the foundations for whole system reform and set national direction for change. This is on top of the £142 million invested by 2024/25 to take forward reforms to unregulated provision in children’s social care, the £160 million as announced in March 2022 to deliver our Adoption Strategy over the next three years, the £259 million to maintain capacity and expand provision in secure and open residential children’s homes over the Spending Review 21 period, and the £230 million over the same period to support young people leaving care.

This is all in addition to the £3.85 billion social care grant that the government is providing to local authorities for adults and children’s social care this year.

After two years, the department will refresh the ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ strategy, and seek to scale up the new approaches we have tested and developed, including bringing forward new legislation where necessary (subject to parliamentary time).​

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
24th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of using paper-based systems for prescribing medicines on the efficacy of homecare medicines services.

An assessment, through a commissioned piece of user-research of homecare paper-based prescribing, was done during the COVID-19 pandemic. NHS England will use the information in this assessment to understand the issues in homecare, as well as to inform future improvement actions, particularly developing and adoption of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

No assessment has been made of the impact of requirements under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The only advanced electronic signature (AES) is through EPS. Not many e-prescribing systems used in secondary care have the capability to meet this AES requirement.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of requirements under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1916) for prescriptions to have either a wet signature or an advanced electronic signature on the efficiency of homecare medicines services.

An assessment, through a commissioned piece of user-research of homecare paper-based prescribing, was done during the COVID-19 pandemic. NHS England will use the information in this assessment to understand the issues in homecare, as well as to inform future improvement actions, particularly developing and adoption of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

No assessment has been made of the impact of requirements under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The only advanced electronic signature (AES) is through EPS. Not many e-prescribing systems used in secondary care have the capability to meet this AES requirement.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve interoperability of (1) NHS information management systems, and (2) homecare medicines services information management systems.

An Information Standard Notice (ISN) which puts in place definitions that are to be used when a health professional sends or receives patient medication and allergy/intolerance information, by computer system, between care locations, has been published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

The purpose is to ensure that medication and allergy information is transferred between systems and locations in a machine-readable format. This will be achieved by: transferring medication information using the newest version for the United Kingdom of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource, by use of either ‘Medication Codable Concept’ or ‘Medication Resource’ as is most appropriate to the use case; usage of dose syntax to transfer the amount of medication per dose as a simple coded quantity; and transferring allergy/intolerance information using Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms and dictionary of medicines and devices codes.

All clinical IT systems that will be used for prescribing homecare medicines will be required to be compliant with this ISN.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable prescriptions to be shared electronically between (1) NHS services, and (2) homecare medicines service providers.

The National Homecare Medicines Committee’s (NHMC) vision for digital transformation, including e-prescribing in homecare, is available in a short video in an online-only format on the YouTube website. The digital subgroup of the NHMC is working with the National Health Service, Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) systems vendors and homecare providers to produce an output-based specification for an Electronic Prescribing System (EPS), particularly focusing on the technical aspects of homecare requirements for EPS. This will include interoperable prescribing systems. Any ePMA systems used in secondary care need to be Dictionary of medicines and devices compliant and this applies for homecare medicines too; this is needed to support interoperability.

The output-based specification aims to standardise requirements in homecare medicines e-prescribing, accelerating adoption of e-prescribing system development in homecare. This specification is undergoing final review by NHS England before publication by the NHMC.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government when they anticipate all NHS Trusts to have implemented Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent focus on recovery has seen some National Health Service trusts delay implementing Electronic Prescribing and Medication Administration, meaning the timeline for implementation has been pushed to 2025. However, the implementation of e-prescribing in NHS trusts remains a key and appropriate deliverable as part of the vision to digitally transform the NHS. Additionally, the Electronic Prescription Service, which has been widely used in primary care over the past 18 years, is being made available to all NHS trusts by March 2025, should they want to utilise it.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
5th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to (1) significantly reduce, and (2) reform, the amount of regulators and regulatory systems in the health and care sector.

The Government is committed to reforming the system of regulation for healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom, making it faster, fairer, more flexible and less adversarial. A modernised regulatory framework will be introduced first for anaesthesia associates and physician associates, who will be brought into regulation under the General Medical Council by the end of 2024, before the reformed legislation is rolled out to doctors, and to the professions regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council over the following couple of years.

The Care Quality Commission has set out plans to introduce a new single assessment framework for care providers, local authorities, and integrated care systems, which will prevent duplication and provide a consistent and accessible means of ensuring safe and high-quality provision of care at all levels.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
5th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government which minister is directly responsible for the ‘Homecare Medicines Service’; and what arrangements are in place to (1) coordinate, and (2) evaluate the service.

The Minister of State for Health, Will Quince MP, is the minister responsible for the Homecare Medicines Service.

Providers of Homecare Medicine services to National Health Service patients do so under framework agreements which may be held at different authority levels as follows:

- National level, via NHS England;

- Regional level, via NHS procurement hubs; or

- Local level via hospital trusts.

This therefore requires a high degree of centralised co-ordination for which the National Homecare Medicines Committee (NHMC) supports and advises the NHS on matters relating to homecare medicines services.

Homecare medicines services are regulated by three different regulators, namely the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the General Pharmaceutical Council, and the Care Quality Commission, depending on the service being provided. The NHMC acts as the national focus for developing and improving administration and governance processes for homecare medicines services and has published a large volume of guidance and templates to support consistent best practice across the country.

Each Chief Pharmacist within each NHS trust is the responsible officer for the homecare medicines services that the hospital provides and is responsible for the monitoring and performance management of its contracts for these services.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
9th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission is responsible for ensuring entrants to England on Health and Social Care visas and work permits are employed under the same terms and conditions as UK domiciled staff; and if not, who is responsible for their conditions of employment.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) do not have a role to routinely ensure that entrants to England on Health and Social Care visas and work permits are employed under the same terms and conditions as United Kingdom domiciled staff. However, as part of CQC’s regulatory role, staffing governance is considered during CQC inspections at providers. If CQC identify areas of incorrect practice they would work with relevant agencies such as the Home Office to rectify any issues raised.

CQC regulate all health and care services that want to conduct a Regulated Activity, as defined by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. CQC’s scope of registration document defines the types of organisations which need to register, including domiciliary care providers, community nursing services or integrated care teams, including district nursing, community matrons and specialist nursing services, community therapy services such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy, community intermediate care, community rehabilitation or reablement services and community outpatient and diagnostic services.

All services are regulated by CQC to ensure they meet the minimum fundamental standards of care. CQC’s regulatory frameworks refer to national best practice, and CQC expect regulated providers to demonstrate how they meet these, or how alternative methods achieve the same or better outcomes for people using services.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
9th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission is responsible for ensuring that home-based health and community care meets acceptable national standards; and if not, who is.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) do not have a role to routinely ensure that entrants to England on Health and Social Care visas and work permits are employed under the same terms and conditions as United Kingdom domiciled staff. However, as part of CQC’s regulatory role, staffing governance is considered during CQC inspections at providers. If CQC identify areas of incorrect practice they would work with relevant agencies such as the Home Office to rectify any issues raised.

CQC regulate all health and care services that want to conduct a Regulated Activity, as defined by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. CQC’s scope of registration document defines the types of organisations which need to register, including domiciliary care providers, community nursing services or integrated care teams, including district nursing, community matrons and specialist nursing services, community therapy services such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy, community intermediate care, community rehabilitation or reablement services and community outpatient and diagnostic services.

All services are regulated by CQC to ensure they meet the minimum fundamental standards of care. CQC’s regulatory frameworks refer to national best practice, and CQC expect regulated providers to demonstrate how they meet these, or how alternative methods achieve the same or better outcomes for people using services.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Jan 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent inspection reports by the Care Quality Commission examine claims made by sponsoring organisations regarding those organisations' recruitment, training and contract practices.

As the independent regulator of health and social care in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors, inspects and rates health and social care services to make sure people receive safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care, and encourages care services to improve.

CQC publishes inspection reports on its website, through which it sets out its findings. CQC’s inspection reports may include its ratings, as well as information on good practice, concerns, and evidence of breaches of regulation CQC has found. CQC’s assessments consider providers’ approach to staff training and wellbeing, and where CQC receives information of concern about a provider it may carry out additional assessment activity. The professional regulators also have responsibility for ensuring health and care professionals have appropriate qualifications.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Jan 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government who is responsible for implementing the Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England; and what steps they are taking to enforce the Code with individual sponsoring organisations.

The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel, which is available in an online format only, applies to all organisations engaged in the recruitment and employment of international health and care staff. It is non-statutory guidance with no legislative enforcement powers.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
31st Jan 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Cross-Whitehall International Recruitment Steering Group last met; and what steps they are taking to prevent abusive employment practices towards healthcare recruits from overseas.

The Cross Whitehall International Recruitment Steering Group last met on 9 November 2022.

On 15 December 2022 my Department published guidance on Applying for a Health and Care Job from Abroad. The guidance raises awareness about the risks involved in seeking a health or care job in the United Kingdom, sets out working rights and standards, how to identify and deal with exploitation and signposts to further help or support.

In August 2022 the Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel was updated and strengthened in several areas to address ethical concerns about employment practices, including setting four new principles on the use of repayment clauses.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
14th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fully registered (1) radiographers, and (2) medical physicists, were working in the NHS in each year from 2016 to 2021; and what steps are they taking to increase the number of such professionals over the next five years.

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practice surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) professionally qualified HCHS radiographers and medical physicists working in National Health Service trusts as at September each year and the latest available data in August 2021.

Radiographers Medical Physicists

September

2016 16,307 2,819

September

2017 16,884 2,809

September

2018 17,398 2,928

September

2019 17,965 2,975

September

2020 18,555 3,153

August 2021 18,573 3,212

Diagnostic radiography and therapeutic radiography are two of the seven priority professions identified in Health Educations England’s (HEE) Cancer Workforce Plan. HEE has trained more

than 560 radiographers in image interpretation and reporting and is now targeting an additional 150 for 2021/22. Since September 2020 all eligible radiography students can access a new, non-repayable training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year plus a specialist subject payment of £1,000 per academic year.

HEE’s National School of Healthcare Science commissions the Scientist Training Programme (STP) and the Higher Specialist Scientific Training (HSST) programmes for clinical scientists and consultant clinical scientists who will work in the domain of medical physics. Since 2016, 596 medical physicists have been trained via the STP and HSST programmes.

14th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace aging radiotherapy treatment machines to enable cancer patients to benefit from technological advances in equipment; and what is their timetable for any such plans.

As part of the 2020 Spending Review, £32 million was made available to support the replacement of 17 linear accelerators (LINACs) over 10 years old, which will be delivered by 31 March 2022. This is in addition to £160 million invested from 2016 to 2018 which enabled the replacement or upgrade of over 80 LINACs.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, changes will be made to the current radiotherapy payment system to incentivise the adoption of evidence-based best practice care and enable the appropriate replacement of equipment.

4th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend (1) to launch, and (2) to chair, a partnership forum on behalf of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities; and if so, who will be the members of that forum.

On the 1 October the Department launched the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities to work in partnership with national and local Government, the National Health Service, the voluntary sector, industry and the wider public health system to improve health outcomes and disparities. We are currently in the process of establishing governance and advisory structures to engage wider partners and stakeholders across the public health system. Further information will be made available in due course.

3rd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the initial priorities for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities do not include (1) mental health, or (2) physical activity.

The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) aims to systematically tackle the top preventable risk factors for poor health, improving the public’s health and narrowing health inequalities. We have not set out a comprehensive list of policies that OHID will cover, but both public mental health and physical activity are within OHID’s remit. OHID and the wider Department of Health and Social Care will work collaboratively with the rest of government, the healthcare system, local government and wider partners to build evidence and drive forward action to prevent ill health and address disparities.

3rd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what the staffing compliment for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will be; and what percentage of staff will transfer from Public Health England.

The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) was established on 1 October. Around 930 staff have moved into OHID from Public Health England (PHE) – the majority of PHE’s health improvement functions, together with around 300 staff working on Public Health in the Department of Health and Social Care. Around three quarters of staff in OHID are from Public Health England. Work is now being taken forward in the light of the Spending Review settlement to confirm the future budget and staffing levels for OHID.

3rd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of physical activity in tackling health (1) improvement, and (2) disparities.

The Department, under the guidance of Chief Medical Officer (CMO), has assessed the role of physical activity in improving health and tackling disparities, and has laid this out in the revised 2019 CMO guidelines for physical activity.

Physical activity can contribute to managing and reducing the risk of chronic conditions, including some cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. Physical activity can also help maintain a healthy weight and support weight loss when combined with a dietary intervention.

There are inequalities in physical activity, for example people living with disabilities or long-term health conditions, and so universal and targeted action can support these groups get more active.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is committed to enabling a systems approach to improve physical activity levels. This includes promoting the CMO guidelines for physical activity, and the national framework for action on physical activity ‘Everybody active, every day’.

3rd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will receive a separate funding allocation from HM Treasury; and if so, whether that will be for the next three years.

The settlement announced by the Chancellor on 27 October 2021 delivers significant investment in public health measures, including funding a Start for Life offer for families and a continuation of the £100 million announced at the Spending Review 2020 to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The settlement also maintains the Public Health Grant in real terms over the Spending Review period.

The Spending Review confirms the overall settlement available for the Department of Health and Social Care’s non-National Health Service budgets for three years – 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025. Spending plans for 2022/2023 and beyond and full details on funding allocations towards public health budgets will be subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and finalised in due course.

In response to the Dame Carol Black recommendations from the Independent Review of drugs, we take the challenge of illegal drug misuse seriously, and the Government will set out further action in the coming months.

22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they first started testing all care home staff for COVID-19 in England.

The Department began piloting testing of care homes on 1 May 2020 and launched the care home portal to allow care home managers to order tests for all staff and residents on 11 May. The whole care home portal was expanded to all adult care homes, including care homes for adults with learning disabilities or mental health issues, for all care home residents and care home staff, regardless of symptoms, on 7 June.

Regular retesting for residents and staff of care homes for over 65 year olds and dementia commenced from 6 July. This included weekly testing for staff and every 28 days for residents. All remaining adult care homes were able to apply for retesting from 31 August.

22nd Feb 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they first started testing all care home residents for COVID-19 in England.

The Department began piloting testing of care homes on 1 May 2020 and launched the care home portal to allow care home managers to order tests for all staff and residents on 11 May. The whole care home portal was expanded to all adult care homes, including care homes for adults with learning disabilities or mental health issues, for all care home residents and care home staff, regardless of symptoms, on 7 June.

Regular retesting for residents and staff of care homes for over 65 year olds and dementia commenced from 6 July. This included weekly testing for staff and every 28 days for residents. All remaining adult care homes were able to apply for retesting from 31 August.

26th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Spanish au pairs will (1) be covered by UK–Spain reciprocal healthcare arrangements after 1 January 2021, or (2) require separate health insurance to work in the UK.

Regardless of any future healthcare arrangements, people who have moved to the United Kingdom or European Union before 31 December 2020, will continue to have life-long reciprocal healthcare rights provided they remain covered under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement. This means existing healthcare arrangements will not change for those UK nationals who are resident in EU and EU citizens in the UK before 31 December 2020, for as long as they are living in that country and covered by the agreement.

For people not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, the future of reciprocal healthcare arrangements between the UK and EU are subject to negotiations, which are ongoing.

The UK has set out that it is ready to work to establish practical, reciprocal healthcare provisions with the EU for the future. The UK is open to arrangements that provide healthcare cover for tourists, short-term business visitors and service providers. These arrangements could benefit UK nationals and EU citizens travelling or moving between the UK.

19th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is interventional procedure guidance available on CE marked vertebral body tethering systems from (1) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or (2) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; and for what kinds of patients, if any, vertebral body tethering will be made available.

There is no current interventional procedure guidance available on CE marked vertebral body tethering systems from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. NICE will be producing interventional procedures guidance on vertebral body tethering for scoliosis. The guidance will involve the evaluation of the procedure, rather than looking at any specific device or product, and will focus on the safety and efficacy of the procedure. The expected date for the publication of the guidance is still to be confirmed.

19th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the National Institute for Health Research is funding any research into the use of vertebral body tethering for adolescents with advancing scoliosis.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including scoliosis. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR is not currently funding or supporting research into the use of vertebral body tethering for adolescents with advancing scoliosis.

19th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what new guidance for the treatment of children with scoliosis has been developed since the withdrawal of the MAGEC system.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have advised that they are currently in the process of reviewing guidance on the MAGEC system in the treatment of people with scoliosis. A robust investigation is currently ongoing to determine whether the benefits of these devices continue to outweigh the risks. In the interim, alternative treatments are available for children with scoliosis, such as casts, back braces and other surgical procedures. The MHRA will consider the use of MAGEC rods on a case-by-case basis where clinicians deem it to be essential.

Any significant change in status to the availability of the MAGEC system in the United Kingdom, will be updated in guidance when appropriate.

25th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many care home residents in England died from COVID-19 related symptoms in each week from 1 April to 1 September.

The following table shows the number of deaths of care home residents occurring in care homes in England, by date of death registration in each week between 1 April to 1 September 2020.

Week ending

Total number of deaths

3 April 2020

187

10 April 2020

768

17 April 2020

1,929

24 April 2020

2,669

1 May 2020

2,329

8 May 2020

1,590

15 May 2020

1,592

22 May 2020

1,046

29 May 2020

670

5 June 2020

536

12 June 2020

360

19 June 2020

242

26 June 2020

181

3 July 2020

163

10 July 2020

89

17 July 2020

91

24 July 2020

67

31 July 2020

44

7 August 2020

29

14 August 2020

39

21 August 2020

39

28 August 2020

23

4 September 2020

17

Source: Office of National Statistics, Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales

Notes:

  1. This data covers deaths of care home residents occurring in care homes in England only and will not cover those who died in other locations such as hospital.
  2. The dates refer to the date of death registration. There can be a delay between date that a death occurred and the date it was registered.
25th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many care home residents tested positive for COVID-19 in each week from 1 April to 1 September.

This information is not held in the format requested. Data on the total number of positive cases is published in an online only format.

25th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) guidelines they have published, and (2) advice they have provided, about priority COVID-19 testing for care home staff.

Essential workers continue to be able to access testing as a priority through the online portal and have been able to since April 2020.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested guidance, which is available in an online-only format, shows the list of key workers which includes social care staff and specifically says they are being prioritised for testing.

Essential workers and members of their households who display symptoms of COVID-19 should book tests by visiting the COVID-19 online test booking portal on GOV.UK. This is set out in the Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested guidance.

From 6 July, we rolled out weekly retesting of care home staff in care homes. The announcement was published on 3 July. We are continuing to prioritise care home testing, where we are issuing more than 120,000 tests a day to care homes across the country.

25th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they have collected from their regular retesting of care home staff and residents, as announced as part of their social care testing strategy on 3 July.

There is a variety of information that is collected about the individuals getting tested in line with the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010, as well as data to support the operational processes involved in testing - for example the address of the care home, how many test kits are needed and so on.

25th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Bethell on 23 September (HL Deb, cols 1919–32), what steps they are taking to ensure that care home staff receive (1) priority testing for COVID-19, and (2) COVID-19 test results within 24 hours.

The adult social care sector has been, and continues to be, one of our highest priorities for access to COVID-19 testing. Care homes have been prioritised for repeat asymptomatic testing. Care homes are provided with tests so they can test staff weekly and residents every 28 days. We are issuing more than 120,000 tests a day to care homes across the country.

There has been a high demand for tests and our laboratories continue to turn test results around as quickly as possible. We are bringing in new capacity, technology and staff to process tests faster. This includes increasing the number of permanent staff at existing lighthouse labs, announcing four new laboratory facilities that will join our network as well as surge labs to process more tests in the short-term.

9th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local suicide prevention plans have been set up in England since 2017.

Local authorities are responsible for developing local suicide action plans. Every local authority now has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place, and we are working with local government to assure the effectiveness of those plans. The Department provided almost £600,000 last year to the Local Government Association for a support programme to help local authorities strengthen their plans.

From 2019/20 to 2023/24, we are investing an additional £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in all areas of the country to support local suicide prevention plans. Funding for the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Suicide Prevention Programme is allocated to sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) via a pence per head calculation.

The STPs within Yorkshire and the Humber have received around £2.6 million of this funding to support their work on suicide prevention. As part of this funding,

- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP has received £1.4 million since 2018/19;

- Humber, Coast and Vale STP has received £712,000 since 2019/20 with further planned allocations in 2021/22; and

- West Yorkshire and Harrogate STP has received £519,000 in 2020/21 with further planned allocations in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

There are 15 local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber and the STPs listed above cover all local authorities.

9th Sep 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local suicide prevention plans have been set up in Yorkshire and Humber since 2017; and how much resource from their £25 million investment has been allocated to each plan.

Local authorities are responsible for developing local suicide action plans. Every local authority now has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place, and we are working with local government to assure the effectiveness of those plans. The Department provided almost £600,000 last year to the Local Government Association for a support programme to help local authorities strengthen their plans.

From 2019/20 to 2023/24, we are investing an additional £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in all areas of the country to support local suicide prevention plans. Funding for the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Suicide Prevention Programme is allocated to sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) via a pence per head calculation.

The STPs within Yorkshire and the Humber have received around £2.6 million of this funding to support their work on suicide prevention. As part of this funding,

- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP has received £1.4 million since 2018/19;

- Humber, Coast and Vale STP has received £712,000 since 2019/20 with further planned allocations in 2021/22; and

- West Yorkshire and Harrogate STP has received £519,000 in 2020/21 with further planned allocations in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

There are 15 local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber and the STPs listed above cover all local authorities.

25th Feb 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many registered (1) nurses, and (2) midwives, whose initial registration was in another EU country left the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in (a) 2016–17, (b) 2017–18, and (c) 2018–19.

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives with a European Economic Area (EEA) or non-EEA country of initial registration who left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Register in 2016-17:

Role Type

Leavers

Midwife

164

Nurse

2,868

Nurse and Midwife (dual registration)

49

3,081

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives with a EEA or non-EEA country of initial registration who left the NMC Register in 2017-18:

Role Type

Leavers

Midwife

188

Nurse

3,728

Nurse and Midwife (dual registration)

46

3,962

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives with a EEA or non-EEA country of initial registration who left the NMC Register in 2018-19:

Role Type

Leavers

Midwife

156

Nurse

3,126

Nurse and Midwife (dual registration)

51

3,333

30th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) registered nurses, and (2) registered midwives, left the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in 2018–19 to return to other EU or non-EU countries.

The Department does not hold information on the number of registrants who have left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register and also departed from the United Kingdom.

30th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) registered nurses, (2) registered nursing associates, and (3) registered midwives, are on the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register (a) in total, and (b) whose initial registration was in another European Union country.

The following table shows the current number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Register.

Midwife

36,916

Nurse

653,544

Nurse and midwife (dual registration)

7,288

Nursing associate

489

Total

698,237

The following table shows the current number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives currently on NMC Register whose initial registration was in other European Union countries.

Midwife

1,217

Nurse

31,379

Nurse and midwife (dual registration)

439

Nursing associate

0

Total

33,035

All figures are as recorded on the NMC register on 4 February 2020.

21st Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) registered nurses, (2) registered nursing associates, and (3) registered midwives, joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in 2018-2019.

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives who joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register for the first time in 2018-19.

Registered nurses

Registered nursing associates

Registered midwives

28,020

489

2,114

The following table shows the number of registered nurses and registered midwives who left the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in 2018–19.

Registered nurses

Registered midwives

Dual qualified nurse/midwives

27,194

1,587

351

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives whose initial registration was in other European Union countries, who joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council register for the first time in 2018–19.

Registered nurses

Registered nursing associates

Registered midwives

915

0

53

All figures are based on the 12 month period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

21st Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) registered nurses, (2) registered nursing associates, and (3) registered midwives, who were previously residents of other EU countries, joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council register in 2018–19.

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives who joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register for the first time in 2018-19.

Registered nurses

Registered nursing associates

Registered midwives

28,020

489

2,114

The following table shows the number of registered nurses and registered midwives who left the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in 2018–19.

Registered nurses

Registered midwives

Dual qualified nurse/midwives

27,194

1,587

351

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives whose initial registration was in other European Union countries, who joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council register for the first time in 2018–19.

Registered nurses

Registered nursing associates

Registered midwives

915

0

53

All figures are based on the 12 month period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

21st Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) registered nurses, (2) registered midwives, left the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in 2018–19.

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives who joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register for the first time in 2018-19.

Registered nurses

Registered nursing associates

Registered midwives

28,020

489

2,114

The following table shows the number of registered nurses and registered midwives who left the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register in 2018–19.

Registered nurses

Registered midwives

Dual qualified nurse/midwives

27,194

1,587

351

The following table shows the number of registered nurses, registered nursing associates, and registered midwives whose initial registration was in other European Union countries, who joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council register for the first time in 2018–19.

Registered nurses

Registered nursing associates

Registered midwives

915

0

53

All figures are based on the 12 month period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.