Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the percentage of funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 that will be allocated by NHS bodies to fund increases in National Insurance Contributions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department, from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.
The Budget announced the increase to the National Insurance contribution, but additional funding will be agreed with HM Treasury for 2025/26 separately, which is not included in the £22.6 billion increase.
The Employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025, with the Department setting out further details on allocation of funding in due course, including through planning guidance.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support (a) hospices, (b) GPs and (c) care homes, in the context of proposed changes to employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for the next year in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue to support the TRANSFORM prostate cancer screening trial.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research is crucial in tackling cancer, and the Government is strongly committed to supporting research into cancer. The Department spends £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer being the largest area of spend, at over £121.8 million in 2022/23. The NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group, reflecting its high priority.
The TRANSFORM trial is an important example of prostate cancer research, as a £42 million screening trial which aims to find ways of detecting prostate cancer earlier. Prostate Cancer UK is leading the development of the trial, with the Government contributing £16 million through the NIHR. The TRANSFORM trial will also aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis today, ensuring that at least 10% of the men who are invited to participate in the trial are black, to inform a targeted approach for earlier diagnosis.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including prostate cancer. 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.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) NHS England and (b) drug companies to secure supplies of ADHD medication.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.
We are continuing to work to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of methylphenidate. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced, and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. It is anticipated the methylphenidate supply issues will be resolved by October 2024.
In parallel, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on encouraging young people to pursue careers in (a) hospitals and (b) community pharmacies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the role of NHS England to work with National Health Service secondary care, community providers, and universities to ensure there is a supply of staff to take on the available roles providing NHS services in pharmacies, and to promote the vast array of careers available within the NHS. NHS England has developed a range of resources and interactive tools to encourage people of all ages to start a career in pharmacy. Wider NHS workforce plans aim to attract people across all generations, including those who have yet to join the workforce, to enter the pharmacy profession to train as a pharmacist and pharmacy technician.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a royal commission on social care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to tackle the challenges facing adult social care. We want everyone to live an independent, dignified life. That is why we will build consensus on the long-term reform needed to create a National Care Service. We will engage with a range of stakeholders, including cross-party and people with lived experience. We will set out more detail of our priorities for adult social care in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask NHS England to monitor the (a) uptake of locally implemented waste reduction schemes and (b) impact of such schemes on levels of unused medicines.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is leading a programme on medicine optimisation which aims to help patients to improve outcomes and safety, take medicines as intended, avoid taking unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. Community pharmacies also offer the New Medicines Service, providing further support to patients newly prescribed certain medicines, and the Discharge Medicines Service, enabling hospitals to refer recently discharged patients to a community pharmacy for support with new medication.
Structured Medicine Reviews are offered by general practices (GPs), where pharmacists are part of multi-disciplinary teams to review patients’ medication, optimise their medication, and prevent wastage. In addition, electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) allows a GP to send repeat prescriptions to a patient’s pharmacy to manage the dispensing of the specific medicines required. As part of the eRD service, the pharmacy is required to make sure that the patient still needs all of their medicines, and dispense to the patients only those that are needed.
The national overprescribing review from 2021 set outs a series of practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment for their needs, while ensuring value for money. The impact of these and other measures is not centrally monitored.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on improving efforts to gather NHS charges from overseas visitors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to working with NHS England to ensure effective implementation of The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.
The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts. The cash payments received by the NHS from overseas visitors are also published annually in the consolidated NHS provider accounts. The following table shows the aggregate income identified, and cash payments received by the NHS in England from overseas visitors, over the last five years:
Year | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
Aggregate income identified | £91,000,000 | £93,000,000 | £61,000,000 | £67,000,000 | £100,000,000 | |
Cash payments received in-year | £35,000,000 | £39,000,000 | £21,000,000 | £25,000,000 | £32,000,000 | |
Source: the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.
NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money has been collected through NHS claims for charges from overseas visitors in the last five reported financial years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to working with NHS England to ensure effective implementation of The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.
The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts. The cash payments received by the NHS from overseas visitors are also published annually in the consolidated NHS provider accounts. The following table shows the aggregate income identified, and cash payments received by the NHS in England from overseas visitors, over the last five years:
Year | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
Aggregate income identified | £91,000,000 | £93,000,000 | £61,000,000 | £67,000,000 | £100,000,000 | |
Cash payments received in-year | £35,000,000 | £39,000,000 | £21,000,000 | £25,000,000 | £32,000,000 | |
Source: the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.
NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS claims for charges from overseas visitors were processed by the NHS in the last five reported financial years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to working with NHS England to ensure effective implementation of The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.
The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts. The cash payments received by the NHS from overseas visitors are also published annually in the consolidated NHS provider accounts. The following table shows the aggregate income identified, and cash payments received by the NHS in England from overseas visitors, over the last five years:
Year | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
Aggregate income identified | £91,000,000 | £93,000,000 | £61,000,000 | £67,000,000 | £100,000,000 | |
Cash payments received in-year | £35,000,000 | £39,000,000 | £21,000,000 | £25,000,000 | £32,000,000 | |
Source: the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.
NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.