Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure that the budget for the Special Schools Eye Care Service is not reduced so that (a) children with Special Educational Needs can receive free eye care in schools and (b) optometrists can afford to continue providing the service.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has committed to invest up to £12.7 million annually for the provision of sight tests and associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This represents an approximate 87% increase compared to the current budget. This additional investment has the potential to increase coverage from 4% of special educational settings to 100%. This is a new additional budget for providing sight tests and vouchers in these settings, and so represents a recurrent increased investment in sight testing and the sight testing sector. Service delivery will continue within the proof-of-concept settings, to ensure continuity of service, whilst the required regulatory changes are laid in Parliament to underpin wider rollout during 2024/25.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of cutting the special schools eye care budget on children with special educational needs.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has committed to invest up to £12.7 million annually for the provision of sight tests and associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This represents an approximate 87% increase compared to the current budget. This additional investment has the potential to increase coverage from 4% of special educational settings to 100%. This is a new additional budget for providing sight tests and vouchers in these settings, and so represents a recurrent increased investment in sight testing and the sight testing sector. Service delivery will continue within the proof-of-concept settings, to ensure continuity of service, whilst the required regulatory changes are laid in Parliament to underpin wider rollout during 2024/25.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the special schools eye care service budget on service delivery.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has committed to invest up to £12.7 million annually for the provision of sight tests and associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This represents an approximate 87% increase compared to the current budget. This additional investment has the potential to increase coverage from 4% of special educational settings to 100%. This is a new additional budget for providing sight tests and vouchers in these settings, and so represents a recurrent increased investment in sight testing and the sight testing sector. Service delivery will continue within the proof-of-concept settings, to ensure continuity of service, whilst the required regulatory changes are laid in Parliament to underpin wider rollout during 2024/25.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Special Schools Eye Care service is fully funded.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has committed to invest up to £12.7 million annually for the provision of sight tests and associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This represents an approximate 87% increase compared to the current budget. This additional investment has the potential to increase coverage from 4% of special educational settings to 100%. This is a new additional budget for providing sight tests and vouchers in these settings, and so represents a recurrent increased investment in sight testing and the sight testing sector. Service delivery will continue within the proof-of-concept settings, to ensure continuity of service, whilst the required regulatory changes are laid in Parliament to underpin wider rollout during 2024/25.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking with its international partners to help ensure that people living with tuberculosis have access to healthcare.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is a leading donor to the fight against tuberculosis. Our £1 billion replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide TB treatment and care to more than one million people between 2023 and 2025. We are a leading funder of TB research, including through the TB Alliance and also invest in improving access and affordability for key TB products and testing innovative approaches to providing TB services. These investments contribute to achieving the commitments made in the TB High Level 2023 political declaration, including supporting people to have access to appropriate healthcare.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to help achieve the commitments made in the 2023 TB High-Level Meeting Political Declaration by 2028.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is a leading donor to the fight against tuberculosis. Our £1 billion replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide TB treatment and care to more than one million people between 2023 and 2025. We are a leading funder of TB research, including through the TB Alliance and also invest in improving access and affordability for key TB products and testing innovative approaches to providing TB services. These investments contribute to achieving the commitments made in the TB High Level 2023 political declaration, including supporting people to have access to appropriate healthcare.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving employment support services to (a) London boroughs and (b) the Mayor of London.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the English Devolution Trailblazer deeper devolution deals, the Department of Work and Pensions have agreed with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities to test a new approach to design of future Contracted Employment Programmes including co-design and a delegated delivery model, aligned with the Combined Authorities geographical footprint.
We will evaluate the impacts and outcomes of this new approach to further understand the opportunities and risks involved, before considering the Department’s approach to future contracted employment programmes.
Full details of the ‘Trailblazer’ deals can be found here:
Greater Manchester Combined Authority Trailblazer deeper devolution deal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
West Midlands Combined Authority: “Trailblazer” deeper devolution deal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the funding model for hospices.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service-funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an ICB must commission, which will ensure a more consistent national approach, and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.
The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
The Department, alongside key partners, and NHS England will continue to engage with stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face, including that of future funding pressures. The Department is in ongoing discussions with NHS England about oversight and accountability of National Health Service palliative and end of life care commissioning.
The Government recognises the difficult economic context that organisations such as hospices face, which is why we made the decision to provide additional funding to help deliver non-consolidated pay awards to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, including some hospices. Funding has been made available for over 27,000 staff in non-NHS organisations to receive the two non-consolidated awards agreed as part of the Agenda for Change pay deal. Eligible organisations will receive their funding as soon as practically possible, following the receipt of their invoice.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to support hospices with rising costs.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service-funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an ICB must commission, which will ensure a more consistent national approach, and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.
The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life, and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
The Department, alongside key partners, and NHS England will continue to engage with stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face, including that of future funding pressures. The Department is in ongoing discussions with NHS England about oversight and accountability of National Health Service palliative and end of life care commissioning.
The Government recognises the difficult economic context that organisations such as hospices face, which is why we made the decision to provide additional funding to help deliver non-consolidated pay awards to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, including some hospices. Funding has been made available for over 27,000 staff in non-NHS organisations to receive the two non-consolidated awards agreed as part of the Agenda for Change pay deal. Eligible organisations will receive their funding as soon as practically possible, following the receipt of their invoice.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure accurate understanding among (a) claimants and (b) benefits advisers of Personal Independence Payment in relation to being a benefit linked with the extra costs of disability not employment status.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP raise awareness and understanding of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), for those who may be entitled, using a variety of methods:
Comprehensive information is provided on Gov.UK, and it is made clear that you can claim PIP even if you’re working, have savings or are getting most other benefits.
Meetings take place with various Disability Groups and external stakeholders where PIP is often a topic for discussion. Any presentations or Q&A sessions make it clear that PIP is there to support anyone who may be impacted by a disability or health condition and is not restricted by employment status.
We have also produced a series of useful video guides on PIP, hosted on YouTube. Links to the videos can also be accessed via Gov.UK.
The department has taken steps to raise awareness of PIP amongst Work Coaches, who frequently interact with claimants who have health conditions and disabilities. As part of their routine induction and training Work Coaches are provided with an overview of PIP. They are encouraged to signpost potential applicants to information on Gov.UK rather than discuss eligibility criteria.
For DWP colleagues working on other benefits the approach is the same. If anyone enquires about PIP they are signposted to information on Gov.UK.