Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 adequacy of the current tariff for the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service in the context of rising operational costs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practices (GPs) are paid for minor surgery directed enhanced services through global sum payments, although they have the option to opt out of these services, and if so, the relevant deductions will be made from their global sum payments.
Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, including Directed Enhanced Services, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contracts.
We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade and means we are reversing the recent trend with a rising share of total NHS resources going to GPs. We are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department is having with the Care Quality Commission on carrying out further inspections at Castle Hill Hospital.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recently sought information from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regarding their regulatory oversight of Castle Hill Hospital. The CQC last inspected Castle Hill Hospital in November 2022, where it was rated as Requires Improvement overall. The full inspection report and detail are available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RWA16
Castle Hill Hospital is part of the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust is subject to enhanced surveillance and attends a monthly Quality Improvement Board chaired by NHS England, which the CQC also attends. The trust’s action plan is monitored by the Board.
The trust was told by the CQC to take several actions to ensure that clinical care and treatment across the trust was delivered safely and in accordance with national guidance. The CQC continues to monitor the trust to ensure required improvements are made.
In light of the police investigation and the completion of three external reviews into the trust, the CQC is considering new information to determine any further regulatory action. Any inspection activity will be reported on and published on the CQC’s website.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of safety levels at Castle Hill Hospital.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recently sought information from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regarding their regulatory oversight of Castle Hill Hospital. The CQC last inspected Castle Hill Hospital in November 2022, where it was rated as Requires Improvement overall. The full inspection report and detail are available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RWA16
Castle Hill Hospital is part of the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust is subject to enhanced surveillance and attends a monthly Quality Improvement Board chaired by NHS England, which the CQC also attends. The trust’s action plan is monitored by the Board.
The trust was told by the CQC to take several actions to ensure that clinical care and treatment across the trust was delivered safely and in accordance with national guidance. The CQC continues to monitor the trust to ensure required improvements are made.
In light of the police investigation and the completion of three external reviews into the trust, the CQC is considering new information to determine any further regulatory action. Any inspection activity will be reported on and published on the CQC’s website.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential need for Commissioner intervention in Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, in the context of the absence of senior leadership.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently temporary senior leadership arrangements in place at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust. Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and NHS England’s North East and Yorkshire Regional Team continue to provide ongoing support to the trust, ensuring that the temporary acting arrangements are successfully in place and offering any additional support that is required.
NHS England will continue to provide ongoing support to the trust and its senior leadership team to ensure that our patients and public continue to receive the highest quality of care possible across the Humber region.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on when the absence of senior leadership may necessitate intervention by a commissioner in an integrated care board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care board (ICB) chairs are appointed by NHS England subject to the approval of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in line with NHS England’s guidance, where the ICB chair position has become vacant before a successor can be approved by the Secretary of State, the ICB board may be chaired by an acting chair, which is normally, but not always, the deputy chair. The ICB governance guidance, updated in July 2024, made it a requirement for all ICBs to have a deputy chair. Information on further related requirements is available in the guidance at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/guidance-on-integrated-care-board-constitutions-and-governance/
ICB chief executives are appointed by the ICB chair subject to the approval of NHS England. All ICBs are required to have an Accountable Officer; an Acting CEO can cover temporary periods of absence.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on whether the (a) Chair and (b) Chief Executive of Humber and North Yorkshire integrated care board remain in post.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chair of the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) resigned from the post on 12 March 2025. The ICB is currently identifying a Non-Executive Member to act as Chair for a short period. The Chief Executive is currently taking a leave of absence, and acting CEO arrangements are currently in place.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 adequacy of assessments undertaken by medical examiners to establish causes of death.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Medical examiner offices are staffed at a trust level with oversight and guidance from the National Medical Examiner based in NHS England. The National Medical Examiner publishes standards of performance that medical examiners are expected to meet in exercising their functions. To become a medical examiner, a qualifying medical practitioner should undertake relevant training including e-learning and face to face training and continuing professional development. While the Government has not made its own assessment of the adequacy of assessments undertaken by medical examiners to establish causes of death, the National Medical Examiner must publish an annual report which would include the way in which medical examiners had exercised their functions, including in relation to standards of performance.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the medical examiner process on (a) bereaved relatives and (b) the time it takes for families to arrange funerals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data since the introduction of the reforms indicates the median time taken to register a death appeared to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days prior to Christmas. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year; the average has subsequently decreased.
The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.
The introduction of medical examiners is in part about making sure deaths are properly described and improving practice, but the impact on the bereaved is also central. The reforms aim to put the bereaved at centre of the process and the medical examiner office must offer a conversation with representatives of the deceased, so they can ask any questions they have about the death or to raise concerns. Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something we will continue to monitor with NHS England.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 impact of GPs undertaking medical examinations on GP workloads.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are determined to 'bulldoze bureaucracy' and cut red tape, ensuring general practitioners (GPs) spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients. We recognise it is vital for roles to be satisfying, rewarding and sustainable so that our experienced GPs continue to contribute throughout their career.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 adequacy of medical school places.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to training the staff we need, including doctors, to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We have launched the 10-Year Health Plan which will set out a bold agenda to reform and repair the National Health Service. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. This summer we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to build the transformed health service we will deliver over the next decade.