Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to the NHS on its obligation to provide interpreter services.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The provision of language support, including interpretation and translation, is driven by the requirement for all National Health Service organisations to comply with the public sector equality duty. As public sector organisations, NHS bodies have a duty to ensure that all people have equal access to the information and services that they provide.
The provision of interpretation and translation services by NHS bodies is a matter for local determination based on the composition of the communities they serve, and the needs and circumstances of their patients, service users and local populations.
Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 also requires those who provide a service to the public or a section of the public to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ so that disabled people are not placed at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ compared to non-disabled people, this includes communication and provision of information.
As part of their commitment to improving the experience of patients using NHS services, empowering people to be equal partners in their own care and help reduce unacceptable variation in the quality of reasonable adjustments, NHS England is developing an Information Standard for the provision of accessible, personalised information.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse was of prescriptions issued for paracetamol in England in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
Information on the number and net ingredient cost of prescription items for paracetamol1 dispensed in the community in England is in the table.
Year | Prescription Items (000s) | Net Ingredient Cost (£000s) |
2012-13 | 21,963.2 | 73,793.9 |
2013-14 | 22,616.5 | 83,146.6 |
1Excludes combination medicines. Includes multiple packs per item and a range of formulations, including those produced specific to patient needs
Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system provided by the NHS Business Services Authority
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions have been issued for paracetamol in England in each of the last two years.
Answered by George Freeman
Information on the number and net ingredient cost of prescription items for paracetamol1 dispensed in the community in England is in the table.
Year | Prescription Items (000s) | Net Ingredient Cost (£000s) |
2012-13 | 21,963.2 | 73,793.9 |
2013-14 | 22,616.5 | 83,146.6 |
1Excludes combination medicines. Includes multiple packs per item and a range of formulations, including those produced specific to patient needs
Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system provided by the NHS Business Services Authority
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support and promote Self Care Week which runs from 17 to 23 November 2014; and what promotional materials he is disseminating in the NHS to support this campaign.
Answered by George Freeman
The Department supports Self-Care week and my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Earl Howe), gave the opening presentation at the 16th Self-Care Forum. In his speech, Earl Howe promoted the use of the self-care leaflets, posters and social media messages disseminated by the Self-Care Forum. He also highlighted that self-care information and guidance (including fact sheets for 13 common ailments) is available on NHS Choices, Patient UK and a number of other websites.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has had from the British Dental Association on the recent practices of the General Dental Council; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Poulter
Since May 2014, when the Professional Standards Authority announced that it was going to carry out an investigation on the General Dental Council (GDC), the Department has received a number of representations from the British Dental Association (BDA) regarding the recent practices of the GDC.
As at 14 November 2014, these representations included a letter from Dr Mick Armstrong, Chair of the BDA. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality (Earl Howe) provided a response on 28 July 2014 and I provided a response on 1 August 2014 regarding the competence of the GDC and the annual retention fee.
My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison), on 22 October 2014, also met with the BDA where they discussed wider regulatory issues facing dentists. Ministers have regular contact with the BDA and are aware of their concerns regarding the GDC fee increase.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2014, Official Report, column 241W, on billing, what the value was of all outstanding legacy creditors on 1 June 2014.
Answered by Dan Poulter
As at 1 June 2014, the value of outstanding legacy creditors was £3,237,153.15.
Following the abolition of primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 31 March 2013, legacy PCT and SHA finance teams remained in place until 31 August 2013 to process creditor payments relating to pre 1 April 2013. Creditor payments outstanding at 31 August 2013 were transferred to successor organisations, including the Department. The above amount remains outstanding because of due diligence taking place on creditor payments in order to mitigate the risk of making fraudulent or duplicate payments.
Asked by: Nick de Bois (Conservative - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many creditors had remained unpaid by his Department on 1 June 2014 for (a) 45, (b) 60, (c) 75 and (d) 76 days and over.
Answered by Norman Lamb
As at 1 June 2014, the Department had three creditors that remained unpaid for between 45-59 days.
The Department had no creditors that remained unpaid for between 60-74 days.
The Department had no creditors that remained unpaid for 75 days.
Following the abolition of primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 31 March 2013, the Department took over responsibility for ensuring that legacy invoice payments were made correctly. Legacy PCT and SHA teams remained in place, to process creditor payments for prior to 1 April 2013, until 31 August 2013. Those outstanding at that point were transferred to successor organisations, including the Department. As at 1 June 2014, there were 270 creditors that remained unpaid. This is due to the careful diligence taking place in order to mitigate the risk of making fraudulent or duplicate payments.