Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of better use of pharmacies on the healthcare provision to local communities.
Answered by David Mowat
Pharmacies are an important source of care, providing services such as flu jabs, health checks and of course dispensing vital medicines. We are transforming how pharmacists and their teams operate in the community - making the most of their skills to meet urgent medicine needs, treat minor ailments and ensure patients receive the best care. Healthy Living Pharmacies across the country with qualified health champions are demonstrating innovative models of delivery, reaching out to their local communities and making a real difference to people’s health.
To make even greater use of this important asset, the Murray Review of community pharmacy clinical services recommended that NHS England and its national partners should consider how best to support Sustainability and Transformation Plans in integrating community pharmacy into those plans. Public Health England published a menu of preventative interventions for the Sustainability and Transformation Plans in November 2016, which outlined evidence-based public health and preventative interventions that can help to improve the health of the population and reduce health and care services demand in the short to medium term. That menu specifically identified that pharmacy can make a contribution to:
- Cardiovascular disease secondary prevention;
- Improving the management of patients with blood pressure;
- Delivering effective brief advice on physical activity as part of everyday clinical care;
- Raising public awareness about reducing the risk of dementia;
- Providing support to stop smoking; and
- Reducing alcohol consumption and harm through brief advice.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Government has made on recruiting more GPs in (a) Devon and (b) Plymouth.
Answered by David Mowat
The General Practice Forward View (GPFV), published in April 2016, sets out that the Government is investing an extra £2.4 billion a year nationally for general practice services by 2020/21, with the set aim to have an extra 5,000 doctors working in general practice in England by 2020.
NHS England’s South West Development Fund is being used to implement the GPFV locally, with a team of change managers – including one in Plymouth – in place to support practices and make them more sustainable and attractive to new doctors. In addition, Health Education England’s south west team has been active in promoting general practice as a career both by working with national incentives and addressing local opportunities.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what systems his Department plans to put in place to support the recruitment of GPs from abroad.
Answered by David Mowat
The General Practice Forward View (GPFV), published in April 2016, includes a commitment to deliver a major international recruitment drive to attract at least 500 appropriately trained and qualified general practitioners from overseas by 2020.
Following publication of the GPFV, NHS England’s general practice workforce team has been engaging with regional and local National Health Service teams, Health Education England, and other stakeholders, including the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association, to agree an approach for delivering the commitment. These different stakeholders have agreed that the programme will be locally led and delivered with national oversight, co-ordination and support by the national general practice workforce team.
Each overseas recruitment project will be expected to satisfy a set of national principles; the national principles are set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/workforce/international-gp-recruitment/national-principles/
The contracts and support packages for international doctors recruited into general practices will vary across the country, to be tailored to the opportunities and needs of the local health system. A budget of up to £20 million has been identified to support schemes up to 2020.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to encourage other donors to scale up nutrition investment programmes to tackle malnutrition in high-burden countries.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID is encouraging donors to prioritise nutrition, through the G7, the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, and through bilateral channels. We are encouraging both increased nutrition specific work as well as a greater nutrition focus in donors’ broader development work. We are also tracking Nutrition for Growth commitments through the Global Nutrition Report.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to monitor and report on the effect of its nutrition investment programmes in low and middle income countries.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
DFID monitors and publishes reviews on all its nutrition programmes in low and middle income countries on an annual basis. For example, DFID’s programme in northern Nigeria aims to reduce stunting and wasting by at least 4% over 7 years and includes investment with partners to monitor impact. DFID is also building the capacity of governments to collect and use nutrition data effectively. DFID supports the Global Nutrition Report which tracks progress to reduce undernutrition globally.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Capita improves its performance relating to the processing of dental performer list applications.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS England is meeting with Capita on a weekly basis to oversee the delivery of its plans for the Dental Performers Lists and other key services and to ensure the right improvements are in place to address the backlogs and delays.
My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Innovation (Nicola Blackwood), continues to work directly with Capita and NHS England to ensure that services are restored to an acceptable and sustainable standard.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the availability of skilled construction workers.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government continues to monitor the potential impacts that leaving the EU may have on the availability of skilled workers. We cannot speculate on the outcome of Brexit negotiations, but the Government has made it clear that the UK remains open to the talent we need from Europe and the rest of the world.
The Department for Education (DfE) is currently working closely with employers in the construction industry to develop new apprenticeships for the sector. While evidence suggests there are sufficient learners going through the skills system, with over 200,000 construction qualifications being taken each year, reforms set out in the skills plan (July 2016) will ensure these qualifications become more relevant and meet the industry’s needs.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to tackle future skills shortages in the construction industry.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy works closely with the Department for Education (DfE) which is responsible for skills policy and also the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the body that supports training and skills in construction.
DfE is currently working with employers in the construction industry to develop new apprenticeships for the sector. While evidence suggests there are sufficient learners going through the skills system, with over 200,000 construction qualifications being taken each year, reforms set out in the skills plan (July 2016) will ensure these qualifications become more relevant and meet the industry’s needs.
Additionally, the Construction Leadership Council, the business led sector council which advises Government on key strategic issues, has investigated the labour model in their construction and commissioned an independent report from Mark Farmer ( published in October 2016, http://www.cast-consultancy.com/news-casts/farmer-review-uk-construction-labour-model-3) making recommendations for industry and Government. Both the Government and the Construction Leadership Council is currently considering the review’s recommendations.
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she next plans to review the shortage occupation list.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) reviews the Shortage Occupation List when commissioned to do so by the Government.
The MAC has carried out two full reviews and four partial reviews of the Shortage Occupation List since May 2010. The MAC recently reviewed the teaching sector and has submitted its report. The Government is considering further reviews of the list as part of the MAC’s wider work plan.
Further information about the MAC’s methodology and the reviews it has carried out are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/migration-advisory-committee
Asked by: Oliver Colvile (Conservative - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether fishing policy will be national or regional after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
We want to deliver a Brexit that works for the whole of the UK. We will work very carefully to ensure the right powers are returned to Westminster and the right powers are passed to the devolved administrations. No decisions currently taken by the devolved administrations will be removed from them.