Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of relative levels of productivity in community pharmacies and other primary care professions in each year since 2015.
Answered by David Mowat
We have made no assessment of productivity in community pharmacies.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS budget is spent on private providers which deliver NHS services; and if he will list those providers.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The proportion of the National Health Service budget spent by NHS commissioners on the purchase of healthcare from private providers was 7.6% in 2015/16, as confirmed in the 2015-16 Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts. NHS commissioners purchase both healthcare and social care services from a range of private providers – a comprehensive list is not held centrally, but details of Government contracts held centrally can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what requirements his Department directs NHS organisations to place on direct contractors who sub-contract to other providers.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department advises National Health Service bodies that they must comply with the Procurement Contracts Regulations (PCR) 2015. Regulation 71 requires the prime contractor to provide the contracting authority with names and contact details of personnel in the supply chain. Additionally, regulation 113 requires a contracting authority to place an obligation on the prime contractor to pay undisputed invoices in 30 days down the supply chain.
The Crown Commercial Service has published guidance on paying undisputed invoices in 30 days. The following link takes you to the Crown Commercial Service guidance:
The Department has developed standard NHS terms and conditions for use by NHS bodies procuring non-clinical goods and services from commercial suppliers. Clause 9 ‘Price and payment’ places an obligation on the prime contractor to pay undisputed invoices to its sub-contractors within a period not exceeding 30 days. Clause 28 ‘Assignment, novation and subcontracting’ covers 30 day payment terms for sub-contractors. This clause also states the prime supplier shall endeavour to pay its relevant sub-contractors within a comparable timeframe from receipt by the supplier of such undisputed invoices from its sub-contractors. The following link takes you to the full suite of the NHS Terms and Conditions including the overarching guidance note:
Additionally, NHS England mandates that any clinical services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are on the terms of the NHS Standard Contract, which prohibits sub-contracting without the prior written consent of the CCG. The CCG may require approval of the form of sub-contract used, but NHS England does not and cannot itself prescribe the form of sub-contract (although it does publish a template which the CCG may require its provider to use when sub-contracting). Notwithstanding any sub-contracting, the commissioned provider remains responsible to the CCG for delivery of the service.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) direct NHS contracts, (b) contracts sub-contracted from direct NHS contractors and (c) patient transport service contracts VM Langfords held before entering into administration.
Answered by David Mowat
Patient Transport Services are normally commissioned at clinical commissioning group (CCG) level. CCGs control their own budgets and hold their own contracts. Information on individual CCG contracts is not collected centrally.
The contracts with Coperforma are held by the relevant CCG as is the value of the contract. There are no central records.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) patient transport service and (b) other contracts Coproforma holds with the NHS; and what the value is of each such contract.
Answered by David Mowat
Patient Transport Services are normally commissioned at clinical commissioning group (CCG) level. CCGs control their own budgets and hold their own contracts. Information on individual CCG contracts is not collected centrally.
The contracts with Coperforma are held by the relevant CCG as is the value of the contract. There are no central records.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
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 on NHS services of private providers of those services entering into administration or suffering serious financial difficulty; and what contingency provisions he has put in place to mitigate such effects.
Answered by Philip Dunne
It is the primary responsibility of commissioners to ensure continuity of commissioned services through contracting and contingency planning. Where a provider is considered hard to replace in the event of failure, its services can be designated as Commissioner Requested Services. This requires the provider to obtain a provider licence, if not otherwise required to hold a licence, and places the provider in NHS Improvement’s financial oversight regime for private providers of essential NHS services.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to safeguard patient transport services if a private provider of such a service goes into administration.
Answered by Philip Dunne
It is the primary responsibility of commissioners to ensure continuity of commissioned services through contracting and contingency planning. Where a provider is considered hard to replace in the event of failure, its services can be designated as Commissioner Requested Services. This requires the provider to obtain a provider licence, if not otherwise required to hold a licence, and places the provider in NHS Improvement’s financial oversight regime for private providers of essential NHS services.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of occasions on which bailiffs have seized operational equipment from private providers of NHS services; what the details are of each such occasion; and what steps his Department takes to prevent this happening.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Department does not hold this information. The National Health Service body commissioning a service from the private sector should ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to ensure access to essential operational equipment in the event of one of its suppliers getting into financial difficulties.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many companies that provide patient transport services within the NHS have gone bankrupt or into administration while providing that service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with Sussex clinical commissioning groups about patient transport service provider Langfords going into administration.
Answered by Philip Dunne
This is a matter for local commissioners.
NHS England has confirmed that Coperforma, holder of the non-emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) contract for Sussex, informed High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group (HWLH CCG) on 16 June 2016 that a receiver had been appointed for VM Langfords - transport provider sub-contracted to deliver PTS in East and West Sussex. A number of South East Coast Ambulance Services (SECAmb) staff had been transferred to VM Langfords employment.
HWLH CCG met with Coperforma on 17 June 2016 and was assured that a plan was already in place for additional transport capacity to mitigate any loss of capacity that this situation may cause.
HWLH CCG is working closely with Coperforma and the unions (Unison and GMB) to work through the implications for ex SECAmb staff, to ensure the processes followed are in keeping with employment legislation and good practice and that the impacts on service delivery are kept to a minimum.
There have been no discussions between Ministers in the Department and Sussex CCGs about PTS provider VM Langfords going into administration.