Social Care Funding

Debate between Paula Sherriff and David Mowat

Monday 12th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[David Mowat]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right. I congratulated Halton and Warrington Councils on being two councils that have particularly low rates of delayed transfers of care. The fact that they are achieving that in spite of the budget constraints that he mentions demonstrates that this is not just about money; it is about quality, it is about leadership and it is about best practice.

[Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)]

The chief executive of Care England has said that under the current regime,

“about 40% of care services will no longer be viable,”

meaning that a number of services will be lost. When does the Minister intend to do something about this crisis?

[David Mowat]

The number of beds available in the system right now is about the same as it was six years ago. There is an issue with managing the financial performance of significant care providers. One thing we brought in two years ago was a robust process, led by the CQC, to look at the financial performance of the biggest providers and to warn us of any issues that may arise. We are very keen on pursuing that and making sure that it happens.

Community Pharmacies

Debate between Paula Sherriff and David Mowat

Monday 17th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[David Mowat]

I can only repeat that we value the contribution that community pharmacies make, and that the savings that we shall propose shortly are needed for other parts of the NHS. We believe that provision will not be affected, and that other parts of the package, including the integration fund and the hiring of an additional 2,000 pharmacists for the GP sector, will make this sector work better than it does at present.

[Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that should one in four community pharmacies close, the effect on the elderly, the vulnerable, the poor and those with long-term conditions could be very serious indeed, and potentially catastrophic?

[David Mowat]

We do not believe that the proposals that we will be announcing shortly will do anything to the detriment of any of those patient groups.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paula Sherriff and David Mowat

Tuesday 11th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)]

T2. Last October, the then Health Minister, the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), confirmed that my constituency fell far below the national average in terms of NHS dental provision. In fact, it is one of the worst in the country. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then. Does the Secretary of State believe it is acceptable that my constituents, including many children, are unable to get an NHS dentist?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (David Mowat)]

It is clearly unacceptable if the situation that the hon. Lady sets out is the case. I am happy to meet her and work with her to take the action that is needed to make things better.