Government Mandate for the NHS
Debate between Stephen Hammond and Karin Smyth(5 years, 7 months ago)
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Stephen Hammond
The hon. Lady knows that the House and her Committee will have the fullest opportunity to scrutinise the document as and when it is published. She also knows that there is a commitment to publish it soon. She also rightly points out that it will deliver on the need to ensure that health and social care are integrated.
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
For most of my professional life, I was an NHS planner. I assure the Minister that the great expectation and anticipation of NHS planners for planning guidance in the mandate is very real. They are public servants who expect to be held accountable and do what the Government ask them to do. It is unacceptable to leave them in the dark. It is an insult to patients—taxpayers who pay for services and expect to know what they can receive locally. The delay is inexcusable.
The Minister says he has a plan and the Government say they have the money, so why cannot they publish it? What are they trying to hide?
Stephen Hammond
The Government are not trying to hide anything. The hon. Lady is right that it is an important document, and it is important therefore that we get it absolutely correct. I refer her to what the chief executive of NHS England said yesterday. He said:
“We have an agreed direction in the long-term plan…We have the budget set for the next year, and we have the NHS annual planning process…wrapped up…2019-20 is…a transition year…stepping into the new five-year long-term plan.”
The chief executive of the NHS thinks that the process is working acceptably.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Stephen Hammond and Karin Smyth(5 years, 11 months ago)
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Stephen Hammond
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said earlier, we recognise the vital role that nurses play, and we are determined to support them. We are determined to have more nurses in training and more nurses treating patients. At the moment, a student on the loan system typically achieves 25% more in their pocket than they would have had on the bursary, but the Government recognise that there are still pressures, which is why we have the learning support fund, the exceptional hardship fund and support for mature students.
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
I talk to local employers who desperately want to support nursing apprenticeships as an alternative to the higher education route, but the uptake of apprenticeships is very disappointing. The levy can be used only for training costs, and trusts have been asked to plug the shortfall in funding for wider capacity building and to cover the 20% of time for which apprentices have to go to off-the-job training. Does the Department recognise this problem? What is being done to address it?
Stephen Hammond
The hon. Lady is right that the number of trusts that currently use the levy is not as high as it should be. We hope that all will do so. It continues to be a priority for us to broaden the routes into nursing. We will address in the long-term plan the specific matter about which the hon. Lady talks.