Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish monthly figures on the amount paid by local authorities in England on the (a) Test and Trace Support Payment scheme and (b) discretionary Test and Trace Support Payment scheme since August 2020.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency publishes the information requested as part of its weekly statistics release for NHS Test and Trace in England, which is available at the following link:
The data provides weekly information on the number of successful claims and amounts paid for both the main and discretionary elements of the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme since its launch.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the level of childhood immunisation services provided by local authorities in England.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Local authorities do not have responsibility for the commissioning or operational delivery of childhood immunisation services. However, Directors of Public Health in local authorities have responsibility for the health and well-being of their populations and work closely with regional NHS England colleagues to ensure that immunisation services are of high quality and delivered effectively. Services are reviewed regularly by Directors of Public Health and Health and Well-being Boards with the UK Health Security Agency’s national immunisation team.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional resources have been made available to local government to (a) administer the Infection Control Fund and (b) ensure that care providers accessing that fund are using it to ensure that care workers have financial support to self-isolate.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Since May 2020, the Government has made funding available through the Infection Control Fund and its successors to support adult social care providers to take measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Providers can use the funding to ensure that staff who are isolating in line with the Government’s guidance are paid as normal and do not lose income while doing so. The Department has written to local authorities and care providers to remind them of the importance of paying staff normal wages when self-isolating.
Since April 2021, local authorities may use a small amount of this funding capped at 1% of their total infection prevention and control allocation for reasonable administrative costs associated with distribution and reporting. Local authorities are also required to put in place sufficient processes to assure that the fund is correctly spent by providers.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that funds made available to care home providers under the Infection Control Fund are being used to ensure that care home workers receive their normal wages in full in the event that they need to self-isolate.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Since May 2020, the Government has made funding available through the Infection Control Fund and its successors to support adult social care providers to take measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Providers can use the funding to ensure that staff who are isolating in line with the Government’s guidance are paid as normal and do not lose income while doing so. The Department has written to local authorities and care providers to remind them of the importance of paying staff normal wages when self-isolating.
Since April 2021, local authorities may use a small amount of this funding capped at 1% of their total infection prevention and control allocation for reasonable administrative costs associated with distribution and reporting. Local authorities are also required to put in place sufficient processes to assure that the fund is correctly spent by providers.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of entries made by adult social care providers in the Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund Capacity Tracker.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Since May 2020, the Government has made funding available through the Infection Control Fund and its successors to support adult social care providers to take measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Local authorities are required to report to the Department on how this funding has been used by providers in their geographical area. The Department reviews the information provided and may request that providers make their financial records available.
Providers in receipt of funding are also required to complete the Capacity Tracker, which collects daily and weekly data on the workforce, infection prevention and control measures such as personal protective equipment, designated setting vacancies and vaccination uptake for COVID-19 and flu by staff and residents. Data anomalies or areas of concern are followed up, including with individual providers, as necessary.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the implementation of the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
I am the Minister with responsibility for social care and mental health.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of incidents of food poisoning and contamination reported to local authorities in England.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Public Health England publishes notifications of food poisoning which are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-diseases-weekly-reports-for-2021
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what figures his Department holds on the amount spent by local authorities in England on providing counselling advice and support for people affected by alcohol abuse and dependency.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 August 2021, to Question 31414, on Home Care Services: Local Government, if he will publish the content of the service continuity and care market review referred to in that Answer.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Service Continuity and Care Market Review took the form of all local authorities carrying out a self-assessment in autumn 2020, to ascertain the risk to the continuity of care across all adult social care markets in England over the winter to the end of March 2021. We are unable to provide the content of these self-assessments as they are commercially sensitive and the disclosure of information may prejudice local authorities’ ability to deliver their services.
However, the National Audit Office published a high-level summary of the review findings in, ‘The adult social care market in England’ in March 2021, which is attached.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds figures on how much local authorities in England have spent on advocacy for carers and social care clients in each of the last five years.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The information requested is not held centrally.