Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many procedures were delivered by surgical hubs opened since 27 October 2021 in (a) January, (b) February, (c) March, (d) April, (e) May, (f) June and (g) July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between October 2021 and 4 July 2024, 18 new Targeted Investment Fund (TIF2) funded surgical hubs have opened. Elective Hub data is only available from April 2024, when the Elective Hub dashboard was established.
Of the 18 new TIF2 funded surgical hubs, only 11 surgical hubs are reporting data. The data shows that 6,302 surgical procedures were delivered by the 11 reporting hubs in April 2024; 6,142 in May 2024, and; 5,959 in June 2024. There were 7,572,563 pathways on the elective waiting list in April 2024; 7,603,812 in May 2024; 7,622,949 in June 2024 and 7,624,600 in July 2024.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) checks, (b) tests and (c) scans were carried out at community diagnostic centres opened since the 2021 Spending Review in (i) January 2024, (ii) February 2024, (iii) March 2024, (iv) April 2024, (v) May 2024, (vi) June 2024 and (vii) July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of the end of June 2024, community diagnostics centres (CDCs) had delivered 9,292,578 tests, checks and scans since the 2021 Spending Review at the end of October. Over this period, the diagnostic waiting list has increased from 1,428,415 as at the end of October 2021 where 356,784 (25.0%) people were waiting over six weeks, to 1,639,813 at the end of June 2024 where 375,416 (23.9%) people were waiting over 6-weeks for a diagnostic test. 2024/25 NHS Operational Planning Guidance set an objective for just 5% to be waiting six weeks. Due to seasonal effects, some care should be exercised when comparing six week wait percentages figures in different months of the year.
CDC activity data is published monthly and cannot be provided up to a specific date within that month. Published CDC activity data details activity from July 2021 to August 2024. This is available at the following link:
Monthly activity and waiting list data for diagnostics is published monthly and is available at the following link:
The following table lists the number of checks, tests and scans delivered in each of the requested months across 2024:
Month | CDC activity delivered since Oct-21 Spending Review | CDC activity delivered in each month |
Jan-24 | 6,841,026 | 393,742 |
Feb-24 | 7,279,148 | 438,122 |
Mar-24 | 7,826,454 | 547,306 |
Apr-24 | 8,263,510 | 437,056 |
May-24 | 8,718,759 | 455,249 |
Jun-24 | 9,292,578 | 573,819 |
Jul-24 | 9,771,674 | 479,096 |
Source: NHS England
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) first stage and (b) second stage cancer patients received a diagnosis following an appointment at a community diagnostic centre opened since the 2021 Spending Review.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the routes to diagnosis for cancer, which is collated and published by the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) does not specify the setting where the diagnostic test took place, so we do not hold the information on diagnoses following appointments in CDCs.
As of the end of August 2024, the diagnostic waiting list was 1,559,284, where 373,126 (23.9%) patients were waiting over six weeks. This compares to 1,428,415 as at the end of October 2021, following the 2021 Spending Review, where 356,784 (25%) patients were waiting over 6-weeks for a diagnostic test. 2024/25 NHS Operational Planning Guidance set an objective for just 5% to be waiting six weeks. Due to seasonal effects, some care should be exercised when comparing six week wait percentages figures in different months of the year.
In August 2024, performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard was 75.5%, 0.5 percentage points above the operational standard. Due to the impact of working days per month and seasonality, impacting the amount of activity per month, we cannot directly compare performance to October 2021.
Monthly activity and waiting list data for diagnostics is published monthly and is available at the following link:
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many procedures were delivered by surgical hubs opened since the 2021 Spending Review, as of 4 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between the 2021 Spending Review and 4 July 2024, 18 new Targeted Investment Fund (TIF2) funded surgical hubs have opened. Elective Hub data is only available from April 2024, when the Elective Hub dashboard was established.
Of the 18 new TIF2 funded surgical hubs, only 11 surgical hubs are reporting data. This data shows that between 1 April 2024 and 1 July 2024 the 11 reporting surgical hubs have delivered 18,403 procedures.
Between 30 April 2021 and 30 June 2024, the elective waiting list increased by 2,499,232 from 5,123,717 to 7,622,949.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) checks, (b) tests and (c) scans were carried out at community diagnostic centres opened since the 2021 Spending Review, as of 4 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of the end of June 2024, community diagnostics centres (CDCs) had delivered 9,292,578 tests, checks and scans since the 2021 Spending Review at the end of October. Over this period, the diagnostic waiting list has increased from 1,428,415 as at the end of October 2021 where 356,784 (25.0%) people were waiting over six weeks, to 1,639,813 at the end of June 2024 where 375,416 (23.9%) people were waiting over 6-weeks for a diagnostic test. 2024/25 NHS Operational Planning Guidance set an objective for just 5% to be waiting six weeks. Due to seasonal effects, some care should be exercised when comparing six week wait percentages figures in different months of the year.
CDC activity data is published monthly and cannot be provided up to a specific date within that month. Published CDC activity data details activity from July 2021 to August 2024. This is available at the following link:
Monthly activity and waiting list data for diagnostics is published monthly and is available at the following link:
The following table lists the number of checks, tests and scans delivered in each of the requested months across 2024:
Month | CDC activity delivered since Oct-21 Spending Review | CDC activity delivered in each month |
Jan-24 | 6,841,026 | 393,742 |
Feb-24 | 7,279,148 | 438,122 |
Mar-24 | 7,826,454 | 547,306 |
Apr-24 | 8,263,510 | 437,056 |
May-24 | 8,718,759 | 455,249 |
Jun-24 | 9,292,578 | 573,819 |
Jul-24 | 9,771,674 | 479,096 |
Source: NHS England
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many civil servants who are not special advisers he has appointed without open competition since the general election.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 sets out the requirement for the Civil Service Commission to establish recruitment principles which departments must follow. The Recruitment Principles 2018 provide the legal requirement for the selection of appointments to the Civil Service to be made on merit and on the basis of fair and open competition. In addition, under section 12 of this act, it allows for exceptions to these principles.
Appointments by exception are an important part of how we bring talent and expertise into the Civil Service. These routes are long established and have been used properly and extensively by all modern administrations, as they can assist with bringing in individuals with relevant experience and skills for a time-limited basis.
In the latest year for which data is available across the civil service, the year ending March 2023, approximately 80,000 people were hired through open competitions, and approximately 9,000 people were hired through the different exception routes. Full details are available at the following link:
In the period from the general election to 3 September 2024, the Department has made 15 appointments by exception to the recruitment principles.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) non-executive directors, (b) other direct ministerial appointees and (c) other public appointees in his Department have left their posts since the general election; what (a) direct ministerial and (b) other public appointments his Department has made since the general election; and if he will publish any political activity declared by each appointee.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 3 September 2024, three public appointees left as non-executive board members, those being: Gerry Murphy, who ended his final term of office on the Department’s board as planned on 31 July 2024, following 10 years of service; Amit Bhagwat, a member of the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, who ended his term as planned on 31 August 2024; and Sir David Behan, a non-executive director on the board of NHS England, who ended his term as planned on 31 August 2024.
Six public appointees had their terms extended as non-executive board members, and these have been announced as: Nigel Trout and Charlotte Moar, as members on the board of NHS Resolution; and Junaid Bajwa, Graham Cooke, Paul Goldsmith and Rajakumari Long, as members on the board of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Extensions or re-appointments to the terms of a further 12 public appointees have also been agreed, and are due to be announced shortly. As of 3 September 2024, no new public appointees have taken up roles since the election. In line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, any political activity by candidates that is required to be declared, is made public when the appointment is announced.
As of 3 September 2024, no direct ministerial appointees have left their posts since the general election. With respect to new direct ministerial appointments made in this period, I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt hon. Member for North West Hampshire on 30 July 2024, to PQ2407, which is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-07-30/2407
It concerns the number of direct ministerial appointments made by my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since the election, as the position remains the same. Both appointees referred to in the answer have declared their political activity.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has appointed civil servants who (a) previously (i) worked for and (ii) were seconded to the Labour Party, (b) previously donated to the Labour Party and (c) have been Labour parliamentarians since the general election.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Previous political activity does not preclude appointment into the Civil Service. All civil servants are expected to support the Government of the day, in accordance with the values of the Civil Service Code, which includes impartiality. Routine recruitment processes are in place to allow candidates to declare any potential conflicts of interest, and to discuss how these should be handled, so that the individuals in question can uphold the Civil Service Code’s values.
From the general election to 3 September 2024, the Department has appointed one staff member at delegated grade, who declared on their declaration-of-interest form during the appointment process that they worked for the Labour Party. This appointment has been made by exception to the Civil Service Commission recruitment principles.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the UK’s preparedness for (a) mpox and (b) future outbreaks and pandemics.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State and I have met regularly with officials from the Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the National Health Service on this issue.
UKHSA will continue to keep the global situation and our domestic preparations under close review, and ministers across the Government are working together to coordinate our response. Planning is underway, including work by the Department, the UKHSA, and the NHS, to prepare for any cases that we might see in the United Kingdom.
The UKHSA is engaged with our international partners, including the World Health Organisation, European, American, and African centres for disease control and prevention and national public health agencies, ensuring we receive updates about international cases in a timely fashion.
The risk to the UK population of being exposed to Mpox clade I is currently considered low. However, planning is underway to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK. This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and to prevent onward transmission.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) total and (b) estimated yearly cost to the public purse is of the pay offer award to NHS junior doctors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The additional pay uplift, worth an average of 4.05% on top of their existing pay award for 2023/24, would have an estimated cost impact of approximately £350 million per year. The estimated £350 million cost for 2023/24 will fall in 2024/25 for accounting purposes.
This is additional to the 6% uplift recommended by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Renumeration, plus £1,000 on a consolidated basis, when applied to the revised 2023/24 pay scales, while also averaging an increase of over 8%, and with an effective date of 1 April 2024.
If agreed, this offer will bring an end to industrial action by junior doctors. Industrial action has cost taxpayers £1.7 billion since April 2023, and patients nearly 1.5 million cancelled appointments under the previous government.