Correspondence Jul. 03 2024
Inquiry: Investing in Scotland's InfrastructureFound: PFI expiring contracts: Follow up, July 2024 Correspondence to the Convener from Peter Reekie, Chief
Mentions:
1: Wes Streeting (Lab - Ilford North) Today I am accepting the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body, the Review Body on Doctors’ and - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contracts NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have with The Phoenix Partnership and for what services; and what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of it providing such services.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Department is the contracting authority for two consecutive framework agreements on which The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) has been appointed as a supplier, and awarded call-off contracts. These frameworks are the GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC), from 2014, and the GP IT Futures framework agreement (GPITF FA), which succeeded the GPSoC in 2020. The GPITF FA is the main contractual framework to supply IT systems and services to general practices (GPs) and associated organisations in England. The GPITF FA is operationally managed by NHS England, and the relevant contracting authorities under the call-off contracts are the individual integrated care boards, who contract on behalf of GPs.
In addition to managing the GPITF FA on behalf of the Department, NHS England is the contracting authority on three active contracts with TPP for: GP IT development and compliance; provision of Point of Care services to the NHS England Vaccination Programme; and provision of IT services to residential places of detention under the Health and Justice Information Systems contract.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has a statutory requirement to report on the performance of the national immunisation programmes, and in June 2022, TPP was awarded a contract to extract this data directly from GPs' systems for the UKHSA, with a successor contract being awarded for the same work in October 2023. All Government contracts are awarded fairly and transparently, in line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. All decisions on contracts are rigorously scrutinised to assess a company’s ability to perform and deliver the best value for money for the taxpayer.
Mentions:
1: Clive Efford (Lab - Eltham and Chislehurst) on the very day that Transparency International UK published its report showing that £15 billion of contracts - Speech Link
2: Wes Streeting (Lab - Ilford North) Friend’s point, when it comes to covid corruption and crony contracts, the message from the Chancellor - Speech Link
3: Sarah Olney (LD - Richmond Park) should remind everyone that, under the Conservatives, it was their friends that benefited from large contracts - Speech Link
4: Chris Vince (LAB - Harlow) , to the board of NHS England. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Simpson, Graham (Con - Central Scotland) I will very much be looking forward to that.The issue of private finance initiative contracts came up - Speech Link
2: None That will depend on the individual contracts, and we are working through that. - Speech Link
Jun. 18 2024
Source Page: Ms Cheryl Lobo v University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: [2024] EAT 91Found: Ms Cheryl Lobo v University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: [2024] EAT 91
Mentions:
1: Sam Carling (Lab - North West Cambridgeshire) This must be seriously examined, with changes made.GMS contracts are held by practices in perpetuity, - Speech Link
May. 05 2011
Source Page: Procurement guide for commissioners of NHS-funded services. 35 p.Found: Procurement guide for commissioners of NHS-funded services. 35 p.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are contracts for the cremation of (a) stillborns, (b) miscarriages and (c) baby deaths at a (i) national and (ii) NHS trust level; and if she will publish (A) details and (B) the start dates of those contracts.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Neither the Department nor NHS England holds information on contracts for the cremation of stillborns, miscarriages, and baby deaths.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the General Ophthalmic Services sight test fee for opticians; and how many opticians stopped providing NHS services in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The level of the National Health Service sight test fee is considered annually, taking into account evidence provided by the optical fee negotiating committee, affordability for the NHS, alongside information regarding patient access to sight testing services, which continue to be widely available.
Although 254 contracts for providing NHS sight testing services were terminated between February 2023 and January 2024, 179 new contracts were awarded. There are various reasons why contractors choose to stop providing NHS sight testing services, including retirement, selling the practice to a new owner, and ceasing trading as a business.