Found: Notices of Amendments as at 2 May 2024
Government Response May. 02 2024
Committee: Communications and Digital CommitteeFound: Government response to the Committee's report 'Large language models and generative AI' Government Response
Report May. 02 2024
Committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs CommitteeFound: Fourth Report - Lobbying and Influence: post-legislative scrutiny of the Lobbying Act 2014 and related
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for Carer’s Allowance to a larger number of unpaid carers; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of unpaid care work on the (a) physical and (b) mental health of women.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government keeps Carer’s Allowance under review to see whether it is meeting its objectives. It has no current plans to extend the eligibility criteria.
Questions on the impact of unpaid care work on individuals are matters for the Department of Health and Social Care in England and for the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Carer’s Allowance is a devolved benefit in Scotland.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking in the (a) prison service and (b) secure hospital service to reduce harm from synthetic drugs.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. NHS England is working with the Department, the Ministry of Justice, and HM Prison and Probation Service to establish an effective early warning system in prisons to share information and intelligence on the prevalence of synthetic opioids.
NHS England is also establishing a Task and Finish group for their Clinical Reference Group (CRG), working to adapt the current framework for healthcare staff management of people suspected of having internally secreted drugs. The updated framework for healthcare staff will help enhance responses to suspected or potential drug poisonings, including those related to synthetic opioids. To enhance our first aid response in prisons, feedback is also being sought from the CRG in relation to the administration of naloxone under circumstances where a drug poisoning may be related to stronger synthetic opioids.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of NHS England’s Dynamic Support Register policy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England published updated policy and guidance on Dynamic Support Registers (DSRs) and Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews (C(E)TRs) on 25 January 2023, for implementation from 1 May 2023. The purpose of the updated policy and guidance is to help ensure that people with a learning disability and autistic people get the right support, to stay well in their communities.
NHS England produced the updated policy and guidance following a process of reviewing the learning since the inception of DSRs and C(E)TRs, including consultation and engagement with people with lived experience. This process included drawing on the findings of the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board’s review of the deaths of Joanna, Jon, and Ben at Cawston Park in Norfolk, and the subsequent safe and wellbeing reviews for all people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of nursing associates who completed training in 2023-24.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. As a guide to the scale of nursing associates completing training, the number of nursing associates joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register for the first time is published twice a year by the NMC. The latest available data, to September 2023, is available at the following link:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 implications for her policies of the number of (a) people that are on a waiting list and (b) assessments provided each month at the Leeds adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder service.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available the appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The NICE guidelines do not recommend a maximum waiting time standard for ADHD diagnosis, either from referral for an assessment to receiving an assessment, a diagnosis, or a first contact appointment.
There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for assessment for ADHD. A specific assessment of the implications for departmental policies of the number of people on a waiting list, or the number of assessments provided each month for adult ADHD services in Leeds, is not currently planned.
The Department is exploring options to improve data collection and reporting on ADHD assessment waiting times nationally, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way, and in line with the NICE guideline. In support of this, the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Programme has commissioned a research project to provide insights into local ADHD diagnosis waiting times data collection.
In December 2023, NHS England initiated a rapid piece of work to consider ADHD service provision within the National Health Service. The initial phase of work identified challenges, including with current service models and the ability to keep pace with demand. Following this initial review, NHS England is establishing a new ADHD taskforce alongside the Government, to improve care for people living with the condition. The new taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD and help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand for assessments and support.
Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England has announced that it will continue to work with stakeholders to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services, to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder assessments in Leeds North West constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available the appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The NICE guidelines do not recommend a maximum waiting time standard for ADHD diagnosis, either from referral for an assessment to receiving an assessment, a diagnosis, or a first contact appointment.
There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for assessment for ADHD. A specific assessment of the implications for departmental policies of the number of people on a waiting list, or the number of assessments provided each month for adult ADHD services in Leeds, is not currently planned.
The Department is exploring options to improve data collection and reporting on ADHD assessment waiting times nationally, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way, and in line with the NICE guideline. In support of this, the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Programme has commissioned a research project to provide insights into local ADHD diagnosis waiting times data collection.
In December 2023, NHS England initiated a rapid piece of work to consider ADHD service provision within the National Health Service. The initial phase of work identified challenges, including with current service models and the ability to keep pace with demand. Following this initial review, NHS England is establishing a new ADHD taskforce alongside the Government, to improve care for people living with the condition. The new taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD and help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand for assessments and support.
Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England has announced that it will continue to work with stakeholders to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services, to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans her Department has to (a) expand and (b) improve autism services in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Preston for (A) adults and (B) children.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services to support autistic people, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB advises that it is currently reviewing its all-age autism pathway, and is in the initial stages of completing consultations with system partners and stakeholders. The ICB is aiming to complete the review, and proposals for a future pathway for 2025/26, by the end of this calendar year. In addition to this work, the ICB is reviewing the service specifications in place for the keyworker team, specialist autism team, and forensic autism team with the local provider, to ensure that the commissioned offer reflects the current needs of their population.
Nationally, we are taking steps to improve autism services. NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services on 5 April 2023. These documents are intended to help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services, and improve the experience for adults and children who are going through an autism assessment. They also set out what support should be available before an assessment, and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism.
We are currently updating the Autism Act Statutory Guidance to support the NHS and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people. This will include setting out what NHS organisations and local authorities must and should be doing to support autistic people.