Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address anaesthetic workforce shortages.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
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 tackle staffing shortages in the hospice sector.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is seeking to address workforce shortages, particularly in community care, through the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP). The LTWP, published in 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to grow the NHS workforce and deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The LTWP aims to grow the number and proportion of NHS staff working in mental health, primary, and community care, and sets out an ambition to grow these roles 73% by 2036/37.
Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations which develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. The Government has provided £60 million in additional funding to deliver one-off payments to over 27,000 eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, including hospices, with contracts to deliver NHS services, and which employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement strategies to mitigate the risks of labour shortages in the supply chain for infrastructure projects.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government works with the construction sector, through the Construction Skills Delivery Group, to identify and plan to meet future skills needs in the sector. We also work with the industry to support the development and adoption of digital and industrialised construction techniques, as well as robotics and autonomous systems, which will reduce the labour intensity of the sector.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the support provided by Jobcentre Plus centres in County Durham.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are 10 Jobcentres within County Durham, all of which have teams who actively collaborate with a range of partners to support people into work and, help employers to fill vacancies.
The Jobcentres are working with partners such as Durham New College, Derwentside College, East Durham College, Durham County Council, Barclays, the NHS, Community Hubs, National Careers Service, and Mental Health Matters to provide a wraparound employment and skills offer for customers. This offer is designed to support customers and help them find work and, help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
We take a sector-based approach to recruitment and our Jobcentres have been working closely with employers to run Job Fairs for various sectors including manufacturing, Civil Service, hospitality, logistics, health care, construction, retail, security, adult social care and telecoms. As an example, Durham Jobcentre recently hosted a Care focussed event with employers including Care Academy, Embracing Care, HC One, Kelly Park and the NHS.
Disability Employment Advisers (DEA’s) offer advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and those with health conditions into work. the Embracing Employment and Healthcare trial is currently being piloted within Durham City Jobcentre. Employment and Healthcare Practitioners (EHPs) are co located within the Jobcentre working with customers who apply for Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit and who have declared a health condition or disability. EHP’s work with them to understand the impact their health condition has on their daily lives, identifying their individual barriers and support them in addressing those barriers.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people (a) began and (b) left positions within his Department's Illegal Migration Operations Command in the most recent three-month period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
For security reasons, the Home Office does not provide data of staff working within the Illegal Migrations of Operation Command or on its resourcing plans.
The Home Office continues to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained. As with all government departments, we remain committed to accessing the best talent and skills into the Civil Service while adhering to headcount caps, maximising efficiency and delivering for the public whilst retaining maximum value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies within the Illegal Migration Operations Command were advertised in the most recent three-month period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
For security reasons, the Home Office does not provide data of staff working within the Illegal Migrations of Operation Command or on its resourcing plans.
The Home Office continues to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained. As with all government departments, we remain committed to accessing the best talent and skills into the Civil Service while adhering to headcount caps, maximising efficiency and delivering for the public whilst retaining maximum value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce levels of economic inactivity among women aged between 45 and 60 in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Jobcentre teams are supporting customers into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, recruitment days, Job Fairs, wellbeing events and work trials, all of which can help support women across Wales to return to work.
Eligible older jobseekers on Universal Credit benefit from additional time with their Work Coach and the delivery of Mid Life MOTs in Jobcentres which support people to review their health, wealth and skills, with sessions delivered in Newport Jobcentre and across Wales. DWP also offers the digital MOT which is available online to help anyone who needs help to assess their finances, skills and work.
In addition, Newport Jobcentre offers bespoke support for over 50s including Job Clubs in collaboration with C4W+, offering 4-weeks of employability skills support, events with Springboard Charity focused on the hospitality sector, providing training, qualifications and work placements, and events with 1st Impressions, a charity that supplies clothing to women attending interviews or starting work.
Further planned support in Newport includes a Digital Skills course and wellbeing hubs as part of our 50Plus offer, myth busting sessions with Admiral Insurance and coaching support from Business in the Community. Activity across Wales includes a six week back to work programme for over 50s in Llandudno, and sessions delivered by local provider, Groundworks, to support customers in Shotton, both of which were well attended by local women.
We also work with businesses and the Government's Menopause Employment Champion to drive awareness of issues surrounding the menopause and work; encouraging employers to develop policies that create a more supportive environment to help women return to, stay in and progress in work. As part of the 50plus choices offer, 50plus Champions have delivered presentations to Jobcentre teams in Newport and across Wales on the menopause and the support available.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many positions within his Department's Illegal Migration Operations Command were vacant on 1 April 2024.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
For security reasons, the Home Office does not provide data of staff working within the Illegal Migrations of Operation Command or on its resourcing plans.
The Home Office continues to ensure appropriate staffing levels are maintained. As with all government departments, we remain committed to accessing the best talent and skills into the Civil Service while adhering to headcount caps, maximising efficiency and delivering for the public whilst retaining maximum value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of employment support available to veterans in Job Centres.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into employment and helping those in work to progress. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering recruitment days, job fairs, and work trials and more intensive employment programmes.
Specifically on veterans, DWP takes its responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant very seriously. Veterans who need help from the department in finding work receive support from their Work Coach, who are trained to provide tailored and personalised support to claimants dependant on their individual circumstances. For those who need specialist support, we have a network of Armed Forces Champions in every Jobcentre Plus District, providing specialist support to members of the Armed Forces community. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
Although there has been no specific assessment conducted, the Department monitors the support delivered through our Jobcentre network to ensure we offer the best service possible, and we have had and continue to receive positive feedback from customers and external stakeholders regarding their experience of working with Armed Forces Champions.
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 assessment, if any, they have made of the number of GPs currently seeking, yet unable to obtain, employment.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no centrally held data on the number of general practice vacancies.
The Government remains committed to growing the number of doctors working in general practice. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment schemes, including the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme and the Return to Practice Programme.
The headcount of doctors working in general practice in March 2024 was 4,282 more, including 2,709 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors, than in March 2019.
The latest available data, as of March 2024, shows that the headcount of doctors in general practice in England was 47,173, including 37,235 FTE doctors, of whom 37,399 (27,574 FTE) were fully qualified general practioners.