Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Hikvision products are in use in his Department; and whether he plans to remove the Hikvision cameras.
Answered by Will Quince
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not Government policy to comment on the security arrangements of Government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds. The Department is reviewing its CCTV systems following the written statement by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that health and social care settings have (a) visible CO2 monitors with a regulated maximum CO2 level of 800ppm, (b) ventilation and air filtration systems and (c) an open-access online monitoring systems with a RAG score.
Answered by Will Quince
There are no plans to make an assessment on the merits of ensuring that health and social care settings have (a) visible CO2 monitors with a regulated max CO2 level of 800ppm, (b) ventilation and air filtration systems and (c) an open-access online monitoring systems with a RAG score.
Guidance on ventilation and air filtration systems in NHS facilities is provided in Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 03-01: Specialised Ventilation for Healthcare Premises. As with all guidance provided on the NHS estate, it is reviewed on an ongoing basis and will be updated to reflect changes in approach to relevant areas.
In terms of social care settings, Part F of the Building Regulations set minimum ventilation standards for new buildings, or when work is done to an existing building, which requires that buildings should be provided with an adequate means of ventilation. The associated guidance for non-domestic buildings states that rooms in new buildings where aerosol generating activities take place, or where members of the public are likely to gather, should have indoor air quality monitoring installed, such as CO2 monitors.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on potential benefits and costs (a) realised and (b) expected to be realised by the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as a result of the agreements with Watford Borough Council and the property company Kier signed in June 2013 in relation to the Watford Health Campus Partnership LLP.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not held centrally. National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts own their own land and buildings and are responsible for the sale or disposal of identified assets. Trusts work with integrated care boards, including the local authority and NHS England, on planning and optimising their estate.
Asked by: Mike Penning (Conservative - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on agreements in place under which the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is liable to pay for land that it is planning to acquire from Watford Borough Council in relation to the Trust's acute redevelopment scheme.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not held centrally. National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts own their own land and buildings and are responsible for the sale or disposal of identified assets. Trusts work with integrated care boards, including the local authority and NHS England, on planning and optimising their estate.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has approved the (a) sale and (b) disposal of any NHS assets at below market value since December 2019.
Answered by Will Quince
National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts own their own land and buildings and are responsible for the sale or disposal of identified assets for this purpose. Trusts work with integrated care boards, including the local authority and NHS England, on planning and optimising their estate. The Department does not hold this data.
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of the NHS estate for delivering healthcare needs; and what assessment he has made of areas in which the estate should be prioritised for upgrade.
Answered by Will Quince
Individual National Health Service organisations are legally responsible for maintaining their estates. The Government has been clear that it expects NHS organisations to use existing capital budgets and assets to maximum effect.
At the Spending Review 2021, the Department backed the NHS with substantial operational capital investment for trusts to prioritise and deliver locally to maintain and refurbish their premises.
The Government is investing record sums to upgrade and modernise NHS buildings so staff have the facilities needed to provide world-class care for patients, including £4 billion this year and £12 billion over the next three years.
We remain committed to all schemes that have been announced as part of the New Hospital Programme, the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, as well as over 70 hospital upgrades across England.
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, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the backlog in maintenance issues within the NHS on the elective recovery plan.
Answered by Will Quince
No recent assessment has been made. We have provided £4 billion in 2022/23 and £12 billion over the next three years for the modernisation of National Health Service buildings.
We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. We are also investing an additional £3.3 billion in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the NHS in England and improve emergency, elective and primary care performance to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which energy provider supplies energy to their Department; how much carbon dioxide was emitted by their Department in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria their Department uses to select an energy supplier include how environmentally friendly that supplier is; and what recent steps their Department has taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its energy use.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department’s energy contracts are negotiated by the Crown Commercial Service and electricity is currently supplied by EDF and gas by Total Energies Gas and Power. In 2021/22, the Department emitted 3,107 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from energy use in its buildings and staff business travel. The Department has recently completed a sustainability strategy and is undertaking surveys of the estate to understand net zero emissions can be achieved.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the data his Department holds on how many publicly-funded ambulance stations in England were built in or before (a) 1948 and (b) 1939.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England collects data on National Health Service buildings through the annual Estates Returns Information Collection. While this data includes the age profile of NHS buildings, it does not specifically identify sites dated prior to 1939, although information on sites built prior to 1948 is collected. This information shows that there are 15 publicly funded ambulance stations built prior to 1948. Data for 2021/22 was published on 13 October and is available at the following link:
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of publicly-funded hospitals in England built in or before (a) 1948 and (b) 1939.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England collects data on National Health Service buildings through the annual Estates Returns Information Collection. While this data includes the age profile of NHS buildings, it does not specifically identify sites dated prior to 1939, although information on sites built prior to 1948 is collected. This information shows that there are 15 publicly funded ambulance stations built prior to 1948. Data for 2021/22 was published on 13 October and is available at the following link: