Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to encourage small businesses to provide statutory maternity pay to employees; and whether he has discussions with industry on this.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All employers have a statutory obligation to pay Statutory Maternity Pay to eligible employees. Employers are reimbursed at least 92 percent of the Statutory Maternity Pay they pay. Small employers (those who pay £45,000 or less gross NICs in the previous tax year) receive 100 percent of the Statutory Maternity Pay paid plus an additional 3 percent, known as the Small Employers’ Compensation Rate. This is in recognition of the relatively greater impact maternity absence has on small businesses.
Employers may apply for advance funding from HMRC if they are unable to meet their SMP liability at the required time.
DWP officials regularly meet with industry representatives to discuss Statutory Maternity Pay.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to find solutions for diabetes type one sufferers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The goal of treating type 1 diabetes is to keep blood glucose within a healthy range by providing the body with supplemental insulin. The National Health Service, with the Department’s support, has taken a number of steps to help manage type 1 diabetes.
In line with the commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England is driving access to new and existing technologies such as continual glucose monitors. This reflects the essential role that technology plays in allowing individuals with type 1 diabetes to manage their blood sugars correctly and avoid dangerous complications. Furthermore, maternity services across the country are now offering continuous glucose monitors to expectant mothers with type 1 diabetes.
Finally, approximately 72% of children and young people living with type 1 diabetes have registered with the Digibete app, which helps users manage their type 1 diabetes. Over 250,000 unique users have accessed the open access adult website, with over 3,800 education modules undertaken.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how the UK's (a) field hospital and (b) other aid to Gaza will be coordinated with (i) local authorities and (ii) international organisations to ensure effective (A) delivery and (B) operation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
A full UK field hospital run by UK-Med has also arrived in Gaza and is now operational and providing life-saving care.
This facility can be adapted according to needs on the ground and usually includes a pharmacy, triage area, major injuries and resuscitation unit, and maternity care tent. This facility will be able to treat more than 100 patients a day. It will be staffed by both local health workers and international medics, including many from the UK, on the UK-Med Register.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the (a) UK-funded field hospital and (b) aid delivery in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
A full UK field hospital run by UK-Med has also arrived in Gaza and is now operational and providing life-saving care.
This facility can be adapted according to needs on the ground and usually includes a pharmacy, triage area, major injuries and resuscitation unit, and maternity care tent. This facility will be able to treat more than 100 patients a day. It will be staffed by both local health workers and international medics, including many from the UK, on the UK-Med Register.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to help reduce maternal mortality.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
At the Spring Budget, the Government announced £35m over the next three years to improve maternity safety across England.
This is in addition to our three-year maternity plan, backed by £186m per year from April. Through this, we have introduced 14 maternal medicine networks to provide specialist advice to pregnant women, and we expect all CSs to have a Maternal Mental Health Service by the end of the month.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the potential impact of closing maternity services at the Royal Free Hospital.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has not undertaken such an assessment. The North Central London Integrated Care Board has conducted an impact assessment on the proposals as part of its consultation on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgical services in North Central London, which is due to close on 17 March 2024. This impact assessment is available at the following link:
https://nclhealthandcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ALT-TEXT_Maternity-Neonates-IIA-1.pdf
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of new-born children were give a digital NHS personal child health record in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every baby is allocated a National Health Service number as soon as their birth is notified by the attending midwife. This is linked to the NHS number of the birth mother. Once registered at a general practice (GP) surgery, a baby will also have a GP record. This is the first digital health record which most babies will receive, and is linked to their existing NHS number.
The aim of the Digital Personal Child Health Record programme is not to create a new, standalone record, but to use existing infrastructure to facilitate better coordination between existing records. This will support families in accessing the information they need when they need it, and for professionals to offer more informed, joined-up care.
We have improved access to relevant content and information about maternity, early years, and Start for Life, via the NHS App, and made it easier for families to register a new baby digitally at a GP practice. Over 2000 practices have already adopted the solution, which consists of an online registration service and a new paper form. GPs will be contractually required to adopt and offer both formats, from October 2024.
We have also prepared the launch of a pilot programme which will allow anyone with parental responsibility to apply digitally for access to their child’s record, for any child up to 13 years old. This has now launched in 70 GPs in England, and will make it much easier for parents to manage a child's digital health record. For example, once rolled out across England, this will enable the parent or carer to view their baby’s digital GP record, book appointments, and request prescriptions, all via the NHS App.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she expects every child to have a personal child health record.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every baby is allocated a National Health Service number as soon as their birth is notified by the attending midwife. This is linked to the NHS number of the birth mother. Once registered at a general practice (GP) surgery, a baby will also have a GP record. This is the first digital health record which most babies will receive, and is linked to their existing NHS number.
The aim of the Digital Personal Child Health Record programme is not to create a new, standalone record, but to use existing infrastructure to facilitate better coordination between existing records. This will support families in accessing the information they need when they need it, and for professionals to offer more informed, joined-up care.
We have improved access to relevant content and information about maternity, early years, and Start for Life, via the NHS App, and made it easier for families to register a new baby digitally at a GP practice. Over 2000 practices have already adopted the solution, which consists of an online registration service and a new paper form. GPs will be contractually required to adopt and offer both formats, from October 2024.
We have also prepared the launch of a pilot programme which will allow anyone with parental responsibility to apply digitally for access to their child’s record, for any child up to 13 years old. This has now launched in 70 GPs in England, and will make it much easier for parents to manage a child's digital health record. For example, once rolled out across England, this will enable the parent or carer to view their baby’s digital GP record, book appointments, and request prescriptions, all via the NHS App.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the net increase in junior doctors through recruitment to the NHS is in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) Workforce statistics and General Practice Workforce statistics publications for England. These show that as of December 2023, the latest data available, there are 80,123 full time equivalent junior doctors working across HCHS and general practice settings in England. This is 4,505, or 6.0%, more than in December 2022.
It is not possible to report how much of this net increase is new recruitment, as the figures will also include movements of staff coming in and out of active service for reasons such as career breaks or maternity leave, and the impact of movements in staff working part time.
Junior doctors have been defined as those working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations, who are recorded in the grades Foundation Year One, Foundation Year Two, Core Training and Specialty Registrar, and also those working in training grades in general practice.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of maternity leave for serving police officers in England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) consider and make recommendations to the Government on the pay, allowances, hours of duty and leave for police officers. The Government values their independent and expert advice.
Police officers may take up to 15 months’ maternity leave. Officers who meet the relevant qualifying criteria receive full pay for 26 weeks.