Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to restore the availability of data on Healthy Start uptake on the Healthy Start website.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Work and Pensions has identified an error in their data that means that the data published for Healthy Start uptake from July 2023 onwards was incorrect. It is important to state that the data used to calculate the uptake rate is not used as part of the live check to determine eligibility for individual applicants to Healthy Start, and no individual applicants or beneficiaries have been impacted, The Department for Work and Pensions has fixed the issue, and additional checks have been added to the process to ensure the issue does not occur in the future.
The incorrect data has been removed from the NHS Healthy Start website by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), who run the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. Corrected and updated data for March 2024 will be published by the NHS BSA shortly.
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to restore the availability of data on the uptake of Healthy Start vouchers on the Healthy Start website.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Work and Pensions has identified an error in their data that means that the data published for Healthy Start uptake from July 2023 onwards was incorrect. It is important to state that the data used to calculate the uptake rate is not used as part of the live check to determine eligibility for individual applicants to Healthy Start, and no individual applicants or beneficiaries have been impacted, The Department for Work and Pensions has fixed the issue, and additional checks have been added to the process to ensure the issue does not occur in the future.
The incorrect data has been removed from the NHS Healthy Start website by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), who run the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. Corrected and updated data for March 2024 will be published by the NHS BSA shortly.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of taking a nurturing and trauma-informed approach to people with mental health challenges who are not in employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is proudly committed to becoming a more Trauma Informed organisation. The potential merits of the adoption of the Trauma Informed Approach into DWP services, will benefit all customers including those with mental ill health who are unemployed. Adopting the principles of the approach into the core of our business will help us to ensure that anyone interacting with our services feels as safe, empowered and understood as possible; this will underpin our ongoing commitment to compassionate coaching and tailored services.
We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. There is significant emphasis within the design of the programme regarding what more can be done to prevent trauma and re-traumatisation for both our customers and our colleagues. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work.
When developing policies, the Department routinely carries out assessments against the Public Sector Equality Duty to ensure that due regard is given to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that obligations under the Equalities Act 2010 are taken into account when developing policies on support for people with mental health challenges.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is proudly committed to becoming a more Trauma Informed organisation. The potential merits of the adoption of the Trauma Informed Approach into DWP services, will benefit all customers including those with mental ill health who are unemployed. Adopting the principles of the approach into the core of our business will help us to ensure that anyone interacting with our services feels as safe, empowered and understood as possible; this will underpin our ongoing commitment to compassionate coaching and tailored services.
We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. There is significant emphasis within the design of the programme regarding what more can be done to prevent trauma and re-traumatisation for both our customers and our colleagues. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work.
When developing policies, the Department routinely carries out assessments against the Public Sector Equality Duty to ensure that due regard is given to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the correspondence from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care to the hon. Member for South Shields of December 2023, for what purpose her Department requested personal identifiable data from the Department for Work and Pensions on people who are eligible for Healthy Start.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care does not receive personal data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on those eligible for the Healthy Start scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) runs the scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department is continuing to work closely with the NHS BSA and the DWP, in order for the NHS BSA to receive the personal data held by the DWP for those potentially eligible citizens, as soon as possible. The NHS BSA will use this data to reach out to those eligible, who are not currently in receipt of Healthy Start, to encourage them to apply for the Healthy Start scheme.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the correspondence from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care to the hon. Member for South Shields of December 2023, whether her Department has received personal identifiable data from the Department for Work and Pensions on people who are eligible for Healthy Start.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care does not receive personal data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on those eligible for the Healthy Start scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) runs the scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department is continuing to work closely with the NHS BSA and the DWP, in order for the NHS BSA to receive the personal data held by the DWP for those potentially eligible citizens, as soon as possible. The NHS BSA will use this data to reach out to those eligible, who are not currently in receipt of Healthy Start, to encourage them to apply for the Healthy Start scheme.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential merits of automatically enrolling eligible people in the Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans for specific discussions on this point. The NHS Business Services Authority operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The Healthy Start scheme has recently transitioned from paper vouchers to a prepaid card. All applicants to the Healthy Start scheme, where they meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Healthy Start legislation, must accept the terms and conditions of the prepaid card at the point of application. As the prepaid card is a financial product and cannot be issued without the applicant accepting these terms, the NHS Business Services Authority is not able to automatically provide eligible families with a prepaid card.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to increase public awareness of support available to people living with (a) arthritis and (b) musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has taken steps to increase public awareness of support available to people living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as arthritis.
For example, the Musculoskeletal health: applying All Our Health - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) guide is a government resource to help health and care professionals prevent poor MSK health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. NHS England’s NHS England » Musculoskeletal health page also highlights the importance of MSK health and suggests resources for healthcare professionals, patients and carers to use.
In October 2022, government published the MSK Health Toolkit for employers and further education institution, developed in partnership with Business in the Community, which provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.
There are multiple risk factors that can heighten an individual’s susceptibility to MSK conditions, including physical inactivity and being underweight, overweight or obese. The ‘Better Health’ campaigns and resources highlights the effects of weight and physical activity and supports people to make and sustain changes to improve their health. The campaign provides free, accessible and evidence-based resources including digital tools, such as NHS Weight Loss, Food Scanner, Couch to 5K and Active 10 apps.
Since announcing the MCS in January 2023, we have been working with a range of stakeholders to identify what would make the most difference in tackling the six major conditions groups, which includes MSK conditions. We expect to publish the MCS in Spring of this year. Government also announced funding for scaling up MSK Physical Activity Hubs and embedding employment advice within MSK pathways as part of £400m of funding in Spring Budget 2023 and we are working with a range of stakeholders on these projects.
Beyond this, World Arthritis Day (WAD), observed annually on 12 October, spreads awareness of the existence and impact of rheumatic and MSK disorders.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact on (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of the NHS workforce working beyond the age of the current state pension age.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No recent assessment has been made. National Health Service staff are not expected to work beyond state pension age, though some choose to do so. The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. The scheme offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down part of their pension and continue working in a more flexible way.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to going beyond statutory requirements in supporting and promoting flexible working opportunities. NHS England have produced guidance for employers on supporting their older workforce, together with a wide-ranging package of support for NHS staff. This includes tools and resources to support line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their well-being, and emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) physical and (b) mental ability of NHS staff to work beyond the state pension age.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No recent assessment has been made. National Health Service staff are not expected to work beyond state pension age, though some choose to do so. The NHS Pension Scheme is generous, and provides good pensions for retirement. The scheme offers a partial retirement option, which allows staff to draw down part of their pension and continue working in a more flexible way.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commits to going beyond statutory requirements in supporting and promoting flexible working opportunities. NHS England have produced guidance for employers on supporting their older workforce, together with a wide-ranging package of support for NHS staff. This includes tools and resources to support line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their well-being, and emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.