Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent (1) the handback of contacts for, and (2) closures of, care homes providers, which put those receiving care at risk of eviction.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The commissioning of care and support services is a matter for local authorities, who are best placed to understand and plan for the care needs of their local populations. These authorities are used to manage entry and exit of care providers in the market and should have appropriate plans in place to minimise any disruption of services. They are in the best position to find a solution with the minimum possible disruption, while meeting people’s needs and choices. The Care Act 2014 places a temporary duty on local authorities to ensure that people continue to receive the services they need if their adult social care provider is no longer able to carry on delivering services.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether care assistants who are employed directly by older and disabled people but are not registered by the Care Quality Commission will be eligible for the same regular COVID-19 testing as domiciliary care workers.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We will provide further information in due course about how we will extend regular testing to other homecare workers, including non-registered Care Quality Commission-organisations and personal assistants.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that home ventilation users in England have been refused adequate supplies of anti-bacteria and anti-viral filters for use in their home ventilators due to shortages in the NHS; and whether they have commissioned an Equality Impact Assessment so that the likely impact of this on disabled people can be determined.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We understand how challenging this period has been for people who rely on ventilation and we are doing everything we can to support patients, led by clinical advice.
COVID-19 has caused a significant increase in demand for clinical consumables and has disrupted international supply chains, making it more difficult to source products, including a small number of products for ventilators.
The Department, working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement, has put in place a range of measures to address these challenges, including making it easier for clinicians to report shortages and identifying opportunities to open up new supply options and using additional brands.
We have received assurances from the key supplier of filters for ventilators that supply chains are now restored and they have resumed processing orders and working through the backlog. Currently none of the National Health Service trusts who supply patients in the community with these consumables are reporting critically low stock levels. However, we will of course keep this under very close review and, if necessary, work with suppliers to prioritise deliveries to areas with the greatest clinical need.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working closely with clinicians, trusts and suppliers to prepare for winter and ensure there are sufficient stocks of these consumables to meet the need of all patients who require home ventilation as well as for any future spike in COVID-19 cases going forward.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that home ventilation users in England have access to adequate supplies of anti-bacteria and anti-viral filters for use in their home ventilators from the NHS.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We understand how challenging this period has been for people who rely on ventilation and we are doing everything we can to support patients, led by clinical advice.
COVID-19 has caused a significant increase in demand for clinical consumables and has disrupted international supply chains, making it more difficult to source products, including a small number of products for ventilators.
The Department, working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement, has put in place a range of measures to address these challenges, including making it easier for clinicians to report shortages and identifying opportunities to open up new supply options and using additional brands.
We have received assurances from the key supplier of filters for ventilators that supply chains are now restored and they have resumed processing orders and working through the backlog. Currently none of the National Health Service trusts who supply patients in the community with these consumables are reporting critically low stock levels. However, we will of course keep this under very close review and, if necessary, work with suppliers to prioritise deliveries to areas with the greatest clinical need.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working closely with clinicians, trusts and suppliers to prepare for winter and ensure there are sufficient stocks of these consumables to meet the need of all patients who require home ventilation as well as for any future spike in COVID-19 cases going forward.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by disability status, England and Wales: 2 March to 15 May 2020, published by the Office for National Statistics on 19 June, what plans they have to hold an inquiry to determine (1) the reasons for the deaths of a large number of disabled people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) the lessons which might be learned for the future.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We know that many people with long-standing, limiting illnesses or health conditions are at higher risk of poorer outcomes from COVID-19.
We continue to review all available evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 for disabled people and we are commissioning new research to better understand the specific impacts. This evidence will inform policy development going forwards.
The Government continues to be in the critical phase of responding to COVID-19. There will be opportunities in the future to look back, analyse and reflect on all aspects of COVID-19. And as the Prime Minister has said, this will include an independent inquiry at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that any future review of social care they commission will (1) treat social care in parity with the National Health Service, and (2) explore how personalised and community-based social care may be provided to enable recipients to lead socially-connected and fulfilling lives.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We recognise there is a need for long-term reform in social care. The Government’s priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society. There are complex questions to address and it is important that we give these issues our full consideration in the light of current circumstances.
The recent NHS Long Term Plan highlighted integration of services as a key aim - making sure that everyone can receive high quality care that is coordinated around individual needs.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will remain incorporated into domestic law after Brexit; if so, what steps they will take to ensure this; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities is not incorporated into domestic law. The Equality Act 2010 (EA2010) provides, in domestic legislation, protections for people in Great Britain against discrimination, harassment or victimisation because of any of the nine protected characteristics set out in the Act – which include disability – as well as the public sector equality duty to promote equality of opportunity for all. Equivalent provisions for Northern Ireland are set out in a range of devolved legislation.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on personal budget holders as a consequence of the retrospective implementation of the change in guidance on the national minimum wage and national living wage for sleep-in shifts for care workers.
Answered by Lord Henley
Court and Employment Appeal Tribunal judgments have clarified, over time, what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the national minimum or living wage (NMW) is payable for sleep-in shifts. The Government recognises that cumulative financial liabilities relating to sleep-in shifts could pose challenges to some social care providers and individuals, including personal budget holders.
The Government is currently engaging with the social care sector to understand the impact of those liabilities and is exploring options to minimise the impact on the sector, including opening discussions with the European Commission to determine whether any support, if deemed necessary, would be subject to EU state aid rules.
The Government launched the Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November 2017. It aims to maintain care service provision, protect existing jobs and maximise the prospects of workers being paid arrears as soon as possible. The SCCS is open to all care sector employers, including personal budget holders and self-funders. It means that individuals affected can benefit from a certain period of time to review what is owed. In practice, where an individual is the subject of an NMW investigation, we expect local authorities to work closely with HMRC to ensure the right outcome in light of the individual’s needs where any liability is identified.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to consult disabled people regarding the separate strands of work on social care for disabled working-age adults that parallel those in the Social Care Green Paper for Older People.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government is taking forward a programme of work in parallel to the Social Care Green Paper which will focus on working age adults with care needs. We are currently developing plans for engaging stakeholders in this work.
We will ensure that the views of people who use social care services, including disabled working-age adults, closely inform this work as it progresses.
Asked by: Baroness Campbell of Surbiton (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ministerial brief of the Minister for disabled people will change in the light of the fact that the position is now at the level of Parliamentary under-Secretary of State; and if so, how.
Answered by Lord Freud
The status of the office for the Minister for Disabled People remains unchanged. Previously, where the role has been held by a Minister of State, the portfolio has included other responsibilities.
The Minister for Disabled People's portfolio is now available on GOV.UK.
The Ministerial brief for the Minister for Disabled People is as follows:
Cross-government disability issues and strategy; disability benefits (Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance); mental health matters; carers; appeals reform; Health and Safety Executive and Access to Work.