Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to estimate the average cost per year in England on treating non-EEA surcharge payers.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The estimate of the average cost per year in England of treating non-European Economic Area surcharge payers is based on the actual costs of treating surcharge payers in secondary care, and estimates for other National Health Service services based on age, gender and other demographics relative to the general population in England.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the regulation of section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on medical devices containing computers.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Department has not made any assessment of the effect of the regulation of section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on medical devices containing computers.
Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places duties on any person who designs, manufacturers, imports or supplies any article for use at work to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health. In general this applies to all devices used in the workplace but there are exceptions, such as medical devices, which are regulated by specific regulations that set out more detailed duties.
The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 deal with the design, manufacture, import or supply of medical devices, including those which may contain computers/software. It is for the designer, manufacturer, importer or supplier to demonstrate that their product is safe. These regulations transpose the requirements of the following European Directives concerning product safety for medical devices:
- Council Directive 90/385/EEC on Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMDD)(1990);
- Council Directive 93/42/EEC on Medical Devices (MDD)(1993); and
- Council Directive 98/79/EC on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices (IVDMD)(1998).
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regulates medical devices in the United Kingdom. The following link provides more information on MHRA and its role:
https://www.gov.uk/topic/medicines-medical-devices-blood/medical-devices-regulation-safety
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of recent trends in the shortage of supply for drugs; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Brine
30 concessionary prices have been granted so far for the month of January. However, we are still considering requests from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee for January. The concessionary prices granted for each month can be found on the website of the NHS Business Services Authority.
In primary care, concessionary prices ensure that patients continue to get their medication and community pharmacists are reimbursed fairly if the price of a generic medicine suddenly increases and community pharmacies cannot purchase the medicine at the price listed in the Drug Tariff. The sudden increase in a price may be the consequence of a supply issue but may have other causes including normal market forces leading to prices going up. Concessionary prices are granted for one month.
Whilst a supply issue may lead to a price increase and therefore a concessionary price, the number of concessionary prices granted is not an indication of the number of medicines supply issues.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of generic drugs his Department is currently paying a premium for due to shortage of supply.
Answered by Steve Brine
30 concessionary prices have been granted so far for the month of January. However, we are still considering requests from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee for January. The concessionary prices granted for each month can be found on the website of the NHS Business Services Authority.
In primary care, concessionary prices ensure that patients continue to get their medication and community pharmacists are reimbursed fairly if the price of a generic medicine suddenly increases and community pharmacies cannot purchase the medicine at the price listed in the Drug Tariff. The sudden increase in a price may be the consequence of a supply issue but may have other causes including normal market forces leading to prices going up. Concessionary prices are granted for one month.
Whilst a supply issue may lead to a price increase and therefore a concessionary price, the number of concessionary prices granted is not an indication of the number of medicines supply issues.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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 potential merits of amending the formula for mental health funding for clinical commissioning groups to take greater account of (a) inequality, (b) deprivation, (c) the mental health challenges of different ethnic groups, (d) poverty, and (e) population increases; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) provides recommendations and advice on the target, relative geographical distribution of funding for health services in England, given the objectives of the funding formula. It is supported by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and a team of analysts in NHS England. ACRA is an independent, expert committee, comprising mainly of general practitioners, public health experts, National Health Service managers and academics. This group makes recommendations for changes to the weighted capitation formula.
The allocation of funding to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is informed by the estimation of the relative health needs of local areas, based on a set of funding formulae.
The formulae are based on independent academic research and include the factors statistically associated with higher or lower need per head for NHS services. These formulae produce a target allocation, or 'fair share' for each area, based on a complex assessment of factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas.
Once national budgets are set, CCG funding is targeted using a set of 'weighted capitation' formulae which help us estimate health needs in different local areas. As the need for different types of health services varies, there are separate formulae for each of the CCG core responsibilities, specialised services and primary medical care. Within CCG core responsibilities there are separate formulae for general and acute, mental health and maternity services.
Allocations based on the formulae have been made until 2020/21.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will initiate a review of the NHS standards for mental health funding set out in the Fair Share Guidance for clinical commissioning groups; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The weighted capitation funding formulae, sometimes referred to as fair funding formulae, used to set the target National Health Service revenue allocations for individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are subject to a rolling review programme. The mental health services component of the formulae is undergoing a comprehensive review in preparation for 2019-20 revenue allocations. However, the weighted capitation formulae themselves are not designed to estimate or enforce revenue spending standards in any particular area of services. It is up to each CCG to decide how it should allocate its resources, taking into account the specific needs of the local population.
As part of the NHS England planned refresh for 2018/19, and to reinforce our commitment to increasing investment in mental health services, all CCGs will now be required to achieve the Mental Health Investment Standard (to increase their spend on mental health services in line with, or in excess of, the growth in their allocation). We have also taken steps to ensure that additional investment in children and young people's mental health is delivered. CCGs will be required to demonstrate independent validation of their 2018/19 year-end mental health spend.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of ring fencing clinical commissioning group funding for mental health; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Department does not generally ring-fence budgets within the National Health Service. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 gave clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) the autonomy to make decisions about the health services that best meet the health needs of their population. They do this based on evidence of patient needs locally.
The NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance applies to CCGs and sets out specific requirements, including commissioning mental health services that meet the needs of local populations. The mental health investment standard and NHS England Mental Health Dashboard have been introduced to ensure transparency and accountability and influence CCGs and specialised commissioning hubs to increase their spend on mental health services by a greater amount than the growth in their programme allocation.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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 potential merits of ring-fencing clinical commissioning groups' funding for mental health; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Department does not generally ring-fence budgets within the National Health Service. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 gave clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) the autonomy to make decisions about the health services that best meet the health needs of their population. They do this based on evidence of patient needs locally.
The NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance applies to CCGs and sets out specific requirements, including commissioning mental health services that meet the needs of local populations. The mental health investment standard and NHS England Mental Health Dashboard have been introduced to ensure transparency and accountability and influence CCGs and Specialised Commissioning hubs to increase their spend on mental health services by a greater amount than the growth in their programme allocation.