Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government why applications for probate which require no additional documentation cannot be processed using Artificial Intelligence and completed immediately.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Despite record level of receipts in 2022 the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required has been maintained at between 5 and 8 weeks.
HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.
Average waiting times for probate grants, are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to December 2022.
HMCTS is conducting an investigation to explore the potential applications of AI in the Courts and Tribunals, which raises important policy, ethical, legal, and social issues to be considered.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current level of delay for the receipt of Probate following application to HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Despite record level of receipts in 2022 the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required has been maintained at between 5 and 8 weeks.
HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.
Average waiting times for probate grants, are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to December 2022.
HMCTS is conducting an investigation to explore the potential applications of AI in the Courts and Tribunals, which raises important policy, ethical, legal, and social issues to be considered.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many visas and work permits have been granted under the Health and Social Care scheme since February 2022.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes data on Entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on granted ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas, by nationality, are published in table Vis_D02 of the ‘Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q4 2022 (October to December).
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries those granted Health and Social Care visas and work permits have come from.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes data on Entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on granted ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas, by nationality, are published in table Vis_D02 of the ‘Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q4 2022 (October to December).
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission is responsible for ensuring that home-based health and community care meets acceptable national standards; and if not, who is.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) do not have a role to routinely ensure that entrants to England on Health and Social Care visas and work permits are employed under the same terms and conditions as United Kingdom domiciled staff. However, as part of CQC’s regulatory role, staffing governance is considered during CQC inspections at providers. If CQC identify areas of incorrect practice they would work with relevant agencies such as the Home Office to rectify any issues raised.
CQC regulate all health and care services that want to conduct a Regulated Activity, as defined by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. CQC’s scope of registration document defines the types of organisations which need to register, including domiciliary care providers, community nursing services or integrated care teams, including district nursing, community matrons and specialist nursing services, community therapy services such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy, community intermediate care, community rehabilitation or reablement services and community outpatient and diagnostic services.
All services are regulated by CQC to ensure they meet the minimum fundamental standards of care. CQC’s regulatory frameworks refer to national best practice, and CQC expect regulated providers to demonstrate how they meet these, or how alternative methods achieve the same or better outcomes for people using services.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission is responsible for ensuring entrants to England on Health and Social Care visas and work permits are employed under the same terms and conditions as UK domiciled staff; and if not, who is responsible for their conditions of employment.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) do not have a role to routinely ensure that entrants to England on Health and Social Care visas and work permits are employed under the same terms and conditions as United Kingdom domiciled staff. However, as part of CQC’s regulatory role, staffing governance is considered during CQC inspections at providers. If CQC identify areas of incorrect practice they would work with relevant agencies such as the Home Office to rectify any issues raised.
CQC regulate all health and care services that want to conduct a Regulated Activity, as defined by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. CQC’s scope of registration document defines the types of organisations which need to register, including domiciliary care providers, community nursing services or integrated care teams, including district nursing, community matrons and specialist nursing services, community therapy services such as occupational therapy and physiotherapy, community intermediate care, community rehabilitation or reablement services and community outpatient and diagnostic services.
All services are regulated by CQC to ensure they meet the minimum fundamental standards of care. CQC’s regulatory frameworks refer to national best practice, and CQC expect regulated providers to demonstrate how they meet these, or how alternative methods achieve the same or better outcomes for people using services.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that sponsor organisations regularly change contractual terms for overseas healthcare employees without the agreement of the individuals concerned.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government expects all employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership.
The Department of Health and Social Care has recently published guidance aimed at candidates who are applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad, including information on working rights and standards.
Employers are strongly encouraged to follow the guidance available on gov.uk and the Acas website when considering changes to terms and conditions of employment.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that individual healthcare recruits from India are being charged significant sums of money to obtain a work permit and visa; and whether this is prohibited by section 6(i) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have noted the reports of unethical and exploitative practices in this sector. To address this the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has recently published guidance aimed at candidates who are applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad. It provides information on how to avoid scams, working rights and standards, what to consider when deciding whether to take a health or care job in the UK and where to go for further guidance, help or support.
Section 6 of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (EAA 1973) prohibits the charging of work-finding fees to work-seekers wherever they are recruited from, provided the agency is operating in Great Britain. Agencies are permitted to charge fees for other paid-for services and can pass on visa costs to work-seekers, but this should be clearly set out in writing to the work-seeker. The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate continues to work closely with DHSC to ensure their guidance aligns with these requirements.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government to what extent inspection reports by the Care Quality Commission examine claims made by sponsoring organisations regarding those organisations' recruitment, training and contract practices.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the independent regulator of health and social care in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors, inspects and rates health and social care services to make sure people receive safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care, and encourages care services to improve.
CQC publishes inspection reports on its website, through which it sets out its findings. CQC’s inspection reports may include its ratings, as well as information on good practice, concerns, and evidence of breaches of regulation CQC has found. CQC’s assessments consider providers’ approach to staff training and wellbeing, and where CQC receives information of concern about a provider it may carry out additional assessment activity. The professional regulators also have responsibility for ensuring health and care professionals have appropriate qualifications.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Cross-Whitehall International Recruitment Steering Group last met; and what steps they are taking to prevent abusive employment practices towards healthcare recruits from overseas.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cross Whitehall International Recruitment Steering Group last met on 9 November 2022.
On 15 December 2022 my Department published guidance on Applying for a Health and Care Job from Abroad. The guidance raises awareness about the risks involved in seeking a health or care job in the United Kingdom, sets out working rights and standards, how to identify and deal with exploitation and signposts to further help or support.
In August 2022 the Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel was updated and strengthened in several areas to address ethical concerns about employment practices, including setting four new principles on the use of repayment clauses.