Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
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 proportion of NHS England's staff who will be retained in a new roles within government or other public services when NHS England is abolished.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.
As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the projected net change in (a) civil service and (b) public sector employees is as a result of abolishing NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.
As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what new roles at director level or above he plans to create in his Department following the closure of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.
As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
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 net financial savings by year from the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The abolition of NHS England is expected to bring savings that would amount to hundreds of millions of pounds a year. While there will be some upfront costs, we are confident that the reform to wipe out duplication and drive a smaller centre, based in a single organisation, will generate significant savings in the long run, which can then be allocated to front line services.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what external consultancy support has been procured to advise on restructuring following the announcement of the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements of the team required to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of NHS England's staffing budget that will transfer to other public sector organisations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
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 implications for his policies of the recommendations in respect of pelvic mesh made by the (a) Cumberlege report of 2020 and (b) Hughes report of 2024.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Seven of the nine recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review were previously accepted in full, in part, or in principle. Four of these have been successfully implemented, including:
- issuing an unreserved apology on behalf of the healthcare system;
- appointing the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner in England in respect of medicines and medical devices;
- establishing nine specialist mesh centres, which are in operation across England; and
- establishing and working with a Patient Reference Group to help develop the response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review.
Work is ongoing in respect of the remaining recommendations, including working across Government to carefully consider the recommendations in the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report and the Hughes Report, which looked into and provided advice on options for redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
The Government will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
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 implications for his policies of the proposals of the East Midlands fertility policy review on the number of IVF cycles set out in that review.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the East Midlands fertility policy review, at a national level. It is for local integrated care boards to decide on local health policies for their population, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve access to and (b) reduce waiting lists for the UK's 9 independent NHS pelvic mesh centres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. NHS England publishes data on referral to treatment waiting times. This is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
The Department does not have information on the average waiting times specifically for mesh centres.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission, and we are taking steps to return to the 18-week standard. The Elective Reform Plan sets out how the National Health Service will reform elective care services and meet the 18-week referral to treatment standard by March 2029.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 22633 on NHS: Weather, on what date in early December he first chaired a winter preparedness weekly meeting.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care first held discussions on winter planning with the Department ahead of the general election. The first briefing my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care received on winter preparations was on his first day in office, on 5 July 2024.
On 4 September my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chaired a preliminary winter preparations meeting. The Minister of State for Health chaired fortnightly meetings on winter preparedness from 26 September 2024 until 2 December 2024 at which point, as planned, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, began chairing a weekly meeting.