Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £100 million for bespoke parent-infant relationship and perinatal mental health support set out in the Women's Health Strategy has been spent; and if he will publish a breakdown on that expenditure.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Information relating to the funding that has been allocated to local authorities through the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme will be published in due course.
Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme, £100 million is being invested in improving parent-infant relationships and perinatal mental health support. £92.8 million is being distributed to 75 local authorities in England participating in the Programme over the three years, from 2022/23 to 2024/25. The remaining funding is being held centrally to commission a series of national initiatives which will support local delivery, including training programmes for evidence-based parent-infant relationship interventions and access to high-quality clinical supervision for practitioners.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 ensure funding for (a) bespoke parent-infant relationship and (b) perinatal mental health support is directed to local services.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
75 local authorities in England are participating in the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme. Approximately £92.8 million of the £100 million investment for perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support is being allocated to these local authorities for them to improve their local offer. The Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme Guide sets clear expectations that the money should be used to enhance local services and funding is allocated for activities set out in agreed delivery plans. The Programme Guide is available at the following link:
The remaining funding is being held centrally to commission a series of national initiatives to support local delivery. These include training programmes for evidence-based parent infant relationship interventions to improve staff capability and a national centre for supervision that will enable practitioners to access high quality clinical supervision.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services.
Answered by Will Quince
Since the delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services was published in January 2023, a detailed demand and capacity planning exercise has been undertaken with all 42 integrated care boards to ensure the commitment of an additional 5,000 general and acute beds will be delivered in addition to other interventions, including same day emergency care, virtual wards and intermediate care. Plans have also been agreed with Ambulance Trusts to increase ambulance capacity across England.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 publishing hospital level NHS performance data.
Answered by Will Quince
We are not aware of official assessments made in relation to merits of publishing hospital level NHS performance data. However, our Department is committed to transparency and quality of health data in the public domain and makes a frequent assessment of trust level data availability, though recognises the need to balance quality, public value, disclosure and sensitivity of publishing more granular data in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Hospital Episode Statistics data is also published containing details about admissions, accident and emergency attendances and outpatient appointments at National Health Service hospitals in England. This is available at the following link:
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with software companies on charging NHS Trusts for IT upgrades.
Answered by Will Quince
The Secretary of State has had no such meetings. However, through the course of normal business officials within the Department, NHS England, and individual trusts and local National Health Service organisations will have various engagements with suppliers concerning software costs, including but not limited to costs for upgrades.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 adequacy of bed occupancy levels in hospitals across England.
Answered by Will Quince
Occupancy levels for general and acute hospital beds have been persistently high over 2022/23, with around 95% of beds filled on average. The delivery plan to recover urgent and emergency care services, published in January 2023, recognises this pressure and commits to increasing the permanent bed base by 5,000 beds. The plan is backed by £1 billion of dedicated funding to support capacity.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to (a) support people affected by and (b) protect future generations against the impacts of asbestosis.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There is no cure for asbestosis, as the damage to the lungs is irreversible. The National Health Service may recommend pulmonary rehabilitation for people with asbestosis or, for more severe cases, oxygen therapy if they have low levels of oxygen in their blood. People with chronic respiratory diseases, such as asbestosis, are one of the groups offered vaccinations under the national influenza vaccination programme.
In Great Britain the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 are in place to protect workers from asbestos exposure. These regulations require duty holders to assess whether asbestos is present in their buildings, the condition it is in and to draw up a plan to manage the risk associated with asbestos including removal if it cannot be safely managed in place.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many abandoned 111 calls there were in each month since January 2018 broken down by each (a) region and (b) nation where information is available.
Answered by Will Quince
The number of abandoned 999 calls is not collected centrally.
Data on NHS 111 calls abandoned after waiting 30 seconds or more per month between January 2018 and March 2021 in England can be accessed here:
Data on NHS 111 calls abandoned per month between April 2021 and December 2022 in England can be accessed here:
Health and care is largely a devolved matter. The Department does not hold data on call answer performance in the devolved nations.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many abandoned 999 calls there were in each month since January 2018 broken down by (a) region and (b) nation where data is available.
Answered by Will Quince
The number of abandoned 999 calls is not collected centrally.
Data on NHS 111 calls abandoned after waiting 30 seconds or more per month between January 2018 and March 2021 in England can be accessed here:
Data on NHS 111 calls abandoned per month between April 2021 and December 2022 in England can be accessed here:
Health and care is largely a devolved matter. The Department does not hold data on call answer performance in the devolved nations.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 support patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is developing a cross-Government delivery plan on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). As part of the delivery plan, we are working with other Government Departments and stakeholders to determine ways to improve experiences and outcomes for all people who have ME/CFS.