Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other steps her Department is taking to help tackle NHS workforce shortages in Exeter constituency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in Exeter.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP surgeries were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Exeter constituency as of 14 October 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
As of 14 October, 11 or 78.6% of general practitioner surgeries in Exeter were rated as ‘good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of social care capacity in Exeter constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. Local authorities have a responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to ensure that the care needs of the local population are met.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the uptake of breast cancer screening in Exeter constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is working with NHS England to finalise the delivery of £10 million for breast screening units, including determining which areas will benefit from this investment.
National Health Service breast screening providers are also encouraged to work with Cancer Alliances, Primary Care Networks, NHS regional teams and the voluntary sector to promote the uptake of breast screening and ensure access to services.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the NHS dentist provision in Exeter constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England asked dental practices to return to full delivery of contracted activity from July 2022, including in Exeter. In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in Exeter.
The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve access to NHS dental services in Exeter constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England asked dental practices to return to full delivery of contracted activity from July 2022, including in Exeter. In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in Exeter.
The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether UK-based organisations can access the EDLSNet notification system following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and UKHSA on 1 December 2021.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The European Legionnaires' Disease Surveillance Network notification system is one of the EpiPulse surveillance systems, which integrates several surveillance systems which were previously independent. This facilitates collection, analysis and dissemination of indicator- and event-based surveillance data on infectious diseases and associated health issues, including global epidemic intelligence, whole-genome sequencing, and health determinants.
Appointed experts from the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and non-EU countries within the European Centre for Disease Control’s (ECDC) cooperation framework, and international organisations can access the portal to report and analyse cases of infectious diseases and pathogens which may threaten public health in the EU and the EEA. The United Kingdom has a nominated EpiPulse Focal Point to oversee and manage access as a non-EU country within ECDC’s cooperation framework.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish full details of the memorandum of understanding aimed to strengthen the collaboration between the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and UKHSA on matters of communicable diseases prevention and control, signed on 1 December 2021.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 1 December 2021, the UK Health Security Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced a memorandum of understanding to strengthen the collaboration between the two agencies on communicable diseases prevention and control. Further details on the cooperation activities and areas of mutual interest are set out at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-signs-memorandum-of-understanding-with-ecdc
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to support people who withdraw from local authority care as a result of no longer being able to afford it.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Local authorities have a duty to meet the eligible needs of individuals in certain situations, including where the individual has assets below the means test threshold and is therefore eligible for funded support.
Whether a local authority can charge an individual for some or all of the cost of their care will depend on their financial situation. Under the Care Act 2014, charging is based on principles including that people should not be charged more they can afford to pay. It would therefore be for the local authority to determine whether a revised financial assessment is required in the event the cost of living is impeding an individual’s ability to contribute to meeting their eligible care needs.
We have announced that we will reform our overall data and assurance approach to improve the quality, timeliness and accessibility of adult social care data. From April 2022, we have unfrozen the Minimum Income Guarantee for those receiving care in their own homes and the Personal Expenses Allowance for care home residents. We have implemented this reform ahead of the planned timetable to support people with income levels.
From October 2023, we will implement a more generous means testing regime to ensure that more people will receive support for their care costs at an earlier stage and retain more of their savings when contributing to care costs. We will continue to work with the sector to understand the potential impact of inflationary pressures on adult social care costs by October 2023.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to (a) collate, (b) monitor and (c) report data on people withdrawing from care support as a result of no longer being able to afford it.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Local authorities have a duty to meet the eligible needs of individuals in certain situations, including where the individual has assets below the means test threshold and is therefore eligible for funded support.
Whether a local authority can charge an individual for some or all of the cost of their care will depend on their financial situation. Under the Care Act 2014, charging is based on principles including that people should not be charged more they can afford to pay. It would therefore be for the local authority to determine whether a revised financial assessment is required in the event the cost of living is impeding an individual’s ability to contribute to meeting their eligible care needs.
We have announced that we will reform our overall data and assurance approach to improve the quality, timeliness and accessibility of adult social care data. From April 2022, we have unfrozen the Minimum Income Guarantee for those receiving care in their own homes and the Personal Expenses Allowance for care home residents. We have implemented this reform ahead of the planned timetable to support people with income levels.
From October 2023, we will implement a more generous means testing regime to ensure that more people will receive support for their care costs at an earlier stage and retain more of their savings when contributing to care costs. We will continue to work with the sector to understand the potential impact of inflationary pressures on adult social care costs by October 2023.