Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure the long-term sustainability of the hospice sector.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no specific assessment has been made recently of the equity of funding provided to hospices across England or the sustainability of the funding model for hospices, there are several steps that the Department is taking to ensure the equity and sustainability of funding for hospices.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.
The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide and, consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
NHS England has developed of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities and ensure that funding is distributed fairly based on prevalence.
At a national level, NHS England supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s hospice grant. It has confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of grant funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
The Department recognises that one of the keys to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the hospice sector is to ensure that it can maintain a sufficient workforce. The Government have also provided additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, which employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Organisations were able to apply for the funding and needed to show they had been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal, and that their staff are employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the sustainability of the funding model for hospices in England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no specific assessment has been made recently of the equity of funding provided to hospices across England or the sustainability of the funding model for hospices, there are several steps that the Department is taking to ensure the equity and sustainability of funding for hospices.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.
The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide and, consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
NHS England has developed of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities and ensure that funding is distributed fairly based on prevalence.
At a national level, NHS England supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s hospice grant. It has confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of grant funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
The Department recognises that one of the keys to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the hospice sector is to ensure that it can maintain a sufficient workforce. The Government have also provided additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, which employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Organisations were able to apply for the funding and needed to show they had been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal, and that their staff are employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the equity of funding provided to hospices across England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no specific assessment has been made recently of the equity of funding provided to hospices across England or the sustainability of the funding model for hospices, there are several steps that the Department is taking to ensure the equity and sustainability of funding for hospices.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.
The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide and, consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
NHS England has developed of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities and ensure that funding is distributed fairly based on prevalence.
At a national level, NHS England supports palliative and end of life care for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s hospice grant. It has confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million of grant funding for children’s hospices using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
The Department recognises that one of the keys to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the hospice sector is to ensure that it can maintain a sufficient workforce. The Government have also provided additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, which employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Organisations were able to apply for the funding and needed to show they had been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal, and that their staff are employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the APPG for Hospice and End of Life Care entitled Government funding for hospices, to be published in February 2024.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is already taking actions which will address many of the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s report. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, which will ensure a more consistent national approach and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.
The majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services. However, we also recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at end of life and their families. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding hospices receive is dependent on many factors, including what other statutory services are available within the ICB footprint. Charitable hospices provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide, and consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
NHS England has commissioned the development of a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities and ensure that funding is distributed fairly based on prevalence.
In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance and service specifications for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations for ICBs to meet their legal duties. The guidance makes specific reference to commissioners defining how their services will meet population needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Government have also provided additional funding to help deliver the one-off payments to eligible staff employed by non-NHS organisations, who employ their staff on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts. Organisations were able to apply for the funding and needed to show they had been negatively financially impacted by the pay deal, and that their staff are employed on dynamically linked Agenda for Change contracts.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 adequate provision of NHS dentistry services in North Herefordshire.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In July 2022, we announced a package of reforms to improve access to National Health Service dentistry. This included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. These include a 40% increase to dentistry undergraduate training places by 2031/32.
There have been improvements in access to NHS dental care over the past year. Figures from the dental annual statistics, published on 24 August 2023, show that the numbers of children and adults seen by an NHS dentist have increased compared to the previous year, and the number of courses of treatment increased by 23.2% when compared to the previous year.
However, we know we need to do more, and that there are some areas where access is particularly problematic. We are working on our Dental Plan which will address how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.
From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards across England. NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire Integrated Care Board is currently procuring two additional dental practices in North and South Herefordshire, which are expected to become operational in early 2024.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 how many people are self-medicating with recreational cannabis for the treatment of chronic illnesses; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
No estimate has been made. Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available and funded on the National Health Service. However, for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the (a) quality and (b) safety of imported cannabis-based products for medicinal use; if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
Cannabis based products for medicinal use in humans (CBPMs) is a term that usually designates medicinal products that are not licensed in the United Kingdom. Most CBPMs in use in the UK are unlicensed medicines imported into the Country. Regulation 167 of the Human Medicine Regulations 2012, as amended, allows for medicines without a marketing authorisation, also referred to as a licence, to be supplied under certain circumstances. In the interest of public health, the exemption is narrowly drawn because unlicensed medicines or specials, unlike licensed medicinal products, have not been assessed by the Licensing Authority against the criteria of safety, quality and efficacy.
An unlicensed medicine may be supplied following a bona fide unsolicited order and is formulated in accordance with the specific requirements of the prescriber. This means that the quality, safety and efficacy of unlicensed medicines is the direct responsibility of the prescribers responsible for the care of individual patients as they are the ones that determine if these are fit for purpose.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ensures that any importer of an unlicensed medicinal product into the UK must be suitably licensed to import unlicensed medicines and prior to the importation taking place the importer must notify of their intent to import the unlicensed medicine and provide a set of supportive documentation, which the MHRA will assess to ensure the medicine’s quality and safety. This typically includes the requirement that a medicine has been produced in facilities meeting Good Manufacturing Practice or equivalent recognised quality standards for medicines.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on merging specialist and GP registers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
As set out in our response to the Regulating healthcare professionals, protecting the public consultation, published on 17 February 2023, the Government is committed to modernising the regulatory framework for doctors as a top priority.
The details of the changes to the General Medical Council’s (GMC) legislation, as they relate to doctors, are still to be worked through and will be subject to public consultation and the affirmative parliamentary procedure. These reforms will provide the GMC with greater flexibility to set out its own registration procedures in relation to post-graduate medical specialities in rules and guidance. Before taking forward any changes, the GMC will be required to cooperate with relevant bodies and consult on its proposals.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on their ability to deliver successful policy outcomes.
Answered by Will Quince
We are using the provisions of the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 to overhaul medical devices and clinical trial frameworks to ensure more rapid access to new and innovative medicines and medical devices. In addition, we are establishing new reciprocal healthcare arrangements with non-European Union countries and expanding the use of Global Health Insurance Cards.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
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 GPs who have refused to receive a covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No estimate has been made as this data is not currently collected. NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering options for collecting data on vaccination uptake among general practitioners and wider staff groups in primary care in light of plans to make the COVID-19 vaccination compulsory as a condition of deployment. Subject to Parliamentary approval, this will come into force on 1 April 2022.