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Written Question
Health Services
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 reduce the number of cases of (a) preventable ill health and (b) premature death (i) in Leicester East constituency and (ii) nationally.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Local authorities and integrated care boards are responsible for improving the health of their local population and reducing health inequalities. In 2023/24, the total Public Health Grant to local authorities was £3.530 billion. Leicester – which includes the Leicester East constituency – received £29 million of the grant in 2023/24, which is almost £80 per head of population. Additional funding has been provided to improve cardiovascular outcomes in deprived communities, prevent drug and alcohol deaths, address need, and enhance recovery, and improve mental health for people in Leicester.

In January 2023 the Department announced its plan to publish the Major Conditions Strategy, focusing on six major groups of conditions (cancer, mental ill health, cardiovascular disease (including stroke and diabetes), dementia, chronic respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders) that account for approximately 60% of ill-health and premature death in England.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health, which is why Government has set out plans to introduce a Tobacco and Vapes Bill in parliament and announced new funding to support current smokers, a new incentives programme to support pregnant women to quit, deliver anti-smoking campaigns and crackdown on illicit tobacco and underage sale of tobacco and vapes.


Written Question
Health Services: Leicester East
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 ensure that people's care needs are met in Leicester East constituency.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of local authorities within the Leicester East constituency, specifically Leicester City Council, to assess individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authority in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.

To support local authorities, the Government has made available up to £8.1 billion over this financial year and next to support adult social care and discharge. This includes up to £3.2 billion of additional funding over 2023/24 and up to £4.9 billion in 2024/25. This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care. As part of this, Leicester City Council received £6.1 million in new ringfenced social care grant funding in 2023/24.

In addition, in March 2023, we provided £27 million of targeted funding to digitise and streamline local authority assessments to better manage waiting lists and support individuals to access the right care at the right time. We have also made a landmark shift in how we hold local authorities to account for their adult social care duties through new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments. The CQC will examine how well local authorities deliver their Care Act duties, increasing transparency and accountability, driving improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support.


Written Question
Hospital Beds: Leicester
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 help reduce the number of delayed discharges from hospitals in Leicester.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Leicester City Council has been allocated £2.5 million in 2023/24 as part of the £600 million Discharge Fund for local authorities and integrated care boards.

The Department has been working closely with the National Health Service and local authorities to improve data on delayed discharge and ensure every acute hospital has access to a multi-disciplinary care transfer hub. In Leicester, the care transfer hub operates seven days a week and brings together a range of health and social care professionals to support the timely discharge of patients.

In September, NHS England published an intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge.

In Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland a new ward has been developed for patients who would previously have been discharged to a residential home. This has brought a reduction in waiting times in the acute hospital by providing intermediate care through onsite therapy support. Two additional dedicated wards will open in January 2024.


Written Question
Health: Leicester East
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to help reduce health inequalities in Leicester East constituency.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In January 2023, we announced our plan to publish the Major Conditions Strategy which will emphasise the importance of working with local areas to address regional disparities in health outcomes and support the levelling up mission to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy by 2030.

This strategy will explore how we can tackle the key drivers of ill-health in England to improve healthy life expectancy, as well as reduce pressure on the National Health Service and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. Our approach will continue to focus on supporting people to live healthier lives, helping the NHS and social care to provide the best treatment and care for patients and tackling health disparities through national and system interventions such as the NHS’s Core20PLUS5 programme.


Written Question
Health Services: Leicestershire
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 help ensure adequate staffing levels within NHS organisations across Leicester and Leicestershire.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.

The Government is backing the plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record £6.1 billion over the next two years.

By significantly expanding domestic education, training and recruitment, we will have more healthcare professionals working in the NHS. This will include more doctors and nurses alongside an expansion in a range of other professions, including more staff working in new roles. The LTWP also commits to retaining our workforce, keeping up to 130,000 more staff in the NHS by improving culture, leadership and wellbeing.

As of September 2023, there are currently 15,654 full time equivalent (FTE) staff working in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. This is 1,143 or 7.9% more than this time last year. This includes 2,219 FTE doctors, 180 or 8.8% more than last year, and 3,998 FTE nurses, 349 or 9.6% more than last year.


Written Question
Carers: Government Assistance
Monday 24th July 2023

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 help support unpaid carers with increases in the cost of living.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges for many people, including unpaid carers.

The Government continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits.

Unpaid carers in receipt of eligible benefits may receive additional support through the new Cost of Living Payments in 2023-24. These will help more than eight million United Kingdom households on eligible means tested benefits, eight million pensioner households and six million people across the UK on eligible disability benefits.

We want unpaid carers to live healthy and fulfilling lives alongside their caring role. This is why this Government is fully committed to the 10-year vision for Adult Social Care that we re-affirmed in the Next Steps to put People at the Heart of Care (2023).


Written Question
Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Leicester East
Thursday 20th July 2023

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been sectioned under mental health legislation in Leicester East constituency in each of the last four years.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The information requested has been provided for Leicester City Council, as the nearest equivalent to the Leicester East constituency for which data is held.

Number of detentions under the Mental Health Act

Number of people subject to detention

2018/19

380

335

2019/20

425

385

2020/21

470

420

2021/22

420

375

Source: NHS England

The difference between the number of detentions and the number of people subject to detention is due to patients who have been repeatedly detained.

Notes:

  1. The number of detentions under the Mental Health Act does not include uses of section 136 where the place of safety was a police station.
  2. Data after March 2022 were impacted by a cyber incident, so have not been included.

Written Question
Maternity Services: Leicester East
Thursday 20th July 2023

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 (a) ensure that staffing levels in maternity services are sustainable in Leicester East constituency and (b) help support families affected by (i) miscarriage and (ii) stillbirth.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Government has added £165 million of recurring investment to the annual maternity budget, beginning in 2021, to grow and support the maternity workforce and improve neonatal care, including in Leicester East.

Additionally, the NHS People Plan has been developed to focus on improving the retention of National Health Service staff by prioritising staff health and wellbeing. £45 million has been invested in 2022/23 to support the continuation of 40 mental health hubs across the country, the Professional Nurse Advocates (PNAs) programme, and expanding the NHS Practitioner Health service.

Mental health services around England are being expanded to include new mental health “hubs” for new, expectant or bereaved mothers. The 33 new maternal mental health services will provide psychological therapy, maternity services and reproductive health for women with mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. These will be available across England by March 2024.


Written Question
Community Health Services: Children
Wednesday 19th July 2023

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

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 increase the availability of community child health services in Leicester East constituency.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to reducing community health care waiting lists for children and young people. That is why the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets commitments to expand the community workforce, with increases in training places for district nurses and allied health professionals, as well as a renewed focus on retaining our existing staff.

NHS England has asked systems to develop and agree plans to reduce waiting lists for community health services, including considering transforming service pathways and improving effectiveness and productivity. Commissioning community services is the responsibility of local integrated care systems.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Children and Young People
Thursday 24th March 2022

Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will supply a decision on behalf of the Government on each of the 25 recommendations made by the select committee on Health and Social Care in its Eighth Report, Children and Young People's Mental Health, HC 17, published on 9th December 2021; and if he will make a statement on that matter at the first available opportunity.

Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education

We welcome the Committee’s report. In our response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report, we set out where we agreed with its recommendations or where we are taking forward the recommendations in part or in full. We will be considering the recommendations in full during the development of a new long term cross-Government plan for mental health. We are launching a wide-ranging discussion paper and call for evidence to support development of the plan. The Committee’s inquiry and evidence from witnesses will be considered during this process.