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.
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.
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.
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.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department offers (a) financial and (b) other support to (i) local authorities and (ii) housing associations to help (A) mitigate overcrowding and (B) support vulnerable households in Leicester East constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on the availability of new homes is not available at constituency level.
Local councils are responsible for allocating housing through local schemes, and as such, are best placed to manage the demand for social housing.
Local councils are responsible for considering what constitutes a ‘suitable’ space for a household to live in within our framework for defining overcrowding.
We are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock.
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
In Leicester, between 2010 and 2023, 2,800 affordable homes have been delivered.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of available housing in Leicester East constituency; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the supply of affordable housing (a) in Leicester East constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on the availability of new homes is not available at constituency level.
Local councils are responsible for allocating housing through local schemes, and as such, are best placed to manage the demand for social housing.
Local councils are responsible for considering what constitutes a ‘suitable’ space for a household to live in within our framework for defining overcrowding.
We are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock.
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
In Leicester, between 2010 and 2023, 2,800 affordable homes have been delivered.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to tackle overcrowding in Leicester East constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on the availability of new homes is not available at constituency level.
Local councils are responsible for allocating housing through local schemes, and as such, are best placed to manage the demand for social housing.
Local councils are responsible for considering what constitutes a ‘suitable’ space for a household to live in within our framework for defining overcrowding.
We are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock.
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
In Leicester, between 2010 and 2023, 2,800 affordable homes have been delivered.
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.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of British nationals in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The safety and security of all British nationals remains our utmost priority and we are doing everything we can to support all British nationals, including dual nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We can confirm that more than 300 people registered with us, including British Nationals and their dependants, have left Gaza with onward support to Cairo. We are working with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to ensure any remaining British nationals that want to leave are cleared to cross as soon as possible. We are not in a position to comment on specific remaining numbers.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in detention practices in Israel. We have made plain our concerns over continued reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli military detention, particularly of children. Reports of the heavy use of painful restraints and the high number of Palestinian children who are not informed of their legal rights, in contravention of Israel's own regulations, are particularly troubling. The UK repeatedly calls on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and we have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation.