Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the national review of asthma deaths; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We have welcomed the report of the United Kingdom’s National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) Confidential Inquiry which provides a wealth of information about the causes of mortality from asthma.
The NHS mandate for 2015-16 says that every patient with a long-term condition, including asthma and other respiratory conditions, should be offered a personalised care action plan. They and their families or carers should know the right medications to use at the right times and how to use them, and to understand the importance of monitoring their condition and how to do this.
NHS England is also working with strategic clinical networks on a programme specifically designed to tackle the issues raised in the NRAD recommendations on paediatric asthma. In addition to this NHS England has commissioned a number of key programmes of work to support improvement in asthma care:
- The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership has been commissioned to undertake a national asthma audit;
- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has prioritised in its 2015/16 work programme to develop two guidelines on both diagnosis and monitoring, and of management of Asthma; and
- Asthma UK is also developing an action plan template to support the implementation of the NRAD recommendations.
From 1 October this year it will become illegal to smoke in a car with a child present, which will reduce the number of children exposed to tobacco smoke.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask the House's Health Committee, when constituted, to undertake an inquiry into the proposed fee increase by the Health and Care Professionals Council; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Health Select Committee is established by the House of Commons to examine the policy, administration and expenditure of the Department and its associated bodies, which includes the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). In the last Parliament, the Committee reported on the HCPC in 2014.
It is for the Committee to choose its own subjects of inquiry.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to prohibit fee increases for health professional registrants which exceed those registrants' annual pay awards.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Health and Care Proffessions Council (HCPC) is a self-financing, independent regulator that is accountable to Parliament through the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) who assesses the HCPC’s performance, conducts audits, scrutinises their decisions and reports to Parliament through the Privy Council. Costs are monitored by the regulator’s Council, and the HCPC’s fees remain the lowest of all the professional regulators.
The professional regulators are funded by registrant fees and as independent bodies it is for them to set their fees at a level which ensures they can fulfil their statutory role of protecting, promoting and maintaining the health and safety of the public. We understand that the HCPC decided to raise their registrant fees for a number of reasons: to fund the periodic fee it is required to pay the PSA; to enable the HCPC to operate more flexibly and efficiently; and to ensure the HCPC’s financial viability in the medium to long term.
We have received correspondence from registrants objecting to the proposed fee increase.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the proposed increase in fees charged by the Health and Care Professions Council; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Health and Care Proffessions Council (HCPC) is a self-financing, independent regulator that is accountable to Parliament through the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) who assesses the HCPC’s performance, conducts audits, scrutinises their decisions and reports to Parliament through the Privy Council. Costs are monitored by the regulator’s Council, and the HCPC’s fees remain the lowest of all the professional regulators.
The professional regulators are funded by registrant fees and as independent bodies it is for them to set their fees at a level which ensures they can fulfil their statutory role of protecting, promoting and maintaining the health and safety of the public. We understand that the HCPC decided to raise their registrant fees for a number of reasons: to fund the periodic fee it is required to pay the PSA; to enable the HCPC to operate more flexibly and efficiently; and to ensure the HCPC’s financial viability in the medium to long term.
We have received correspondence from registrants objecting to the proposed fee increase.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will instruct the Health and Care Professions Council to reduce costs related to unwarranted investigations and hearings.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Health and Care Proffessions Council (HCPC) is a self-financing, independent regulator that is accountable to Parliament through the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) who assesses the HCPC’s performance, conducts audits, scrutinises their decisions and reports to Parliament through the Privy Council. Costs are monitored by the regulator’s Council, and the HCPC’s fees remain the lowest of all the professional regulators.
The professional regulators are funded by registrant fees and as independent bodies it is for them to set their fees at a level which ensures they can fulfil their statutory role of protecting, promoting and maintaining the health and safety of the public. We understand that the HCPC decided to raise their registrant fees for a number of reasons: to fund the periodic fee it is required to pay the PSA; to enable the HCPC to operate more flexibly and efficiently; and to ensure the HCPC’s financial viability in the medium to long term.
We have received correspondence from registrants objecting to the proposed fee increase.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will resume central funding of the Professional Standards Authority.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Government’s review of arm’s-length bodies in 2010 found no compelling reason for the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) to continue to be funded by the Government and so through the Health and Social Care Act 2012 it was determined that the PSA would be funded by a compulsory fee paid by the regulators it oversees. This is in line with the principle that regulators should be operationally independent of both the Government and those they regulate, and will allow the Authority to promote the health and well-being of people who use services free from the uncertainties of public finance and political or professional interest.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, to what extent clinical commissioning groups must comply with (a) the specialised service specifications and (b) the clinical commissioning policies produced by NHS England's clinical reference groups.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England has a number of direct commissioning responsibilities, including for a range of prescribed specialised services for which clinical commissioning policies and service specifications are developed and published.
The majority of other NHS services fall within the commissioning responsibilities of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and for these services it is for CCGs to determine commissioning policies and service requirements on a local basis.
It is important that the respective commissioning approaches fit together in a way that provides clinically and cost effective and cohesive care for patients and for that reason NHS England is supporting a range of collaborative commissioning approaches between its specialised commissioning teams, clinical advisors and CCGs.
National service specifications and clinical commissioning policies will still apply for those specialised services that will be collaboratively commissioned with CCGs.