Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP appointments there were per full time equivalent GP in (a) England and (b) each of the 7 NHS regions in each year since 2015 to date.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This data is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average number of patients registered per full-time equivalent GP is in (a) England and (b) each of the NHS regions in each year from 2015 to 25 April 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The attached table shows the median average number of registered patients per full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioner (GP) in England and each National Health Service region in each year from September 2015 to September 2021. Data for 25 April 2022 is not held.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what long-term workforce plan he has in place to increase (a) full time equivalent GPs of all contract types, (b) practice nurses and (c) other primary care clinical staff.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England. This includes measures to increase recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice. In December 2021, there were an additional 1,672 full time equivalent doctors in general practice compared to December 2019.
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) enables Primary Care Networks to employ a range of roles for 100% reimbursement of salary and on-costs. Through the GP Contract framework, NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to review the effectiveness of the ARRS by 2023. We are currently on schedule to increase the number of registered nurses by 50,000, with nursing numbers 29,000 higher in January 2022 compared to September 2019. This commitment will be achieved through increased domestic and international recruitment and improved retention.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a 12 month eligibility definition for fast-track access to Personal Independence Payments, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Department is committed to improving the way the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life and announced its intention to make changes in this area, in July 2021. The Department has made changes to Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance regulations to replace the current 6-month rule for determining who can claim under the Special Rules with a 12-month, end of life approach. These will come into force on 4th April. Similar changes will also be made to Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance as soon as possible, when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many internal process reviews her Department has (a) started and (b) completed on incidences of death or serious harm since July 2019.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) that have been started since July 2019, are as follows:
Death* | 123 |
Serious Harm** | 34 |
The IPRs that have been completed since July 2019, are as follows:
Death* | 103 |
Serious Harm** | 28 |
* Death includes the categories death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.
** Serious Harm includes the categories self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the ability of patients in (a) Oldham, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) the North West to access NHS dental services in the context of the funding available to deliver NHS dental services relative to patient population.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The North West was allocated £7,310,000 from the additional £50 million recently secured for National Health Service dental services in 2021/22. NHS England set regional budgets based on weighted 2020/21 baseline payments. NHS regional teams are now working with local providers to commission additional activity to improve access for patients in the North West, including Oldham and Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has carried out an equality impact assessment of the measures he has introduced to support energy consumers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is providing significant financial support worth up to £350 to the majority of households. This covers more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1bn in 2022-23, delivered through a new Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS), a targeted Council Tax rebate, and discretionary funds for Local Authorities.
Ministers consider a range of evidence and analysis as part of policy development, including assessments of how options under consideration would affect members of groups with protected characteristics, as part of the Government's aims and duties.
The EBSS is still under development. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy will publish a consultation on the detailed implementation of the policy in due course. Ministers will consider a full assessment of the impact of the EBSS as they make final decision on the detailed policy design.
The policy development for the Council Tax Rebate included an assessment of how groups with protected characteristics might be affected, in line with the Public Sector Equalities Duty.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Extra Costs Taskforce will report as scheduled by summer 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
BEIS are working closely with the Cabinet Office Disability Unit to carry out the engagement with disabled people, regulators and businesses, to ensure we have a full understanding of the issue of extra costs before the Taskforce is formally convened. The commitment to set up the Taskforce is still on track to be delivered by Summer 2022.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Extra Costs Taskforce established in the National Disability Strategy will recommend measures to tackle the disproportional impact of increased fuel and food prices on disabled consumers.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The taskforce is on track to set up by summer 2022 and we are keen to engage in that process before drawing conclusions.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of (a) the repayable £200 discount and (b) other measures introduced to support energy consumers on disabled people.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is providing significant financial support worth up to £350 to the majority of households. This covers more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support – worth £9.1bn in 2022-23 – is composed of:
The Chancellor has also confirmed plans to go ahead with existing proposals to expand eligibility for the Warm Home Discount by almost a third - so that three million vulnerable households will now benefit.
Ministers consider a range of evidence and analysis as part of policy development and when making decisions, including assessments of how options under consideration would affect members of groups with protected characteristics, in line with the Government's aims and statutory duties.