Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she takes to ensure that local authorities (a) adequately capture the needs of SEND children and (b) provide a local offer that adequately meets levels of demand for those needs.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires all local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their area. This helps families to be aware of services available in their area and provides a way for them to contribute to shaping provision to meet local needs.
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must consult children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers, in reviewing educational and training provision, social care provision and in preparing and reviewing the Local Offer.
In the SEND and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department has set out plans to build a consistent national SEND and AP system in which parents and carers can trust and have confidence, and which can be navigated easily.
Through the Change Programme, the department is testing Local Area Inclusion Plans (LAIPs). These are 3 year plans that explain how the needs of children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25 in an area will be met. LAIPs will be monitored and reviewed by the department and be underpinned by strengthened accountabilities and improved use of data for all those responsible for local delivery of places.
Ofsted and Care Quality Commission also commenced a strengthened local inspection framework in January 2023. Where local authorities are failing, the department works with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisers to address weaknesses. Inspections under the new framework place greater emphasis on the outcomes that are being achieved for children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of care homes are rated as Good by the CQC in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 9 April 2024, the percentage of care homes in the Wellingborough Constituency with a rating of Good was 59%.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of dental practises are rated as Good by the CQC in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) team regulates all health and social care services in England. The Commission ensures the quality and safety of care in hospitals, dentists, ambulances, and care homes. The CQC does not rate dental practices, as they have been found to pose a lower risk to patient safety than other regulated sectors.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
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 support the recruitment and retention of GPs in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working with NHS England to increase the general practice (GP) workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice. NHS England has made available a number of retention schemes, to boost the GP workforce.
We have increased the number of GP training places, and 2022 saw the highest ever number of doctors accepting a place in GP training, a record 4,032 trainees, up from 2,671 in 2014. Under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the number of training places will rise to 6,000 by 2031/32, with the first 500 new places available from September 2025.
Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) advises that it is working with GP colleagues to develop new models of care that will support the delivery of a sustainable primary care sector, and enhance opportunities for GPs to undertake portfolio careers, developing specialist skills. The ICB has appointed a dedicated GP Retention Lead who is responsible for exploring local issues and potential solutions, and who facilitates fellowship opportunities for new GPs to be mentored by more experienced GPs.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children aged four and under in Wellingborough constituency were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on child hospital admissions for tooth extraction at national, regional, local authority and National Health Service levels is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2023
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of life expectancy in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 12/04/2024 is attached.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
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 support the recruitment and retention of midwives in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are investing an additional £186 million a year to improve maternity and neonatal care and grow the workforce. On top of this, the Government and NHS England are investing nearly £35 million over three years, from 2024/25 to 2026/27, to further improve maternity safety across England, with specialist training for staff, additional numbers of midwives, and support to ensure maternity services listen to, and act on, women’s experiences to improve care. As announced at the Spring Budget, we are further increasing the number of midwives by funding an additional 160 new posts over three years, to support the continued growth of the maternity and neonatal workforce.
On retention, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out how to improve culture and leadership to ensure that up to 130,000 fewer staff leave the National Health Service over the next 15 years. This includes: implementing actions from the NHS People Plan that have been shown to be successful; implementing plans to improve flexible opportunities for prospective retirees, and delivering the actions needed to modernise the NHS pension scheme; and committing to ongoing national funding for continuing professional development for nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals, so NHS staff are supported to meet their full potential. These measures apply across the country, including for midwives in the Wellingborough constituency.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP surgeries are rated as Good by the CQC in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
90% of general practice locations in Wellingborough are currently rated by the Care Quality Commission as Good overall.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
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 support the recruitment and retention of mental health specialists in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
To deliver the NHS Long Term Plan’s mental health commitments and help reduce waiting times in the Wellingborough constituency and nationwide, our aim has been to grow the mental health workforce nationally by an additional 27,000 professionals by March 2024.
We are making positive progress, delivering three quarters of this, or approximately 20,800 new professionals, by December 2023, with further growth expected to have been achieved once the full year figures for 2023/24 are available. This growth is in addition to the commitment to grow the National Health Service’s mental health workforce by 19,000 between 2016/17 and 2020/21, as set out in Stepping Forward to 2020/21: the mental health workforce plan for England, which was achieved in September 2021.
At a national level, we are committed to attracting, training, and recruiting the mental health workforce of the future, as well as retaining and developing our current workforce. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan’s modelling projections set out a need to grow the overall mental health and learning disability workforce the fastest of all care settings, at 4.4% per year up to 2036/37, to help improve access to services and quality of care.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) support and (b) resources are available to help GP surgeries in Wellingborough constituency to (i) clear patient backlogs and (ii) reduce workloads.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that general practice (GP) services are still under huge pressure, which is why we published our Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care. Our commitment in publishing this plan is to make it easier and quicker for the public to get the help they need from primary care. The plan sets out how we will cut bureaucracy to reduce workload and free up more time for practice teams to meet the clinical needs of their patients.
To achieve this, we are implementing strategies to empower patients to take more control of their healthcare. This involves transitioning towards a Modern General Practice Access model, which includes supporting practices in adopting cloud-based telephony systems, which help GPs to better match their capacity to patient demand. This is backed by £240 million of re-targeted funding for digital tools and training.
We are building additional capacity by diversifying the workforce to include a wider range of practitioners for patients to see, helping free up GP time for more complex cases. This includes an additional 36,523 direct patient care staff, such as pharmacy technicians and physician assistants, since 2019. Additionally, in 2022 a record 4,032 doctors accepted a place on GP training.
We know how implementing changes in GPs will take time, training, and support. That is why from April 2023 the new national General Practice Improvement Programme is supporting GPs to deliver change, with hands on help from a choice of improvement modules that will be tailored to individual practice needs.
The plan is backed up by major investment into primary care services, with up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies, with the introduction of Pharmacy First. This has enabled community pharmacists to manage seven common conditions, including the supply of prescription-only medicines without a prescription from a GP. The proposals have the potential to release 10 million GP appointments.