Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff 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 has taken to reduce obesity in England.
Answered by Steve Brine
We published the second chapter of our world-leading childhood obesity plan in June 2018. This builds on the real progress we have made since the publication of chapter one in 2016, particularly in reformulation of the products our children eat and drink most. In chapter two we have set a bold ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030.
Many of the measures in both chapters of the plan will have an impact on tackling obesity across all age groups. These include the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and wider calorie reformulation programme, restricting promotions and calorie labelling in restaurants which will improve our eating habits and reduce the amount of sugar we consume.
‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of EU citizens in social care who will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Skills for Care estimated that, in 2017/18, there were up to 82,500 jobs held by workers with a European Union nationality who would be eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme or for pre-settled status.
Skills for Care’s published these estimates in September 2018, in their report, ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’. This can be found at the following link:
The Prime Minister announced on 21 January 2019 that, as of 30 March 2019, all applications to the settlement scheme will be free. Additionally, where individuals have applied, or do apply, before that date, and are charged an application fee, then this fee will be refunded to them.
The Department has undertaken a targeted communications campaign with stakeholders, employers, charities and representative bodies in the care sector. This is to ensure that as many of our EU workforce are aware of the straight forward and user-friendly scheme that allows them to secure their long-term rights to stay and work in the United Kingdom after we leave the EU.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses have left the employment of the NHS in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the number of nurses and health visitors who have left National Health Service employment as at 31 October, in the last five years, headcount.
| Nurses and health visitors that have left National Health Service employment |
October 2013 – October 2014 | 29,723 |
October 2014 – October 2015 | 32,345 |
October 2015 – October 2016 | 33,466 |
October 2016 – October 2017 | 33,506 |
October 2017 – October 2018 | 32,362 |
Source: NHS Digital
Notes:
These figures include nurses moving to roles in primary care and social care.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of hospitals in England that contain asbestos in their building and premises.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
Information on hospitals with asbestos is not collected centrally.
National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts maintain their estate in a safe state. As required by legislation, NHS organisations locally undertake inspections, maintain a local asbestos register, and manage and dispose of it safely.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mental health nurses have practised in each year since 2010.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the number of nurses trained in mental health who work in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England as at September each year and latest available data, full time equivalent.
September 2010 | 40,247 |
September 2011 | 39,024 |
September 2012 | 38,135 |
September 2013 | 37,397 |
September 2014 | 36,581 |
September 2015 | 35,671 |
September 2016 | 35,488 |
September 2017 | 35,390 |
September 2018 | 35,835 |
October 2018 | 36,465 |
Source: NHS Digital Workforce Statistics
The NHS workforce statistics only show those employed in the NHS, which does not reflect those working in the independent sector or in social care.
The following table shows the number of nurses registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) who have an address in England and registered in the field of mental health, as at the end of September each year, headcount.
Year | Nurses registered in the field of mental health nursing |
September 2010 | 71,647 |
September 2011 | 71,618 |
September 2012 | 70,767 |
September 2013 | 70,746 |
September 2014 | 71,137 |
September 2015 | 70,572 |
September 2016 | 69,678 |
September 2017 | 68,973 |
September 2018 | 69,355 |
Source: NMC registration statistics
The NMC registration statistics show the number of nurses registered and able to practice, but does not reflect whether they are currently practicing.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to extend the requirement for food vendors to prominently display food hygiene ratings on their premises to online third party food ordering (a) websites and (b) apps at the point at which the customer orders food.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Food Hygiene Rating scheme is operated by local authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The scheme has a statutory basis in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Food businesses covered by the scheme are given stickers showing their rating. Those in Wales and Northern Ireland are required by law to display the stickers at their premises and those in England are encouraged to do so. The FSA considers that mandatory display should extend to England and is currently finalising an evidence-based case for a statutory scheme.
For businesses offering online ordering of food, legislation requiring provision of the rating at the point of choice is expected to be introduced in Northern Ireland once the Assembly is back in operation.
In Wales, the FSA and Welsh Government are working to address an FSA recommendation to the National Assembly for Wales to explore the introduction of a similar requirement for businesses in Wales that use online food ordering platforms. Proposals will be presented to Welsh Ministers in due course.
The FSA considers that provision of ratings online would be a key element of a statutory scheme for England.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of contracts his Department has with Babylon Healthcare.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department does not hold any contracts with Babylon Healthcare Ltd.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of cases related to EHIC fraud that were (a) investigated, (b) determined to be a probable case of fraud and (c) determined to be a definite case of fraud by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The following table shows the number of European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) fraud case referrals investigated to determine whether a potential fraud has occurred and the number of these referrals determined to be potential fraud cases.
Year | EHIC fraud case referrals | Referrals determined to be potential fraud cases |
2015-16 | 9 | 0 |
2016-17 | 8 | 0 |
2017-18 | 26 | 3 |
2018-19 | 11 | 0 |
These activities are undertaken by the Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit, rather than the NHS Counter Fraud Authority. This is because payments relating to EHIC are paid by the Department, not the National Health Service.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of cases related to EHIC fraud that were (a) investigated, (b) determined to be a probable case of fraud and (c) determined to be a case of fraud by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The following table shows the number of European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) fraud case referrals investigated to determine whether a potential fraud has occurred and the number of these referrals determined to be potential fraud cases.
Year | EHIC fraud care referrals | Referrals determined to be potential fraud cases |
2015-16 | 9 | 0 |
2016-17 | 8 | 0 |
2017-18 | 26 | 3 |
2018-19 | 11 | 0 |
These activities are undertaken by the Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit, rather than the NHS Counter Fraud Authority. This is because payments relating to EHIC are paid by the Department not the National Health Service.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number suicides by patients in the care of the NHS in 2017.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Data on the number of suicides of patients under the care of the National Health Service is not centrally held.
However, the National Quality Improvement Board commissions the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health which provides data on suicides by people in contact with mental health services prior to their death. The latest report estimates that, in 2016, the most recent year available, there were 1,267 suicides by people who were in contact with mental health services in the 12 months prior to death. The report is available at the following link: