Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding was allocated by the Government to pharmacies in each year from 1997-98 to 2016-17.
Answered by David Mowat
The current community pharmacy contractual framework and system of payments dates from 2005/06, with remuneration under those arrangements set out in the table below:
Financial year | Remuneration budget (£ billion) |
2005/06 | 1.8 |
2006/07 | 1.9 |
2007/08 | 1.9 |
2008/09 | 2.2 |
2009/10 | 2.5 |
2010/11 | 2.5 |
2011/12 | 2.5 |
2012/13 | 2.5 |
2013/14 | 2.8 |
2014/15 | 2.8 |
2015/16 | 2.8 |
2016/17 | 2.7 |
The budget figures in the table only cover essential and advanced services, as commissioned centrally under the community pharmacy contractual framework. Community pharmacies are also commissioned locally to provide services, originally by primary care trusts and more recently by NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities. Information on the level of funding received by community pharmacies for those locally commissioned services is not held centrally.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital bed days were lost in (a) Barnsley, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) the UK as a result of delays in discharging patients each year from 2010 to 2016.
Answered by David Mowat
Data are collected on the total delayed days during each month for all patients delayed throughout the month. The total number of delayed days in each year between 2011/12 (the first full year for which data are available) and 2015/16, for Barnsley, South Yorkshire and England are shown in the table below. As health is a devolved issue, the number of delayed days in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not collected by NHS England.
Total number of delayed days in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and England
| 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
Barnsley Local Authority | 1,053 | 992 | 1,104 | 1,060 | 1,568 |
South Yorkshire1 | 23,243 | 12,465 | 34,521 | 37,362 | 35,959 |
England | 1,373,392 | 1,380,475 | 1,413,591 | 1,624,977 | 1,809,883 |
Source: NHS England, Delayed Transfers of Care Data
Notes:
1South Yorkshire includes Barnsley, Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster Local Authorities.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria his Department is using to assess whether NHS sustainability and transformation plans have been the result of local community consultation.
Answered by David Mowat
As set out in the NHS Shared Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, the success of Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) will depend on having an open, engaging, and iterative process that involves patients, carers, citizens, clinicians, local community partners including the independent and voluntary sectors, and local government through health and wellbeing boards.
NHS England expects local engagement as part of the STP process, building where appropriate on existing engagement through health and wellbeing boards and other local arrangements. In September 2016 it issued guidance “engaging local people” to support STPs to do this, which can be found here:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/engag-local-people-stps.pdf
Where plans propose service changes, formal consultation will commence shortly in line with good practice and legislative requirements.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings he has had with officials of his Department regarding the effect of sustainability and transformation plans in areas with a shortage of doctors in the last 12 months.
Answered by David Mowat
Sustainability and Transformation Plans are locally developed plans, and it is expected that individual areas will take account of local circumstances including any workforce shortages.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the development of sustainability and transformation plans.
Answered by David Mowat
All 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) have now been published, and areas are working to engage local people as they turn their proposals into plans.
National Health Service organisations have also submitted their operational plans for 2017-19.
The additional £325 million announced in the budget will help STPs with the strongest projects make progress in improving care for local communities.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) on how many occasions during the most recent negotiation period Ministers and officials of his Department met with representatives from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and (b) when he plans to announce a funding package for community pharmacy for 2016-17.
Answered by David Mowat
Since 9 September 2016, when a revised package of measures was put to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiation Committee (PSNC), the Department, supported by NHS England, has met the PSNC on four occasions. I have met PSNC three times since 30 August 2016, including on 6 October 2016.
Ministers are still in a process of considering a proposed package for the community pharmacy sector and are expecting to make an announcement shortly.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the reduction in the number of community pharmacies in England of (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 25 per cent on the number of patients (i) seeking a GP appointment and (ii) attending accident and emergency units.
Answered by David Mowat
The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health under the National Health Service Act 2006.
Our assessments include impacts on other NHS services. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. We believe these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.
Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2016 to Question 42983, when his Department plans to publish the impact assessment for changes to the budget for community pharmacy in 2016-17.
Answered by David Mowat
No publication date has yet been finalised. The Department remains committed to publishing the full and final impact assessment alongside any Drug Tariff determination.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2016 to Question 42405, on what date his Department commenced work on the impact assessment on changes to the budget for community pharmacy in 2016-17.
Answered by David Mowat
Officials have been undertaking impact analyses to inform the final impact assessment both prior to, and during, the consultation period which ran from 17 December 2015 to 24 May 2016. The Department remains committed to publishing the full and final impact assessment alongside any Drug Tariff determination.
Asked by: Michael Dugher (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he took the decision to undertake an impact assessment for the purposes of the Public Sector Equality Duty of the changes to the budget for community pharmacy in 2016-17; and when work on that assessment commenced.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond that were published on 17 December 2015 were considered against my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health’s duties, which include the Public Sector Equality Duty. An impact assessment has been developed during the consultation period and the Department is committed to publishing the impact assessment alongside any Drug Tariff determination.