Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to require NHS staff organising covid-19 vaccination appointments to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status. Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the UK. A person who can show they have taken up ordinary residence in the UK can access all NHS services immediately, including COVID-19 vaccinations, based on clinical need. No immigration checks are needed to receive these services and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.
A NHS number is not needed to make a booking for a COVID-19 vaccine or when attending a vaccination appointment. If individuals are registered with a general practitioner (GP), then their GP will contact them in due course. We understand that not everyone is registered with a GP, including those experiencing homelessness, people who may not live in a fixed location, refugees and those seeking asylum or simply because an individual chooses not to.
If they are not registered with a GP, NHS regional teams, working with various appropriate local systems will contact unregistered people to ensure they are offered the vaccine. The General Practice COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 Enhanced Service Specification enables practices working within their Primary Care Network groupings from shared vaccination sites to vaccinate unregistered patients provided they are eligible for a vaccination.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to require NHS staff organising covid-19 vaccination appointments to ask patients for proof of residence in the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status. Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the UK. A person who can show they have taken up ordinary residence in the UK can access all NHS services immediately, including COVID-19 vaccinations, based on clinical need. No immigration checks are needed to receive these services and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.
A NHS number is not needed to make a booking for a COVID-19 vaccine or when attending a vaccination appointment. If individuals are registered with a general practitioner (GP), then their GP will contact them in due course. We understand that not everyone is registered with a GP, including those experiencing homelessness, people who may not live in a fixed location, refugees and those seeking asylum or simply because an individual chooses not to.
If they are not registered with a GP, NHS regional teams, working with various appropriate local systems will contact unregistered people to ensure they are offered the vaccine. The General Practice COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 Enhanced Service Specification enables practices working within their Primary Care Network groupings from shared vaccination sites to vaccinate unregistered patients provided they are eligible for a vaccination.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to work with medical research organisations to increase capacity to deliver the covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
There are no specific plans to do so. The capacity required for the successful vaccines programme in England is already provided by a network of local vaccination services, pharmacies, hospital hubs and large scale vaccination centres.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to NHS hospitals in London of using (a) agency and (b) bank staff was in each year since 2015-16.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows expenditure data for agency and bank staff in National Health Service trusts in London for the previous five financial years.
Expenditure type | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
Agency staff | £837,109 | £714,955 | £528,216 | £498,228 | £482,386 |
Bank staff | £646,595 | £761,432 | £909,542 | £972,708 | £1,020,580 |
Total | £1,483,704 | £1,476,387 | £1,437,758 | £1,470,936 | £1,502,966 |
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what most recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of staff accommodation that is unoccupied in the NHS estate in London.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No such estimate has been made. The Department does not collect data on availability of National Health Service staff accommodation or on the number of staff using that accommodation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish data on the occupancy rate by (a) registered doctor and (b) registered nurse of NHS staff accommodation in London.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No such estimate has been made. The Department does not collect data on availability of National Health Service staff accommodation or on the number of staff using that accommodation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total number is of registered nurses that are living in staff accommodation provided by NHS trusts in London.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No such estimate has been made. The Department does not collect data on availability of National Health Service staff accommodation or on the number of staff using that accommodation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS trusts in London provide staff accommodation for registered nurses.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No such estimate has been made. The Department does not collect data on availability of National Health Service staff accommodation or on the number of staff using that accommodation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking under the NHS Long Term Plan to increase the number of learning disability nurses employed in NHS trusts in England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2020 the Chief Nursing Officer for England launched an 'All-England action plan for learning disability nursing'. The plan, delivered in partnership with Health Education England, sets a mandate for increasing and enhancing the number of people choosing a career in learning disability nursing.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service figures for 2020 show a 20% increase in the number of acceptances to learning disability nursing courses in England compared to 2019. In September 2020, the Government introduced a new training grant of at least £5,000 a year for all eligible new and continuing nursing and midwifery and allied health professions students on pre-registration courses at English universities. There will be up to a further £3,000 to support eligible students including an additional £1,000 to support those studying a shortage specialism which includes new students on learning disability nursing courses.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether anyone working in the UK will be required to pay for a covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Anyone living in or visiting the United Kingdom is entitled to receive the COVID-19 vaccination if they are eligible under the prioritisation categories set out by the Government for the general population. This entitlement is regardless of whether the person is working or whether they are in the UK legally or not. There is no charge for COVID-19 vaccination.