Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what area is covered by each NHS dentistry contract commissioned between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014; what the start and finish dates are of each contract area; what the value of each contract is; and how many units of dental activity were (a) contracted to be completed and (b) completed between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014 under each contract.
Answered by Dan Poulter
A table has been placed in the Library which sets out the number of dental contracts reported to the NHS Business Services Authority as in place between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014, the name of the contract holder and the area in which the contract is held. The table includes start and, where applicable, finish dates. It also shows the contract value, commissioned and completed units of dental activity and units of orthodontic activity.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether applications for specialised services which have previously been submitted to NHS England will be reviewed under the existing commissioning process or by the specialised commissioning taskforce.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England established the specialised commissioning taskforce to make some immediate improvements to the way in which NHS England commissions specialised services, and to put commissioning arrangements on a stronger footing for the longer-term. The task force is not conducting a complete review of specialised commissioning, although there are some aspects of this work which will require some specific services or arrangements to be reviewed. The life of the task force was originally three months running from May to July 2014; this has now been extended to the end of October 2014.
NHS England is bound to arrange the provision, to such extent as it considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements, of those services that are prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by NHS England (SI 2012/2996, as amended). Any decisions made by NHS England on the national commissioning of prescribed specialised services are made within the statutory framework provided for by Ministers in accordance with the requirements laid down by Parliament in section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended. Further information on the process for prescribing specialised services is contained in “Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group, Recommendations to Ministers, May 2014”. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/specialised-service-recommendations-to-ministers
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England will conclude its review of specialised service commissioning.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England established the specialised commissioning taskforce to make some immediate improvements to the way in which NHS England commissions specialised services, and to put commissioning arrangements on a stronger footing for the longer-term. The task force is not conducting a complete review of specialised commissioning, although there are some aspects of this work which will require some specific services or arrangements to be reviewed. The life of the task force was originally three months running from May to July 2014; this has now been extended to the end of October 2014.
NHS England is bound to arrange the provision, to such extent as it considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements, of those services that are prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by NHS England (SI 2012/2996, as amended). Any decisions made by NHS England on the national commissioning of prescribed specialised services are made within the statutory framework provided for by Ministers in accordance with the requirements laid down by Parliament in section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended. Further information on the process for prescribing specialised services is contained in “Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group, Recommendations to Ministers, May 2014”. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/specialised-service-recommendations-to-ministers
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how often the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group meets per year; and if he will request that it will consider new specialised service applications for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency at its next meeting.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) is a Department expert committee which was set up to provide regular advice to Ministers on which services are specialised and should be prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS England). The Group met most recently in May 2014 and may meet up to four times a year.
Evidence, supporting information and activity on those services currently prescribed in legislation for direct commissioning by NHS England and any new services identified as potentially specialised, are made available to PSSAG from a range of sources, which may include Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), patient groups, clinicians, commissioners and members of the public. The proposals the group considers are in large part generated by NHS England through its CRGs. The PSSAG makes recommendations to Ministers who, before deciding whether to make regulations, consult with NHS England, as required by section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006.
NHS England advises that where it becomes the responsible commissioner for a service, it considers the funding priority of the service through its clinical priorities advisory group and manages a process for selecting providers. Any highly specialised services that become the commissioning responsibility of NHS England will be discussed at its Rare Disease Advisory Group.
The commissioning of services for people with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is a matter for individual clinical commissioning groups. We understand the Alpha 1 Alliance is working with NHS England and the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group to develop a proposal on alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency for a future PSSAG meeting.
Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England takes to consider (a) all new specialised service applications and (b) new treatments for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency; and whether such steps are subject to review by his Department.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) is a Department expert committee which was set up to provide regular advice to Ministers on which services are specialised and should be prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS England). The Group met most recently in May 2014 and may meet up to four times a year.
Evidence, supporting information and activity on those services currently prescribed in legislation for direct commissioning by NHS England and any new services identified as potentially specialised, are made available to PSSAG from a range of sources, which may include Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), patient groups, clinicians, commissioners and members of the public. The proposals the group considers are in large part generated by NHS England through its CRGs. The PSSAG makes recommendations to Ministers who, before deciding whether to make regulations, consult with NHS England, as required by section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006.
NHS England advises that where it becomes the responsible commissioner for a service, it considers the funding priority of the service through its clinical priorities advisory group and manages a process for selecting providers. Any highly specialised services that become the commissioning responsibility of NHS England will be discussed at its Rare Disease Advisory Group.
The commissioning of services for people with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is a matter for individual clinical commissioning groups. We understand the Alpha 1 Alliance is working with NHS England and the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group to develop a proposal on alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency for a future PSSAG meeting.