Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision of VMIC UK Services Ltd to sell the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre on the UK's vaccine manufacturing capabilities.
Answered by Will Quince
The decision to sell the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC UK Ltd) was made by VMIC UK Ltd's Board of Directors. The facility was subsequently sold to Catalent. Once completed, it is intended that the facility will be capable of producing a range of therapeutics and vaccines.
Over £405 million has been invested to strengthen United Kingdom manufacturing infrastructure to ensure a robust response to COVID-19 and potential future health emergencies and we have ambitious plans to invest more into the vaccine ecosystem and supply chain. Officials continue to engage with industry stakeholders to understand the wider landscape and implications for vaccine development and manufacturing in the UK.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' findings that the total prescribed long acting reversible contraception excluding injections rate in Tower Hamlets decreased from 34.7 per 1,000 women in 2018 to 22.3 per 1,000 women in 2020, published 2022, whether her Department is taking steps to improve access to contraceptive provision in (a) primary care and (b) specialist sexual and reproductive health services in (i) Tower Hamlets and (ii) England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
National Health Service and local authority commissioners are responsible for planning services to meet the needs of local communities, including appropriate access to contraceptive services. The Women’s Health Strategy for England encourages local commissioners and providers to consider adopting models of care which improve access to services, including contraceptive services, such as women’s health hubs.
From January 2023, NHS England will introduce Tier 1 of a Pharmacy Contraception Service, enabling community pharmacists to provide ongoing management of routine oral contraception which was initiated in general practice or a sexual health clinic. This will allow greater choice and access for those considering continuing their current form of contraception. We will set out further plans to improve sexual and reproductive health in England, including access to specialist services, in due course.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to North East London ICS to support with GP retention for 2022-23; and how much was spent in 2021-22 for that purpose.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
North East London Integrated Care System (NEL ICS) reports that in 2021/22, it was allocated £460,000 and spent £460,000 on projects across all 7 boroughs. Programmes last year included the introduction of mid-career fellowships, the development of peer support groups for GPs at different career stages and widening participation through Primary Care mentorship and work experience.
NEL ICS was allocated £460,000 for 2022/23, which will be invested in existing and new projects.
NHS England advises that a total of £1.9 million for GP retention schemes was allocated and spent by the ICS/CCGs in 2021/22 and £2.3 million allocated to the Integrated Care Board in 2022/23.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to support the appointment of a women’s reproductive health lead on each integrated care board to help ensure women’s health needs are prioritised, in the context of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published August 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of the local population, including whether a women’s reproductive health lead is appointed. We encourage integrated care systems to take into account the ambitions and actions in the Strategy when developing local plans.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published August 2022, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the expansion of women’s health hubs; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Strategy encourages local commissioners and providers to consider adopting these models of care. We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded Birmingham, RAND Europe and Cambridge Rapid Evaluation Centre to undertake scoping work for an evaluation of existing women’s health hubs. This is expected to conclude in early 2023.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will undertake a review of the adequacy of the levels of funding provided to general practices for providing long acting reversible contraception.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are currently no plans to review the levels of funding provided to general practices for providing long-acting reversible contraception. Under the GP contract, contraceptive services are an essential service that practices must provide or arrange for the provision of. Practices are paid for providing essential services via the global sum, which is a capitated payment based on practice patient list size, weighted to account for estimated patient workload and unavoidable costs.
During the pandemic, we made £520 million available to improve access to general practice services and expand general practice capacity, in addition to at least £1.5 billion announced in 2020 to create a further 50 million general practice appointments by 2024 by increasing and diversifying the workforce.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs who had been previously working in North East London ICS area have left the profession in the last three years.
Answered by Will Quince
This information is not collected in the format requested.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
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 improve GP retention in the North East London ICS area.
Answered by Will Quince
We are working with NHS England and Health Education England to increase recruitment in the general practice workforce in England, including in North East London, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.
The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new schemes, in addition to continued support for existing recruitment and retention schemes for the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, the New to Partnership Payment and the Supporting Mentors Scheme.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data her Department collects on the provision of local retention initiatives in the North East London ICS area.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England is developing a network of retention leads to share local practice in trusts. This includes Barts Health NHS Trust, where initiatives are being developed which will be shared and deployed in the North East London Integrated Care System area. All trusts have individually tailored retention programmes, including career development and training pathways to retain staff.