Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 is taking to improve data transparency for vaccination uptake figures for the maternal respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme by reducing the four-month lag in reporting.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal vaccine uptake methodology is published on the GOV.UK website, and includes an explanation of the data sources and their reporting lags, in the monthly RSV maternal vaccination coverage reports, which are available at the following link:
The data collection methodology chosen ensures that robust and precise coverage estimates are calculated for the maternal programme.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 is taking to improve NHS (a) engagement with and (b) leadership responsiveness to small community-led carer networks.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of listening to and partnering with people who use the National Health Service, their unpaid carers and the organisations and networks that represent them. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced new duties for NHS England and integrated care boards to involve carers in public engagement.
I chair a regular cross-government meeting made up of ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business and Trade, and Department for Education, as well as senior officials from NHS England, to consider how we can provide unpaid carers with the recognition and support they deserve.
NHS England and the Department also regularly engages with both national charities, local carer organisations and unpaid carers directly.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
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 ensure that family carers are meaningfully involved in the (a) planning and (b) decision-making processes of local integrated care systems.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the National Health Service Act 2006, integrated care boards (ICBs) must make arrangements to ensure patients, and their carers and representatives are involved in the planning and commissioning of health and care, whether through consultation or the provision of information.
While developing the Joint Forward Plans, ICBs and partner trusts must consult with individuals, patients, carers, and communities in the planning process to ensure the plan reflects the needs and preferences of the local population.
The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced provisions for ICBs to promote the involvement of patients, and their carers and representatives, if any, in decisions relating to the care and treatment of the person they care for.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, How much (a) NHS England and (b) NHS Trusts spent on postage in the 2024–25 financial year; and what steps he is taking to help reduce these costs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on National Health Service total spend on postage for the 2024/25 financial year in England is not held centrally, and will be held locally by individual trusts.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 is taking to support (a) hidden and (b) unpaid carers from ethnic minority communities; and whether he has made an assessment of support needs in Leicester East constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. Local authorities are required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.
The Department works with the sector and partners to deliver an annual programme of universal and targeted support to local authorities and their partners. This includes the Partners in Care and Health (PCH) contract.
PCH’s work to support sector partners includes a workstream dedicated to supporting local authorities’ work with unpaid carers. This workstream includes work to identify and support unpaid carers, with a particular focus on identifying those from ethnic minority communities and those who are least likely to self-identify as a carer.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 is taking to (a) identify and (b) support (i) hidden and (ii) unpaid family carers who (A) are and (B) are not engaged with formal care systems.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. Local authorities are required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.
The Department works with the sector and partners to deliver an annual programme of universal and targeted support to local authorities and their partners. This includes the Partners in Care and Health (PCH) contract.
PCH’s work to support sector partners includes a workstream dedicated to supporting local authorities’ work with unpaid carers. This workstream includes work to identify and support unpaid carers, with a particular focus on identifying those from ethnic minority communities and those who are least likely to self-identify as a carer.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 made an assessment of the potential impact of raising the minimum age for eligibility for the COVID-19 booster during the spring vaccination programme on healthcare services in (a) Leicester and (b) England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.
The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Leicester.
On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice can be found at the following link:
On 12 December 2024, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in spring 2025 to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over. The Government’s response can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advice-accepted-on-spring-2025-covid-19-vaccination-programme
Eligibility for the spring 2025 campaign, including minimum age requirements, is the same as in previous spring campaigns, such as the 2024 campaign. The Government has no plans to change eligibility for spring 2025, and has accepted the JCVI’s advice for this campaign in full. The spring 2025 campaign began in England on 1 April, and will conclude on 17 June.
The JCVI also advised on eligibility for the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 programmes. The Government is considering this advice carefully and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to reverse the decision to raise the minimum age for eligibility for a COVID-19 booster as part of the spring vaccination programme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.
The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Leicester.
On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice can be found at the following link:
On 12 December 2024, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in spring 2025 to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over. The Government’s response can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advice-accepted-on-spring-2025-covid-19-vaccination-programme
Eligibility for the spring 2025 campaign, including minimum age requirements, is the same as in previous spring campaigns, such as the 2024 campaign. The Government has no plans to change eligibility for spring 2025, and has accepted the JCVI’s advice for this campaign in full. The spring 2025 campaign began in England on 1 April, and will conclude on 17 June.
The JCVI also advised on eligibility for the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 programmes. The Government is considering this advice carefully and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of placing phlebotomists in band two of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, in the context of their clinical responsibilities; and whether he plans to review the criteria used to determine their pay banding.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Phlebotomists are paid under the Agenda for Change pay scale, which is underpinned by the Job Evaluation Scheme (JES). The JES is a structured method of comparing job demands as set out in the job documentation, for example the job description, to determine the appropriate Agenda for Change pay band for any given role.
The model of weighting and scoring job documentation via the JES has been legally tested and proven to be robust, therefore we have no current plans to review the system.
Employers are responsible for correctly and consistently implementing the JES locally, to ensure staff are paid correctly for the work they are asked to deliver.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has make of the adequacy of the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme (a) matrices and (b) formulae used to determine Agenda for Change pay bandings; and whether he has plans to update the assessment framework.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Job Evaluation Scheme (JES) underpins pay for National Health Service staff under the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions. The JES model of weighting and scoring job documentation has been legally tested and proven to be robust, therefore we have no plans to review the system at this time.
The NHS Staff Council’s Job Evaluation Group periodically reviews and updates the national role profiles that are used to support job evaluation practice to ensure their accuracy.