Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter to UK citizens residing in the EU from NHS Business Services Authority dated 23 September 2019, what estimate he has made of the time it will take for his Department to settle payments for the treatment specified in that letter; and if he will publish that letter.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The United Kingdom Government has announced it will fund the healthcare of existing UK-insured individuals living or working in the European Union, on the same basis as now, for a further six months after exit day if we leave without a deal. The mechanisms and the time taken to make these payments will depend on the Member State.
The UK is, in the first instance, seeking to use established processes and continue making payments at country-to-country level as we do now. If Member States do not agree to this, the UK Government will offer to pay healthcare providers in the EU directly. The timing of the payment will depend on when providers or individuals provide the necessary information to NHS Business Services Authority. Payments will be made within five days after a request for reimbursement has been validated.
A copy of the letter sent to UK pensioners and benefit holders living in the EU from NHS Business Services Authority is available at the following link:
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 to ensure that UK citizens living in the EU receive healthcare in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government’s priority is to maintain reciprocal healthcare arrangements with Member States (MS) when we leave the European Union. That is why the United Kingdom Government has proposed consistently to all MS that existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements (under Regulation 883) continue until 31 December 2020 in a ‘no deal’ scenario.
I laid a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1832) on 26 September 2019, which sets out the current status of arrangements with Member States and outlines in detail the support which the UK Government will provide should the UK leave the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the National Audit Office's report, Exiting the EU: supplying the health and social care sectors, published on 27 September 2019, (a) for how long and (b) at what cost his Department is procuring a dedicated courier service for urgent medicines and supplies secured from manufacturers in the EU.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products once we have left the EU.
The Express Freight Service is intended to provide access to an end-to-end solution able to deliver small consignments on a 24-hour basis with additional provision to move larger pallet quantities on a two-to-four-day basis. The initial contract length will be for one year, extendable by a further one year, with sufficient flexibility to end the contract earlier if required. The total estimated value of services provided to the Department over the one year period of the contract is £4 million. Users of the freight solution would be required to pay for any capacity they use.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) availability and (b) adequacy of stockpiles of (i) medicines, (ii) medical equipment and (iii) medical devices held by suppliers to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products once we have left the EU.
The Department, as part of our EU exit preparations, is implementing a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply, which consists of stockpiling where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential shortages. Further details can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on reaching an agreement with EU countries on a replacement for the S1 scheme.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The United Kingdom Government has proposed to all Member States that we should maintain existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements, including the S1 scheme, until 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. These arrangements would safeguard healthcare for the hundreds of thousands of UK-insured persons who live in Europe.
I laid a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS1832) on 26 September 2019, setting out the Department’s progress on no-deal reciprocal healthcare arrangements, and updated information has been published on GOV.UK and NHS.UK on the situation for each Member State, including what arrangements have been put in place. These pages will be kept updated as further assurances from Member States are received.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the National Audit Office's report, Exiting the EU: supplying the health and social care sectors, published on 27 September 2019, what assessment he has made of the effect on medical supplies in the event that government freight capacity is not adequate by 30 November 2019.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 27 September the National Audit Office published a report on the readiness of the Department’s preparations for the post-European Union exit supply of medicines and medical products. We want to reassure patients we are doing everything we can to help make sure they can access the medicines they need after EU exit, whatever the circumstances.
We continue to implement a multi-layered approach to minimize any supply disruption on medicines and medical supplies, should the United Kingdom leave the EU without a deal. These plans include:
- Procuring additional capacity on alternative routes (away from the short straits) for goods to continue to come into the UK ahead EU exit;
- buffer stocks and stockpiling (where this is practical) or asking industry or the NHS Supply Chain to build up buffer stocks in the UK ahead of EU exit;
- Arrangements to deal with shortages in addition to normal shortage management routes, enabling ministers to issue serious shortage protocols to pharmacists;
- additional warehouse space for stockpiled medicines, including ambient, refrigerated and controlled drug storage;
- working with industry to improve trader readiness in preparation for the new customs procedures that will come into force on day 1 if we leave the EU without a deal; and
- changing or clarifying regulatory requirements so that companies can continue to sell their products in the UK if the UK leaves without a deal.
The Department has implemented a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply. No one measure is relied on at any point in time in order to support uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the report entitled, Exiting the EU: supplying the health and social care sectors, published by the National Audit Office in September 2019.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 27 September the National Audit Office published a report on the readiness of the Department’s ‘no deal’ European Union exit preparations for the supply of medicines and medical products. The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for EU exit. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the supply of medicines and medical products when we leave the EU on 31 October.
As the NAO recognises, the Department, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers have mounted an unprecedented response in preparing for EU Exit, with substantial stockpiles of medicines, which are increasing by the day. Combined with other measures in the Department’s multi-layered approach, including new transport routes coming online shortly, we are confident that we can help ensure that patients continue to receive the highest quality of care in the same way they do now.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) nursing homes and (b) providers of domiciliary care have made preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and what support his Department has provided to those organisation to ensure that preparedness.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The primary responsibility for ensuring continuity in the provision of adult social care – and for supporting providers to take the necessary steps to prepare for European Union exit on 31 October - lies with local authorities. The Government recognises the additional pressure that EU exit could place on providers and local authorities. That is why we have taken steps, nationally, to ensure all registered providers have the advice and support they need to make their preparations.
We are working closely with the Care Providers Alliance, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Quality Commission to support local authorities and care providers to ensure that contingency plans are in place and are as robust as possible, including through regular monitoring of local-level intelligence. We are strengthening further our communication to providers and local authorities about the preparations they need to make. We are also assessing the robustness of the supply chain for non-clinical consumables for the adult social care sector to identify and enable us to act on any particular weaknesses.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 (a) his Department's and (b) others liability should medicine shortages, outlined in the Yellowhammer document, lead to preventable deaths.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Our plans should ensure the supply of medicines and medical products when we leave the EU on 31 October.
The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations, has been working with trade bodies, product suppliers, and the health and care system in England to make detailed plans that should ensure continuation of the supply of medicines to the whole of the UK and its Crown Dependencies.
On 26 June, we wrote to suppliers of medicines to the UK from or via the EU or European Economic Area setting out our continuing multi-layered approach to support continuity of supply of medicines and medical products from 31 October.
Further details can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July to Question 272107, what his Department’s express freight service is planned to deliver; by what form of transport that service will be delivered; over what time period that service will run; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that service to the public purse.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Express Freight Service is intended to provide access to an end to end solution able to deliver small consignments on a 24 hour basis with additional provision to move larger pallet quantities on a two to four day basis. The initial contract length is one year, extendable by a further one year, with sufficient flexibility to end the contract earlier if required. The total estimated value of services provided to the Department over a two year period of the contract, if exercised, is £3 million. Users of the freight solution would be required to pay for any capacity they use. The bid response period closed on 22 August and the bids are currently being evaluated by the Department.
The Government recognises the vital importance of all medicines and medical products and as such, the Express Freight Service is designed to be capable of transporting all medicines and medical products used within the health and social care system in the United Kingdom.