Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has made with the British Medical Association on a pay rise for all NHS consultants.
Answered by Edward Argar
We are in regular contact with the British Medical Association and other National Health Service trade unions to work collaboratively in developing guidance and policy.
The Government has looked to the independent Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) for a pay recommendation for NHS doctors and dentists not already in multi-year pay and contract reform deals.
The DDRB recommended a uniform 3% pay uplift for medical staff not already in multi-year pay deals, which includes consultants. The Government has accepted the DDRB’s recommendation in full, meaning once implemented consultants will receive a 3% pay increase, backdated to April 2021.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
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 merits of including medical staff, who are doubly vaccinated, to the list of jobs that are exempt from managed quarantine following international travel.
Answered by Maggie Throup
In limited circumstances, quarantine exemption is made for arrivals to the United Kingdom. These circumstances are largely job-related and focus on occupations and services deemed essential to enable the country to continue to function effectively through the pandemic. For example, nurses coming from or travelling through red-list countries commencing immediate National Health Service employment in England may quarantine in hospital accommodation. The list of job–related exemptions is reviewed and updated on a regular basis, which includes an assessment of the needs of jobs in all sectors, such as medical staff.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
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 provide mental health support for workers having to self-isolate after receiving a positive covid-19 PCR test.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Councils should work with individuals to identify whether they can support themselves, seek assistance from family and friends or require additional help. Councils should be ready to signpost assistance relating to mental health, including support groups, charity and voluntary sector services, telephone help lines and online support. Since March 2021, the Government has made £85.5 million available to councils to deliver practical and emotional support and this funding will continue until March 2022. Contact tracers will continue to direct individuals to COVID-19 guidance on mental health, their general practitioner or NHS 111 for the appropriate support.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
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 reduce the length of time for people to receive ADHD and ASD assessments.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
In 2021-2022 we are investing £2.5 million as part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to test and implement the most effective ways to reduce autism diagnosis waiting times for children and young people. We are investing £10.5 million through the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Plan to address waiting times for children and young people, proactively identify those at risk of crisis and reduce waits for adults. In the NHS Long Term Plan we committed to working with local authority children’s social care, education services and expert charities to develop packages to support neurodivergent children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their families, throughout the diagnostic process. To enable the system to address this, five-year funding allocations are conditional on improving services like these in line with Long Term Plan targets.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a Government inquiry into the (a) economic and (b) social impact of the application of the NHS overseas visitors charging regulations during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Government has no plans to suspend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, nor hold an inquiry into their impact during the pandemic.
The Regulations include important exemptions designed to protect the vulnerable or public health and no charge can be made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis or, if positive, treatment of COVID-19. Exemptions from charge also apply to any National Health Service care received by asylum seekers, refugees and victims of modern slavery.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
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 merits of suspending NHS overseas visitors charging regulations during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Government has no plans to suspend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, nor hold an inquiry into their impact during the pandemic.
The Regulations include important exemptions designed to protect the vulnerable or public health and no charge can be made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis or, if positive, treatment of COVID-19. Exemptions from charge also apply to any National Health Service care received by asylum seekers, refugees and victims of modern slavery.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
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 consult (a) disabled people and (b) representatives of disability rights organisations to obtain their views on reforming adult social care.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
‘Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care’, was published on 7 September, committing to investing an additional £5.4 billion over three years.
In developing the proposals set out in the Plan, we discussed priorities for reform with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with disabilities. We will continue to work with care users, providers and other partners, including disabled people and disability-led organisations, to co-develop more detail on our plans for reform of adult social care. Further detail will be published in a white paper later this year.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility to NHS pensions for dental nurses working in dental practices that offer both private and NHS dental treatment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The NHS Pension Scheme is an occupational pension scheme designed for staff engaged primarily in the delivery of NHS services.
The majority of National Health Service dental services are contracted via a provider-performer dentist, with dental practices operating as private businesses. As a result, practices will engage dental nurses and other dental care professionals as required for both their private and NHS business needs. As a result, it is difficult to identify staff as being primarily engaged in the delivery of NHS services and for this reason dental practice staff are unable to join the scheme.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent representations he has made to representatives of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on accelerating the approval of Trodelyn for treating metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Answered by Nadine Dorries
No such representations have been made. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for independently assessing the efficacy and safety of drugs before approval.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he made of the potential merits of reintroducing mandatory face masks in public spaces following the incidence of covid-19 cases in July 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Government continues to assess the evidence and keeps the guidance on wearing face coverings under review. We will take further action if needed.