Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Care Quality Commission report on medical services for homeless citizens in Birmingham of October 2018, when he plans to re-tender the service; and if if he will lay a copy of the specification for that service in the Library.

There is a dedicated and specialist service for homeless people, and rough sleepers, in central Birmingham. To allow the clinical commissioning group (CCG) to design a service that fully meets the needs of this community, the CCG’s Primary Care Committee have agreed an extension of the current contract. The current service will remain in place until a new contract is awarded. The CCG will carefully monitor the quality of the services provided. A health service for homeless people in Birmingham will be developed and procured within the next two years.

In addition to a bespoke general practitioner (GP) practice for homeless people in Birmingham, all homeless patients have the right to register with any GP practice that is local to them.