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100407

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Social Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2014 to Question 209199, what research his Department has (a) conducted and (b) considered on (i) the effect of treatment of staff on standards of care and (ii) the relationship between levels of pay and quality of social care services.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	211548
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department has not conducted any recent research on the effect of treatment of staff on standards of care and on the relationship between levels of pay and quality of social care services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As part of the development of Caring for our Future white paper in 2011, the Department undertook extensive engagement with both service users and carers who highlighted range of issues they felt needed addressing to ensure high quality care and support is available. In addressing this, the Department, working with the Sector Skills Council - Skills for Care - and other partners, has implemented a range of policies that has included setting out clear minimum training standards, recruiting more apprentices and supporting the transformation of the social work profession.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 29/10/2014 14:27:48 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

100420

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Social Services: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many meetings officials of his Department have had with officials of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the naming and shaming of social care providers who do not comply with National Minimum Wage legislation; and when he expects such social care providers to be named and shamed for such non-compliance.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	211603
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>During the course of this year, officials from the Department of Health and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BiS) have formally met once for policy discussions on the issue of non-compliance of social care employers with National Minimum Wage legislation. I have also recently written to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Employment Relations (Jo Swinson) on this subject.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new scheme making it easier to name and shame employers who do not comply with National Minimum Wage legislation came into effect from October 2013 and applies to investigations initiated after that date. HM Revenue and Customs leads on the conduct of investigations and makes recommendations to BiS Ministers on the issue of naming employers found to be in breach. The timing of any naming of social care providers is therefore dependent on the outcome of investigations, and will follow where appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 29/10/2014 14:40:50 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

100854

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Care Workers: Minimum Wage
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of or received evidence on the effect on care standards of non-payment of the national minimum wage in the social care sector.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	211866
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department has not conducted any recent research on the effect of treatment of staff on standards of care and on the relationship between levels of pay and quality of social care services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As part of the development of Caring for our Future white paper in 2011, the Department undertook extensive engagement with both service users and carers who highlighted a range of issues they felt needed addressing to ensure high quality care and support is available. In addressing this, the Department, working with the Sector Skills Council – Skills for Care – and other partners, has implemented a range of policies that has included setting out clear minimum training standards, recruiting more apprentices and supporting the transformation of the social work profession.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are a number of factors that determine the quality of care provided in the social care sector, including the way staff are treated. Pay is not the single most significant factor in delivering high quality services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department is clear however that care providers must abide by the law with regards to payment of the national minimum wage and is taking steps to ensure this happens. The Department is liaising with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to name and shame any social care providers who do not comply with the national minimum wage legislation and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is continuing to carry out enforcement action in the social care sector and will investigate all complaints made by care workers that their employer is not paying them the national minimum wage. In addition, it is looking to ensure that the statutory guidance that will accompany the Care Act on commissioning and market shaping explicitly states local authorities should have evidence that contract terms, conditions and fee levels are appropriate to provide the agreed care packages with agreed quality of care.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 03/11/2014 16:37:18 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

156312

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Infectious Diseases
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals have been rated poor for infection control and cleanliness in each month since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	214924
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>We are advised that the information is not available in the form requested broken down by month since 2010. Information for the last two years on infection control and cleanliness is publicly available through NHS Choices at</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patientsafety/safety-indicators/</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The 2014 data show that there are 35 hospitals rated as ‘among the worst’. However, it should be noted that significant improvements have been made by the National Health Service in addressing overall levels of Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and clostridium difficile bloodstream infections. These infections have fallen by 57% and 45% respectively since May 2010.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Suffolk and North Ipswich answering member printed Dr Daniel Poulter question first answered 21/11/2014 14:25:07 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

156313

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Nurses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals have not met their staffing requirements for registered nurse day hours in each month since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	214925
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>The information is not available for the period requested. As part of the Government’s commitment to ensure safer staffing levels, NHS England introduced mandatory reporting of monthly actual and planned nursing and midwifery staffing levels by hospital wards in May of this year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The attached tables show trusts in England for May to September, where monthly average fill rates for registered nursing staff during the day were less than 100%.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Suffolk and North Ipswich answering member printed Dr Daniel Poulter question first answered 21/11/2014 13:27:17 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter attachment 1 file name PQ214925_Trusts below 100 per cent fill rate May-Sept 2014.xlsx title Registered Nursing Staff Table
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

164371

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Patients: Safety
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the relationship between cost savings to the NHS and improved patient safety; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	215712
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department commissioned Frontier Economics to investigate the costs of unsafe care in the National Health Service. The final report, <em>Exploring the cost of unsafe care</em> <em>in the NHS</em> suggests that the costs of preventable, adverse events is likely to be more than £1 billion per year, but could be up to £2.5 billion annually. The report, which was published on 16 October, is available at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.frontier-economics.com/publications/exploring-the-costs-of-unsafe-care-in-the-nhs/" target="_blank">http://www.frontier-economics.com/publications/exploring-the-costs-of-unsafe-care-in-the-nhs/</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Sign up to Safety campaign launched in June is now working with healthcare organisations to make the NHS one of the safest healthcare systems in the world and contribute to the goal to halve avoidable harm and save 6,000 lives over the next three years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It is difficult to disaggregate direct cash releasing savings from this evidence which must take into account the upfront costs of investing in safer care.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Suffolk and North Ipswich answering member printed Dr Daniel Poulter question first answered 27/11/2014 16:45:29 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

170447

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	NHS: ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the the Nursing and Midwifery Technology Fund (a) has already been allocated and (b) he plans to allocate in future years.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	218628
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The total funding issued to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in respect of the Nursing Technology Fund was £29 million in 2013-14. The Department has allocated an additional £35 million in 2014-15, available to NHS trusts, foundation trusts and local authorities on behalf of nursing-led services directly provided by the authority.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Suffolk and North Ipswich answering member printed Dr Daniel Poulter question first answered 18/12/2014 16:06:24 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

175461

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Cancer Drugs Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he took to ensure that the process of reviewing the treatments listed on the Cancer Drugs Fund fully took into account the needs of patients who have cancers with limited treatment options.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	221866
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2015 answer text <p>The review of the cancer drug fund national list ensures that more patients will be able to access drugs that provide better outcomes for their cancers. The reappraisal of drugs has meant that some patients who would have received the de-listed drugs would switch to alternative cancer drug fund drugs and the remainder would be offered conventional treatments.</p><p> </p><p>NHS England approved the principles, tested out through consultation in October 2014, that the National Cancer Drugs fund (CDF) panel review the drugs currently on the list, assessing clinical benefit in relation to drug cost as part of that assessment for the first time. The review took place in December 2014 and has ensured that only those drugs demonstrating a suitable degree of clinical benefit, at appropriate costs, remain on the list. The CDF panel comprises expert clinicians working with cancer patients and treatments every day.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman grouped question UIN 221865 question first answered 02/02/2015 16:31:19 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

175462

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Cancer Drugs Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on cancer patients of the delisting of treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	221865
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2015 answer text <p>The review of the cancer drug fund national list ensures that more patients will be able to access drugs that provide better outcomes for their cancers. The reappraisal of drugs has meant that some patients who would have received the de-listed drugs would switch to alternative cancer drug fund drugs and the remainder would be offered conventional treatments.</p><p> </p><p>NHS England approved the principles, tested out through consultation in October 2014, that the National Cancer Drugs fund (CDF) panel review the drugs currently on the list, assessing clinical benefit in relation to drug cost as part of that assessment for the first time. The review took place in December 2014 and has ensured that only those drugs demonstrating a suitable degree of clinical benefit, at appropriate costs, remain on the list. The CDF panel comprises expert clinicians working with cancer patients and treatments every day.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman grouped question UIN 221866 question first answered 02/02/2015 16:31:18 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

177533

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Care Homes: Zero Hours Contracts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to amend the statutory guidance for the Care Act 2014 to ensure that local authorities take steps to discourage the use of zero-hours contracts by the care providers they commission.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	223229
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p>High quality, compassionate care for the most vulnerable in society can only be delivered by a well-trained, motivated and appropriately remunerated workforce. Zero-hours contracts in the care and support sector are often inconsistent with high quality services, risk continuity of support for those who need it, and in some cases may be exploitative.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>However, we know that some care workers and care businesses value the flexibility that zero-hour or part-time contracts provide and, in limited circumstances, they can be appropriate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is taking action to improve working conditions for care workers, for example, working with the sector to launch the Recruitment and Retention Strategy. More widely, the new Care Act gives local authorities a core duty to promote their local markets in care and support services, with a particular focus on diversity, sustainability and quality. The Act will require local authorities to consider the impact of their own commissioning decisions on the quality of services individuals receive. Whilst local authorities do not directly employ the vast majority of care workers, they will now need to consider how to encourage an effective workforce able to deliver services to those individuals for whom they arrange care and support.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department has recently published statutory guidance to support the implementation of the Care Act that describes how local authorities must meet these new duties when commissioning, including assuring themselves that providers they contract with provide services through a remunerated workforce capable of delivering high quality care.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 10/02/2015 12:13:16 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham