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419540

	registered interest
	date	17/09/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on integrating universal credit with eligibility criteria for services provided by the NHS.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	10582
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2015 answer text <p>The Department of Health has been part of ongoing discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions, and other Government departments, on the best approach for enabling those in receipt of Universal Credit to receive entitlement to passported benefits. It has been agreed that a system of earnings thresholds will be introduced as claimant numbers expand to ensure that these benefits continue to be targeted at those who need them most.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 12/10/2015 15:11:27 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

425792

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	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 16 October 2015 to Question 11786 and the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10360, on universal credit, whether a box for universal credit exists on NHS charges claim forms.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	14672
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2015 answer text <p>Some NHS Help with Health Costs claim forms, for example HC5 refund claim forms, have been amended to include a specific tick box to enable Universal Credit recipients to claim entitlement.</p><br /><p>Form HC1 (NHS Low Income Scheme application form) has been amended to include a sentence about Universal Credit, to advise those applying that until 31 October 2015, anyone in receipt of Universal Credit does not need to complete the form, as they will already be entitled to Help with Health Costs.</p><br /><p>Other forms, including: NHS prescription forms (FP10); dental treatment claim forms (FP17) and claims for NHS funded sight tests (GOS 1) and for vouchers for glasses or contact lenses (GOS 3) will be amended to include a Universal Credit box in due course.</p><br /><p>A patient can make a claim for entitlement by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” on relevant forms. Guidance for both the public and healthcare practitioners (such as pharmacists, dentist and opticians) has been included on NHS Choices with links from the Universal Credit webpages on Gov.uk.</p><br /> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 10/11/2015 15:59:54 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

426118

	registered interest
	date	04/11/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS charges claim forms include a box for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	14935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2015 answer text <p>Some NHS Help with Health Costs claim forms, for example HC5 refund claim forms, have been amended to include a specific tick box to enable Universal Credit recipients to claim entitlement.</p><br /><p>Form HC1 (NHS Low Income Scheme application form) has been amended to include a sentence about Universal Credit, to advise those applying that until 31 October 2015, anyone in receipt of Universal Credit does not need to complete the form, as they will already be entitled to Help with Health Costs.</p><br /><p>Other forms, including: NHS prescription forms (FP10); dental treatment claim forms (FP17) and claims for NHS funded sight tests (GOS 1) and for vouchers for glasses or contact lenses (GOS 3) will be amended to include a Universal Credit box in due course.</p><br /><p>A patient can make a claim for entitlement by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” on relevant forms. Guidance for both the public and healthcare practitioners (such as pharmacists, dentist and opticians) has been included on NHS Choices with links from the Universal Credit webpages on Gov.uk.</p><br /> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 09/11/2015 17:21:51 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

427291

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that it provides its staff with sufficient guidance to ensure that sanctions are not placed on universal credit claimants who do not have an applicable box to tick on NHS charges claim forms when claiming help with NHS health costs.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	15688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2015 answer text <p>Various sources of information for the public and relevant staff, such as NHS Choices, are provided on the arrangements for Help with Health Costs, including how Universal Credit claimants should claim. However, the Department for Work and Pensions has also issued general guidance to staff signposting key information.</p><br /><p>Any claims for exemption from National Health Service charges or remission or repayment of relevant health costs made by a person because they meet the qualifying criteria may be the subject of a validation check. This is to protect NHS resources from fraud and error.</p><br /><p>Where a patient meets the criteria in place for Universal Credit and is therefore entitled to claim entitlement to Help with Health Costs, but there is no Universal Credit box available to tick on relevant forms, they can claim by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” box. Those whose claim is selected for a validation check will be able to explain their position to the relevant authority, and use their Universal Credit award notice to support their claim.</p><br /> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 16/11/2015 17:40:48 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

599456

	registered interest
	date	11/10/2016
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	General Practitioners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that GP surgeries have the (a) resources and (b) training to provide a patient-friendly service, including appointments with a preferred GP in advance and at a time convenient to patients; and what rights patients have if GP surgeries do not meet such standards.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	48090
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to improving access to general practitioner (GP) services as part of our plan for a seven day National Health Service, and has invested £175 million in the GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients, testing a wide variety of approaches that will ensure a patient-friendly services. These include opening 8am-8pm on weekdays and weekends; better use of telecare and health apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, email or telephone; and developing more integrated services with a single point of contact to co-ordinate patient services.</p><p>GPs are contractually required to provide essential services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients within core hours. Under the NHS constitution, patients have the right to express a preference for using a particular doctor within their GP practice, and for the practice to try to comply. The 2015-16 (July 2016) GP Patient Survey found that 91% of patients who had a GP they preferred to see them at least some of the time, and 92.1% of patients who got an appointment found it was convenient. If a patient believes they are not receiving this standard of care they have the right to complain; any complaint made must be acknowledged within three working days and be properly investigated.</p> answering member constituency Warrington South answering member printed David Mowat question first answered 17/10/2016 16:06:44 answering member 4080 label Biography information for David Mowat
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

599472

	registered interest
	date	11/10/2016
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	General Practitioners
	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 implications for his policies of the report by Cancer Research UK on the barriers to people making GP appointments, published in the Public Health Journal in October 2016.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	48081
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>Analysis of the cancer awareness measure found that the most commonly perceived barriers to seeing a general practitioner (GP) were finding it difficult to get an appointment with a particular doctor, or at a convenient time, and disliking having to talk to GP receptionists about symptoms.</p><p>Catching more cancers early is a priority and this year NHS England is investing an extra £15 million in improving early diagnosis and setting up Cancer Alliances to bring together leadership across local areas to drive improvements.</p><p>The Government is committed to improving access to GP services as part of our plan for a seven day National Health Service, and has invested £175 million in the GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. The 2015-16 (July 2016) GP Patient Survey found that 92.1% of patients who got an appointment found it was convenient, and 91% of patients who had a GP they preferred to see saw them at least some of the time.</p><p>The General Practice Forward View, published in April, announced £45 million of extra funding nationally over five years so that every practice in the country can help their reception and clerical staff play a greater role in care navigation, signposting patients and handling clinical paperwork to free up GP time.</p> answering member constituency Warrington South answering member printed David Mowat question first answered 17/10/2016 16:05:13 answering member 4080 label Biography information for David Mowat
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

693276

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2017
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Social Services: Competition
	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 adequacy of the level of competition in the care sector.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	65011
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>The Care Act 2014 placed duties on local authorities in England to facilitate an effective local market to meet the needs of people in their area. This ‘market shaping’ duty includes understanding changes in local demand and engaging with care providers to encourage appropriate and quality services. The Department has supported local authorities with their market related duties through a sector-led approach and has recently brought together guidance and support in an online hub available on GOV.UK.</p><p> </p><p>It is up to local authorities how they spend the extra money coming into the system but we would expect the additional resources to help them commission services that are sustainable, diverse and offer sufficient high quality care and support for people in their areas.</p><p> </p><p>In 2014, the Government introduced tougher inspections for home care services and care homes to clamp down on poor services. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) thoroughly inspects each service and has powers to close those that do not improve and take tough action against owners. This inspection regime is playing a key role in driving up the quality of care. As of February 2017 CQC rates 77% of adult social care services as good or outstanding.</p> answering member constituency Warrington South answering member printed David Mowat grouped question UIN 65060 question first answered 27/02/2017 09:57:26 answering member 4080 label Biography information for David Mowat
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

693297

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2017
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Social Services: Cost Effectiveness
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that provision in the care sector is provided on the basis of criteria other than the lowest possible cost.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	65060
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>The Care Act 2014 placed duties on local authorities in England to facilitate an effective local market to meet the needs of people in their area. This ‘market shaping’ duty includes understanding changes in local demand and engaging with care providers to encourage appropriate and quality services. The Department has supported local authorities with their market related duties through a sector-led approach and has recently brought together guidance and support in an online hub available on GOV.UK.</p><p> </p><p>It is up to local authorities how they spend the extra money coming into the system but we would expect the additional resources to help them commission services that are sustainable, diverse and offer sufficient high quality care and support for people in their areas.</p><p> </p><p>In 2014, the Government introduced tougher inspections for home care services and care homes to clamp down on poor services. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) thoroughly inspects each service and has powers to close those that do not improve and take tough action against owners. This inspection regime is playing a key role in driving up the quality of care. As of February 2017 CQC rates 77% of adult social care services as good or outstanding.</p> answering member constituency Warrington South answering member printed David Mowat grouped question UIN 65011 question first answered 27/02/2017 09:57:27 answering member 4080 label Biography information for David Mowat
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

694239

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2017
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Home Care Services: Standards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government has taken to assist (a) Newcastle Allied Healthcare and (b) other home care providers given an inadequate rating by the Care Quality Commission.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	65491
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>In 2014, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced tougher inspections for providers regulated by the CQC to clamp down on poor services.</p><p> </p><p>In April 2015, the Department introduced a special measures regime for all registered adult social care providers including care homes and home care agencies that have been rated as inadequate by the CQC, which offers the opportunity to improve within a time-limited period with access to a suite of resources enabling providers to deliver better, safer care.</p><p> </p><p>The CQC published analysis that shows that from 1 October 2014 to 31 March 2016 out of 372 care homes rated inadequate, 73% (273) have improved their overall ratings following the most recent CQC inspection.</p><p> </p><p>The Department provides funding to the Social Care Institute for Excellence to offer improvement support, training and consultancy to registered care providers – helping them raise the standards of care and improve outcomes for service users.</p> answering member constituency Warrington South answering member printed David Mowat question first answered 01/03/2017 17:00:55 answering member 4080 label Biography information for David Mowat
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

170416

	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	Written Questions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems his Department has introduced or plans to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	218783
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>We have made no estimate of savings specifically arising from the introduction of the Q&amp;A system, and have not improved or added to existing systems. The Q&amp;A system allows us to receive questions directly from the Table Office, and for hon. Members to receive answers more quickly by removing the need for the delivery of printed versions.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>One of the potential benefits of the new system is for the reporting of the timeliness of answers to Parliamentary Questions to be delivered with greater consistency and accuracy across all answering bodies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It will be for the Procedure Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the new system in improving performance when it assesses the evidence following the end of the session.</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 06/01/2015 14:53:45 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah