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1718305

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Department of Health and Social Care: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26436
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department proudly supports the Disability Confident Scheme, and has renewed its status as a Disability Confident employer. No single official works directly on the scheme, and in line with Civil Service guidance, we have moved away from standalone roles and teams to embed equality, diversity, and inclusion activities within existing human resource portfolios and roles. Activity to support the recruitment and retention of colleagues with a disability is undertaken across our recruitment, talent, and employee experience teams.</p><p>In the last calendar year, 11.3% of successful applicants applied under the Disability Confident Scheme. This is a slight increase from last year, at 10.9%. We additionally review our disability representation rates on a regular basis to monitor the impact of our recruitment practices and policy changes. We also have dedicated staff networks to support our disabled employees and celebrate achievements. Turnover of permanent employees who have declared they have a disability is currently approximately 6%, which is significantly lower than the average permanent staff turnover of colleagues who do not have a declared disability.</p><p>In 2023, we launched a new Workplace Adjustments policy, process, and passport. The new process is designed to ensure everyone in the Department can access the support they need as easily and quickly as possible via a person-centred approach that identifies and seeks to remove workplace barriers.</p><p>We also delivered several talent schemes that can assist in supporting the retention and development of disabled colleagues. This includes Beyond Boundaries, a 12-month programme for the Senior Executive Officer grade and below, to support candidates in reaching their full potential. As part of the programme, to support disability positive action, last year we ringfenced six job places out of 30, based on the proportionality of our disabled workforce, the People Survey, and recruitment data. We expect to take similar action this year.</p><p>In addition, the Future Leaders Scheme (FLS) is a 12-month accelerated development scheme for Grade 6 or 7 colleagues, who have the potential to progress to the Civil Service’s most senior and critical leadership roles. There is an option for those candidates who declare a disability or long-term health condition, or both, to enrol on the Disability Empowers Leadership Talent Association (DELTA) integrated scheme. In 2022, we had four candidates participate in DELTA out of the 21 successful FLS candidates, and two out of 26 in 2021, as per the data from the Cabinet Office. It should be noted that due to the sensitive nature of the programmes, not all participants are comfortable in being open about participation in DELTA, especially those with disabilities who have yet to disclose this to their colleagues or managers.</p><p>Finally, the Department’s mutual mentoring programme encourages underrepresented groups, including colleagues with disabilities, to mentor senior civil service colleagues to help increase the engagement and retention of underrepresented staff, and increase cultural intelligence in senior leaders.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 24/05/2024 13:30:25 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1715343

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	National Learning Disability Board
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2024 to Question 23729 on the National Learning Disability Board, for what reason the National Learning Disability Board was disbanded in 2016.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	24446
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>In 2016, following a reorganisation and re-prioritisation exercise within the Department, the decision was made to disband the National Learning Disability Board and integrate its objectives into wider programmes and activities aimed at improving outcomes for this population. The Department keeps its governance structures under periodic review.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 07/05/2024 16:26:12 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1715347

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Learning Disability: Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department takes to involve people with learning disabilities in the development and implementation of measures to reduce their health inequalities.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	24447
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>We recognise the importance of involving people with a learning disability in policy development and implementation to support in reducing the health inequalities they experience. We aim to do this in a range of ways within the Department, some of which are set out below.</p><p> </p><p>Experts by experience are members of governance structures, such as the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice Board. This Board has supported the development of the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice. The Code will guide registered health and care providers to meet their statutory requirement to ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role. The Code sets an expectation that training is co-produced and co-delivered by people with a learning disability and autistic people. The draft Code was publicly consulted on, including an easy read version to ensure accessibility.</p><p> </p><p>In developing the Building the Right Support (BtRS) Action Plan, published in July 2022, we sought expertise, advice and challenge from experts by experience. The Plan brings together actions across government and public services to strengthen community support and reduce overall reliance on specialist mental health inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people.</p><p> </p><p>The BtRS Advisory Group was established to improve direct engagement with experts by experience. The Group developed an independent, co-produced report on ‘What Good Looks Like’ in terms of community services. The final report has a specific focus on actions that integrated care systems should take to ensure the best possible community support for people with a learning disability and autistic people.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, the Department jointly manages the Health and Wellbeing Alliance which is a partnership between representatives in the health and care system and sector. This enables the sector, including people with a learning disability, to share their expertise at a national level with the aim of improving services and policy development.</p><p> </p><p>Integrated care boards are now expected to have an Executive Lead on learning disability and autism. As part of their role, the Executive Lead will support the Board in championing co-production of policies and service delivery and recognising the value of people’s lived experiences. NHS England has published guidance on this role, which is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/executive-lead-roles-within-integrated-care-boards/" target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/executive-lead-roles-within-integrated-care-boards/</a></p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 07/05/2024 16:33:09 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1714975

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Learning Disability: Nurses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many learning disability nurse vacancies there are as of 30 April 2024.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	24224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department does not hold vacancy rates that are granular enough to identify rates for learning disability nurses. However, NHS England publishes quarterly vacancy statistics for registered nurses working in National Health Service trusts, which are available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey" target="_blank">https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey</a></p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 07/05/2024 08:39:01 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1713889

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	National Learning Disability Board
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the National Learning Disability Board last met.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	23729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>The final meeting of the National Learning Disability Board took place on 19 July 2016. More information is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/learning-disability-programme-board#minutes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/learning-disability-programme-board#minutes</a></p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 30/04/2024 16:48:01 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1713890

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Learning Disability: Nurses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many learning disability nurses there (a) are and (b) were in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	23730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. These include staff working for hospital trusts and core organisations, but excludes staff working for other providers such as in primary care, general practice, or social care. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. The statistics are available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics" target="_blank">https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>A large proportion of learning disability nurses work outside NHS trusts, and we do not hold data on where they work. However, the Nursing and Midwifery Council publishes data on the number of nurses on the register across the United Kingdom, which will include nurses employed in other settings, such as education. Data is available in the Fields of Practice sheet in the permanent register data tables, at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/" target="_blank">https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/</a></p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson grouped question UIN 23731 question first answered 30/04/2024 09:48:48 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1713891

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Learning Disability: Nurses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of learning disability nurses are in senior leadership roles.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	23731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. These include staff working for hospital trusts and core organisations, but excludes staff working for other providers such as in primary care, general practice, or social care. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. The statistics are available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics" target="_blank">https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>A large proportion of learning disability nurses work outside NHS trusts, and we do not hold data on where they work. However, the Nursing and Midwifery Council publishes data on the number of nurses on the register across the United Kingdom, which will include nurses employed in other settings, such as education. Data is available in the Fields of Practice sheet in the permanent register data tables, at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/" target="_blank">https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/</a></p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson grouped question UIN 23730 question first answered 30/04/2024 09:48:48 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1713892

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Autism and Learning Disability: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of health and adult social care staff that will undertake the second part of tier (a) one and (b) two of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism in the next three years.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	23732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>We have provided estimates of the number of health and adult social care staff that would undertake Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in our consultation stage impact assessment. This assessment was published as part of the public consultation on the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice. The impact assessment and wider public consultation are available, respectively, at the following two links:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/649a8c399e7a8b0013932bec/impact-assessment-oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/649a8c399e7a8b0013932bec/impact-assessment-oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice.pdf</a></p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice/oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice-on-statutory-learning-disability-and-autism-training" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice/oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice-on-statutory-learning-disability-and-autism-training</a></p><p>For healthcare, we estimated that over the first three years of training roll-out, 1,036,000 staff would be trained at Tier 1 level, and 1,186,000 staff would be trained at Tier 2 level. For adult social care, over the same period, we estimated that 840,000 staff would be trained at Tier 1 level, and 492,000 staff would be trained at Tier 2 level. In addition, over 1.7 million people have already completed the first part of Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, an e-learning package.</p><p>The final stage impact assessment incorporates additional evidence on the number of staff expected to undertake training, which was provided by organisations through the public consultation. The final assessment will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 30/04/2024 10:04:00 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1713893

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Autism: Diagnosis
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on autism assessments in each of the last five years; how much funding her Department has allocated to autism assessments in each of the next three years; and what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of that funding in meeting the target waiting time for such an assessment.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	23733
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>Information on the total spend on autism assessments is not held centrally. NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs), which are responsible for commissioning services using these core allocations to meet the needs of their local populations, including autism assessment services. The following table shows the total baseline expenditure in ICBs for learning disability and autism services over the last five years, disaggregated for autism services where possible:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Learning disability</p></td><td><p>Autism services</p></td><td><p>Unseparated learning disability and autism services</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£1,809,200,000</p></td><td><p>£1,809,200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£2,285,600,000</p></td><td><p>£2,285,600,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>£85,800,000</p></td><td><p>£3,700,000</p></td><td><p>£2,268,300,000</p></td><td><p>£2,357,900,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>£625,800,000</p></td><td><p>£27,100,000</p></td><td><p>£1,928,800,000</p></td><td><p>£2,581,700,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>£926,000,000</p></td><td><p>£47,100,000</p></td><td><p>£1,928,800,000</p></td><td><p>£2,904,600,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>In addition, specific funding has been allocated to ICBs in 2023/4 and 2024/25 from the Service Development Funding, to improve autism assessment waiting lists and pathways. The following table shows information on the additional national funding allocated to ICBs by NHS England, over each of the last five years, to improve autism assessment waiting lists and pathways:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Service Development Funding via the NHS Long Term Plan Transformation Funding</p></td><td><p>Spending Review 2021 via the COVID-19 Recovery Fund</p></td><td><p>Total funding for autism assessment pathways</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>£2,500,000</p></td><td><p>£14,500,000</p></td><td><p>£17,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>£5,000,000</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£5,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>£4,200,000</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£4,200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2024/25</p></td><td><p>£4,300,000</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£4,300,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes:</p><ol><li>the in-year pay uplift for 2023/24 is not reflected in the table;</li><li>the service development funding allocations shown in the table are in addition to the ICBs core funding allocations.</li></ol><p>The NHS Operational and Planning Guidance 2024/25 asks local systems to improve autism assessment pathways, through implementation of the NHS England autism assessment national framework. Allocations from 2025/26 onwards are subject to future decisions on spending. Further information on the operational and planning guidance and national framework is available respectively at the following links:</p><p><a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-25-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance-v1.1.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-25-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance-v1.1.pdf</a></p><p><a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/" target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/</a></p><p>A specific assessment of the adequacy of funding in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s waiting time standard for autism assessments has not been made. However, autism waiting times statistics are published on a quarterly basis. The total number of people with an open referral, where the diagnosis not yet completed, for suspected autism has increased by 47%, from 117,032 in December 2022 to 172,022 in December 2023. In December 2023, it was estimated that only 5.9% of patients whose referrals have been open in the system for at least 13 weeks received their first contact appointment within 13 weeks.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 01/05/2024 13:09:11 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield previous answer version 31577 answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1700124

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what weighting her department is giving to (a) individual and (b) organisational stakeholder responses to the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 consultation.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	21001
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>The consultation on the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 closed in November 2023. As reflected in the published summary of responses, each response was treated equally during analysis, as is the standard approach for consultation response analysis. The Department and the UK Health Security Agency are considering the responses in total, and are grateful for the stakeholders’ engagement on this complex topic. Confirmation of any changes to the regulations will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 17/04/2024 08:55:02 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes