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1141667

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the findings of the John Lewis Partnership Working Well report, published on 11 June 2019 on the benefits to public services of greater workplace health prevention and early intervention; and what steps he plans to take ensure that taxation incentivises early intervention from employers.
tabling member constituency	Filton and Bradley Stoke
tabling member printed	Jack Lopresti
uin	281709
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable work of employers such as the John Lewis Partnership in providing for the health of their staff.</p><p> </p><p>Employers have a critical role to play in helping disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to remain in work. Keeping more people in work is good for them. But it is good for the economy too, and it reduces spending on out-of-work benefits, and potentially also demand on the NHS. For employers, investing in employee health and wellbeing can lead to increased workforce productivity and help retain key talent in an organisation.</p><p> </p><p>Employers normally incur expenditure on employee healthcare for a business purpose and can already deduct this in full when calculating their taxable profits under the longstanding general rules for business expenses. This means employers already receive full tax relief for these costs. The Government therefore does not believe that the existing tax system for business expenses incurred by employers provides a barrier to those wishing to support employees at work.</p><p> </p><p>The tax system also ensures employees do not pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on several employer-provided, health-related benefits and there is no corresponding Class 1A NICs liability for employers when there is an exemption for income tax. This includes recommended medical treatment of up to £500 intended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>This particular exemption is targeted at supporting individuals who are expected to reach or who have already reached four weeks of sickness absence. This is because evidence suggests there is an increased likelihood of employees moving on to benefits after an absence lasting four weeks or longer. The £500 cap is in line with the estimated annual cost of the medical treatment that would typically be recommended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>In July, the Government launched a consultation on measures to reduce ill health-related job loss. The broad focus of this consultation chimes with recommendations in the John Lewis report, including potential financial incentives to encourage more employers to access occupational health services, driving early and supportive employer action and spreading best practice. However, it also notes that there is limited evidence that making the tax treatment more generous is the most effective lever to incentivise more employers to start offering occupational health provision, if the initial cost is the main barrier for them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will use the evidence and views gathered during this consultation to develop its proposals further, considering an approach which offers the best value for money and is affordable in the context of the next Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 281710 281711 281712 281713 281714 281715 question first answered 09/09/2019 13:08:28 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3989 label Biography information for Jack Lopresti

1129598

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
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	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department's Green Paper on Prevention is better than cure will include the role of (a) employers in supporting good health and (b) use of health insurance by employers to support the health of their staff.
tabling member constituency	North Warwickshire
tabling member printed	Craig Tracey
uin	260079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2019 answer text <p>We are considering a number of policy options for the Prevention Green Paper and will be mindful of the role of employers in supporting their employees’ health.</p> answering member constituency South Ribble answering member printed Seema Kennedy question first answered 12/06/2019 16:19:49 answering member 4455 label Biography information for Seema Kennedy
tabling member	4509 label Biography information for Craig Tracey

1128975

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support employers to improve workplace health.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	259190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The HSE is undertaking a programme of targeted activity with employers to help them put in place suitable and proportionate preventative measures designed to address three key work-related ill health issues; musculoskeletal disease, work-related stress and occupational lung disease. This programme involves a substantial body of cross-cutting interventions (including publicity and awareness-raising activities, sector-specific initiatives, and regulatory interventions) and forms part of HSE’s contribution to the health and safety strategy – <em>Helping Great Britain Work Well – </em>launched in 2016<em>.</em></p><p>The DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit is overseeing progress across 40 recommendations that were made in <em>Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers</em> published in October 2017 these range from short term deliverables to longer term reform. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces.</p><p> </p><p>One of the review’s recommendations was about transparency as a significant opportunity to encourage cultural change around mental health. We have worked with partners, including employers, to develop a framework to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability and mental health in the workplace. This framework was published on 22<sup>nd</sup> November 2018 and is aimed at large employers with 250 or more employees. To improve information and advice for employers we are working with Mind and the Royal Foundation to continue developing their Mental Health at Work website (<a href="https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk" target="_blank">https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk</a>) which launched on 11<sup>th</sup> September 2018.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 06/06/2019 13:18:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1090973

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the uptake of occupational health schemes among employers.
tabling member constituency	Mansfield
tabling member printed	Ben Bradley
uin	233596
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to see employers of all sizes create healthy workplaces where people can thrive. We will consult this year on measures to encourage and support all employers to play their part and to improve access to occupational health.</p><p> </p><p>Advice from an Occupational Health Expert Group is helping shape proposals. We have also commissioned research to better understand the current market supply and delivery structures of OH provision and its operation. Findings are due to be published in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Tax incentives are currently available to employers to encourage investment in employee health and wellbeing, including relief for employer-funded medical treatment up to £500 where there has been a recommendation from an occupational health professional and the employee has been absent for 28 days.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 17:24:50 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4663 label Biography information for Ben Bradley

1083616

registered interest
date	07/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the current shortfall in the number of occupational health professionals.
tabling member constituency	Mansfield
tabling member printed	Ben Bradley
uin	229772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment which would specifically address this question. However, we know that the number of specialist occupational health physicians has steadily declined over the past two decades.</p><p> </p><p>A report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health highlighted the need to address occupational medicine workforce capacity. A 2016 report from the Council for Work and Health also highlighted similar findings.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is working with its Occupational Health Expert Group to shape measures to improve access to high quality occupational health. This includes looking at the occupational health workforce to ensure sufficient expert capacity is available in the future. Health Education England, through its National School of Occupational Health, has also been involved in this work.</p><p> </p><p>We will set out our proposals in a consultation exercise in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>We have also commissioned research to better understand the current market supply and delivery structures of OH provision and its operation. Findings are due to be published in 2019.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/03/2019 14:12:59 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4663 label Biography information for Ben Bradley

1082299

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to require employers to contract occupational health services; and what assessment she has made of the potential costs to business of implementing such a requirement.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	228633
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to see employers of all sizes create healthy workplaces where people can thrive and will consult this year on measures to encourage and support all employers to play their part and to improve access to occupational health.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 13/03/2019 14:50:43 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1082300

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the quality of (a) occupational health services and (b) SEQOHS accreditation scheme in measuring the effectiveness of those services in delivering successful returns to work.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	228634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment that would specifically address this question.</p><p> </p><p>As outlined in the Government’s 2017 Command Paper ‘Improving Lives; the future of work, health and disability’ we have commissioned research to better understand occupational health provision. Findings are due to be published in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>We have worked with a wide range of stakeholders, including through our Occupational Health Expert Group, to shape measures to improve access to high quality occupational health. We will set out our proposals in a consultation exercise in 2019.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 228635 question first answered 13/03/2019 16:05:13 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1082301

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the average cost to an employer of contracting a physician-led occupational health service.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	228635
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment that would specifically address this question.</p><p> </p><p>As outlined in the Government’s 2017 Command Paper ‘Improving Lives; the future of work, health and disability’ we have commissioned research to better understand occupational health provision. Findings are due to be published in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>We have worked with a wide range of stakeholders, including through our Occupational Health Expert Group, to shape measures to improve access to high quality occupational health. We will set out our proposals in a consultation exercise in 2019.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 228634 question first answered 13/03/2019 16:05:13 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1082302

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential growth of the occupational health market in the event that all employers contracted occupational health services.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	228636
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment that would specifically address this question. However, in 2017, the occupational health market was estimated to be worth around £800m a year.</p><p>In 2014, 51% of all GB employees had access to occupational health services provided for by their employer.</p><p>We have worked with a wide range of stakeholders, including through our Occupational Health Expert Group, to shape measures to improve access to high quality occupational health. We will set out our proposals in a consultation exercise in 2019.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 13/03/2019 16:09:15 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1082306

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent financial incentives she has introduced to encourage employers to invest in the health and well being of their workforce through the contracting of services designed to facilitate more rapid returns to work by employees at risk of health-related job loss.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	228640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2019 answer text <p>The tax incentives available to employers to encourage investment in employee health and wellbeing include relief for employer-funded medical treatment up to £500 where there has been a recommendation from an occupational health professional and the employee has been absent for 28 days.</p><p> </p><p>To inform future policy decisions, the Government is supporting the West Midlands Combined Authority to undertake a pilot study to assess whether and how financial incentives affect SME actions to improve health and wellbeing in the workplace.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will consult this year on measures to encourage and support all employers to reduce health-related job loss, and to improve access to occupational health.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 13/03/2019 14:45:57 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers