Department of Health and Social Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue an official apology to social care workers that were dismissed during the pandemic for not being vaccinated.

Stephen Kinnock:

Social care workers are employed by individual employers, and it is down to these employers to decide whether to hire or dismiss staff, not the Government. Making vaccination a condition of deployment (VCOD) was supported by the best available clinical evidence at the time. VCOD was kept under review, and the decision to revoke it was made after considering the latest public health evidence, which had changed significantly since VCOD was introduced.

Question: How many NHS patients have been sent abroad for treatment in each year for the previous ten years; if he will provide a breakdown of (a) what treatments those patients were sent abroad for and (b) where to; and what the total cost to the public purse was of those treatments.

Andrew Gwynne:

The Department does not have a policy about sending National Health Service patients abroad for treatment, although local commissioning groups have in the past commissioned overseas capacity when needed.

However, NHS patients can decide to seek treatment abroad through the Planned Treatment Scheme (S2). This is a long-standing funding route, available pursuant to the reciprocal healthcare agreements that the United Kingdom has with the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. NHS patients can access pre-approved, planned, and state funded healthcare in one of the partner countries, at the expense of the UK, subject to eligibility criteria. The S2 is within the scope of devolved competency and is administered by the relevant healthcare authority in the resident country of the UK.

NHS patients with the intent to give birth abroad can also apply through the Maternity S2 Scheme, which covers maternity and delivery only. This scheme is administered centrally for the UK by the NHS Business Services Authority. The following table shows the number of UK issued S2s, which include both Planned Treatment and Maternity S2s, each year from 2014 to 2023:

Year	Number of UK issued S2s
2014	1,350
2015	1,410
2016	1,347
2017	1,352
2018	1,487
2019	1,356
2020	1,325
2021	740
2022	610
2023	224

Source: EU questionnaire on planned cross-border healthcare S2 portable documents.

Notes:

the years in the table refer to the year that the S2 was issued, and may not necessarily be the year in which S2 treatment was received; and
the number of UK issued S2s does not necessarily equate to the number of individuals who received S2 treatment, as some individuals may have been issued an S2 but did not use it.

NHS England holds information about the top treatments received by NHS patients through the S2. The top 10 treatments, as provided by NHS England, are as follows:

trauma and orthopaedics, including issues relating to knees, hips, and osteoarthritis;
general surgery, including issues relating to obesity, hernias, and appendicitis;
gynaecology, including endometriosis, fibroids, and polyps;
ear, nose, and throat, including issues relating to the nose, tonsilitis, and ear infections;
medical oncology, including chemotherapy;
paediatric ear, nose, and throat;
dental, including extraction;
primary care general practice, including urinary tract infections, ear infections, and cystitis;
neurosurgery, including issues relating to spinal problems and spinal discs, and the brain; and
vascular, including varicose veins, and deep vein thrombosis.

The Department does not hold the total costs of treatment received through the S2 scheme, as reimbursement claims submitted by most member states are in an aggregated format, which means they also contain costs for treatment provided through other reciprocal healthcare certificates.

The European Economic Area (EEA) budget covers these reciprocal healthcare arrangements, one of which is the S2 scheme. The latest report on the EEA budget is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-eea-and-switzerland-arrangements-act-2019-annual-report-april-2021-to-march-2022/

Question: How many dentists have closed in (a) Great Yarmouth constituency and (b) Norfolk since 2016.

Stephen Kinnock:

Data is not held on how many dentists have closed in the Great Yarmouth constituency and Norfolk since 2016.

Question: How much the NHS paid in compensation in each of the last five years.

Andrew Gwynne:

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. NHSR administers claims covered by several indemnity schemes. The two main schemes are: the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, which provides cover for clinical negligence claims against secondary care providers, including all NHS trusts; and the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice, which provides cover for clinical negligence claims relating to NHS services provided in general practice, for incidents occurring on or after 1 April 2019. NHSR also administers the Liabilities to Third Parties Scheme for non-clinical claims against NHS trusts, such as public and employer’s liability.

The following table shows the payments made for clinical negligence claims, broken down into damages, NHS legal costs, claimant legal costs, and sum total paid, between the financial years 2019/20 and 2023/24:

Financial year	Damages paid	NHS legal costs paid	Claimant legal costs paid	Total paid
2019/20	£1,644,216,037	£145,231,480	£475,257,408	£2,264,704,926
2020/21	£1,588,102,706	£150,740,413	£432,972,932	£2,171,816,051
2021/22	£1,777,244,213	£157,860,991	£470,329,975	£2,405,435,179
2022/23	£1,985,073,662	£161,232,916	£489,738,305	£2,636,044,883
2023/24	£2,111,274,291	£171,207,686	£544,941,740	£2,827,423,717
Total	£9,105,910,909	£786,273,487	£2,413,240,360	£12,305,424,756

In addition, the following table shows the payments made for non-clinical claims, also broken down into damages, NHS legal costs, claimant legal costs, and sum total paid, between the financial years 2019/20 and 2023/24:

Financial year	Damages paid	NHS legal costs paid	Claimant legal costs paid	Total paid
2019/20	£29,385,103	£7,235,444	£18,155,566	£54,776,113
2020/21	£28,523,132	£6,244,463	£16,379,137	£51,146,732
2021/22	£32,118,571	£6,529,827	£17,314,793	£55,963,192
2022/23	£26,857,633	£6,081,045	£16,314,408	£49,253,086
2023/24	£26,166,825	£7,091,718	£16,635,005	£49,893,548
Total	£143,051,264	£33,182,497	£84,798,910	£261,032,671

Notes:

1) NHSR has advised that the values for the payments reported for each year will be different from those reported in the published Annual report and accounts (ARA), because: accruals for NHS legal costs are included in the accounting records used for the ARA and are not included at the last day of the financial year in the Claims Management System used to provide these more detailed tables; timing differences in manual postings, for instance income received is reflected in the financial records used for the ARA and not included at the last day of the financial year in the Claims Management System used to provide these more detailed tables; and payments made in 2019/20 and 2020/21 for some older general practice claims (ELGP), during their transition to NHSR, are included in the accounting records used for the ARA, however, those ELGP payments are not included in the Claims Management System used for these tables during the oversight period, as NHSR was not managing the cases within its claims management systems; and

2) there may be other compensation schemes involving the NHS that are not covered by NHSR, however, this information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating an internal league table comparing UK cancer (a) care and (b) waiting times with other developed countries.

Andrew Gwynne:

The Department has no current plans to create such an internal league table. Professor Lord Darzi has undertaken an independent investigation into the state of the National Health Service, the findings of which were published on 12 September 2024 and will feed into the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan to build a health service that is fit for the future. The Government will therefore set out any further priorities on cancer and health for England in due course.

The Department remains committed to improving cancer survival rates by hitting all NHS cancer waiting time targets within five years, so no patient waits longer than they should.

Question: What proportion of NHS staff have been non-patient facing in each of the last ten years.

Karin Smyth:

The following table shows the number and percentage of the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) workforce employed by National Health Service trusts and other core NHS organisations in England that are in NHS infrastructure support roles, this being a proxy for non-patient facing roles, as of each August from 2014 to 2024:

Year	Total staff	NHS infrastructure support staff	Percentage of total staff who are infrastructure support
2014	986,595	153,363	15.5%
2015	1,006,026	156,824	15.6%
2016	1,031,091	161,353	15.6%
2017	1,046,979	164,339	15.7%
2018	1,067,951	170,443	16.0%
2019	1,100,273	178,371	16.2%
2020	1,159,365	184,270	15.9%
2021	1,198,746	194,546	16.2%
2022	1,230,089	202,980	16.5%
2023	1,297,455	214,501	16.5%
2024	1,348,584	218,914	16.2%

Source: NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics, NHS England, available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics

Notes:

the NHS infrastructure support staffing group includes staff defined as managers, senior managers, non-patient facing clerical or administrative staff, and maintenance or works staff;
FTE refers to the proportion of full-time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work, as one would indicate they work a full set of hours, and 0.5 that they worked half time; and
this data relates to the Hospital and Community Health Service workforce directly employed in NHS trusts and other core organisations, like integrated care boards for the latest data point, who are paid.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will strengthen the procedure ensuring that patients meet the residency requirements for treatment on the NHS.

Karin Smyth:

Relevant National Health Service bodies are legally required to identify, make, and recover charges from overseas visitors under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, also known as the Charging Regulations. The Department is committed to working with NHS England to ensure effective implementation of the Charging Regulations.

Question: How much has been spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation by (i) all NHS Trusts, (ii) James Paget University Hospitals Trust and (iii) the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust in each of the last five years.

Karin Smyth:

It is important for translation services to be provided so that all patients can access safe healthcare. The Department does not hold this information for all provider trusts; rather it is held by the relevant integrated care boards.

The following table shows how much has been spent on translation and interpretation services by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT):

Financial year	NSFT total
2020/21	£126,000
2021/22	£211,000
2022/23	£266,000
2023/24	£321,000

The following table shows how much has been spent on translation and interpretation services by James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (JPUH):

Financial year	JPUH total
2019/20	£68,095
2020/21	£37,352
2021/22	£46,680
2022/23	£71,501
2023/24	£85,671

Notes:

The figures provided above are for both translation and interpretation, as they are coded the same on their financial systems.
NSFT is unable to provide figures for 2019/2020 due to a change in their financial system meaning they cannot access the records.

Question: How many staff in their Department work outside of the UK; where these staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for these staff.

Karin Smyth:

The Department does not have any staff who work outside of the United Kingdom.

Question: What the average waiting was for an irregular migrant to see a (a) healthcare professional and (b) dentist in the latest period for which data is available.

Stephen Kinnock:

We do not hold data on the expenditure of dental services for irregular migrants, or the average waiting time to see a healthcare professional or a dentist.

We are tackling the immediate dental crisis with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups. We are dedicated to ensuring that people live well for longer, spending less time in ill health, regardless of where they are born or their financial circumstances.

Question: How many (a) attendances at accident and emergency departments and (b) emergency admissions there were for dentistry-related issues in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Kinnock:

The following table shows how many attendances to accident and emergency departments there were for dentistry-related issues, specifically those with a first diagnosis code of dental abscess or dental caries, for each of the last four years:

Year	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Attendances	60,330	69,859	67,310	73,088

Source: the data is published on NHS Digital, and is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-accident–emergency-activity/2023-24

Note: due to changes in recording methods, data from the last ten years is not available.

In addition, the following table shows the number of emergency admissions for dentistry-related issues, specifically the number if Finished Admission Episodes for dental-related issues, for each of the last ten years:

Year	Admissions
2014/15	16,279
2015/16	16,749
2016/17	17,285
2017/18	18,744
2018/19	20,543
2019/20	22,129
2020/21	17,540
2021/22	19,340
2022/23	19,979
2023/24	23,109

Question: How many complaints there were about to the standard of English of (a) GPs, (b) consultants and (c) other health care professionals in the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Kinnock:

No such data is collected. Many of the statutory health regulatory bodies have adopted the use of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to assess workers for the health care setting. The overall IELTS English language test score of 7.0 has been set, which is the equivalent of C1 of the Common European Framework for Reference of Languages.

A public authority must also operate a complaints procedure so that if a member of the public feels that a public-facing public authority worker has insufficient proficiency in spoken English for the performance of their role, they can make a formal complaint to the public authority which is then investigated, and a response provided.

Question: What information his Department holds on (a) the number of GP appointments available and (b) excess demand for those appointments in each of the last five years.

Stephen Kinnock:

The 12-month rolling sum of appointments in each of the last five years, excluding COVID-19 vaccination appointments, is as follows:

284,800,000 as of September 2020;
302,910,000 as of September 2021;
325,100,000 as of September 2022;
351,758,870 as of September 2023; and
376,460,990 as of September 2024.

We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP) and we are committed to fixing the crisis in GPs. Our plan to restore GPs will require both investment and reform, and we have already invested £82 million to recruit 1,000 newly qualified GPs in 2024/25, which will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system.

Question: What information his Department holds on complaints about GPs, broken down by GP nationality, in each of the last five years.

Stephen Kinnock:

Data is not collected or held on the nationality status of general practitioners (GPs) when undergoing a complaints procedure. Under the GP contract, practices must establish and operate a complaints procedure to deal with complaints made in relation to the provision of services. This includes practices making available to their patients a leaflet with details on how they may make a complaint or comment on the provision of services. Patients may either choose to complain to their healthcare provider, for instance a GP, or their local National Health Service commissioner.

Question: How many social care staff (a) were dismissed and (b) resigned due to mandatory Covid-19 vaccination regulations.

Stephen Kinnock:

The Government does not hold this data.

Question: What steps his Department plans to take to improve mental health provision for farmers.

Stephen Kinnock:

We plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. Integrated care boards are responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of their local populations.

The Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023 to 2028, published September 2023, sets out an ambition to conduct and commission research and data linkage projects, including supporting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to look at agricultural workers to understand the unique challenges in that occupational group and respond appropriately.

Through its Farming and Countryside Programme, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is working with a range of farming charities, including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the Yellow Wellies charity, which have highlighted mental health challenges for farming communities.

In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or hospital admission.

Question: What the cost to the public purse was of storing personal protective equipment in China since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic.

Karin Smyth:

As of the end of September 2024, approximately 1,049,700 pallets, or 23%, of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been recycled through energy from waste and recycling. The original cost to purchase was £8.644 billion, and all stock categorised as excess has no residual market value.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the total cost of storing PPE in China was £60.6 million. PPE has not been stored outside of the United Kingdom since June 2023.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 2.70 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what estimate he has made of the proportion of additional funding for the NHS that will be spent on (a) staff, (b) equipment and (c) services directly involved in the care of patients.

Karin Smyth:

The Budget set out the Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) for the Department, which is increasing by £22.6 billion for day-to-day spending, including staff, compared to 2023/24, and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL), which is increasing by £3.1 billion, including for equipment spending.

Exact breakdowns of RDEL and CDEL plans for staff, equipment, and services directly involved in the care of patients will be known once the planning round for 2025/26 has concluded, following the publication of system allocations and planning guidance for the next financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of running a public awareness campaign to remove all COVID signs.

Andrew Gwynne:

No assessment of the merits of running a public awareness campaign to remove all COVID-19 signs has been made.

Question: How much has been spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation in the NHS in each of the last five years.

Karin Smyth:

The Department does not hold this information. This information will be held by integrated care boards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on (a) external tenders and (b) contracts for (i) translation and (ii) interpretation services in the NHS in each of the last five years.

Karin Smyth:

The following table shows the Department’s expenditure against current and expired contracts with external suppliers of translation or interpretation services, in each of the last five financial years:

Year	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Expenditure	£9,857	£72,898	£898,354	£133,148	£28,830

The majority of this work has been for supporting different initiatives and functions within the National Health Service.

*The significant increase in expenditure was due to additional services required to support the response to Covid-19 in the NHS e.g. at vaccination and testing sites.

Question: How much was spent by NHS Trusts on celebrating Pride Month in June (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

Karin Smyth:

This information is not collected by NHS England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to tackle changes in the level of fertility rates.

Karin Smyth:

No specific steps are being taken to make changes in the level of fertility rates. However, the Government will be receiving advice on the provision of National Health Service funded fertility services, and will be considering future policy options shortly.

Question: How many positions in his Department included (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity and (d) equality in their job title in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of the salaries of each such job was in each of those years.

The Department currently has two positions which include either diversity, inclusion, equity, or equality in their job title. The following table shows the roles the title included, the total roles, and the total salaries, from 2020/21 to August of 2024:

Role title includes	2024	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21
Diversity	0	0	4	14 (11)	10
Inclusion	1	4	8	0	0
Equity	1	1	0	1	0
Equality	0	0	1	2	0
Total roles	2	5	13	17	10
Total salary	£114,264	£363,338	£619,969	£842,077	£515,784

Note: the number of roles with diversity and inclusion in the job title have been included under diversity, only to avoid duplication.

Question: What amount of charges were issued by NHS trusts for treatment to non-UK residents not entitled to free secondary healthcare in each of the last three financial years; how much of that amount was successfully recovered in each of the last three financial years; and what is the outstanding amount.

We have taken ‘non-UK residents’ to mean chargeable overseas visitors. The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts. The cash payments received by the National Health Service from overseas visitors are also published annually in the consolidated NHS provider accounts. The following table shows the aggregate income identified, and cash payments received by the NHS in England, from overseas visitors over the last three years:

Year	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Aggregate income identified	£61,000,000	£67,000,000	£100,000,000
Cash payments received in-year	£21,000,000	£25,000,000	£32,000,000

Source: the Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.

NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a decision has been taken on the rebuild of the James Paget Hospital; and if he will meet the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth to discuss the rebuild.

Karin Smyth:

We are reviewing the New Hospital Programme (NHP) to put it on a sustainable footing, including a realistic timetable for delivery and clarity on the funding required.

As set out in the Terms of Reference for the review, along with the six other hospitals that were constructed primarily using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the new hospital scheme for James Paget Hospital is out of scope of the review into the NHP. The Terms of Reference are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-terms-of-reference/new-hospital-programme-review-terms-of-reference

Work on this scheme will continue at pace due to the critical need to replace James Paget Hospital to protect patient and staff safety.

We will engage with those hon. Members with RAAC hospital schemes in due course.

Question: what costs from the treatment of chargeable overseas visitors (a) are outstanding and (b) have been written off.

Karin Smyth:

The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England as part of its annual report and accounts. The cash payments received, and amounts written off in-year by the National Health Service from chargeable overseas visitors, are also published annually in the consolidated NHS provider accounts.

The following table shows the aggregate income identified, cash payments received, and amounts written off in-year by the NHS in England, from overseas visitors, over the last three years:
	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Aggregate income identified	£61,000,000	£67,000,000	£100,000,000
Cash payments received in-year	£21,000,000	£25,000,000	£32,000,000
Amounts written off in-year	£46,000,000	£36,000,000	£37,000,000

Source: DHSC Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.

NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified that financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on (a) the number of equality, diversity and inclusion champions and (b) the salary bands of those staff in each NHS trust. (9844)

Karin Smyth:

The Department does not hold this information centrally. The National Health Service is one of the most diverse organisations in this country and we hugely value the contribution that all staff make to delivering care and supporting patients. We are committed to creating a more inclusive and compassionate culture across the NHS and support the equality, diversity, and inclusion commitments that are in place.

It is the responsibility of NHS organisations to determine the number of equality, diversity, and inclusion roles based on need.