Weekly Update

Your weekly roundup of government, parliamentary and stakeholder news prepared by the PGSE Team.

Covid-19 Highlights (Novel coronavirus)

• Government ministers have held briefings throughout the week on the response to coronavirus. [Saturday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday]
• The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced ‘more than £14 billion from the Coronavirus emergency response fund will go towards public services, including the NHS and local authorities involved in the fight against Coronavirus’
• The Department of Health and Social Care announced a ‘three strand’ UK-wide plan, including a “PPE hub” to ‘ensure personal protective equipment (PPE) gets to where it is needed most.’
• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has appointed Chris Townsend OBE to ‘lead the government's shielding programme to protect those at highest risk from coronavirus’.
• The Labour Party have called on the Government to ‘investigate why BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] communities are more vulnerable to Coronavirus.’
• The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Expert Working Group has concluded ‘there is currently insufficient evidence to establish a link between use of ibuprofen and susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 or the worsening of its symptoms.’
• The Nursing and Midwifery Council and General Medical Council have made a joint statement on ‘advance care planning, including do not attempt cardio pulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR).’
• The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published a survey which shows ‘a third of healthcare professionals report that their health is worse since the Covid-19 crisis began’.
• NHS England has written to NHS regional directors, regional leads and trust CEOs about staff testing for COVID-19.
• The Department of Health and Social Care has announced the official opening of the biggest diagnostic lab network in British history at the launch of a new site in Milton Keynes.

For further stakeholder announcements on Covid-19 from this week, please see here.

For more information, please contact Chris Hares.

Primary Care

• The Ministry of Justice announced work to ‘expand the prison estate by installing the first of 500 temporary, single occupancy cells to protect the public and NHS during the Coronavirus pandemic.’

For more information, please contact Matt Rose.

Mental Health

• Public Health England has published ‘COVID-19 guidance for commissioners and providers of services for people who use drugs or alcohol.’

For more information, please contact Mat Hughes.

Hospitals

• NHS Providers has produced a briefing that says ‘the health service is on course to successfully navigate the initial peak in coronavirus cases.’
• NHS England announced ‘new NHS Nightingale hospitals will be opened in Sunderland and Exeter to provide extra beds for patients with coronavirus symptoms if they are needed in the weeks ahead.
• The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has called on pregnant women to 'let their midwife know if they or anyone in their home starts to have symptoms of Covid-19 and they must also continue to attend routine appointments for antenatal care and scans'.

For more information, please contact Mat Hughes.

Adult Social Care

• The Department of Health and Social Care has published its ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): adult social care action plan’. The Alzheimer’s Society, Marie Curie, Age UK, Care England and Independent Age had jointly called for the Government to publish a comprehensive plan to support social care through the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has issued a joint statement alongside trade unions to highlight that the government’s social care strategy ‘needs to go further’, noting concerns regarding PPE, testing and check for patients leaving hospital for a care home.
• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced that councils will be 'allowed to defer £2.6 billion in business rates payments to central government, and £850 million in social care grants will be paid up front this month'.

For further stakeholder announcements on adult social care from this week, please see here.

For more information, please contact Matt Rose.

Cross-Cutting

• Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP (Labour, Holborn and St Pancras), Leader of the Opposition, has announced his full shadow Ministerial team, including Liz Kendall MP (Labour, Leicester West) as Shadow Minister for Adult Social Care and Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour, Tooting) as Shadow Minister for Mental Health. Jonathan Ashworth MP (Labour, Leicester South) remains as Shadow Secretary of State for Health.
• The Speaker of the House of Commons has set out how Parliament will operate from the 21 April 2020.
• The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) has published its annual performance review of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

For more information, please contact Chris Hares.

This Week in Parliament

Friday 17 April

• The Health and Social Care Select Committee held a session for their inquiry on 'Management of the Coronavirus Outbreak'. Witnesses included: Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP (Conservative, West Suffolk), Secretary of State for Social Care; Jonatan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England. [Summary] CQC is mentioned during this session.

The House of Commons and the House of Lords has risen for an extended Easter recess. They will return no earlier than 21 April 2020.

For more information, please contact Matt Rose.

Next Week in Parliament

NB: The parliamentary business will change after the House of Commons meets and approves changes on Tuesday. For further information, please contact Chris Hares, Parliamentary and Stakeholder Engagement Manager. 

Monday 20 April

• Joint Committee on Human Rights session on ‘Government’s response to COVID-19: human rights implications’. Witnesses include: Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice.

Tuesday 21 April

• Oral questions to the Department of Justice in the House of Commons. 
• Home Affairs Select Committee session on 'Home Office preparedness for Covid-19 (Coronavirus)’. Witnesses include: Adrian Berry, Chair, Immigration Law Practioners' Association, Colin Yeo; Andy Hewett, Head of Advocacy, Refugee Council, Chai Patel, Legal Policy Director, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
• Treasury Select Committee session on ‘Economic impact of coronavirus’. Witnesses include: Kate Nicholls, CEO, UK Hospitality, Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy, Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-employed; Dr Gerard Lyons, Senior Fellow, Policy Exchange and Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth and Ian Mulheirn, Executive Director and Chief Economist at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
• Justice Select Committee session on ‘Ageing prison population’. Witnesses include: Professor Jennifer Shaw, Academic Lead, Offender Health Research Network, Paul Grainge, Chief Officer, RECOOP, Emily McCarron, Equality and Human Rights Policy Manager, Age UK; Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Dr Rosie Benneyworth, Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care, Jan Fooks-Bale, Inspection Manager (Health & Justice), Care Quality Commission, and Dame Anne Owers, National Chair. NB: For information, the PGSE team is working with colleagues to prepare for this select committee appearance. For more information, please contact Matt Rose.

Wednesday 22 April

• Oral questions to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons.
• Question in the House of Lords on ‘impact of the restriction of movement on those defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable from COVID-19’ tabled by Lord Blunkett (Labour).
• Women and Equalities Select Committee session on ‘Unequal impact: Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the impact on people with protected characteristics’. Witnesses include: Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, Minister for Women and Equalities, Government Equalities Office.
• Education Select Committee session on ‘Impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services’. Witness: Vicky Ford MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, Department for Education.

Thursday 23 April

• Debate in the House of Lords on the 'short-term and long-term impact of the Government's approach to the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision and delivery of social and domiciliary care for disabled and vulnerable people, and the need to ensure the sustainability of social care services' tabled by Baroness Wheeler (Labour).

• Question for short debate in the House of Lords on 'impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the prison population and offender rehabilitation programmes' tabled by Lord German (Liberal Democrat).

• A session of the Public Accounts Commission. Witnesses include: Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General and Daniel Lambauer, Executive Leader, Strategy and Operations, National Audit Office.

Friday 24 April

• Second reading of the 'Hospitals (Parking Charges and Business Rates) Bill' tabled by Peter Bone MP (Conservative, Wellingborough).

For more information, please contact Matt Rose.

Parliamentary Questions

This week there were no Parliamentary Questions of note as Parliament is currently on recess.

If you would like any further information, please contact government.engagement@cqc.org.uk

Speeches and Exhibitions

This week, there were no external speaking engagements due to COVID-19.

For more information, or to notify the Parliamentary, Government and Stakeholder Engagement team of a speaker engagement you are undertaking on CQC’s behalf (national or regional), contact the Speaker Engagement mailbox.

CQC in the news

There were 79 mentions of the CQC in national, regional and trade publications this week.

• On Monday, an article in the Times highlighted anger among some charity organisations about the lack of COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment for care home workers. The piece claims that care providers are wary of disclosing staff information with local councils or CQC due to cost pressures leading to worker numbers being slashed.

• On Tuesday, a comment piece in the Guardian by Polly Toynbee discussed the shortcomings of social care that have been unveiled by the coronavirus pandemic. The piece states that CQC keeps a record of care home deaths but could not report how many there have been so far. The quote we provided from Kate Terroni confirming that CQC is working with ONS and Public Health England to look at how to provide a more detailed and timelier picture of confirmed COVID related care home deaths was not used.

• Also on Tuesday, the latest data on coronavirus deaths was published by the Office for National Statistics revealing that a total of 406 deaths involving COVID-19 in England and Wales registered up to April 3 occurred outside of hospitals. The Daily Mail, the Daily Star and the Times (print only) were among those outlets that ran stories on this, all highlighting that former CQC Chief Executive, Sir David Behan who is now chairman of HC-One, has said 232 care homes run by the firm have confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19.

• On Wednesday, the government pledged COVID-19 tests for “everyone who needs one” in social care settings. The announcement led to national print coverage in the Times, the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, iNews, BBC online and the Mirror. CQC is said to be leading the co-ordination of testing and aims to contact all 30,000 care providers by the end of the week to offer testing for their staff.

• Also on Wednesday there was widespread reporting on the government’s COVID-19 social care action plan which set out a package of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus in social care settings. This included stories in the Mirror, Sky news online, and the Daily Express (print only) where CQC was referenced in relation to its role in coordinating COVID testing for care staff and ensuring that care homes are not applying blanket DNAR orders that would stop residents getting access to full healthcare if they choose it.

• On Thursday, the Guardian reported that Care England has suggested the death toll among people being looked after in care homes in England has risen to 1,400, as “NHS England and CQC finally started rolling out testing of staff and residents.”

For more information on CQC in the news, please go here.

The Parliamentary, Government and Stakeholder Engagement Team

This update is compiled by the Parliamentary, Government and Stakeholder Engagement team. If you have any queries, would like further information, or if you’d be interested in a presentation on our work, please do not hesitate to contact us:

• Chris Hares, Parliamentary and Stakeholder Engagement Manager, 020 7448 4555.
• Mat Hughes, Senior Parliamentary and Stakeholder Engagement Adviser, 0207 448 1640.
• Matt Rose, Senior Parliamentary and Stakeholder Engagement Adviser, 0207 448 9167.

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