- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the General Medical Services contract to be fit for purpose in respect of the interaction between GPs and the benefits system.
Answer
GPs, through the UK negotiated General Medical Services (GMS) contract are statutorily required to provide certain medical certificates which include certificates such as the Med 3 and the statements contained in the Personal Independence payment and Attendance Allowance claim pack.
Provision by GPs of medical information via factual reports to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in support of benefit applications are usually paid for by a private arrangement with DWP under legislation reserved to the UK Government.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that requests for information in support of a work capability assessment by (a) the Department of Work and Pensions, (b) ATOS and (c) Salus are responded to timeously and without charge in accordance with the General Medical Services contract.
Answer
Provision of information to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by a GP in relation to Work Capability Assessments (WCA) is not covered by the General Medical Services (GMS) contract but through separate contractual arrangements.
The GMS contract is not the primary contractual route for the provision of information to the DWP, or its contractors, by GPs in respect of welfare benefits. Where it is, GPs are not permitted to charge patients.
Contractual arrangements between the DWP and GPs in respect of welfare benefits are issues reserved to the UK Government.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the Department of Work and Pensions, (b) ATOS, (c) Salus, (d) NHS boards, (e) BMA Scotland, (f) representatives of disabled people and (g) GPs at the Deep End regarding the effectiveness of the General Medical Services contract in relation to welfare reform.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with any organisations regarding the effectiveness of the GMS contract in relation to welfare reform.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 5 June 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of GPs in (a) each NHS board area and (b) Scotland is contracted for NHS work under (i) the General Medical Services contract, (ii) a variation of the General Medical Services contract or (iii) an arrangement other than the General Medical Services contract.
Answer
Figures showing the number of GPs contracted to work in Scottish General Medical Practices, broken down by NHS board and practice contract type, can be found in Table 1.
Table 1 – The number of GPs contracted to work in Scottish General Practices, broken down by NHS board and practice contract type at 1 April 2013
| NHS Board Area | 17J (Old GMS) | 17C (Old PMS) | 2c and Admin |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 269 | 46 | - |
| Borders | 103 | 11 | - |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 144 | 7 | - |
| Fife | 229 | 30 | 6 |
| Forth Valley | 228 | 22 | 5 |
| Grampian | 426 | 80 | 38 |
| Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 1,012 | 45 | 11 |
| Highland | 370 | 4 | 23 |
| Lanarkshire | 375 | 27 | 4 |
| Lothian | 644 | 154 | 22 |
| Orkney | 18 | 3 | 6 |
| Shetland | | 16 | 13 |
| Tayside | 378 | 2 | 4 |
| Western Isles | 11 | 25 | - |
| Scotland | 4,173 | 470 | 121 |
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2013
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 June 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to secure jobs and conditions at the O2 Skypark facility in Glasgow following the announcement by Telefónica that 3,000 jobs are to be outsourced to Capita.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 June 2013
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 30 May 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with, or is aware of between, (a) the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), (b) ATOS, (c) SALUS, (d) NHS boards, (e) BMA Scotland, (f) representatives of disabled people and (g) GPs at the Deep End regarding the provision of information by GPs in support of a benefit application when the request for information comes from (i) DWP or ATOS and (ii) a patient.
Answer
Scottish Government officials met with the Chair of the Scottish General Practitioner Committee of the BMA on 13 March 2013 to discuss provision of medical information to patients in support of appeals in respect of DWP’s Work Capability Assessments.
On 20 April 2013 the Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions expressing concern about the apparent weaknesses of DWP’s processes for obtaining medical evidence for people subject to work capability assessments and the strain being put upon primary care practices as a result of requests for medical evidence to support appeals.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions replied on 8 May 2013 informing the Deputy First Minister that he believed that DWP’s processes were effective and are subject to on-going review in order to improve effectiveness.
The Chief Medical Adviser to the DWP met with Deep End GPs on 29 January 2013 to discuss the Work Capability Assessment and the introduction of Personal Independence Payments. The appeals process and the involvement of GPs in providing supporting evidence was included in the discussion.
The Scottish Government has not had discussions with ATOS, SALUS, NHS boards, representatives of disabled people or GPs at the Deep End and is not aware of any other discussions between any of these bodies in respect of provision of information by GPs in support of benefit applications.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 30 May 2013
To ask the Scottish Government whether the (a) Minister for Housing and Welfare or (b) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has had meetings with (i) the Department of Work and Pensions, (ii) ATOS, (iii) SALUS, (iv) NHS boards, (v) BMA Scotland, (vi) representatives of disabled people or (vii) GPs at the Deep End regarding the (A) provision by GPs of information in support of a benefit application and (B) decision of Glasgow Local Medical Committee to recommend that letters in support of a benefit application requested by a patient are not provided.
Answer
Neither the Minister for Housing and Welfare or the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing have had meetings with any party with regard to the provision by GPs of information in support of a benefit application, or with regard to the decision by the Glasgow Local Medical Committee to recommend that letters of support are not provided.
GPs, through the UK negotiated General Medical Services (GMS) contract, are statutorily required to provide certain medical certificates which include certificates such as the Med 3. Provision to DWP of supporting clinical information by GPs in support of benefit applications such as Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance are usually paid for by a private arrangement with DWP under legislation reserved to the UK Government. Provision of further information or letters of support requested by patients or their representatives in support of a benefit application is not covered by current contractual arrangements.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 30 May 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with, or is aware of between, (a) the Department of Work and Pensions, (b) ATOS, (c) SALUS, (d) NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, (e) other NHS boards, (f) BMA Scotland, (g) representatives of disabled people and (h) GPs at the Deep End regarding Glasgow Local Medical Committee's recommendation that GPs working under contract to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde do not provide letters of support for patients making benefit applications when requested by the patient.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had discussions, and is not aware of discussions between other organisations, in respect of the Glasgow Local Medical Committee’s recommendation that GPs working under contract to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde do not provide letters of support for patients making benefit applications.
GPs, through the UK negotiated General Medical Services (GMS) contract, are statutorily required to provide certain medical certificates which include certificates such as the Med 3. Provision to DWP of supporting clinical information by GPs in support of benefit applications such as Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance are usually paid for by a private arrangement with DWP under legislation reserved to the UK Government. Provision of further information or letters of support requested by patients or their representatives in support of a benefit application is not covered by current contractual arrangements.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 30 May 2013
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Glasgow Local Medical Committee's recommendation that GPs working under contract to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde do not provide letters of support for patients making benefit applications when requested by the patient and whether any other local medical committees have made a similar decision.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports the role of GPs in contributing to the welfare assessment process and this is reflected contractually in both our General and Primary Medical Services Regulations. GPs have a statutory obligation, negotiated on a UK basis, to provide information to DWP, and those agencies acting on its behalf, in relation to medical certificates and assessments used to determine entitlements to benefits.
Local Medical Committees (LMCs) represent NHS GPs in their localities and any advice from an LMC is a professional matter between that Committee and the practitioners it represents. GP practices are contracted to provide General or Primary Medical Services by NHS boards and it is for each Health Board to ensure that its contractors are delivering the services required by their contracts. GPs are not contractually required to provide patients making benefit applications or appeals with letters of support.
The Scottish Government shares the profession’s concerns that the established contractual and agreed methods for GPs to directly provide medical information to the DWP are not being used effectively by the Department. These issues were discussed at a meeting on 13 March 2013 between Scottish Government officials and the Chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish General Practitioners’ Committee (SGPC).
On 20 April 2013, with the support of the SGPC, the Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing wrote to the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions expressing concern about the apparent weaknesses of DWP’s processes for obtaining medical evidence for people subject to Work Capability Assessments and the strain being put upon primary care practices as a result of requests for medical evidence to support appeals.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions replied on 8 May 2013 informing the Deputy First Minister that he believed that DWP processes were effective and are subject to on-going review in order to continue to improve effectiveness. The Scottish Government will closely monitor the outcomes of DWP’s further review work and Scottish Minsters will continue to press their concerns with the department.
- Asked by: Drew Smith, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 30 May 2013
To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs are represented by Glasgow Local Medical Committee and how many patients are registered with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde GPs.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
Local Medical Committees represent NHS GPs in their localities and membership is a local matter for each Committee.
The Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland provides a range of health information and statistical services to support the NHS. ISD’s latest figures on General Practice patient populations were published on 18 December 2012 and can be accessed on its website at:
http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/General-Practice/Publications/2012-12-18/2012-12-18-GP-Workforce-Report.pdf.
