Written questions by Prinsley.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance with the Accessible Information Standard across the NHS.

National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. The AIS conformance criteria, published in 2016, set out how organisations should comply with the AIS, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/equality-frameworks-and-information-standards/accessibleinfo/resources/assess-conformance/The responsibility for monitoring compliance with the AIS sits with the commissioner of the service.NHS England is responsible for the AIS, and has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. One of the aims of the review was to strengthen assurance of implementation of the AIS, and a self-assessment framework has been developed to support providers of NHS and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS, and develop improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation. The AIS self-assessment framework is designed to enable enhancements around assurance, and allows organisations, commissioners, and the Care Quality Commission to judge performance and compliance.A revised AIS is being reviewed with a view to publication, and in the meantime NHS England is continuing to work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using these services.

If she will (a) approve and (b) deliver rail infrastructure upgrades (i) in the Ely area and (ii) at Haughley Junction.

This government is committed to delivering economic growth, and projects such as the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and upgrades to Haughley Junction have the potential to contribute to this. While the previous government made public statements of support for both projects, no funding was provided to allow either to progress. The Chancellor has been clear about the state of the nation's finances and has launched a multi-year Spending Review. Decisions and timescales about individual projects will be informed by the review process and confirmed in due course.

Whether he plans to (a) bring forward legislative proposals to further regulate and (b) publish guidance on the (i) definition of the scope of practice and (ii) supervisory requirements for physician associates.

The legislation to introduce statutory regulation for Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) was debated in the Scottish Parliament and both Houses of Parliament earlier this year.Regulation by the General Medical Council (GMC) will begin in December 2024. The GMC will set standards of practice, education, and training, and will operate fitness-to-practice procedures to ensure that PAs and AAs can be held to account if serious concerns are raised.Whilst statutory regulation is an important part of ensuring patient safety, it is also achieved through robust clinical governance processes within healthcare organisations, which are required to have systems of oversight and supervision for their staff.NHS England has issued clear guidance on the deployment of PAs and AAs in the National Health Service, which describes the expectations of how organisations providing NHS care should deploy them so that they can contribute to the delivery of safe and effective healthcare in a supportive environment. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/summary-of-existing-guidance-on-the-deployment-of-medical-associate-professions-in-nhs-healthcare-settings/

What assessment he has made of the impact of plans to outsource hundreds of staff by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust on (a) NHS services and the (b) healthcare workforce.

Contract award decisions in the National Health Service fall directly to individual NHS bodies, which are responsible for running their own procurement exercises. Ministers do not have general powers in legislation to direct NHS trusts in relation to the exercise of any of their functions, including in relation to specific contractual decisions. The NHS has established governance processes, in line with Government procurement policy and best practice, to assure that appropriate contractual decisions are made and represent value for money.East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust has advised the Department and NHS England that no final decision has been taken yet for the future provision of ‘Soft’ Facilities Management services across the trust’s sites. Staff and their Union representatives affected by the proposals have been fully consulted as the trust has progressed its plans. All the options in a formal Full Business Case (FBC) will be considered, following receipt and evaluation of bids received from potential external suppliers. The trust is not obliged to accept any of the bids submitted unless they clearly demonstrate value for money and deliver against the aims and objectives of the business cases.