Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to provide additional funding for sexual health services to help recover services that have been affected by the monkeypox outbreak.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
In 2022/23, we have allocated more than £3.4 billion to local authorities in England to fund public health services, including sexual health services, through the public health grant and provided additional funding for the monkeypox response, including the supply of medicines and vaccinations.
The Department continues to work closely with the UK Health Security Agency, local authorities and NHS England to monitor the impact of monkeypox on sexual health services and support system-wide action to maintain access to routine sexual and reproductive health services.
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning comprehensive, open access sexual health services to meet local demand and individual local authorities decide on spending priorities based on an assessment of local need for sexual health services. We will announce the 2023/24 public health grant allocations to local authorities in due course.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to make fostemsavir available for the treatment of people with multi-drug resistant HIV.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
NHS England has developed a national clinical commissioning policy proposition for Fostemsavir for the treatment of multi-drug resistant HIV-1 infection. The proposition was submitted for stakeholder testing in February 2022 and was considered in the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group’s (CPAG) relative prioritisation meeting in July 2022.
NHS England will decide whether this intervention will be available on the National Health Service on the basis of the CPAG’s recommendation and level of funding available for investment. A decision is expected shortly.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide financial support equivalent to previous covid-19 test and trace support payment scheme to people required to self-isolate due to Monkeypox diagnoses.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government and local authorities are continuing to support those who are asked to self-isolate in England as the result of a monkeypox diagnosis.
On 9 June 2022, the UK Health Security Agency published guidance for those self-isolating, including on how to reduce the spread of monkeypox within their household. Individuals who are unable to work because they have monkeypox may also be eligible for financial support in England. We will continue to keep this approach under review.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on (a) its strategy for Monkeypox vaccination and (b) ensuring that people in high risk groups can access a Monkeypox vaccination quickly.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 21 June 2022, the UK Health Security Agency published a targeted vaccine strategy which recommends that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox should be offered a smallpox vaccine, Imvanex, to control the outbreak. NHS England will offer the vaccine to those most likely to be exposed to monkeypox, including healthcare workers and close contacts of confirmed infections. The local National Health Service will contact members of the public risk of exposure to offer a vaccination in due course.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of monkeypox on the availability of health service appointments for prescribing the HIV prevention drug PrEP.
Answered by Maggie Throup
While no specific assessment has been made, we will monitor the impact of monkeypox on these services.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has made to measure HIV stigma since the publication of the HIV Action Plan.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The HIV Action Plan commits to the development of a plan to increase innovation in the delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), improving access for key groups, including provision in settings outside of sexual and reproductive health services. The plan will be based on evidence from the findings of work the English Sexual Health and HIV Commissioners group are undertaking with potential PrEP users and providers, which will explore the acceptability and feasibility of delivering PrEP in settings such as drug and alcohol services and pharmacies.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are also developing a pilot for accessing PrEP in prisons. Timelines for taking forward the Action Plan will be published in the monitoring and evaluation framework in 2022. The framework will include key indicators, including those on addressing stigma, to be monitored at national, regional and local levels.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timeline is for developing a plan to drive innovation in PrEP delivery under the HIV Action Plan; and which groups his Department plans to engage and consult on that plan.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The HIV Action Plan commits to the development of a plan to increase innovation in the delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), improving access for key groups, including provision in settings outside of sexual and reproductive health services. The plan will be based on evidence from the findings of work the English Sexual Health and HIV Commissioners group are undertaking with potential PrEP users and providers, which will explore the acceptability and feasibility of delivering PrEP in settings such as drug and alcohol services and pharmacies.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are also developing a pilot for accessing PrEP in prisons. Timelines for taking forward the Action Plan will be published in the monitoring and evaluation framework in 2022. The framework will include key indicators, including those on addressing stigma, to be monitored at national, regional and local levels.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve the support Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) mental health services can offer people living with HIV, through better training on HIV issues for IAPT staff; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing an IAPT-LTC pathway for HIV.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Under the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing £2.3 billion each year in mental health services including expanding access to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services to a total of 1.9 million adults a year by 2023/24, including people living with long term conditions such as HIV.
While we have no current plans to make a formal assessment of a potential IAPT pathway for HIV, we would expect that treatment services, such as HIV clinics, would take patients’ mental health needs into account as part of their overall care.
We are publishing a HIV Action Plan on 1 December 2021, which will set out plans for HIV services, including on mental health.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to tackle HIV stigma in the health service through improved training for the workforce.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The HIV Action Plan is planned for publication on 1 December 2021. The Government’s policy on issues related to HIV, such as equitable access to testing and treatment and tackling HIV-related stigma and health disparities, will be addressed in the Action Plan.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of people who leave sexual health services without being offered or taking up a HIV test.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The HIV Action Plan is planned for publication on 1 December 2021. The Government’s policy on issues related to HIV, such as equitable access to testing and treatment and tackling HIV-related stigma and health disparities, will be addressed in the Action Plan.