Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the draft guidance published by NICE entitled Ivacaftor–tezacaftor–elexacaftor, tezacaftor–ivacaftor and lumacaftor–ivacaftor for treating cystic fibrosis, published on 3 November 2023, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the recommendation that modular therapies should not be provided on the NHS on the health of people with cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently consulted on its draft recommendations on the use of lumacaftor–ivacaftor (Orkambi), tezacaftor–ivacaftor (Symkevi) and ivacaftor–tezacaftor–elexacaftor (Kaftrio) and has not yet published its final recommendations. NICE continues to work with stakeholders to address the issues highlighted by the committee in the draft guidance. Under the terms of the interim access agreement for the cystic fibrosis medicines, Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio, eligible children and adults with cystic fibrosis can continue to receive ongoing treatment and be initiated onto treatment with these medicines, as clinically appropriate, while NICE concludes its evaluation.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with people with (a) cystic fibrosis and (b) representative organisations on the draft guidance on the future availability of (i) Orkambi, (ii) Symkevi and (iii) Kaftrio on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for leading engagement with interested parties in the development of its recommendations on medicines. NICE has recently consulted on its draft guidance on the use of Orkambi, Symkevi and Kaftrio for the treatment of cystic fibrosis and continues to work with stakeholders to address the issues highlighted by the committee in the draft guidance. The Department encourages stakeholders such as patients and representative organisations to continue to engage in the NICE appraisal process.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a child suffering from cystic fibrosis who is currently taking Orkambi will be able to move on to taking Kaftrio if their clinician considers it more effective once current NICE recommendations are ratified.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The commercial deal NHS England reached with Vertex covers their entire portfolio of licensed cystic fibrosis treatments. NHS England’s continued expectation in implementing the agreement is that Vertex will enable any patients already initiated on any of the treatments covered by the portfolio deal to have access to the full range of licensed treatments going forward, as recommended by their clinical teams.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all (a) claimant tribunal decisions are held on the Personal Independence Payment Computer System and (b) assessment provider health professionals have access to (i) those decisions and (ii) other relevant supporting evidence when making a recommendation on whether a benefit should continue to be awarded.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In response to part (a), we can confirm that PIPCS does hold details of tribunal decisions. The decision itself is held as a digital image.
In response to part (b), providers would be able to see the outcome of the tribunal decision. They can view supporting evidence held, including documents sent in by a claimant to support an appeal. These would be scanned and held on PIPCS. Providers can also see information input by DWP Service Delivery colleagues in Decision Assist notes, as well as any ephemeral documents held on the system.
The tribunal decision and supporting information can be used by providers to support their recommendations.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households in Wirral West constituency have received support from Energy Company Obligation schemes in each year that they have operated.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The number of households that have received Energy Company Obligation (ECO) measures in Wirral West constituency in each year since 2013 can be found in the table below:
Year | Number of Households receiving ECO measures |
2013 | 618 |
2014 | 1,279 |
2015 | 356 |
2016 | 350 |
2017 | 87 |
2018 | 62 |
2019 | 104 |
2020 | 154 |
2021 | 284 |
2022 | 65 |
Jan – Jun 2023 | 12 |
Source: Household Energy Efficiency Statistics, headline release August 2023 (underlying data)
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Citizens Advice report entitled Demand: Net Zero, published in May 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a national advice service to provide advice on home energy efficiency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to improving customer advice regarding home energy efficiency. The current digital service was launched on GOV.UK in July 2022 and is titled ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’. The service provides tailored impartial advice and is supported by a national phoneline service which launched in March 2023.
In autumn, enhancements of Government digital services will enable consumers to check whether they’re eligible for retrofit schemes such as the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) and Home Upgrade Grant: Phase 2 (HUG2).
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Citizens Advice report entitled Demand: Net Zero, published in May 2023, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the upfront costs of home retrofitting for households.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
The Government's ‘Help to Heat’ schemes ensure homes will be warmer and cheaper to heat. The schemes will deliver upgrades to over half a million homes in the coming years through the Government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Home Upgrade Grant Scheme and Energy Company Obligation.
The Government is also improving its consumer advice and guidance and mobilising the Green Finance Market.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Citizens Advice report entitled Demand: Net Zero, published in May 2023, what steps her Department plans to take to incentivise (a) homeowners and (b) other housing tenures to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings which will benefit homeowners and other housing tenures. In addition, £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
Catalysing the market for Green Finance is a priority to help support homeowners with the upfront costs of improvement.
In 2022, the Government launched a home retrofit tool on gov.uk to provide tailored recommendations to households for home improvements.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people (a) under and (b) over the age of 18 who vape in (i) Wirral and (ii) England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Data is not available at local authority level, including in Wirral. However, data on vaping is available at England level for adults and children.
The NHS Smoking, Drinking and Drug use among Young People in England publication shows current vaping prevalence among those aged 11 to 15 was 9% in 2021.
Data from the Office for National Statistics Adult smoking habits in the UK publication shows that in 2022 there were an estimated 3.8 million vapers over the age of 16.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential long-term effects of vaping on the health of people (a) under and (b) over the age of 18 in (i) Wirral and (ii) England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department has not made a specific assessment of this in the Wirral and England. However, in general the Department’s assessment of the safety of vaping is based upon a series of independent evidence reviews commissioned over the past several years. The most recent and final in the series, the 2022 Nicotine Vaping in England report, was published in September 2022.
The latest report focuses predominantly on the potential health risks of vaping, and concludes that in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, but that vaping is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked.
The Government only recommends regulated vaping products to help adult smokers to quit smoking and vapes should not be used by people under 18 or people who have never smoked.