Department of Health and Social Care

Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions will be addressed in the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy.

Endometriosis can only be definitively diagnosed through a laparoscopy under general anaesthetic and it can be more appropriate to treat mild symptoms of endometriosis without a definitive diagnosis.

No specific estimate has been made. Dental contract holders are responsible for ensuring that practices are appropriately staffed with dentists and other dental care professionals to deliver the contracted activity.

Between April and June 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity to improve access for patients safely. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association (BDA), to improve the National Health Service dental system and negotiations are currently underway on initial measures. This aims to improve patient access, reduce health inequalities and make the NHS a more attractive place to work for dentists.

An additional £50 million was allocated for NHS dentistry for the final quarter of 2021/22 to provide urgent care to patients. This was targeted at appointments for patients in most need of urgent dental treatment, including vulnerable groups and children. In addition, Health Education England’s Dental Education Reform Programme is reviewing areas with a shortage of dental provision, to address inequalities in access.

We have had no specific discussions. The British Fertility Society has engaged with the Government to develop its Fertility Education Initiative, which aims to improve the knowledge of fertility and reproductive health in the United Kingdom.

The improvement of education and information provision for women and healthcare professionals and fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss and post-natal support will be addressed in the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy.

The reimbursement of travel costs for community nurses and other National Health Service staff is addressed by the NHS Terms and Conditions, jointly agreed by employers and the NHS trades unions. The current rate for staff who use their vehicles to make journeys in the performance of their duties is 56 pence per mile, above the HM Revenue and Customs’ approved mileage rate of 45 pence per mile. This rate reduces after 3,500 miles to 20 pence per mile. The NHS Terms and Conditions sets out the process for reviewing the rate of reimbursement every six months, including reviewing fluctuations in fuel prices.

The NHS Staff Council recently published a statement to facilitate local discussions on temporary options, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/009%20NHS%20SC%20-%20Joint%20statement%20on%20reimbursement%20of%20travel%20costs%20in%20England%20MAY%202022.pdf

The statement includes a commitment for the NHS Staff Council to write to the Department to seek a remit to undertake and set out the scope for a possible review.

There are currently no nationally planned targeted recruitment campaigns for paediatric palliative care consultants. Individual National Health Service trusts are responsible for the recruitment of local staff, including medical consultants. In 2022, 98.5% of specialty training posts in paediatrics have been filled by Health Education England.

We have increased the number of medical school places in England by 25% from 6,000 to 7,500 per year, to ensure a sustainable supply of paediatric palliative care consultants in future years. In February 2022, there were 9,562 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in the specialty group of paediatrics in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. This is an increase of 33%) since February 2010 and includes 3,957 FTE consultants, an increase of 65.9% since February 2010.

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) will be established on 1 July 2022. ICBs will take on the commissioning functions of existing clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) as well as delegated responsibility for primary medical services. Nine ICBs will also have delegated responsibility for one or more pharmaceutical services, general ophthalmic services and dental services.

As required by the Act, CCGs have worked with designate ICB leaders and engaged with local stakeholders to develop constitutions for each ICB and submitted these proposals to NHS England. While Ministers have engaged with designate chairs and chief executives, NHS England will ensure that leaders are aware of ICBs’ responsibilities.

The language requirements to gain United Kingdom professional registration is a matter for the nine independent professional regulators. Employers should ensure that there is appropriate induction support for new staff.

The information requested is shown in the following table.

Source: Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts

The information for 2021/22 will be published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22 later this year.

We replied to the Rt. hon. Member on 20 October 2021.

We replied to the hon. Member on 28 June 2022.

While we have had no specific discussions, we will work with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that any decision on uprating the social care allowances is informed by the uprating of other welfare payments. The level of the Minimum Income Guarantee is reviewed on an annual basis. The next review is due in January 2023 and will be published in the Local Authority Circular.

We have committed £2.3 billion to launch up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by March 2025, with more than 90 CDCs currently in operation in England. National Health Service regions are working with ICSs, diagnostic networks and primary care services to determine the location and configuration of services, based on the needs of the local population.

NHS England and Health Education England (HEE) are ensuring that there is sufficient workforce capacity for CDCs in the appropriate roles and locations. NHS England and HEE are increasing capacity through sharing good practice across the professions, ensuring CDCs are staffed with the appropriate skills and promoting the retention of staff and health and wellbeing.

Approximately 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and there are arrangements in place for those with the greatest need. Eligibility is dependent on the age of the patient, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, are pregnant or have recently given birth or are in receipt of specific benefits or a war pension. Those with a learning difficulty or learning disability may meet these eligibility criteria for prescription charge exemptions and receive free prescriptions.

We have no plans to do so. Free parking in hospital car parks for all National Health Service staff was temporarily introduced for the duration of the pandemic and this measure ended from 31 March 2022.  However, free hospital car parking continues to be available for those in greatest need in 98% of NHS trusts which charge for car parking, including disabled people or blue badge holders; those attending frequent outpatient appointments; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working nightshifts.

We have made no specific assessment and there are currently no plans to review or extend the National Health Service prescription charge medical exemption list. For those ineligible for an exemption on medical grounds, arrangements are in place to assist with the affordability of prescriptions, including exemptions for which people with a long-term medical condition may already qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge.

Prescription charges contributed £614 million in revenue in 2020/21. This funding provides an important source of income in light of increasing demands on the National Health Service. However, approximately 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and arrangements are in place to help those most in need.

We have had no recent discussions. No decisions on the proposals have yet been made. We will respond to the consultation and announce next steps in due course.

The results were recorded by several Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence. In the absence of a single, integrated system, financial due diligence was recorded locally using bespoke systems and processes, such as Microsoft Office applications, Atamis, Mendix and Defence Share.

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) will be established on 1 July 2022. ICBs will take on the commissioning functions of existing clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and delegated responsibility for primary medical services.

As required by the Act, CCGs have worked with designate ICB leaders in developing the constitutions for each ICB and shared these proposals with NHS England. As a minimum, CCGs were required to consult with the relevant National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts, primary care representatives, local Healthwatch and relevant local authorities. In addition, there has been consultation where general practitioners jointly nominate one or more members of the ICB board.

Officials have regular discussions with dental school representative bodies and individual dental schools on a range of issues. We are working with Health Education England (HEE), to ensure that dental trainees have access to the appropriate training opportunities.

From 2020 to 2023, HEE is investing £32 million to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on dental training, including the availability of clinical placements.

The National Health Service Civility and Respect programme aims to tackle discrimination, bullying and harassment in the NHS and to create positive workplace cultures.

The NHS is improving recruitment processes and career opportunities for all staff, including medical professionals, from ethnic minority backgrounds. The Medical Workforce Racial Equality Standard report in 2020 showed that the number of black and minority ethnic doctors increased by 21.1% compared to 2017. We have accepted the recommendations from the ‘Leadership for a collaborative and inclusive future’ review into health and social care leadership in full. The recommendations include embedding inclusive leadership practice as the responsibility of all and promoting equal opportunity and fairness standards to tackle discrimination.

There are no current plans to bring forward specific legislative proposals.

The Government has launched a public call for evidence to support the development of a new cross-Government 10 year plan for mental health, including supporting children and young people’s mental health. The call for evidence is open until 7 July 2022 and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/mental-health-and-wellbeing-plan-discussion-paper-and-call-for-evidence

The UK Health Security Agency is supporting local authorities and system partners in containing the monkeypox outbreak, including the identification and management of infected cases. We are providing more than £3.4 billion to local authorities through the Public Health Grant, to invest in essential frontline services, including sexual health services.

The Department is working with the National Health Service and other partners to transition COVID-19 treatments such as antivirals, therapeutics, and vaccinations into routine healthcare provision. We aim to learn from the pandemic response to design a model which minimises the impact on other health and care services in times of greatest demand.

We await the results of the PANORAMIC study to determine how those who would benefit most from COVID-19 antivirals can continue to access treatments through the NHS, including the delivery of vaccinations.

We continue to engage regularly with stakeholders in the development of the needs analysis, including local commissioners through the English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners’ Group, Directors of Public Health and professional organisations. We will consider the impact of new challenges, including increasing complexity and epidemiological trends in sexually transmitted infections, antimicrobial resistance and monkeypox and the adaptability of the specialist medical workforce to respond to these challenges. The needs analysis will inform the forthcoming Sexual and Reproductive Health action plan, which will be published later this year.

‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’ published on 9 June made recommendations to support the Government’s ambition for England to be smoke free by 2030. These recommendations include measures to support smokers switching to e-cigarettes, such as through changing advertising and marketing regulations. The Department is considering these recommendations and we will respond in the forthcoming white paper on health disparities and in the Tobacco Control Plan, which will be published later this year.

No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service. When making recommendations on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, including those for long-term conditions, NICE considers factors such as the extent to which patients would be able to self-manage their condition in estimating impacts on quality of life. NICE also assesses the resource impact associated with technologies and guidelines, which includes capacity and demand, changes to patient flows and workforce and training implications.

The Health and Care Act 2022 contains provisions to make regulations to require businesses to publish or report details of payments made or other benefits given to health care providers.

We intend to respond to the Health and Social Care Committee following the publication of the Building the right support action plan.

The information requested is not collected centrally. Skin conditions are predominantly treated in a primary care setting, for which data is not collected. While the most severe cases or those requiring inpatient procedures would require treatment in a secondary care setting, NHS Digital provisionally estimates that in 2021/2022, pilonidal cysts were the most common skin condition requiring hospital admission in people under the age of 21 years old.

While we have no specific plans to do so, we are increasing funding for mental health services by an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24, which will allow at least 345,000 additional children and young people to access to National Health Service-funded mental health support. In 2021/22, we provided a further £79 million in response to the pandemic and expand children’s mental health services. This has accelerated the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, with 287 teams in place in approximately 4,700 schools and colleges. Where established in schools and colleges, mental health support teams are expected to be available at all times of the year.

The online Every Mind Matters campaign also raises awareness of the guidance and tools available to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing and ensure that those who need urgent support are directed towards the appropriate services.

There have been no recent discussions. The majority of services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The development of the proposed clinical model for a local tertiary service for Tourette’s syndrome in the North West of England is continuing between Alder Hey Hospital and the nine CCGs in Cheshire and Merseyside. Clinical leadership support from NHS England has also been secured. The new Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, which will replace the nine CCGs from 1 July 2022, will determine whether this service is commissioned, depending on factors such as the availability of financials resources.

The NHS App currently allows a version of proxy access from general practitioner clinical systems such as EMIS and TPP, known as ‘linked profiles’. However, the capability is not currently available between suppliers. We are working with the Information Commissioner’s Office to understand how people can access health and care services on behalf of those they care for.

The ‘2019 Health Survey for England’ indicated that 16% of adults aged 16 years old and over in England received a positive screen for a possible eating disorder or reported that their feelings about food had a significant negative impact on their life.

Data is not held for all those aged under 18 years old. However, for children and young people aged 11 to 16 years old, the ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2021 - wave 2 follow up to the 2017 survey’ found that 13% screened positive for possible eating problems. For those aged 17 to 19 years old, 58.2% screened positive. However, a positive screening result does not confirm that the child or young person had an eating disorder but indicated an increased likelihood of problems with eating.

On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer an additional spring booster dose to all residents in care homes for older adults, individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed, and all adults aged 75 years old and over.

On 19 May 2022, the JCVI published interim advice on an autumn COVID-19 booster programme which states that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to residents in a care home for older adults and staff; frontline health and social care workers; all those aged 65 years old and over; and adults aged 16 to 64 years old in a clinical risk group. The JCVI is considering the vaccination of other patient groups and the detail of the definitions of clinical risk groups. The JCVI keeps the current epidemiological data under review and will issue further advice if necessary.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will explore options to assess the cost of a healthy diet, with a focus on families.

Evusheld was granted a conditional marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on 17 March 2022. However, the initial positive trial data for Evusheld was published prior to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The UK Health Security Agency has conducted the efficacy of Evusheld against the Omicron variants and initial data for BA.1 and BA.2 has been shared with AstraZeneca. The Department and the National Health Service are identifying the appropriate patient cohorts and approaches to the potential deployment of pre-exposure prophylaxis. We have asked clinicians to advise on the most appropriate option for the NHS in line with the available data, the public health situation and other treatments available. We are therefore unable to confirm an estimated date for the availability of Evusheld.

The data is not available in the format requested. The UK Health Security Agency’s Emerging Infections and Zoonoses team has a remit to publish zoonoses surveillance data for England and Wales, including diagnoses of Lyme disease. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of Lyme disease reported in England and Wales was 1,639 in 2019, 1,262 in 2020 and 1,156 in 2021.

In 2021, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published a review which acknowledged children's vulnerability to the health impacts of air pollution, assessed children's exposure in outdoor school environments and the relation to socio-economic inequalities and recommended mitigating actions. The UKHSA also reviewed the exposure to indoor solid fuel and respiratory health in children. While children exposed to indoor wood burning are not at an increased risk of asthma in developed countries, there is a slight increased risk of developing respiratory infections.

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants is preparing a report which considers the evidence linking pre-term birth, low birth weight and stillbirth with maternal exposure to air pollution including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, during pregnancy. The Committee aims to publish this report in August 2022.

In 2018, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants assessed the mortality burden of long-term exposure to air pollution in the United Kingdom, based on studies reporting associations of mortality risk with fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. It was estimated that for a one microgram per cubic metre reduction in nitrogen dioxide, approximately 420,000 to 903,000 life years could be saved in the UK in the next 106 years, which is associated with an increase in life expectancy at birth of approximately two to five days.

The UK Health Security Agency published a tool to estimate the potential health burden and costs to the National Health Service and social care system arising due to air pollution. In England, an estimated 1,140,018 new cases of disease attributable to nitrogen dioxide is predicted by 2035, equivalent to 1,933 new cases of disease per 100,000 population between 2017 and 2035.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s urinary tract infection (UTI) reduction workstream was established as part of delivery of the ‘UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024’. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice and interventions for different populations in healthcare settings, including at home and in care homes.

The workstream does not plan to produce specific findings, as it reports its ongoing work through NHS England and NHS Improvement’s national antimicrobial resistance programme board on a quarterly basis. Progress against all workstreams under the current action plan will be developed in the next five-year plan, which is due to be published in 2024.

The Department is currently determining the impact of the new cost of living payments on financial assessments for care costs. As this support is constituted through one-off payments, we do not expect this to be considered as regular income for the purposes of social care costs under the Care Act 2014.

We will publish the Building the right support action plan as soon as possible. A publication date has not yet been confirmed.