Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the House of Commons Health Committee Report NHS Charges, published on 6 July 2006, that when the medical exemptions list was created in 1968, most babies born with Cystic Fibrosis did not live beyond childhood; and what assessment they have made of the case for extending eligibility for medical exemption certificates to patients with Cystic Fibrosis to access life-saving drugs.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The medical exemptions list was last reviewed in 2009, when cancer was added, and there are no plans to extend the prescription charge medical exemptions list to include cystic fibrosis. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place, for which those with cystic fibrosis may meet the eligibility criteria and be in receipt of free prescriptions.
In addition, those on a low income can apply for additional support through the NHS Low Income Scheme. This provides both full and partial help with a range of health costs, not just prescription charges. Those who do not qualify for low-income help, may benefit from the purchase of a prescription pre-payment certificate. This caps the cost of prescriptions at £111.60 per year, helping people to get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, and if so how, they are assessing the numbers of refugees with disabilities arriving in the UK.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Home Office provides resettlement solely on the basis of needs, identified by UNHCR. Details of a refugee’s vulnerabilities and additional needs are captured by UNHCR and provided to the Home Office in order to assist us securing resettlement with a local authority.
Information on the number of visas granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Information requested which is not contained within this published data is not routinely captured. To capture numbers would require a manual trawl of data and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to support (1) the devolved administrations, (2) local councils, and (3) regional health authorities, to ensure that disabled refugee children have access to health and education services and support.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Refugees, including children, have access to the statutory agencies who are responsible for social care and health issues for all UK residents.
The Government provides funding to enable local authorities, schools and health partners to provide vulnerable refugees with a safe environment and the chance to rebuild their lives.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to Ukrainian refugees who have a disability; and how they are assisting the organisations in neighbouring countries which are supporting them.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are 2.7 million people with disabilities in Ukraine that are at high risk of harm and abandonment. Many are trapped, unable to evacuate and experiencing severe food and medication shortages.
The UK has committed £394 million in humanitarian aid to the Ukraine crisis, including £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. UK humanitarian experts have deployed to Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide logistics, advice and analysis of the refugee situation, and a medical assessment team to Romania and Moldova to assess options for rapidly deploying UK Emergency Medical Team (UKEMT) capabilities.