Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (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 joint statement made by various organisations on 21 March which called for a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing for England; and what plans they have to meet with representatives of the relevant organisations.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have no current plans to make a specific assessment as the needs of older people and healthy ageing are covered by the NHS Health Check and an ambitious prevention agenda to reduce individuals’ risk of ill health later in life.
We continue to engage a wide range of organisations on healthy ageing and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is taking targeted actions to tackle the most common preventable diseases, improving access and uptake of prevention services, and embedding prevention across health and care. For example, encouraging people in mid-life to stop smoking, reduce their alcohol consumption and improve their diet to help reduce the risk of developing dementia, disability and frailty in later life.
Finally, the Government recently announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy which will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. The Strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England: cancers; cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases; dementia; mental ill health; and musculoskeletal conditions. An interim report will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their levels of preparedness for the predicted increase in the older population.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been changes in the trends of ill health among older people. For example, we know that it is becoming more common for people to spend their later years with multiple health conditions. The percentage of people aged over 65 years old with two or more health conditions is projected to increase from 54% in 2015 to 68% in 2035. We can reduce the risk of developing conditions by adopting healthier behaviours throughout the course of life, and evidence shows that the earlier in life we make healthy changes, the more we reduce the risk of conditions in later life.
We are focusing on the major conditions which contribute to early mortality and reduce years of good health, and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is taking targeted actions to tackle the most common preventable diseases, improving access and uptake of prevention services, and embedding prevention across health and care. We are delivering an ambitious programme of work to create a healthier environment to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight and supporting the recovery and modernisation of the NHS Health Check programme to detect and manage conditions early. Furthermore, the Government announced on 24 January 2023 that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy, which will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. An interim report will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many roundtables have been hosted by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with researchers and patient groups to discuss research on Motor Neurone Disease since 2021; and what plans they have to host future roundtables with these groups.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has hosted two roundtables to discuss research on motor neurone disease (MND) since 2021. A roundtable was held in April 2021 to discuss the Government’s role in funding targeted research into MND. It was attended by the Minister of State for Social Care (Helen Whately MP) and was hosted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre on behalf of the Department and a coalition of United Kingdom MND charities and researchers.
A second roundtable was hosted by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in February 2023 and explored the path towards treatments for MND, bringing together a number of Ministers, people with lived experience of the disease, charities, researchers, funders and policy makers. The Department does not have any current plans to host future roundtables but is working on a range of activities to progress research into MND as part of the £50 million commitment for research into the disease.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the £50 million ringfenced for research into Motor Neurone Disease in 2021 has been allocated; and what assessment they have made of progress in treating the disease.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 12 December 2022, the Government announced how the £50 million of committed funds for motor neurone disease (MND) research would be allocated over the next five years ending March 2027. As such, £29.5 million of Government funding has been allocated through specialist research centres and partnerships with leading researchers. The remainder, at least £20.5 million, is available via a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Medical Research Council rolling call for MND research supported by a joint Highlight Notice.
The £29.5 million package includes: £8 million to early phase clinical research for MND via the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres; £2 million to the MND Collaborative Partnership, for the research community to coordinate efforts, adding £1 million already contributed by government; £12.5 million to MND research in the UK Dementia Research Institute, where seven of its fifty research programmes are focused on MND; and £6 million for a translational accelerator which will connect UK Research and Innovation, the MND collaborative partnership, and the UK Dementias Platform.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper Integrated Review Refresh 2023: Responding to a more contested and volatile world, published on 13 March, what steps they will take to ensure that women and women's voices are included in their work to meet the new goal contained in that paper "to manage the risks of miscalculation and escalation between major powers".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Review Refresh 2023 sets out the priority the UK places on providing women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed. We launched our fifth Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan (2023-2027) in February which outlines in more detail our work to reduce the global impact of conflicts on women and girls, by ensuring our foreign, defence and security policy, diplomatic efforts and international development work to address their needs. The WPS National Action Plan responds to the new global context, reflecting on Ukraine and Afghanistan. It champions women's full, equal and meaningful participation in peace processes; we know that mediation efforts, conflict prevention and resolution more broadly are more successful when they are inclusive.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will submit their report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this year.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We will not be submitting a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this year. Since we last went through the reporting cycle there has been a change in process, and we now follow the simplified reporting procedure.
Under the simplified reporting procedure, the Committee sends a list of issues to the state party, to which the state party sends a reply. This reply constitutes the periodic report. This change came into effect after the Committee issued their concluding observations on our eighth periodic report in 2019.
The Committee has not yet indicated when they will send the list of issues.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government whether civil society and youth representatives were included in the UK delegation at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting as requested by UN Women; and if so, (1) how they were selected, and (2) how they liaised with and reflected the views of the other UK civil society representatives at CSW.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The UK delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. Officials from FCDO and the Cabinet Office were also part of the delegation. The UK does not include civil society and youth representatives on the delegation, instead we hold regular briefing sessions with them to keep them updated. The relationship that the Government delegation has with civil society representatives at CSW is often held up as a model of good practice.
Some other visitors to CSW from the UK are allowed to attend and are thus provided with delegate passes for the purpose of access to the UN building. This year this included a number of parliamentarians, a civil society speaker at one of our side events and a UN Women Youth delegate. We do not, though, consider them members of the official HMG delegation.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what factors they will consider when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Ministers consider a range of factors when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including the time and resources to mount a campaign, the potential benefits and the impact on other international elections.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure health and social care staff receive culturally-informed training in bereavement, particularly how to identify those at risk of complex grief disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme has been developed by Health Education England (HEE) to ensure health and social care staff are equipped and well-supported to deliver bereavement care. One of the nine modules in this programme is on bereavement and covers palliative care, sudden death, and childhood bereavement. There are also specific sessions in this programme which provide training on identifying cultural barriers, supporting people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and identifying the risk factors that can impact on the grieving process and affect a carer’s bereavement outcome. NHS England is promoting the uptake of this training programme through its Strategic Clinical Networks.
There are many other e-learning programmes available at HEE’s e-learning platform that deliver more specialised training on bereavement, for example after suicide or baby loss, and on post-traumatic stress disorder.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the findings in the report The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care, published on 1 March, what plans they have to conduct a review of hospice funding in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans by NHS England to conduct a review of hospice funding. Integrated care boards have a legal duty to consider the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services that meet the needs of their population.