Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to build and expand essential community pharmacy services, and (2) to prevent further closures of both large and small high street pharmacies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. However, the Department closely monitors the market. In England, access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services remains good with a similar number of community pharmacies as a decade ago and 80% of the population living within 20 minutes walking distance of a community pharmacy.
The Pharmacy Access Scheme supports patient access and provision in areas where there are fewer community pharmacies by providing additional funding to those pharmacies. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal committed £2.592 billion per year to the sector and outlined a joint vision for how community pharmacy would become more integrated into the NHS, deliver more clinical services, and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. The Government continues to implement this deal and has invested a further £100 million across 2022/23 and 2023/24 to support community pharmacies.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care) on 21 December 2022 (110613), when they will publish their plan for social care system reform; whether the plan will include (1) an evaluation of the burden on local authorities, (2) a consolidation of existing social care initiatives, white papers, and funding streams, and (3) a timetable for delivery; and whether the plan will include strands on (a) the social care workforce, (b) the use of data in social care, (c) the Mental Health Act 1983, (d) Liberty Protection Safeguards, and (e) Building the Right Support proposals.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In spring 2023 the Government will publish a plan for adult social care system reform. This will set out how we will build on the progress so far to implement the vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, published in December 2020. The plan will include key milestones for reform, including for workforce, data and technology. The final Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 7 February, sets out the resources available to local authorities in 2023/24, including for adult social care services. We also published the Building the Right Support Action Plan on 14 July 2022 and will confirm next steps for the Liberty Protection Safeguards in due course. The Department will consider the Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill’s recommendations carefully and we will introduce the Bill when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to bring together the different (1) initiatives, (2) white papers, and (3) funding streams, into a clearer plan for social care reform.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In spring 2023, the Government will publish a plan for adult social care system reform. This will set out how we will build on the progress so far to implement the vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, published in December 2020.
The plan will include key milestones for reform, including for workforce, data and technology. The final Local Government Finance Settlement, published on 7 February, sets out the resources available to local authorities in 2023/24, including for adult social care services.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they are yet to add any products to the Innovative Medicines Fund.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for any suitable medicine for inclusion in the Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF). The IMF is a managed access fund, which provides a route for earlier patient access for the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected to inform a long-term commissioning recommendation.
NICE’s independent committee may consider managed access, if a recommendation for routine commissioning cannot be made and where collection of further evidence during a period of managed access will sufficiently support the case for such a recommendation in the future. To date, NICE has not recommended any medicines into the IMF. NICE and NHS England continually monitor for potential products for inclusion in the IMF and NICE provides guidance on whether a managed access proposal would be feasible.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely number of products that will be eligible for inclusion in the Innovative Medicines Fund in 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for any suitable medicine for inclusion in the Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF). The IMF is a managed access fund, which provides a route for earlier patient access for the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected to inform a long-term commissioning recommendation.
NICE’s independent committee may consider managed access, if a recommendation for routine commissioning cannot be made and where collection of further evidence during a period of managed access will sufficiently support the case for such a recommendation in the future. To date, NICE has not recommended any medicines into the IMF. NICE and NHS England continually monitor for potential products for inclusion in the IMF and NICE provides guidance on whether a managed access proposal would be feasible.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the case for publishing an externally facing national strategy for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products to support patient access.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England is supporting companies to develop cost-effective value propositions Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the rapid introduction of all ATMPs recommended by NICE to date.
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and the UK Strategic Stem Cell Forum have made recommendations to the Government on the adoption of gene therapy and ATMPs to ensure the United Kingdom maintains a global advantage. The Department is considering these recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February, whether they will publish a list of services where inequitable access has been identified.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no specific plans to do so. NHS England has committed to discuss inequities with all highly specialised services to explore how this can be considered in all provider selection exercises and to record improvements which have been secured following specific interventions.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February, what progress has been made in testing new approaches to diagnosing individuals with rare diseases.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, the NHS Genomic Medicine Service is provided by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs. The Hubs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory, which outlines genomic testing offered by the National Health Service, including tests for 3,200 rare diseases and over 200 cancers. The Test Directory is regularly updated to reflect the latest scientific and technological developments, including new clinical indications for rare disease.
NHS England is developing a proposal for a ‘syndrome without a name’ pilot, which aims to reduce the time to diagnosis for patients with undiagnosed rare diseases. Genomics England and the NHS will deliver a study to explore the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to find and treat rare genetic diseases in newborn babies. Genomics England has engaged with parents, the public, people with lived experience of rare disease, researchers and healthcare professionals on the practical, ethical and societal issues raised by the study and how it can be delivered. The study will commence in 2023 and will sequence the genomes of 100,000 babies and will gather evidence to consider whether this technology could be deployed in England in the future.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what public engagement they carried out in 2022 for the NICE Listens programme; what topics NICE Listens will cover in 2023; and whether NICE Listens will include rare diseases in 2023.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 2022 NICE Listens project is examining the public’s views on action for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the environmental sustainability of healthcare. NICE commissioned a research agency to conduct three online workshops on this topic in autumn 2022 and the project report will be published early in 2023. While the topic for the 2023 NICE Listens project has not yet been selected, NICE’s approach to rare diseases is one of several topics under consideration.
Asked by: Baroness Wheeler (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to hold delivery partners, including NHS England, to account on the remaining incomplete actions in the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022, published on 28 February.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All delivery partners, including NHS England, report on progress at regular meetings of the England Rare Diseases Framework Delivery Group, which provides oversight and coordination for the delivery of England’s Action Plan. Progress reports are made available to stakeholders through the UK Rare Diseases Forum.
The next England Rare Diseases Action Plan is due to be published in early 2023 and will include a summary of progress to date against actions in the 2022 Action Plan and updated metrics and milestones for actions which are ongoing. The England Rare Diseases Framework Delivery Group will continue to meet regularly to monitor and report on progress against these ongoing actions.