Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people who need to access covid-19 lateral flow tests for the purposes of visiting care home residents will be given assistance in acquiring those tests.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The regular asymptomatic testing regime in adult social care after 1 April 2022 is currently under review and we will set out further details in due course. Until 1 April, testing for visitors to care homes should currently align with current guidance on testing in care homes.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring residents of care homes to be vaccinated against covid-19.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have no plans to mandate vaccination for care home residents. As of 20 February 2022, 95.4% of all care home residents have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 88.4% have received a booster dose.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assistance the Government has provided to the WHO in connection with its inquiries into the origins of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The United Kingdom supports a timely, transparent, evidence-based and expert-led study into the origins of COVID-19. In May 2020, we co-sponsored the World Health Assembly’s resolution which agreed an investigation. We supported calls from the joint report from phase one of the World Health Organization-China study for release of further data by China to inform subsequent analyses. We continue to engage internationally to support a robust phase two of the investigation.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Mental Health Bill will be published.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Legislation will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
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 availability of lateral flow covid-19 tests in County Durham.
Answered by Maggie Throup
In December 2021, we delivered approximately 280 million lateral flow device (LFD) tests and we have since procured new stocks and increased delivery capacity. We expect to deliver 90 million LFD tests a week across the United Kingdom, including East Yorkshire and County Durham, including seven million a day through GOV.UK. In England, this includes approximately 12 million tests a week through pharmacies.
For polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, we increased capacity before Christmas and developed a network which processed over four million tests by 10 January 2022. We expect that there is currently sufficient capacity to process PCR tests.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether members of the public who purchased antigen tests from previously Government-accredited companies, who are no longer accredited, will receive a refund for tests purchased.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government does not accredit private providers. Those on the GOV.UK list have demonstrated compliance with the Government's minimum standards and may be removed on a precautionary basis pending investigation if they breach these standards. Consumers requiring a refund from a private test provider should contact the provider in the first instance.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects that NHS covid passes will be made available for 12-15 year olds.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The travel NHS COVID Pass letter is now available for 12 to 15 year olds who are fully vaccinated. A digital solution to access the NHS COVID Pass for this age group is expected in early 2022. Children under the age of 18 years old are not required to demonstrate their vaccination status in England.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many opioid prescriptions were handed out in County Durham in the year to August 2021.
Answered by Edward Argar
The NHS Business Services Authority’s data shows that 543,296 prescription items for opioid analgesics were prescribed and subsequently dispensed in a community setting in County Durham between September 2020 and August 2021. The data is based on items prescribed by Durham County Council, County Durham Clinical Commissioning Group and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of opioid-related deaths in the North East in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Office for National Statistics publish data on drug-related deaths through annual drug poisoning statistics. The following table shows opioid-related deaths in the North East in each of the last five years.
Registration year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Number of deaths | 160 | 164 | 187 | 172 | 191 |
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