Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 6 April 2017 (HL6515), whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has been made aware that any child born as a result of mitochondrial donation has (1) a mitochondrial disease, (2) birth defect, (3) genetic abnormality, or (4) any other adverse outcome.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it cannot provide the detailed information as requested as it may compromise patient confidentiality.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bethell on 5 March 2020 (HL1701) and 2 April 2020 (HL2792), how many (1) implantation failures, (2) spontaneous miscarriages, (3) terminations of pregnancies, and (4) live births, have been recorded pursuant to clinical application in the UK of (a) pronuclear transfer, and (b) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows how many implantation failures, spontaneous miscarriages, terminations of pregnancies and live births, have been recorded pursuant to clinical application in the UK of pronuclear transfer and spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.
| Pronuclear transfer | Spindle-chromosomal complex transfer |
Implantation failures | 20-23 | 0 |
Spontaneous miscarriages | 0 | 0 |
Terminations of pregnancy | 0 | 0 |
Live births |
| 0 |
Source: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement, published on 1 March, what assessment they have made of innovations in the administration of palliative care medication that were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to roll out any of these innovations more widely.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no specific assessment of the innovations in the administration of palliative care medication has been made, the Government and NHS England both recognise the importance of timely access to palliative and end of life care medicines for patients and those important to them. Clinicians should provide details of who can administer the medicine, ensuring they follow local guidance and consider national best practice.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care The Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement, published on 1 March, what steps they will take to address the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) the workforce in the health and social care sector, (2) families and unpaid carers, and (3) communities.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has commissioned NHS England to develop a Long Term Workforce Plan for the National Health Service. Additionally, steps have been taken to deliver the 50,000 nurses commitment by providing a financial support package.
To reduce waiting lists in community health, the Government is allocating core funding growth for community health services, investing £8 million this financial year to provide training to support community staff, and on track to reach our commitment of 200,000 personal health budgets by March 2024. Furthermore, the publication of the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan will work to scale up community teams.
The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers. Additionally, funding for respite and short breaks for carers is included in the NHS contribution to the Better Care Fund.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the amount of PPE purchased for the UK that is being stored in China, and (2) the cost of such storage.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 28 November 2022, the Department had 118 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) stored in China at an average weekly cost of £260,000.
We have no plans to store PPE in China in future and are working to rapidly reduce our existing holding to zero.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the disposal or continued storage of PPE purchased for the UK and stored in China.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 28 November 2022, the Department had 118 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) stored in China at an average weekly cost of £260,000.
We have no plans to store PPE in China in future and are working to rapidly reduce our existing holding to zero.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will notify parliament about money returned to public funds by defaulting suppliers of personal protective equipment if individual settlements are protected by commercial secrecy rules.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In my remarks of 30 November 2022 in response to Baroness Smith of Basildon, Volume 825, column 1785, I committed to place further information on the money returned to the taxpayer to date in the Libraries of both Houses. While we cannot currently report on ongoing discussions with providers of personal protective equipment deemed as unsatisfactory, we will do so where these engagements have concluded. Officials are currently collating and validating this information and determining how Parliament can be regularly informed of progress in future.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to provide (1) transparency, and (2) accountability, concerning money returned to public funds by defaulting suppliers of personal protective equipment.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In my remarks of 30 November 2022 in response to Baroness Smith of Basildon, Volume 825, column 1785, I committed to place further information on the money returned to the taxpayer to date in the Libraries of both Houses. While we cannot currently report on ongoing discussions with providers of personal protective equipment deemed as unsatisfactory, we will do so where these engagements have concluded. Officials are currently collating and validating this information and determining how Parliament can be regularly informed of progress in future.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to report any money returned to public funds from suppliers of defective personal protective equipment
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In my remarks of 30 November 2022 in response to Baroness Smith of Basildon, Volume 825, column 1785, I committed to place further information on the money returned to the taxpayer to date in the Libraries of both Houses. While we cannot currently report on ongoing discussions with providers of personal protective equipment deemed as unsatisfactory, we will do so where these engagements have concluded. Officials are currently collating and validating this information and determining how Parliament can be regularly informed of progress in future.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 November (HL Deb cols 207GC to 215GC), who took the decision to spend £770,000 a day to store 120 million items of PPE in China.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is not spending £770,000 a day to store personal protective equipment (PPE) in China. The average daily cost of storing PPE in China is £106,000 and we are working to further reduce this cost. The business case for this storage was approved in October 2020 by the Department’s relevant accounting officer and was consistent with the governance routes for expenditure on PPE.