Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what role, if any, the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service has in informing national policies relating to the use of cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2018, the law was changed to allow specialist doctors to prescribe unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use. This allowed lawful access to these drugs, but did not change how medicines are accessed and funded on the National Health Service.
On the 2 June 2025, the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an independent expert body that advises the Government on drug-related issues, to review the effect of the 2018 law change, to look at whether it has had the desired impact and whether there are any unintended consequences. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
The Government welcomes the input of clinical experts, such as the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service, in informing policy development.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government who are the members of the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service; and whether they have expertise in relation to the prescription of cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Refractory Epilepsy Specialised Clinical Advisory Service (RESCAS) is a United Kingdom-wide panel of specialist clinicians who provide a clinical advisory service hosted by Great Ormond Street Hospital. The core membership of the RESCAS service is made up of consultant paediatric neurologists, specialist pharmacists, neuroradiologists, neurophysiologists, and genetics specialists.
The RESCAS service provides advice to other clinicians on complex cases of refractory, or drug-resistant, epilepsy. RESCAS supports decisions about treatment options, especially when cases are difficult or outside standard guidance, and provides advice on optimising epilepsy treatment, including the use of complex therapies including cannabinoids. It also provides advice about access to trials and emerging therapies.
The service supports clinical decision-making in situations where conventional treatment pathways have been exhausted, where evidence is limited or emerging, or where novel and non-standard therapies are under consideration. The RESCAS evidence base draws on multiple, complementary sources. These include national guidance and policy frameworks, such as National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and technology appraisals, NHS England commissioning policies, and relevant regulatory standards. In addition, the service incorporates professional consensus guidance, including specialist input from bodies such as the British Paediatric Neurology Association. This is further strengthened by scientific and clinical evidence, spanning published trials and research across anti-seizure medications, dietary therapies, surgical interventions, and novel or off-label treatments. Together, these components ensure that RESCAS advice reflects both current best practice and emerging developments in epilepsy care.
The Department and NHS England do not hold information on how many National Health Service prescriptions have been made available to children and young people with drug resistant epilepsy as a result of RESCAS advice.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria does the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service use to make their decisions, and what is its evidence base.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Refractory Epilepsy Specialised Clinical Advisory Service (RESCAS) is a United Kingdom-wide panel of specialist clinicians who provide a clinical advisory service hosted by Great Ormond Street Hospital. The core membership of the RESCAS service is made up of consultant paediatric neurologists, specialist pharmacists, neuroradiologists, neurophysiologists, and genetics specialists.
The RESCAS service provides advice to other clinicians on complex cases of refractory, or drug-resistant, epilepsy. RESCAS supports decisions about treatment options, especially when cases are difficult or outside standard guidance, and provides advice on optimising epilepsy treatment, including the use of complex therapies including cannabinoids. It also provides advice about access to trials and emerging therapies.
The service supports clinical decision-making in situations where conventional treatment pathways have been exhausted, where evidence is limited or emerging, or where novel and non-standard therapies are under consideration. The RESCAS evidence base draws on multiple, complementary sources. These include national guidance and policy frameworks, such as National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and technology appraisals, NHS England commissioning policies, and relevant regulatory standards. In addition, the service incorporates professional consensus guidance, including specialist input from bodies such as the British Paediatric Neurology Association. This is further strengthened by scientific and clinical evidence, spanning published trials and research across anti-seizure medications, dietary therapies, surgical interventions, and novel or off-label treatments. Together, these components ensure that RESCAS advice reflects both current best practice and emerging developments in epilepsy care.
The Department and NHS England do not hold information on how many National Health Service prescriptions have been made available to children and young people with drug resistant epilepsy as a result of RESCAS advice.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many requests have been made to the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service since it was established; and how many NHS prescriptions have been made available to children and young people with drug resistant epilepsy as a result of its deliberations since it was established.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Refractory Epilepsy Specialised Clinical Advisory Service (RESCAS) is a United Kingdom-wide panel of specialist clinicians who provide a clinical advisory service hosted by Great Ormond Street Hospital. The core membership of the RESCAS service is made up of consultant paediatric neurologists, specialist pharmacists, neuroradiologists, neurophysiologists, and genetics specialists.
The RESCAS service provides advice to other clinicians on complex cases of refractory, or drug-resistant, epilepsy. RESCAS supports decisions about treatment options, especially when cases are difficult or outside standard guidance, and provides advice on optimising epilepsy treatment, including the use of complex therapies including cannabinoids. It also provides advice about access to trials and emerging therapies.
The service supports clinical decision-making in situations where conventional treatment pathways have been exhausted, where evidence is limited or emerging, or where novel and non-standard therapies are under consideration. The RESCAS evidence base draws on multiple, complementary sources. These include national guidance and policy frameworks, such as National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and technology appraisals, NHS England commissioning policies, and relevant regulatory standards. In addition, the service incorporates professional consensus guidance, including specialist input from bodies such as the British Paediatric Neurology Association. This is further strengthened by scientific and clinical evidence, spanning published trials and research across anti-seizure medications, dietary therapies, surgical interventions, and novel or off-label treatments. Together, these components ensure that RESCAS advice reflects both current best practice and emerging developments in epilepsy care.
The Department and NHS England do not hold information on how many National Health Service prescriptions have been made available to children and young people with drug resistant epilepsy as a result of RESCAS advice.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the safe landing and dispatch of critical patients from the helipad located on Royal Sussex County Hospital tower block.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The structure of the helideck has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. It has the capacity to receive all the types of helicopter regularly used by the emergency services and the military in the area to transfer patients. The patient care and transfer model for the helideck has been approved by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical experts and by partner organisations, including the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance service. The helideck is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they anticipate the helipad located on top of the Royal Sussex County Hospital tower block will become operational.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The structure of the helideck has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. It has the capacity to receive all the types of helicopter regularly used by the emergency services and the military in the area to transfer patients. The patient care and transfer model for the helideck has been approved by the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical experts and by partner organisations, including the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance service. The helideck is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to set out the relevant background of each of the current office-holders of the key decision-making roles within their COVID-19 testing programme.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The following table shows the NHS Test and Trace Executive Committee. The committee is comprised of existing civil servants and the public and private sector.
Dido Harding | Executive Chair |
Gareth Williams | Chief Operating Officer |
Mark Hewlett | Testing Chief Operating Officer |
Steve McManus | Trace Divisional Director |
Carolyn Wilkins | Contain Divisional Director |
Clare Gardiner | Joint Biosecurity Council Director General |
Simon Bolton | Chief Information Officer |
Faran Johnson | Chief People Officer |
Donald Shepherd | Chief Financial Officer |
Ben Dyson | Director of Policy |
Susan Hopkins | Chief Medical Adviser |
Jacqui Rock | Chief Commercial Officer |
Ben Stimson | Chief Customer Officer |
Raghuv Bhasin | Chief of Staff |
Michael Brodie | Chief Executive, Public Health England |
Jonathan Marron | Director General Public Health, Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Test and Trace Senior Sponsor |
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell (HL5829) on 21 October, what is the cost of sending 150,000 tests under the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT-1) to German laboratories; what impact did the additional time taken to process these tests in Germany have on NHS test and trace services; which company or companies process the tests in Germany; whether the contract procurement process for the company or companies in Germany was completed in accordance with Cabinet Office rules and guidance; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any future trade deal with the EU on their ability to procure laboratory services in Germany.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The cost of sending tests to German laboratories as part of the REACT-1 study is variable subject to the volume of tests being completed per round. The testing process for this study has been expedient with it playing a vital role in supporting NHS Test and Trace with important surveillance information.
The tests for REACT-1 are processed in Germany by Eurofins Biomnis whose services have been procured in accordance with relevant legislation and guidance. The impact of using laboratory services within the European Union has been and continues to be considered. No undue impact has been identified of any future trade deal on the future of the REACT-1 study.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of (1) syringes, (2) vials, and (3) other medical equipment required for a national COVID-19 vaccination programme they have (a) purchased, and (b) ordered.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Purchase orders have been raised for all required medical equipment to support a vaccination programme and further orders have been made to support the ongoing deployment. NHS England have published the Supply Service Inventory List online.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff from (1) Deloitte, (2) the Boston Consulting Group, and (3) McKinsey, are currently employed within their COVID-19 testing system; and what experience in laboratory-based testing is required in order to be eligible for those roles.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The information requested is as follows:
Deloitte - 1,127
Boston Consulting Group - 27
McKinsey - 24
Consultants are not working in roles which require medical expertise such as laboratories or hospitals.