Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 9 September (HL2184), what steps they are taking to improve outcomes for people currently living with peripheral arterial disease, in addition to action on the cardiovascular risk factors associated with the disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold a specific, routinely produced dataset providing the number of major lower-limb amputations, surgical bypass procedures, and endovascular revascularisation procedures for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), broken down by integrated care board and year.
Published information on vascular procedures is available through the National Vascular Registry. This is available through the GOV.UK website.
NHS England commissions vascular arterial care from a number of specialist centres to ensure appropriate management of PAD at a national level. The Vascular Disease Clinical Reference Group works closely with Getting It Right First Time and the respective professional societies to review patient outcomes and support commissioned providers in the delivery of high-quality care for patients.
The Department has published a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which prioritises ambitious, evidence-led, and clinically informed approaches to prevention, treatment, and care, supporting consistent and equitable access across the cardiovascular disease pathway.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) major lower-limb amputations, (2) surgical bypass procedures, and (3) endovascular revascularisation procedures, including angioplasty, were carried out in England on patients with peripheral arterial disease in each of the last three years for which data is available, broken down by integrated care board.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold a specific, routinely produced dataset providing the number of major lower-limb amputations, surgical bypass procedures, and endovascular revascularisation procedures for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), broken down by integrated care board and year.
Published information on vascular procedures is available through the National Vascular Registry. This is available through the GOV.UK website.
NHS England commissions vascular arterial care from a number of specialist centres to ensure appropriate management of PAD at a national level. The Vascular Disease Clinical Reference Group works closely with Getting It Right First Time and the respective professional societies to review patient outcomes and support commissioned providers in the delivery of high-quality care for patients.
The Department has published a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which prioritises ambitious, evidence-led, and clinically informed approaches to prevention, treatment, and care, supporting consistent and equitable access across the cardiovascular disease pathway.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the most recent referral-to-treatment waiting time statistics are for the vascular surgery treatment function in England, broken down by integrated care board.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not hold a specific, routinely produced dataset providing the number of major lower-limb amputations, surgical bypass procedures, and endovascular revascularisation procedures for patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), broken down by integrated care board and year.
Published information on vascular procedures is available through the National Vascular Registry. This is available through the GOV.UK website.
NHS England commissions vascular arterial care from a number of specialist centres to ensure appropriate management of PAD at a national level. The Vascular Disease Clinical Reference Group works closely with Getting It Right First Time and the respective professional societies to review patient outcomes and support commissioned providers in the delivery of high-quality care for patients.
The Department has published a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which prioritises ambitious, evidence-led, and clinically informed approaches to prevention, treatment, and care, supporting consistent and equitable access across the cardiovascular disease pathway.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied that all integrated care boards and other relevant NHS commissioning bodies have enabled GP practices to prescribe and administer semaglutide to patients newly eligible under recent NICE recommendations; and whether implementation has been completed within the three-month period ordinarily allowed for the funding and commissioning of technologies recommended by NICE.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publicly announced the planned rollout and eligibility criteria for semaglutide for cardiovascular risk reduction, which are available on the NHS.UK website, and has supported implementation through national commercial and financial arrangements. NHS England does not currently hold a validated national estimate of the number of patients who have commenced treatment specifically under this indication, or of the implementation status for every general practice or integrated care board.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publicise the availability of semaglutide injections for the prevention of heart attacks and strokes among eligible patients with cardiovascular disease, following the publication of guidance from NICE and the planned rollout of the treatment by NHS England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publicly announced the planned rollout and eligibility criteria for semaglutide for cardiovascular risk reduction, which are available on the NHS.UK website, and has supported implementation through national commercial and financial arrangements. NHS England does not currently hold a validated national estimate of the number of patients who have commenced treatment specifically under this indication, or of the implementation status for every general practice or integrated care board.
Asked by: Lord Booth (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 progress of the rollout of semaglutide to the additional categories of patients recently made eligible for treatment; and whether they have estimated the number of patients who have taken up treatment under the expanded eligibility criteria.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publicly announced the planned rollout and eligibility criteria for semaglutide for cardiovascular risk reduction, which are available on the NHS.UK website, and has supported implementation through national commercial and financial arrangements. NHS England does not currently hold a validated national estimate of the number of patients who have commenced treatment specifically under this indication, or of the implementation status for every general practice or integrated care board.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to include specific actions on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of peripheral arterial disease in the delivery plans supporting the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, including in any future iterations of the framework.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recently published the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF), which sets out priorities, challenge areas, and a future vision for the health and care system to accelerate progress on the ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within the next decade.
Many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease also increase the risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and therefore action on the following priorities will also improve PAD outcomes:
improving smoking cessation;
finding people with undiagnosed atrial fibrillation, albuminuria, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, excess weight, and reduced kidney function; and
treating people with high blood pressure or cholesterol to evidence-based targets.
Alongside the priority actions, the CVD MSF sets out challenge areas where more evidence or innovations are needed to drive improvements. Further developing diagnostic capabilities to better detect and treat cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CVKM) risk, including for conditions like PAD, is named as one of these challenge areas.
Finally, the CVD MSF sets out a longer-term vision for more stratified, personalised, and holistic CVKM risk assessment. Subject to the evidence, resources, and agreement, this could include improving the detection and management of PAD.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework published on 7 July, how they intend to address peripheral arterial disease in their delivery plan due to be published later this year.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recently published the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF), which sets out priorities, challenge areas, and a future vision for the health and care system to accelerate progress on the ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within the next decade.
Many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease also increase the risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and therefore action on the following priorities will also improve PAD outcomes:
improving smoking cessation;
finding people with undiagnosed atrial fibrillation, albuminuria, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, excess weight, and reduced kidney function; and
treating people with high blood pressure or cholesterol to evidence-based targets.
Alongside the priority actions, the CVD MSF sets out challenge areas where more evidence or innovations are needed to drive improvements. Further developing diagnostic capabilities to better detect and treat cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CVKM) risk, including for conditions like PAD, is named as one of these challenge areas.
Finally, the CVD MSF sets out a longer-term vision for more stratified, personalised, and holistic CVKM risk assessment. Subject to the evidence, resources, and agreement, this could include improving the detection and management of PAD.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow competition for open access operators on the Great Western Railway route from Cornwall to London.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are clear that there will continue to be a role for Open Access Operators in the reformed railway, providing innovation and choice for passengers. Access to the network is currently determined by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in accordance with its statutory duties, and the Department cannot direct ORR in its decision-making.
Under rail reform, this will change as Great British Railways (GBR) takes over responsibility for managing access to the network and ORR takes on a new role to hold GBR to account and ensure fairness and transparency for all operators. GBR’s role will include consideration of any future applications for Open Access services across the entire rail network, including on the Great Western Railway route.
Open Access Operators will continue to be able to propose new services, and, where these represent best use of the network and offer genuine benefits to passengers, we would expect GBR to grant access and enable competition.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government why some benefits applied for via an online application form still receive a reply by post.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is committed to expanding its digital services enabling more customers to engage with us online. Although some benefits, such as Universal Credit, can be claimed online and any further communications can also be conducted digitally through the use of the customer journal, applying online does not automatically mean all subsequent communications will be digital.
DWP operates a multi-channel approach to ensure customers receive important information in a way that is accessible, secure and inclusive. In some cases, letters remain the formal method for notifying customers of a decision or providing information about their award and appeal rights. Postal notifications also support legal, policy and accessibility requirements for certain decisions and customer groups.
Our approach is to expand digital services while maintaining alternative channels so that no customer is excluded. We also remain committed to ensuring that customers have a choice of those alternative channels.