Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what categories of people are exempt from prescription charges; and what percentage of the population this represents.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Exemption from National Health Service prescription charges is available to those who:
- are in receipt of certain benefits;
- are pregnant or recently had a baby and hold a valid exemption certificate;
- are aged 60 years old and over;
- are aged under 16 years old, or 16,17 or 18 years old and in qualifying full-time education;
- get a War Pension and the prescription is for the accepted disablement; and
- have one of the listed medical conditions and hold a valid exemption certificate.
In addition, the NHS Low Income Scheme help with health costs on an income-related basis. Those who qualify for full help under this scheme will receive free prescriptions.
Approximately 60% of the population are exempt from prescription charges. Data on the breakdown by exemption type by population is not centrally held.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were prosecuted for prescription fraud in the last financial year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No prosecutions were undertaken for prescription charge fraud in 2021/22.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current charge for a prescription; and what was (1) the total revenue from prescription charges in the last financial year, and (2) the cost of collecting those charges.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service prescription charge for each medicine or appliance dispensed is £9.35. In 2021/22, the total revenue from prescription charges was £651,964,000. Information on the cost of collecting those charges is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been reclaimed from suppliers of COVID-19 pandemic-related personal protective equipment which was judged not fit for purpose; and what plans they have to pursue further claims.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department is working through all its personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to identify instances where products have not been delivered or failed quality tests and will seek to recover the costs for undelivered or substandard PPE.
As of 27 July 2021, the Department was engaged in commercial discussions (potentially leading to litigation) in respect to 40 PPE contracts with a combined value of £1.2 billion covering 1.7 billion items of PPE.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of visitors to the UK who are currently quarantined in a managed quarantine hotel.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We currently have capacity in United Kingdom quarantine hotels for 4,778 guests and this will be kept under review. From 15 February to 7 April 2021, the number people who have been in Government-approved hotel quarantine is 12,372. This figure is subject to daily fluctuations.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 10 March (HL13677), what assessment NHS England & Improvement has made of the impact on the mental health of prisoners of being confined to their cells for 23 hours a day or more.
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England and NHS Improvement recognise that isolation and limited interaction with others over a prolonged period of time will have an impact upon prisoners’ mental health and well-being. Across the prison estate, healthcare teams including mental health professionals have been working in partnership with colleagues to identify and meet the mental health needs of the population, provide resources and appropriate interventions to promote well-being and prevent ill-health.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss with the Care Quality Commission the steps that need to be taken for dental surgeries to safely reopen for emergency dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
National Health Service dentistry was reorganised in late March along with other NHS primary care services to minimise face to face care to contain the spread of COVID-19 during the peak of the pandemic. Dentists were asked to suspend all routine treatment and instead to offer urgent advice and, where required, prescriptions for antibiotics by telephone. Urgent treatment was made available through urgent dental centres (UDCs) set up in each NHS region.
As of 25 May there are currently over 550 UDCs open. Patients are triaged into UDCs by their own dentistry or through NHS 111. The UDCs are expected to provide, where urgently needed, the full range of dental treatment normally available on the NHS.
NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer held two workshops in collaboration with the Care Quality Commission and dental sector, at how soon wider NHS dental services can safely reopen.
NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that NHS dentistry outside urgent care centres will begin to restart from 8 June with the aim of increasing levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety. A copy of the letter is attached.