Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there are any adverse effects on humans and animals of ingesting folic acid; and if so, what they are.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The current Tolerable Upper Level (TUL) of intake for folic acid is based on the observation that folic acid can mask or delay the diagnosis of pernicious anaemia. At their meeting on 3 July 2018, the Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) reviewed the available human and animal data. An interim position detailing the COT’s arguments and recent discussions will be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) mandating the fortification of flour and flour-based products with folic acid, and (2) informing pregnant women of the benefits of ingesting folic acid by other means.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The United Kingdom Government has made no formal assessment of the impact of mandating the fortification of flour and flour-based products with folic acid or of informing pregnant women of the benefits of ingesting folic acid by other means.
Women who are trying to conceive or who are likely to become pregnant are advised to take a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid until the 12th week of pregnancy to help prevent neural tube defects in their unborn babies. They are also advised to increase their daily intake of folate by eating more folate-rich foods, for example spinach and broccoli, and foods voluntarily fortified with folic acid such a wide range of breakfast cereals. Health education messages on folic acid as part of a range of pregnancy advice are provided in various settings targeted at women of childbearing age such as family planning clinics and general practitioner surgeries. Additionally, NHS Choices provides information online on healthy lifestyle advice during pregnancy including the importance of folic acid supplementation. The NHS Start4life Information Service for Parents provides parents-to-be and new parents with advice and information about pregnancy and the first few months with a baby, using free emails, videos and text messages.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to appoint a royal commission on the NHS; and, if not, why not.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
There is currently no plan to establish a Royal Commission. The Government has made clear that the long term sustainability of the National Health Service is a key priority and is backing the NHS’s Five Year Forward View plan with a £10 billion a year real terms increase in funding by 2020/21.
In the November Budget, the Government committed to backing the NHS in England further so that by 2019/20 it will have received an additional £2.8 billion of revenue funding for frontline services than previously planned over the period. This included £337 million this winter to help trusts to increase capacity.
It also committed £3.5 billion of new capital investment by 2022/23 to transform its estate and drive further efficiency savings.
In addition, for other core NHS services, such as mental health and primary care, the Department of is making a further £540 million available through the NHS England Mandate over the coming financial year.
We are actively working with NHS England and national partners to use the period covered by the Five Year Forward View to put in place the necessary steps for the future.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will now establish a Royal Commission on the NHS to examine its existing organisation and purpose and whether there are other models available to provide an improved national health system.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The National Health Service and wider health system has already examined what needs to be done to ensure the sustainability of the health and care system. This produced the NHS Five Year Forward View.
The Government is backing this plan and has committed to increasing funding for the NHS by £10 billion in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15, enabling the NHS to deliver high quality care seven days a week.
The Government believes that the answer to the challenges faced by the NHS lies in delivering more integrated services and keeping people well and independent for longer not in altering the fundamental principles than underpin the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS hospitals have the legal power to refuse treatment to patients on the basis of their smoking or any other lifestyle habit.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts do not have the power to refuse treatment to patients on the basis of lifestyle habits. However, the NHS Constitution does ask patients to recognise that they can make a significant contribution to their own health and wellbeing, and that treatment may be delayed where a change in lifestyle factors is likely to improve the outcome.
The Handbook to the NHS Constitution states: “The right to treatment within 18 weeks from referral will cease to apply in circumstances where… delaying the start of your treatment is in your best clinical interests, for example where smoking cessation or weight management is likely to improve the outcome of the treatment.”
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to take action against hospital trusts which continue to breach mixed-sex accommodation guidance.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
All patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and the Government has made it clear that providers of National Health Service funded care are expected to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation, except where this is in the overall best interest of the patient, or reflects their personal choice.
Since 2010, there has been a fall from almost 12,000 patients in mixed-sex accommodation to 753 reported in March 2016. We will continue to monitor monthly breach data and performance across the NHS in partnership with NHS England. The financial penalty for non-delivery of the operational standard is mandated through the NHS Standard Contract 2016/17, and applies to all providers of acute, cancer and mental health services.
Under the terms of the Contract, where a breach occurs, the commissioner whose patient is affected must levy the financial sanction specified by the Contract. That sanction is £250 for each day that patient is affected by the breach.
Delivering zero breaches for every trust, every month, is unlikely. This is because there will be some occasions where patients are mixed appropriately, even when their clinical care needs do not demand it (for example if a patient is admitted in the middle of the night and the only way to release an appropriate bed is to awaken and move other patients).
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the 2016 Institute of Economic Affairs Nanny State Index suggesting that the UK is the third worst country in terms of regulation of lifestyle choices, they will take action to reduce the influence of government on the private lives and lifestyles of the population.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government seeks to develop public health policies proportionate to the risks and or harms to health, supporting economic development.
For example, smoking is the biggest preventable cause of ill health and death in England and a significant cause of health inequalities in the United Kingdom. All smoking is addictive and harmful to health. Around half of all regular smokers are eventually killed by a smoking-related illness, accounting for almost 80,000 deaths in England each year. There are significant costs to society in terms of premature illness and death and to the economic prosperity of individuals and communities.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL5598 and HL5599), whether they intend to reject calls to impose a sugar tax.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched shortly, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese including sugar.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many individuals would receive medical or health benefits from eating bread fortified by folic acid.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
We have made no such assessment.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the figures, in real terms, for spending per head of the population on the NHS in 1997–98 and 2014–15.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Latest available data for spending per head of population on the National Health Service in England is 2013-14.
Spend per head of population on the NHS in England in real terms for 1997-98 and 2013-14 is shown in the following table.
England NHS health spend per head | ||
Year | Spend per head in 2013-14 prices £ | Source |
1997-98 | 1,026 | Office for National Statistics Mid 1997 population projection and net NHS spend 1997-98 |
2013-14 | 1,994 | HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2015 |