Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Spanish au pairs will (1) be covered by UK–Spain reciprocal healthcare arrangements after 1 January 2021, or (2) require separate health insurance to work in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Regardless of any future healthcare arrangements, people who have moved to the United Kingdom or European Union before 31 December 2020, will continue to have life-long reciprocal healthcare rights provided they remain covered under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement. This means existing healthcare arrangements will not change for those UK nationals who are resident in EU and EU citizens in the UK before 31 December 2020, for as long as they are living in that country and covered by the agreement.
For people not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, the future of reciprocal healthcare arrangements between the UK and EU are subject to negotiations, which are ongoing.
The UK has set out that it is ready to work to establish practical, reciprocal healthcare provisions with the EU for the future. The UK is open to arrangements that provide healthcare cover for tourists, short-term business visitors and service providers. These arrangements could benefit UK nationals and EU citizens travelling or moving between the UK.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the National Institute for Health Research is funding any research into the use of vertebral body tethering for adolescents with advancing scoliosis.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including scoliosis. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR is not currently funding or supporting research into the use of vertebral body tethering for adolescents with advancing scoliosis.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is interventional procedure guidance available on CE marked vertebral body tethering systems from (1) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or (2) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; and for what kinds of patients, if any, vertebral body tethering will be made available.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There is no current interventional procedure guidance available on CE marked vertebral body tethering systems from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. NICE will be producing interventional procedures guidance on vertebral body tethering for scoliosis. The guidance will involve the evaluation of the procedure, rather than looking at any specific device or product, and will focus on the safety and efficacy of the procedure. The expected date for the publication of the guidance is still to be confirmed.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Bethell on 23 September (HL Deb, cols 1919–32), what steps they are taking to ensure that care home staff receive (1) priority testing for COVID-19, and (2) COVID-19 test results within 24 hours.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The adult social care sector has been, and continues to be, one of our highest priorities for access to COVID-19 testing. Care homes have been prioritised for repeat asymptomatic testing. Care homes are provided with tests so they can test staff weekly and residents every 28 days. We are issuing more than 120,000 tests a day to care homes across the country.
There has been a high demand for tests and our laboratories continue to turn test results around as quickly as possible. We are bringing in new capacity, technology and staff to process tests faster. This includes increasing the number of permanent staff at existing lighthouse labs, announcing four new laboratory facilities that will join our network as well as surge labs to process more tests in the short-term.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) guidelines they have published, and (2) advice they have provided, about priority COVID-19 testing for care home staff.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Essential workers continue to be able to access testing as a priority through the online portal and have been able to since April 2020.
The Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested guidance, which is available in an online-only format, shows the list of key workers which includes social care staff and specifically says they are being prioritised for testing.
Essential workers and members of their households who display symptoms of COVID-19 should book tests by visiting the COVID-19 online test booking portal on GOV.UK. This is set out in the Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested guidance.
From 6 July, we rolled out weekly retesting of care home staff in care homes. The announcement was published on 3 July. We are continuing to prioritise care home testing, where we are issuing more than 120,000 tests a day to care homes across the country.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local suicide prevention plans have been set up in England since 2017.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Local authorities are responsible for developing local suicide action plans. Every local authority now has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place, and we are working with local government to assure the effectiveness of those plans. The Department provided almost £600,000 last year to the Local Government Association for a support programme to help local authorities strengthen their plans.
From 2019/20 to 2023/24, we are investing an additional £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in all areas of the country to support local suicide prevention plans. Funding for the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Suicide Prevention Programme is allocated to sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) via a pence per head calculation.
The STPs within Yorkshire and the Humber have received around £2.6 million of this funding to support their work on suicide prevention. As part of this funding,
- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP has received £1.4 million since 2018/19;
- Humber, Coast and Vale STP has received £712,000 since 2019/20 with further planned allocations in 2021/22; and
- West Yorkshire and Harrogate STP has received £519,000 in 2020/21 with further planned allocations in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
There are 15 local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber and the STPs listed above cover all local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local suicide prevention plans have been set up in Yorkshire and Humber since 2017; and how much resource from their £25 million investment has been allocated to each plan.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Local authorities are responsible for developing local suicide action plans. Every local authority now has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place, and we are working with local government to assure the effectiveness of those plans. The Department provided almost £600,000 last year to the Local Government Association for a support programme to help local authorities strengthen their plans.
From 2019/20 to 2023/24, we are investing an additional £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in all areas of the country to support local suicide prevention plans. Funding for the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Suicide Prevention Programme is allocated to sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) via a pence per head calculation.
The STPs within Yorkshire and the Humber have received around £2.6 million of this funding to support their work on suicide prevention. As part of this funding,
- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP has received £1.4 million since 2018/19;
- Humber, Coast and Vale STP has received £712,000 since 2019/20 with further planned allocations in 2021/22; and
- West Yorkshire and Harrogate STP has received £519,000 in 2020/21 with further planned allocations in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
There are 15 local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber and the STPs listed above cover all local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what immigration rules will apply to au pairs from EU countries who (1) are currently living with families in the UK, (2) wish to commence residency in the UK after 1 January 2021, or (3) are currently living with families but wish to return to their country of origin for the Christmas period and return to the UK after 1 January 2021.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 can apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme, to enable them to continue living and working in the UK after 30 June 2021. Their eligibility for the scheme will not be affected if they are absent from the UK over the Christmas period and return to the UK in early 2021.
From 1 January 2021, EU citizens newly arriving in the UK and non-EU citizens will be treated equally under the new points-based immigration system. There will continue to be no dedicated route for au pairs. However, the UK operates a youth mobility scheme which permits nationals of participating countries to undertake such activity during their stay, along with other routes providing general work rights. We are looking to expand our youth mobility partnerships.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in England in each of the past ten years.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Willis,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in England in each of the past ten years (HL8003); and in each region of England in each of the past ten years (HL8004).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual suicide death registration statistics for England as part of our annual statistical release for the UK[1][2]. The latest available figures were published by the ONS in September 2020 and covered calendar years up to 2019 providing break downs by sex, age, and place of residence, including region.
Table 1 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in England.
Table 2 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in each region of England.
In England and Wales, deaths caused by suicide are investigated by coroners. Due to the length of time it takes to hold a coroner’s inquest, around half of the deaths registered in a given year occurred in the same year, with the remaining deaths occurring in previous years.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of suicides by sex registered between 2010 and 2019 in England
Year | Males | Females | Persons |
2010 | 3,166 | 1,036 | 4,202 |
2011 | 3,420 | 1,098 | 4,518 |
2012 | 3,488 | 1,025 | 4,513 |
2013 | 3,688 | 1,039 | 4,727 |
2014 | 3,701 | 1,181 | 4,882 |
2015 | 3,600 | 1,220 | 4,820 |
2016 | 3,464 | 1,111 | 4,575 |
2017 | 3,328 | 1,123 | 4,451 |
2018 | 3,800 | 1,221 | 5,021 |
2019 | 4,017 | 1,299 | 5,316 |
Source: ONS
Table 2: Number of suicides by sex and English region registered between 2010 to 2019[3][4][5]
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |
Persons | North East | 266 | 287 | 248 | 244 | 247 | 305 | 295 | 246 | 273 | 235 |
| North West | 709 | 682 | 634 | 661 | 674 | 727 | 716 | 704 | 675 | 616 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | 660 | 577 | 462 | 469 | 544 | 451 | 502 | 482 | 464 | 380 |
| East Midlands | 456 | 400 | 341 | 352 | 399 | 426 | 385 | 376 | 365 | 323 |
| West Midlands | 534 | 514 | 500 | 446 | 477 | 571 | 477 | 453 | 433 | 450 |
| East of England | 626 | 614 | 468 | 526 | 494 | 520 | 456 | 440 | 483 | 445 |
| London | 616 | 661 | 568 | 580 | 735 | 552 | 516 | 577 | 585 | 574 |
| South East | 859 | 720 | 720 | 754 | 756 | 794 | 820 | 716 | 724 | 683 |
| South West | 590 | 566 | 510 | 543 | 494 | 536 | 560 | 519 | 516 | 496 |
Males | North East | 218 | 226 | 198 | 179 | 185 | 242 | 229 | 198 | 218 | 172 |
| North West | 540 | 529 | 480 | 498 | 498 | 542 | 568 | 552 | 527 | 479 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | 482 | 440 | 353 | 369 | 412 | 354 | 407 | 382 | 360 | 286 |
| East Midlands | 345 | 300 | 254 | 276 | 305 | 324 | 308 | 304 | 281 | 239 |
| West Midlands | 411 | 387 | 382 | 340 | 373 | 446 | 386 | 357 | 325 | 334 |
| East of England | 462 | 465 | 346 | 395 | 374 | 390 | 353 | 330 | 364 | 352 |
| London | 437 | 503 | 419 | 447 | 543 | 424 | 395 | 435 | 427 | 434 |
| South East | 657 | 526 | 524 | 556 | 563 | 604 | 627 | 538 | 526 | 501 |
| South West | 465 | 424 | 372 | 404 | 347 | 375 | 415 | 392 | 392 | 369 |
Females | North East | 48 | 61 | 50 | 65 | 62 | 63 | 66 | 48 | 55 | 63 |
| North West | 169 | 153 | 154 | 163 | 176 | 185 | 148 | 152 | 148 | 137 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | 178 | 137 | 109 | 100 | 132 | 97 | 95 | 100 | 104 | 94 |
| East Midlands | 111 | 100 | 87 | 76 | 94 | 102 | 77 | 72 | 84 | 84 |
| West Midlands | 123 | 127 | 118 | 106 | 104 | 125 | 91 | 96 | 108 | 116 |
| East of England | 164 | 149 | 122 | 131 | 120 | 130 | 103 | 110 | 119 | 93 |
| London | 179 | 158 | 149 | 133 | 192 | 128 | 121 | 142 | 158 | 140 |
| South East | 202 | 194 | 196 | 198 | 193 | 190 | 193 | 178 | 198 | 182 |
| South West | 125 | 142 | 138 | 139 | 147 | 161 | 145 | 127 | 124 | 127 |
Source: ONS
[2]Due to operational difficulites, suicides registered in 2019 in Northern Ireland and Scotland were unavailable at the time of analysis, and so this year’s annual release is for England and Wales only. The ONS will update the UK figures at a later stage.
[3]Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). This includes all deaths from intentional self-harm for persons aged 10 years and over, and deaths where the intent was undetermined for those aged 15 years and over. The ICD codes used to select the deaths are show in Box 1.
ICD-10 codes | Description |
X60-X84 | Intentional self-harm |
Y10-Y34 | Injury/poisoning of undetermined intent |
[4]Figures are for persons usually resident in each area, based on postcode boundaries as of May 2020.
[5]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘Suicide Registrations In The UK’ statistical bulletin.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in each region of England in each of the past ten years.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Willis,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths (1) of men, (2) of women, and (3) in total, were recorded as suicide in England in each of the past ten years (HL8003); and in each region of England in each of the past ten years (HL8004).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual suicide death registration statistics for England as part of our annual statistical release for the UK[1][2]. The latest available figures were published by the ONS in September 2020 and covered calendar years up to 2019 providing break downs by sex, age, and place of residence, including region.
Table 1 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in England.
Table 2 provides the number of suicides registered between 2010 to 2019 for males, females and all persons in each region of England.
In England and Wales, deaths caused by suicide are investigated by coroners. Due to the length of time it takes to hold a coroner’s inquest, around half of the deaths registered in a given year occurred in the same year, with the remaining deaths occurring in previous years.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of suicides by sex registered between 2010 and 2019 in England
Year | Males | Females | Persons |
2010 | 3,166 | 1,036 | 4,202 |
2011 | 3,420 | 1,098 | 4,518 |
2012 | 3,488 | 1,025 | 4,513 |
2013 | 3,688 | 1,039 | 4,727 |
2014 | 3,701 | 1,181 | 4,882 |
2015 | 3,600 | 1,220 | 4,820 |
2016 | 3,464 | 1,111 | 4,575 |
2017 | 3,328 | 1,123 | 4,451 |
2018 | 3,800 | 1,221 | 5,021 |
2019 | 4,017 | 1,299 | 5,316 |
Source: ONS
Table 2: Number of suicides by sex and English region registered between 2010 to 2019[3][4][5]
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |
Persons | North East | 266 | 287 | 248 | 244 | 247 | 305 | 295 | 246 | 273 | 235 |
| North West | 709 | 682 | 634 | 661 | 674 | 727 | 716 | 704 | 675 | 616 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | 660 | 577 | 462 | 469 | 544 | 451 | 502 | 482 | 464 | 380 |
| East Midlands | 456 | 400 | 341 | 352 | 399 | 426 | 385 | 376 | 365 | 323 |
| West Midlands | 534 | 514 | 500 | 446 | 477 | 571 | 477 | 453 | 433 | 450 |
| East of England | 626 | 614 | 468 | 526 | 494 | 520 | 456 | 440 | 483 | 445 |
| London | 616 | 661 | 568 | 580 | 735 | 552 | 516 | 577 | 585 | 574 |
| South East | 859 | 720 | 720 | 754 | 756 | 794 | 820 | 716 | 724 | 683 |
| South West | 590 | 566 | 510 | 543 | 494 | 536 | 560 | 519 | 516 | 496 |
Males | North East | 218 | 226 | 198 | 179 | 185 | 242 | 229 | 198 | 218 | 172 |
| North West | 540 | 529 | 480 | 498 | 498 | 542 | 568 | 552 | 527 | 479 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | 482 | 440 | 353 | 369 | 412 | 354 | 407 | 382 | 360 | 286 |
| East Midlands | 345 | 300 | 254 | 276 | 305 | 324 | 308 | 304 | 281 | 239 |
| West Midlands | 411 | 387 | 382 | 340 | 373 | 446 | 386 | 357 | 325 | 334 |
| East of England | 462 | 465 | 346 | 395 | 374 | 390 | 353 | 330 | 364 | 352 |
| London | 437 | 503 | 419 | 447 | 543 | 424 | 395 | 435 | 427 | 434 |
| South East | 657 | 526 | 524 | 556 | 563 | 604 | 627 | 538 | 526 | 501 |
| South West | 465 | 424 | 372 | 404 | 347 | 375 | 415 | 392 | 392 | 369 |
Females | North East | 48 | 61 | 50 | 65 | 62 | 63 | 66 | 48 | 55 | 63 |
| North West | 169 | 153 | 154 | 163 | 176 | 185 | 148 | 152 | 148 | 137 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | 178 | 137 | 109 | 100 | 132 | 97 | 95 | 100 | 104 | 94 |
| East Midlands | 111 | 100 | 87 | 76 | 94 | 102 | 77 | 72 | 84 | 84 |
| West Midlands | 123 | 127 | 118 | 106 | 104 | 125 | 91 | 96 | 108 | 116 |
| East of England | 164 | 149 | 122 | 131 | 120 | 130 | 103 | 110 | 119 | 93 |
| London | 179 | 158 | 149 | 133 | 192 | 128 | 121 | 142 | 158 | 140 |
| South East | 202 | 194 | 196 | 198 | 193 | 190 | 193 | 178 | 198 | 182 |
| South West | 125 | 142 | 138 | 139 | 147 | 161 | 145 | 127 | 124 | 127 |
Source: ONS
[2]Due to operational difficulites, suicides registered in 2019 in Northern Ireland and Scotland were unavailable at the time of analysis, and so this year’s annual release is for England and Wales only. The ONS will update the UK figures at a later stage.
[3]Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). This includes all deaths from intentional self-harm for persons aged 10 years and over, and deaths where the intent was undetermined for those aged 15 years and over. The ICD codes used to select the deaths are show in Box 1.
ICD-10 codes | Description |
X60-X84 | Intentional self-harm |
Y10-Y34 | Injury/poisoning of undetermined intent |
[4]Figures are for persons usually resident in each area, based on postcode boundaries as of May 2020.
[5]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘Suicide Registrations In The UK’ statistical bulletin.