Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Advancing Our Health: Prevention in the 2020s Green Paper published on 22 July 2019, if he will recommit to undertaking a call for independent research on heated tobacco products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The next Vaping in England report, commissioned by the Department, includes a chapter on heated tobacco products. It reviews data on use of these products, the evidence for use in smoking cessation and the exposure of users to major toxicants. The report will be published later this summer. In addition, a systematic review on heated tobacco was published by the Cochrane Collaboration earlier this year, which is available at the following link:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013790.pub2/full
No assessment has been made for the introduction of a traffic light system for the relative health impacts on tobacco and nicotine products.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children are assessed using his Department’s Early Language Intervention Measure as a proportion of children undergoing the Healthy Child Programme 2 / 2½ year Review.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not currently held centrally. The guidance supporting the Early Language Intervention Measure (ELIM) and Intervention recommends that local areas record the use of ELIM within a child’s electronic health record and this practice is being implemented locally.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what parameters for success his Department will utilise when assessing the effectiveness of restrictions on promotions and placement of high fat, salt and sugar products; and whether a further assessment of the impact of the policy on businesses will be conducted.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The impact assessment for volume promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ shows that spending increases by 20% by encouraging households to purchase more than they need or intended to buy. The impact assessment for location promotions shows the placement of products within stores also significantly affects household spending, with end of aisle displays increasing sales of soft drinks by over 50%.
The Government is committed to reviewing the Regulations within five years of coming into force. The National Institute for Health Research’s Policy Research Programme has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to assess the extent and nature of location-based promotions of food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar in supermarkets in England. Officials are developing further plans to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of this policy.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed restrictions on the promotion of foods high in fat, salt or sugar on the cost of living.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The impact assessment for volume promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ shows that spending increases by 20% by encouraging households to purchase more than they need or intended to buy. The impact assessment for location promotions shows the placement of products within stores also significantly affects household spending, with end of aisle displays increasing sales of soft drinks by over 50%.
The Government is committed to reviewing the Regulations within five years of coming into force. The National Institute for Health Research’s Policy Research Programme has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to assess the extent and nature of location-based promotions of food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar in supermarkets in England. Officials are developing further plans to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of this policy.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to renew the Infection Control Fund.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
There are no specific plans to renew the Infection Control and Testing Funds. The Government will continue to keep this under review based on public health advice and data from providers.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish his response to the Independent Review of Smokefree 2030 Policies; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are no current plans to publish a response to the Independent Review of Smokefree 2030. However, the Review and its recommendations will inform the Department’s health disparities white paper and Tobacco Control Plan, which will be published later this year.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what period will be covered by (a) the new Tobacco Control Plan for England and (b) its delivery plan.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Tobacco Control Plan and any accompanying delivery plan remains under development and no time periods have yet been determined. The Plan will be published later this year.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of the 2030 smoke-free target, what plans he has to improve smokers’ awareness of (a) e-cigarettes, (b) heat-not-burn products and (c) nicotine pouches.
Answered by Maggie Throup
A new Tobacco Control Plan will set out policy proposals and supporting regulatory changes to meet the Smokefree 2030 ambition. This will include new measures to improve smokers’ awareness of alternative and less harmful nicotine products such as e-cigarettes. Measures on nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products will also be included in the Plan. The Plan is due to be published later this year.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2021 to Question 496 on Coronavirus: Disease Control, whether the UK Health and Safety Laboratory has made an assessment of the potential merits of using hyrodxyl free radical air purification technologies to help stop the primary cause of covid-19 virus transmission via aerosol and water droplets; which companies provided the technology that was used in the assessments of the potential merits of those technologies that has already been undertaken by (a) SAGE and (b) Public Health England; and what the process is for third parties to be able to present to Government the potential use of their technology and credentials to support the undertaking of such assessments.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health and Safety Laboratory conducted a small pilot study of a number of technologies used as ‘air purifiers’ as a preliminary indication of the potential for these systems to improve air quality. However, this pilot preceded the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore did not focus on airborne virus control.
While the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies undertook a review of existing evidence on the application of UV disinfection, visible light, local air filtration and fumigation technologies to microbial control, it did not make an assessment of technologies supplied by companies. In our earlier answer to Question 496, we stated that Public Health England undertook an assessment of such technologies. However, this information was incorrect and we have amended the record by Written Ministerial Statement on 1 March 2022 HCWS648.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) accepts submissions from companies for technologies and associated credentials. Interested parties can contact UKHSA directly to provide further information on the potential use of such technologies.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the comparative financial impact of restrictions on the promotion and placement of products that are high in fat, salt and sugar on (a) lower income and (b) other households; and what steps he plans to take to help mitigate any potential disproportionate impact on lower income households in the context of the rising cost of living.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The impact assessment for volume promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ shows that it increases spending by 20% by encouraging households to purchase more than they need or intended to buy. The impact assessment for location promotions shows the placement of products within stores also significantly affects household spending, with end of aisle displays increasing sales of soft drinks by over 50%.