Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the completion of the procurement process for the Automated External Defibrillator Fund; when he plans to publish further details on the criteria of that fund; and when he plans to open the scheme for applications.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently in the pre-procurement stage in its process of determining a selected partner for the Automated External Defibrillator Fund. The criteria for assessing whether proposed recipients are eligible to access the Automated External Defibrillators Fund will be part of the procurement process.
A typical procurement that is compliant with the regulations can take anywhere from three to six months depending on the procurement route chosen.
The Department will publish in due course a notice informing interested organisations of the upcoming opportunity and invite them to bid for the grant through GOV.UK.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which countries (a) requested covid-19 vaccines from the UK and (b) had this request granted and dispatched to them in 2020.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The following countries requested and received United Kingdom donated doses either bilaterally or via COVAX: Afghanistan, Angola, Antiqua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belize, Cambodia, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Mauritius, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Senegal, Somalia, St Lucia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia.
No COVID-19 vaccinations were dispatched prior to 2021.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 January 2023 to Question 117480, for what reasons he has not conducted an assessment on the potential impact of delaying the implementation of the junk food advertising restrictions to October 2025 on (a) rates of childhood obesity and (b) meeting the 2030 ambition to halve childhood obesity; if he has held discussions with health charities concerned with childhood obesity and other health impacts of junk food advertising on health on the potential consequences of the delay; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
An impact assessment has not been conducted because the policy has not been amended, it has only had its implementation delayed. We do not expect a short-term delay to the implementation to have a significant impact in the longer term. The Department has ongoing discussions with stakeholders, including health charities, on measures to reduce obesity.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with public health stakeholders on ventilation in publicly provided spaces to reduce transmission of covid-19; what assessment he has made of the risks for people who are immunocompromised of covid-19 transmission in publicly provided spaces that operate without ventilation; if he will take steps to provide the funding and logistical support necessary to ensure the safe ventilation of publicly provided spaces; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Representatives of NHS Test and Trace held a workshop on examining environmental innovations on 29 January 2021 where several technologies were presented by experts to an evaluation panel of public health stakeholders. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has ongoing discussions with a range of public health stakeholders on ventilation and other ways to ensure clean air in publicly provided spaces with regard to reducing transmission of COVID-19 and other airborne diseases.
Throughout the pandemic, Government advice and information has been informed by the best scientific evidence available from health agencies, academics, and experts as detailed in Living with COVID-19 guidance. People who are immunocompromised should follow Government advice from the Department and UKHSA for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk from COVID-19. This suggests continuing to wear a face covering in public spaces, practicing social distancing and reducing the amount of time spent in enclosed areas.
To address the risk of COVID-19 in public spaces, the Government has run public communications campaigns and published comprehensive business guidance on ventilation and fresh air. Government funding has also supported ventilation mitigations in education settings and enabled local authorities to use their allocations from the £60 million Adult Social Care Omicron Support Fund, to audit and improve fresh air in adult social care.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 19 December 2022 to Question 108144 on NHS: Staff, with which (a) trades unions, (b) medical royal colleges, (c) NHS system leaders, (d) voluntary organisations his Department consulted on the NHS workforce plan.
Answered by Will Quince
The following table shows the organisations that have been engaged. This list is not exhaustive because NHS England and Health Education England leaders and programme teams are also working with external stakeholders and their contribution is also informing the plan’s development.
Trade unions, royal colleges and representative bodies | Regulators | Members of Cancer Charities Group |
Unison | Professional Standards Authority | Alike |
Unite | General Medical Council | AMMF – the cholangiocarcinoma charity |
GMB | Care Quality Commission | Anthony Nolan |
Managers in Partnership | Healthcare and Professions Council | Blood Cancer UK |
British Medical Association | Nursing and Midwifery Council | Bloodwise |
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges | Think tanks | Bone Cancer Research Trust |
Royal College of Nursing | Nuffield Trust | Bowel Cancer UK |
Royal College of Midwives | The Health Foundation | Brain Trust – the brain cancer people |
Royal College of Physicians | The King’s Fund | The Brain Tumour Charity |
Royal College of Surgeons | Regulators | Brain Tumour Research |
Royal College of General Practitioners | Professional Standards Authority | British Liver Trust |
Royal College of Psychiatrists | General Medical Council | Breast Cancer Now |
Royal College of Anaesthetists | Care Quality Commission | Cancer 52 |
Royal College of Pathologists | Healthcare and Professions Council | Cancer Research UK |
Royal College of Ophthalmologists | Nursing and Midwifery Council | CATTS (Cancer Awareness for Teens & Twenties) |
Royal College of Occupational Therapists | Think tanks | Chai Cancer Care |
Royal Pharmaceutical Society | Nuffield Trust | Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group |
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists | The Health Foundation | CLIC Sargent |
Royal College of Ophthalmologists | The King’s Fund | CoppaFeel! |
Royal College of Emergency Medicine |
| DKMS |
Royal College of Podiatry |
| Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust |
The Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine |
| Eve Appeal |
The Society of Radiographers |
| Fight Bladder Cancer |
Institute of Osteopathy |
| GO Girls Support |
College of Operating Department Practitioners |
| Guts UK |
British Association of Art Therapists |
| Haven House |
British Association of Drama therapists |
| Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust |
British Association for Music Therapy |
| Kidney Cancer UK |
The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists |
| Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce |
British Dietetic Association |
| Leukaemia Care |
British and Irish Orthoptic Society |
| Leukaemia UK |
British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists |
| Lymphoma Action |
College of Paramedics |
| Macmillan Cancer Support |
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy |
| Maggie's – everyone’s home of cancer care |
College of General Dentistry |
| Marie Curie |
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive healthcare |
| MDS UK Patient Support Group |
Queen’s Nursing Institute |
| Melanoma Focus |
Institute of Health Visiting |
| Melanoma UK |
British Society of Rheumatology |
| Mesothelioma |
The Richmond Group of Charities (including Macmillan Cancer Support, Diabetes UK, Asthma UK, Age UK) |
| Mylenoma UK |
Cancer Charities Group (*see separate list for members) |
| National Cancer Research Institute |
Council of Deans of Health |
| Neuroendocrine Cancer UK |
Medical Schools Council |
| OcuMel UK |
Universities UK |
| Ovacome |
University Alliance |
| Ovarian Cancer Action |
Office for Students |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action |
Skills for Care |
| Pancreatic Cancer UK |
Local Government Association |
| Paul's Cancer Support |
Association of Directors of Adult Social Services |
| Penny Brohn UK |
Social Partnership Forum |
| Prostate Cancer Research |
NHS providers |
| Prostate Cancer UK |
NHS Employers |
| Race Against Blood Cancer |
The Shelford Group |
| Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation |
ICS leaders |
| Salivary Gland Cancer UK |
NHS Confederation |
| Sarcoma UK |
Community Providers Network |
| Shine Cancer Support |
|
| Solving Kids Cancer |
|
| Target Ovarian Cancer |
|
| Teenage Cancer Trust |
|
| Trekstock |
|
| The Joshua Tree |
|
| WMUK – The charity for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia |
|
| World Cancer Research Fund |
Further discussions will take place before the plan is finalised. This will include engagement with patient representative groups. NHS England can discuss with any organisations interested in the development of the Plan.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Paragraph 5.60 Maternity Services in the November 2022 Autumn Statement Green Book, what his timeline is to increase the size of the NHS midwifery workforce in England by 2,000; and against what baseline will this increase be assessed.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have a number of policies in place to increase the maternity workforce. In 2021, NHS England invested into the establishment 1,200 more midwifery posts and 100 more obstetric consultant posts. Health Education England (HEE) has been working with stakeholders towards a targeted increase of 3,650 midwifery student places by the end of 2022/23, with training leading to professional regulation. By 2021/22, we have seen a total increase of 3003 midwifery starters from the 2018/19 baseline figure.
NHS England are offering funding and support to trusts to recruit an additional 300 to 500 overseas midwives over 2022/23. NHS England have provided funding to maternity services to support the recruitment of Maternity Support Workers (MSW) and to offer enhanced education support to align them with the Health Education England MSW competency, education and career development framework.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 15 June 2022 to Question 13051 on Gender Recognition: West Yorkshire, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the functioning of the pilot gender identity clinics and new services models; if he will publish the evaluation of the pilots; whether clinical capacity has increased; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. Four pilot gender identity services, commissioned by the National Health Service are now operational in London, Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and the East of England, with a further clinic opening in Sussex in the coming months. The programme's evaluation is expected to conclude in 2025/26. There are no current plans to publish any evaluation material until this process has completed. These new services have increased clinical capacity and are prioritising patients who are already on the waiting list for existing NHS-commissioned Gender Dysphoria Clinics.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to assess the risks to human health following the (a) H5N1 avian flu outbreak on a mink farm in Spain in October 2022 and (b) cases of mink to human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
A preliminary technical risk assessment for the current circulating avian influenza viruses was undertaken by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) together with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and academic partners. This included consideration of the propensity to cause mammalian and human infections and was based on both United Kingdom and international data. A full technical group has been convened by UKHSA for the ongoing risk assessment. UKHSA continues to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the public health agencies of multiple countries on emerging influenza viruses.
UKHSA carries out routine genomic surveillance of COVID-19 variants. The risks from mink would come primarily from the generation of novel variants, which should they emerge would be significant only if widely transmissible from human-to-human. Novel variants of concern and variants under investigation are assessed for their risk to human health through UKHSA's standard COVID-19 epidemiological portfolio of severity. Where possible vaccine effectiveness analyses are carried out to understand whether emerging variants pose risks to the UK population. UKHSA also regularly share and receive data from WHO on emerging variants.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 8 December to Question 95818, which (a) patient organisations and (b) other relevant stakeholders his Department has consulted on the NHS workforce plan.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England has engaged with a range of stakeholders during the development of the long term workforce plan. Independent think tanks have tested and refined the plan’s methodology and NHS England has consulted with stakeholders including medical Royal Colleges, trade unions, regulators, system leaders, third sector organisations and representatives from the workforce. NHS England is continuing this engagement prior to finalising the plan.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to hold discussions with representatives of (a) Parkinson's UK and (b) other patient organisations on the forthcoming NHS workforce plan; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
We have commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan is currently in development and NHS England is engaging with a range of stakeholders. The Department has no further plans to consult stakeholders during this phase of the plan’s development.
We have committed to publish the workforce plan next year which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals required in future years, taking into account improvements in retention and productivity.