Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of service provision for (a) deaf and (b) blind people in Norfolk.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations are required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people, as well as to everybody else. These changes are called reasonable adjustments.
NHS England has issued guidance for National Health Service commissioners with respect to the Reasonable Adjustments Digital Flag, also known as the Flag. The Flag has been developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments required by an individual across the NHS, wherever the person is treated.
In addition, NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including patients with sight or hearing loss. NHS England has completed its review of the AIS and aims to publish the revised AIS soon.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to monitor the potential impact of the ban on puberty blockers on (a) the mental health and (b) suicide rates among trans patients under the age of 18.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The emergency banning order, restricting the sale or supply of puberty blockers, was introduced by the previous government. The Order enables those who were already on a course of treatment with Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues, before 3 June 2024 from a UK based private or National Health Service provider, to continue to have them supplied. Those who were already on a course of treatment prescribed by an EEA or Switzerland-registered prescriber can legally switch to a UK based prescriber to continue their treatment.
We will continue to monitor the impact of the emergency order, including on mental health and suicide. All child deaths undergo a multi-agency review by a Child Death Overview Panel and that information is reported to the National Child Mortality Database. There is a monthly exercise by NHS officials to check the waiting list against NHS records to identify any deaths.
Professor Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, has examined evidence for a large rise in suicides claimed by campaigners. His paper, which was published on 19 July 2024, concluded that the data does not support the claim that there has been a large rise in suicide in young gender dysphoria patients at the Tavistock clinic.
This government has committed to implementing the expert recommendations of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care. That is why NHS England and the National Institue of Health and Care Research – the research arm of the department – are working together to commission a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The study team is now in place and are finalising their application for funding which will be assessed by an independent scientific review study ahead of the commencement of wider approvals, including ethics, and set up.
Children and young people who are unable to access puberty blockers when they have previously done so are strongly advised to meet with their clinician. We expect clinicians to be working with impacted patients to consider what the best care for them is going forward. We understand some children and young people may be concerned or distressed by the changes. If they are already under the care of a Children and Young People’s mental health provider or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, they can contact their team for advice. If they are not, their general practice team will be able to assess whether further referrals for mental health support are required.
Professor Appleby’s paper is available at the following link:
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the ban on puberty blockers on the mental health of trans patients under the age of 18.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The emergency banning Order, restricting the sale or supply of puberty blockers, was introduced by the previous Government. The Order enables those who were already on a course of treatment with Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues, before 3 June 2024 from a UK based private or National Health Service provider, to continue to have them supplied. Those who were already on a course of treatment prescribed by an EEA or Switzerland registered prescriber can legally switch to a UK based prescriber to continue their treatment.
The expert Cass Review, which is one of the most comprehensive reviews of gender identity services for children and young people to date, states that the rationale for early puberty suppressing hormones to treat gender dysphoria is unclear and the effects on cognitive and psychosexual development are unknown. This Government will always act in the interests of patient safety, which is why the Secretary of State signalled his intention to renew the Order and consult on a permanent ban (subject to the outcome of the ongoing judicial review).
We are committed to implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care. That is why NHS England and the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the research arm of the Department, are working together to commission a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The study team is now in place and are finalising their application for funding which will be assessed by an independent scientific review study ahead of the commencement of wider approvals, including ethics, and set up.
We will continue to monitor the impacts of the Order, including on mental health. Professor Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, has examined evidence for a large rise in suicides claimed by campaigners. His paper, which was published on 19 July 2024, concluded that the data do not support the claim that there has been a large rise in suicide in young gender dysphoria patients at the Tavistock clinic.
Some children and young people may be concerned by these changes. If they are already under the care of a Children and Young People’s mental health provider or the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, they can contact their team for advice. If they are not, their general practice team will be able to assess whether further referrals for mental health support are required. Patients can also be signposted to the advice on getting mental health support available on the NHS.UK website. Anyone in need of urgent support can contact NHS 111 and choose the mental health option, option two. Further details are available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/
Professor Appleby’s paper is available at the following link:
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 1 February 2023 to Question 133573 on Income Support, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of the minimum income guarantee on the (a) living standards and (b) quality of life of disabled people.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The minimum income guarantee (MIG) will increase in line with inflation, by 6.7%, from 6 April 2024. The revised rates were published in the 2024 Local Authority Circular on 9 February. The MIG rates are reviewed annually. No specific assessment has been made, nor is there one planned, on the impact of the level of the MIG on the quality of life of disabled people and local authority budgets.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the level of the minimum income guarantee on (a) the quality of life of disabled people and (b) local authority budgets.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The minimum income guarantee (MIG) will increase in line with inflation, by 6.7%, from 6 April 2024. The revised rates were published in the 2024 Local Authority Circular on 9 February. The MIG rates are reviewed annually. No specific assessment has been made, nor is there one planned, on the impact of the level of the MIG on the quality of life of disabled people and local authority budgets.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with NHS England on expanding the provision of clinical care for Tourette Syndrome.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
No recent discussions have taken place.
The majority of services for people with Tourette syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of Tourette syndrome, subject to local prioritisation and funding.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what factors its Department (a) considers and (b) advocates as a priority on the cross-agency topic prioritisation group; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cross-agency topic prioritisation group includes senior executives from NICE, NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department. When deciding which topics to prioritise for guideline development, and in what order, the group considers system priorities and clinical need, including factors such as the health and care burden, the evidence base and variation in practice. To build on the work of this group, NICE’s Chief Medical Officer is establishing a new prioritisation board. NICE will make further information about the factors this board will consider in its decisions available on its website in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS treatment.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which pilots of the Federated Data Platform were (a) not successful (b) suspended and (c) withdrawn; and if he will list the reasons for each withdrawal.
Answered by Will Quince
No pilots have been assessed as unsuccessful, been suspended or withdrawn.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Palantir has failed to meet in (a) part and (b) full the terms of any of its contracts with his Department since January 2020
Answered by Will Quince
The contract in place between NHS England and Palantir for provision of Foundry Services and the data management platform since 12 December 2020 has provided NHS England with the core capabilities as set out within the contract, including a core platform usage licence, Data Integration and Analytics Capabilities, Supply Management Capability, Immunisation and Vaccination Management Capability, Workforce Analytics Capability, Integrated Planning Tool and Adult Social Care Dashboard.
Throughout the delivery and provision of these capabilities, NHS England can confirm that Palantir has met its obligations as set out within the terms. Throughout the life of the contract, NHS England have not had cause to utilise a Performance Improvement Plan or manage underperformance of the contract.
Palantir are managed via NHS England Contract Management Framework to ensure that performance is monitored and measured, the National Health Service receives value for money, stakeholder expectations are managed, robust governance is in place, risks are actively managed and mitigated, delivery is ensured and the end user outcomes are maximised.