Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what investigations the Government has commissioned on the health and safety implications of the 5G rollout.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and health evidence reviews have been prepared by scientific expert groups in the United Kingdom and around the world. The independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) published their report in the UK in 2012 and the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published their report in 2015. The World Health Organization is presently preparing a review. The AGNIR report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radiofrequency-electromagnetic-fields-health-effects
The SCENIHR report is available at the following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/scientific_committees/docs/citizens_emf_en.pdf
Based on the accumulated evidence and reviews, Public Health England (PHE) advises that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that EMF exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects.
PHE has committed to keeping the emerging evidence under review and to preparing another comprehensive review when sufficient new evidence has accumulated.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned or supported examining the effect of air quality on cancer rates in specific locations.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department invests over £1 billion a year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including to examine the effects of air quality on cancer rates in specific locations. These 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 funds a broad spectrum of research on the effects of air quality on health through the NIHR Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs). Since 2014, the NIHR has funded the HPRU in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards at a cost of £4.4 million. This Unit is a partnership between King’s College London and Public Health England and conducts a wide-ranging programme of research on the health impacts of air pollutants.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle the decline in the number of women taking up (a) breast and (b) cervical cancer screening.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Professor Sir Mike Richards has published his interim independent review of national cancer screening programmes in England.
The interim report makes two recommendations: that local systems across the country take immediate action to address the decline in screening uptake by implementing interventions for which a clear evidence base already exists; and that national stakeholders should ensure IT systems for general practitioner registrations and screening are fit for purpose.
The report notes that in order to encourage uptake in harder to reach groups, the Government needs to build the evidence base for other emerging interventions, paying particular attention to novel approaches that have been introduced locally and appear to be successful. Evaluation would be needed to determine whether they can be replicated on a wider scale. Professor Sir Mike Richards has committed to gathering further evidence on these and other interventions as the review progresses and will include specific work with faith and ethnic groups, experts on physical and learning disabilities and with LGBT+ communities on their specific concerns about screening, with a particular focus on the transgender community.
The Government awaits the final recommendations which will be reported in the summer 2019, and will consider these carefully, alongside the recommendations from the recent reports published by the Public Accounts Committee, the National Audit Office's investigation into screening and the national Cancer Strategy.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for the roll-out of the national screening programme for cancer; and how many patients will initially be included in that programme.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The National Health Service provides three national cancer population-based screening programmes as part of the Section 7a Public Health services, commissioned by NHS England on behalf of the Secretary of State.
During 2018, the NHS screened 3.2 million women for cervical abnormalities; 2.6 million people for bowel cancer; and 2.1 million women for breast cancer.
The NHS Long Term Plan commits to modernising the Bowel Cancer screening programme to detect more cancers earlier by lowering the starting age for bowel screening from 60 to 50 over time and replacing the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Test kit with the more sensitive Faecal Immunochemical Test for haemoglobin from summer 2019. It also confirmed that using human papillomavirus testing as the primary screen for cervical cancer will be implemented across England by 2020.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to clarify governance arrangements for cancer screening between the NHS, Public Health England and his Department.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Officials from the Department and Public Health England have engaged with Professor Sir Mike Richards to ensure that his ongoing review gives consideration to the governance of all screening programmes.
The Terms of Reference for Professor Sir Mike Richards' Review include making recommendations, if needed, on how NHS England interacts with Public Health England and the Department to translate screening policy into implementation and on how screening programmes should be commissioned, delivered, performance managed and quality assured in the future.
Professor Sir Mike Richards published an interim report on 24 May on his emerging findings of the independent review of national screening programmes in England. However, the Government awaits the final recommendations which will be reported in summer 2019, and will consider these carefully, alongside the recommendations from the recent reports published by the Public Accounts Committee, the National Audit Office's investigation into screening and the national Cancer Strategy.
The findings of the review will be taken forward as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional powers he plans to confer on the Food Standards Agency after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Decisions about what additional powers could be transferred to the Food Standards Agency after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union would be subject to consultation. We need to understand the nature of the decisions further before setting out which powers can be delegated. Decisions would sit with Ministers in the first instance while routine and technical ones would be delegated later.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on implementing the regulating our future programme in relation to food standards; and whether the implementation of that programme requires legislative change.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Since December, good progress has been made to develop proposals and an update on these will be presented at the next meeting of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board on 19 June 2019. This will advise on the progress to date and the plans to implement a modernised food standards delivery model over the next two years. The Board Paper has been published on the FSA’s website ahead of the meeting and is available at the following link:
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what studies have been carried out to evaluate the effect of 5G on (a) pregnant women, (b) babies and (c) young children.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
A considerable amount of research has been carried out on exposure to radio waves over several decades, and evidence reviews have been prepared by scientific expert groups in the United Kingdom and around the world. Among the health topics investigated is whether adverse effects can occur in relation to reproduction and development.
Public Health England (PHE) has published a webpage about exposure to the radio waves from mobile phone base stations, including those for 5G networks, at the following link:
Based on the accumulated evidence and reviews, PHE advises that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects. This includes effects in relation to reproduction and development.
PHE has committed to keeping the emerging evidence under review and to preparing another comprehensive review when sufficient new evidence has accumulated.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) health-and-safety research and (b) risk assessments his Department has (i) undertaken and (ii) commissioned on 5G technology.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Public Health England (PHE) has published a webpage about exposure to the radio waves from mobile phone base stations, including those for 5G networks, at the following link:
This explains the health-related reviews and assessments have been performed, as well as the practical measures that are in place to protect public health.
PHE advises that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects. The guidelines apply to exposures at frequencies up to 300 GHz, well above the maximum few tens of GHz frequencies anticipated for use by 5G systems.
Health and safety legislation requires companies deploying and operating communication networks to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments, as well as put in place measures to reduce the identified risks so far as reasonably practicable. In controlling risks arising from radio wave exposure, the Health and Safety Executive refer to compliance with the ICNIRP guidelines. Industry has committed to comply with the international guidelines and to provide certificates of compliance with planning applications for base stations.
PHE continues to monitor the health-related evidence applicable to radio waves, including in relation to base stations, and is committed to updating its advice as required.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned a regulatory safety testing on 5G radiofrequency radiation.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Public Health England (PHE) has published a webpage about exposure to the radio waves from mobile phone base stations, including those for 5G networks, at the following link:
This explains the health-related reviews and assessments have been performed, as well as the practical measures that are in place to protect public health.
PHE advises that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects. The guidelines apply to exposures at frequencies up to 300 GHz, well above the maximum few tens of GHz frequencies anticipated for use by 5G systems.
Health and safety legislation requires companies deploying and operating communication networks to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments, as well as put in place measures to reduce the identified risks so far as reasonably practicable. In controlling risks arising from radio wave exposure, the Health and Safety Executive refer to compliance with the ICNIRP guidelines. Industry has committed to comply with the international guidelines and to provide certificates of compliance with planning applications for base stations.
PHE continues to monitor the health-related evidence applicable to radio waves, including in relation to base stations, and is committed to updating its advice as required.