Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he is making available to travellers wishing to come to the UK who have recently recovered from covid-19 and are deemed no longer to be contagious about the need to take a test given that it may show a positive result.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Proof of natural immunity is not accepted as an alternative to proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Those who have recently recovered from infection should take a pre-departure lateral flow device test, as it less likely to return a positive result from historic infection. Those who are fully vaccinated are not required to take pre-departure tests.
Guidance for travellers on testing for travel to England is at available at the following link:
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether social care staff providing support to individuals in their own homes are required to be vaccinated against covid-19.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Regulations to extend vaccination as a condition of deployment beyond residential care settings to any other Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated activity in health and social care, subject to certain exemptions and conditions will come into force on 1 April 2022. The regulations require CQC-registered providers to ensure that anyone they deploy in the provision of this activity, who will have face to face contact with service users, has provided evidence of vaccination or exemption. This applies to home or domiciliary care services, supported living and extra care housing as well as other regulated activities. It does not apply where care is provided under a Shared Lives agreement. Activities which are not CQC-regulated, such as care provided by personal assistants, are not within the scope of the regulations.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice he has received on any potential link between myocarditis or myopericarditis and the covid-19 vaccine being injected accidentally into the blood stream; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently investigating all potential causes for events reported following COVID-19 vaccination. However, the MHRA has not provided specific advice on any potential link with myocarditis or myopericarditis. As COVID-19 vaccines are used via intramuscular injections in the upper arm, it is extremely unlikely that they will be injected into a blood vessel. The MHRA has not identified any evidence of an association with errors of administration in the United Kingdom with reports of suspected myocarditis.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Information Commissioner on NHS trusts having access to staff vaccination records.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department has engaged with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), setting out the information requirements and issues arising from the vaccination as a condition of deployment policy. The Department is continuing to engage with ICO through this process including the processing of evidence of a worker’s vaccination status, as required by the regulations.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether hospital trusts in England can access the vaccination records of their staff in order to ensure that all staff have been vaccinated against covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
National Health Service (NHS) trusts are permitted under the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 to access the COVID-19 vaccination records of their staff for the purpose of controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, NHS trusts may choose to access vaccination records to allow them to manage the deployment of workers as part of meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what professional advice he has received on the extent to which vaccination against covid-19 reduces transmission of the virus by the person vaccinated to other people.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides scientific advice to the Government based on the available evidence. The UKHSA’s weekly COVID-19 Vaccine Surveillance Report provides regular updates on vaccine effectiveness against person-to-person transmission. This information updated regularly as new evidence emerges and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surveillance-reports
Recent data suggests vaccine effectiveness against infection through person-to-person transmission is lower for the Omicron variant. However, high levels of protection against symptomatic disease were seen shortly after a booster dose. Further evidence is needed to understand the effect of the Omicron variant on the duration of protection and vaccine effectiveness against severe disease.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral contribution of 6 December 2021, Official Report, column 64, whether he has any further advice for UK citizens who have contracted and recovered from covid-19 overseas on testing to demonstrate their negative status.
Answered by Maggie Throup
From 7 December 2021, all travellers are required to take a pre-departure test and receive a negative result to depart for England. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), lateral flow device and LAMP tests may be used for this purpose. Recent infection and associated immunity is not necessarily associated with a residual positive PCR test. There is no guarantee that a new positive test outcome is not a new COVID-19 infection and potentially a variant of concern.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to allow people who have a religious objection to being vaccinated against covid-19 to obtain a Covid pass; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are no plans to allow people with religious objections to obtain a NHS COVID Pass. The possible reasons for exemptions from vaccination are limited and apply to medical conditions. If an individual is not fully vaccinated, they can currently obtain a NHS COVID Pass for domestic use with proof of a negative lateral flow test, or proof of recovery within the last six months.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were on waiting lists for joint replacement surgery in England as of 12 November 2021.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Information is not available in the format requested. The current number of people waiting for trauma and orthopaedic services, which includes joint replacement surgery, is 700,000.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate physician associates; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government expects to consult on a draft statutory instrument that will bring the physician associate roles into statutory regulation next year. Statutory regulation of physician associates will begin no earlier than the summer of 2023.