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Written Question
Tobacco: Sales
Thursday 7th December 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support she plans to provide to help retailer workers implement a generational ban on the sale of cigarettes.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Smoking is responsible for around 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service.

This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 years old or younger this year will never be legally sold tobacco products. On 12 October 2023, we launched a UK-wide consultation to gather views on these proposals and their implementation. This, alongside regular engagement with the retail sector, will help to shape the proposals and ensure we provide support to retail workers to implement the future legislation.

We are also providing £5 million this year and £15 million thereafter to support new national marketing campaigns. These campaigns will help to explain the legal changes of the smokefree generation, and prepare the public, retailers, and other relevant stakeholders for the future changes.


Written Question
Tobacco: Sales
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions the Government has had with Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers on the introduction of a generational ban on the sale of cigarettes.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service.

This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 years old or younger this year will never be legally sold tobacco products. On 12 October 2023, we launched a UK-wide consultation to gather views on these proposals and their implementation.

Whilst we have not met specifically with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, we have, and will continue to, speak to the retail sector and their associations to help develop our policies.


Written Question
Suicide
Monday 4th December 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will provide additional funding to replace the funding for suicide prevention allocated under the NHS Long Term Plan which ends in March 2024.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Funding beyond 2024/25 is subject to future spending decisions through which we will consider further opportunities to build upon our £57 million investment for suicide prevention under the NHS Long Term Plan. In addition, the Government’s £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund will run to March 2025 to support voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in meeting demand for their services supporting people experiencing suicidal thoughts or approaching a mental health crisis. We expect to start making this funding available to successful applicants as soon as possible in the New Year.


Written Question
Tobacco: Sales
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Government policies on ending cigarette sales to those born on or after 1 January 2009 on the sale of tobacco products in the black market.

Answered by Neil O'Brien

No assessment has been made. History shows whenever we introduce new tobacco control legislation and regulations, illicit tobacco has decreased, due to strong enforcement. Consumption of illegal tobacco has gone from 17 billion cigarettes in 2000/1 to three billion cigarettes in 2022/23.

As part of the smokefree generation announcement on 4 October 2023, the Government is also providing £30 million additional funding per year to support enforcement agencies such as trading standards, Border Force, and HM Revenue & Customs.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the unavailability of testing kits free of charge on the accuracy of national Covid-19 surveillance reports.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The data in the national COVID-19 and flu surveillance reports are accurate based on the data reported to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The changes in the availability of free COVID-19 testing have not affected the accuracy of data presented within UKHSA’s national COVID-19 and flu surveillance reports. Changes to testing policies over time have changed the volume and breadth of data included in the reports, and this needs to be considered when interpreting that information.

However, there continues to be a range of useful and accurate data available within the national COVID-19 and flu surveillance reports taken from other sources, including our ongoing surveillance programmes.


Written Question
Diabetes: Health Services
Friday 26th May 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are accessing type one diabetes services in each Integrated Care System; and how many specialist health and care workers are trained to onboard patients onto diabetes technology in each Integrated Care System in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the number of people accessing type one diabetes services in each Integrated Care Board (ICB). It is not possible to provide data on how many specialist health and care workers are trained to onboard patients onto diabetes technology in each ICB.

ICB

Patients with Type 1 Diabetes who attended specialist services

NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB

1,815

NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB

1,870

NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB

290

NHS Black Country ICB

1,475

NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB

140

NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB

4,225

NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB

2,340

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB

5,275

NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly ICB

60

NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB

1,470

NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB

2,990

NHS Devon ICB

355

NHS Dorset ICB

1,990

NHS Frimley ICB

1,070

NHS Gloucestershire ICB

85

NHS Greater Manchester ICB

4,385

NHS Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ICB

2,740

NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB

1,970

NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

3,385

NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB

3,555

NHS Kent and Medway ICB

3,540

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB

1,250

NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB

2,620

NHS Lincolnshire ICB

2,125

NHS Mid and South Essex ICB

1,340

NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB

3,335

NHS North Central London ICB

2,000

NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB

8,440

NHS North East London ICB

890

NHS North West London ICB

3,005

NHS Northamptonshire ICB

220

NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

1,975

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB

135

NHS Somerset ICB

1,100

NHS South East London ICB

3,930

NHS South West London ICB

2,095

NHS South Yorkshire ICB

2,445

NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB

795

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

3,320

NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB

2,155

NHS Sussex ICB

4,685

NHS West Yorkshire ICB

3,855

Notes:

  1. In line with The National Diabetes Audit disclosure control rules, all numbers are rounded to the nearest five, unless the number is one to seven, in which case it is rounded to five.
  2. People in the 2021/22 The National Diabetes Audit data collection have been mapped to an ICB through their general practitioner practice.


Written Question
Diabetes: Medical Equipment
Thursday 25th May 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the Integrated Care Systems in England which do not have a formal commissioning policy for real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children with type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service across the North East is dedicated to supporting patients in monitoring and managing their lifestyle with cutting edge technology. This has resulted in a high proportion of type 1 diabetic patients in the North East utilising the latest glucose monitors and insulin pumps to manage their condition. Local services are being redesigned to improve access to the latest technologies and reduce variation in care for vulnerable patients living with type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes, which considers their clinical and cost effectiveness.

TARGET DATE 26/05/2023

Should NICE recommend Hybrid Closed Loop and issue eligibility criteria, NHS England will then work with integrated care boards (ICBs)to support meeting their commitments.

It is not possible to list the ICBs in England which do not have a formal commissioning policy for real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children with type 1 diabetes as this information is not collected. ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance, however local decision making applies in terms of deciding whether to utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.


Written Question
Diabetes: Health Services
Thursday 25th May 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

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 long-term financial merits of a move to hybrid closed loop technology for people with type one diabetes who are clinically eligible to access that therapy.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service across the North East is dedicated to supporting patients in monitoring and managing their lifestyle with cutting edge technology. This has resulted in a high proportion of type 1 diabetic patients in the North East utilising the latest glucose monitors and insulin pumps to manage their condition. Local services are being redesigned to improve access to the latest technologies and reduce variation in care for vulnerable patients living with type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes, which considers their clinical and cost effectiveness.

TARGET DATE 26/05/2023

Should NICE recommend Hybrid Closed Loop and issue eligibility criteria, NHS England will then work with integrated care boards (ICBs)to support meeting their commitments.

It is not possible to list the ICBs in England which do not have a formal commissioning policy for real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children with type 1 diabetes as this information is not collected. ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance, however local decision making applies in terms of deciding whether to utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.


Written Question
Diabetes: Health Services
Thursday 25th May 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that Integrated Care Boards are able to implement the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's appraisals on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service across the North East is dedicated to supporting patients in monitoring and managing their lifestyle with cutting edge technology. This has resulted in a high proportion of type 1 diabetic patients in the North East utilising the latest glucose monitors and insulin pumps to manage their condition. Local services are being redesigned to improve access to the latest technologies and reduce variation in care for vulnerable patients living with type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes, which considers their clinical and cost effectiveness.

TARGET DATE 26/05/2023

Should NICE recommend Hybrid Closed Loop and issue eligibility criteria, NHS England will then work with integrated care boards (ICBs)to support meeting their commitments.

It is not possible to list the ICBs in England which do not have a formal commissioning policy for real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children with type 1 diabetes as this information is not collected. ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance, however local decision making applies in terms of deciding whether to utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.


Written Question
Diabetes: Health Services
Thursday 25th May 2023

Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve access to diabetes technologies across local diabetes services in the North East.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service across the North East is dedicated to supporting patients in monitoring and managing their lifestyle with cutting edge technology. This has resulted in a high proportion of type 1 diabetic patients in the North East utilising the latest glucose monitors and insulin pumps to manage their condition. Local services are being redesigned to improve access to the latest technologies and reduce variation in care for vulnerable patients living with type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes, which considers their clinical and cost effectiveness


Should NICE recommend Hybrid Closed Loop and issue eligibility criteria, NHS England will then work with integrated care boards (ICBs)to support meeting their commitments.

It is not possible to list the ICBs in England which do not have a formal commissioning policy for real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children with type 1 diabetes as this information is not collected


ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance, however local decision making applies in terms of deciding whether to utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.