Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support research into pulmonary fibrosis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including pulmonary fibrosis, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. 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.
In order to increase awareness of pulmonary fibrosis, NHS England has established 13 Respiratory Clinical Networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis.
Furthermore, community diagnostic centres are also being established to deliver additional, digitally connected, diagnostic capacity in England, providing patients with co-ordinated diagnostic tests in the community, on a range of clinical pathways, including pulmonary fibrosis. With the aim of raising the standard of care that people with this idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis receive, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also publishes quality standards that define best practice, and areas in need of improvement.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve access to defibrillators.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is a priority for the Government. We want people to have the best chance of survival from cardiac arrest, and rapid intervention is central to improving outcomes. Therefore, the Government wants to increase the number of publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
This is why the Government has announced The Community Automated External Defibrillators Fund, with a £1 million investment that will increase the number of AEDs within England. We want to ensure AEDs are located where they are needed most. Applications that are submitted for funding are assessed to ensure that each AED is installed in areas where there is a clear need for the device, such as high footfall areas or rural locations with extended ambulance response times. Priority will also be given to applications that are considered a cardiac health hotspot, with high levels of deprivation and low numbers of AEDs within the local area.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) care for people living with pulmonary fibrosis; and if she will make an assessment of the impact of waiting times on patient care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including pulmonary fibrosis, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. 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.
In order to increase awareness of pulmonary fibrosis, NHS England has established 13 Respiratory Clinical Networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis.
Furthermore, community diagnostic centres are also being established to deliver additional, digitally connected, diagnostic capacity in England, providing patients with co-ordinated diagnostic tests in the community, on a range of clinical pathways, including pulmonary fibrosis. With the aim of raising the standard of care that people with this idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis receive, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also publishes quality standards that define best practice, and areas in need of improvement.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making defibrillator sales VAT exempt.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government maintains VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of AEDs, including VAT relief on purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
The Government is currently inviting community organisations to bid for funding as part of a £1 million grant scheme that expands public access to AEDs, particularly in public places where they are most needed. In addition, last year the Government committed to supplying state-funded schools in England with defibrillators to make sure there is a device in every school, with deliveries completed in June 2023. This means that every state-funded school in England, over 21,500 schools, now has access to an AED.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department are taking to improve the speed of delivery of full compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Windrush Compensation Scheme is determined to ensure everyone who was affected receives every penny of the compensation to which they are entitled at the earliest point possible. The scheme is making significant progress towards achieving this aim. As of the end of January 2024, the scheme had paid over £80 million in compensation and over 82% of claims received had been given a final decision.
The time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration has been reduced significantly, from 18 months to under 4 months. The 4-month period includes all essential eligibility checks, together with a Preliminary Assessment to make an initial payment of £10,000 wherever possible.
However, each person’s claim is deeply personal and deserves to be processed with the utmost care and sensitivity so that the maximum payment can be made to them.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
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 help increase the number of qualified neurologists in England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health Education England created five additional training posts for neurology for 2023, with NHS England having created a further 10 additional posts for neurology for 2024. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) published by NHS England in June 2023 sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.
The LTWP commits to an adequate growth in foundation placement capacity, as those taking up these new places begin to graduate, and a commensurate increase in specialty training places that meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. This will substantially increase the potential pipeline for the neurology workforce.
As of November 2023, there are 1,788 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology working in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England which is an increase of 741 or 70.7% compared to 2010. This includes 932 FTE consultants which is 396 or 73.9% more than in 2010.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to improve the (a) diagnosis rate, (b) co-ordination of care and (c) access to specialist (i) care, (ii) treatment and (iii) support for hereditary spastic paraplegia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In January 2021, the Government published the UK Rare Diseases Framework providing a national vision for how to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases such as hereditary spastic paraplegia. The framework lists four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster, increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals, better coordination of care, improving access to specialist care, treatments and drugs.
Each year since 2021 we have published an England Rare Diseases Action Plan. On 29 February 2024, we published the third England Rare Diseases Action Plan, which is working to address these priorities across all rare diseases. Increasing awareness among healthcare professionals contributes to improved care, treatment and support for those living with rare conditions. NHS England has developed a digital resource “GeNotes” to support healthcare professionals, which includes information on hereditary spastic paraplegia.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is she taking to provide people living with a rare disease equitable access to (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment, and (c) care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In January 2021, the Government published the UK Rare Diseases Framework providing a national vision for how to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases. The framework lists four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster, increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals, better coordination of care, improving access to specialist care, treatments and drugs. The principles of the UK Rare Diseases Framework commit the four nations to “ensure any impacts on health inequalities are considered when developing action plans”.
Each year since 2021 we have published an England Rare Diseases Action Plan. On 29 February 2024, we published the third England Rare Diseases Action Plan, which is working to address these priorities. Several actions have been committed to in this year’s and previous years’ action plans that relate to equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, and care.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans her Department has to (a) establish and (b) fund an avoidant restrictive food intake disorder pathway.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Commissioning pathways for avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) are locally determined by integrated care boards. NHS England advises that all eating disorder teams should work collaboratively with other children and young people’s community teams to address coexisting and co-occurring conditions as needed.
NHS England recognises the importance of patient-centred care, and that care is tailored to meet the needs of children and young people with varied presentations, including ARFID. The children and young people’s eating disorder guidance is being updated to reflect this, with publication expected later in 2024.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential for famine in Ethiopia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Food shortages in Ethiopia are at a critical level. Conflict and climate change have damaged crop production and driven people off their lands, leading over 3 million people into a state of critical food insecurity. In February 2024, I visited Ethiopia and witnessed the worsening humanitarian situation in the region. In response, I announced £100 million in new aid for our Ending Preventable Deaths Programme, which will support over three million people in affected regions.