Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have experienced preventable sight loss.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Data is collected on the total number of people certified as visually impaired in England. This data includes leading cause of certification, however, this data cannot be broken down to show whether the sight loss leading to certification was preventable.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the merits of committing additional funds to optometry research in the 2018-19 financial year.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including optometry research; 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. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at:
https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to promote the greater use of community optometrists and opticians to relieve pressure on hospital eye departments.
Answered by Steve Brine
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning secondary care hospital eye services for their populations. CCGs are also able to commission eye care services in the community, over and above the National Health Service sight test, to meet local need. Given the size of England, and the diversity of the health needs of different communities, we believe commissioning needs to be owned and managed locally.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the capacity of hospital eye departments to meet the demand for treatment in a timely manner.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Waiting times for hospital eye services are assessed and reported on in the same way as other secondary care services. Monthly performance statistics which include figures on general practitioner referrals to a consultant-led team and number of outpatient/inpatient appointments carried out each month are published by NHS England and are available at:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/hospital-activity/
National Health Service hospital eye services are arranged by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in response to the needs of their local population. CCGs are also able to commission eye care services in the community to meet local demand. For all services commissioned, including ophthalmic services, there will be an assessment of the health needs of their local population.
NHS England’s Elective Care Transformation Programme is supporting local clinicians and CCGs to manage demand for services effectively to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients and the most efficient use of resources. Eye care services are one of a number of specialities being examined through this programme of work.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote the consumption of lower strength alcohol.
Answered by Steve Brine
The 2016 UK Chief Medical Officers low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. Guidance on low risk drinking is also contained in the Public Health England ‘One You’ campaign. The alcohol industry made a pledge in 2012 to reduce alcoholic strength of its products, which has seen 1.3 billion units of alcohol removed from people’s drinks.
The Department held workshops last autumn with industry and public health experts, with the aim of encouraging the public to move towards lower strength alcoholic drinks from the industry standard, and commissioned research on the impact of developing and introducing new descriptors for alcoholic products above 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV).
There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Health and Chancellor of the Exchequer on promoting low-strength alcohol beverages.
The duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits increased by Retail Price Index inflation, in line with the previous forecasts, including financial incentives to produce lower levels of alcohol. Rates were published on 13 March 2017 and are available here:
Earlier this year the Government also launched a consultation on options to ensure duty rates for cider and wine better correspond to alcoholic strength, and to encourage the production and consumption of lower strength drinks. One option looked at the impacts of a new low-strength wine band between 5.5% and 8.5% ABV. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and will announce its next steps in due course.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the alcohol industry on introducing lower strength alcohol across the UK.
Answered by Steve Brine
The 2016 UK Chief Medical Officers low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. Guidance on low risk drinking is also contained in the Public Health England ‘One You’ campaign. The alcohol industry made a pledge in 2012 to reduce alcoholic strength of its products, which has seen 1.3 billion units of alcohol removed from people’s drinks.
The Department held workshops last autumn with industry and public health experts, with the aim of encouraging the public to move towards lower strength alcoholic drinks from the industry standard, and commissioned research on the impact of developing and introducing new descriptors for alcoholic products above 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV).
There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Health and Chancellor of the Exchequer on promoting low-strength alcohol beverages.
The duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits increased by Retail Price Index inflation, in line with the previous forecasts, including financial incentives to produce lower levels of alcohol. Rates were published on 13 March 2017 and are available here:
Earlier this year the Government also launched a consultation on options to ensure duty rates for cider and wine better correspond to alcoholic strength, and to encourage the production and consumption of lower strength drinks. One option looked at the impacts of a new low-strength wine band between 5.5% and 8.5% ABV. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and will announce its next steps in due course.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on promoting low-strength alcoholic beverages.
Answered by Steve Brine
The 2016 UK Chief Medical Officers low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. Guidance on low risk drinking is also contained in the Public Health England ‘One You’ campaign. The alcohol industry made a pledge in 2012 to reduce alcoholic strength of its products, which has seen 1.3 billion units of alcohol removed from people’s drinks.
The Department held workshops last autumn with industry and public health experts, with the aim of encouraging the public to move towards lower strength alcoholic drinks from the industry standard, and commissioned research on the impact of developing and introducing new descriptors for alcoholic products above 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV).
There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Health and Chancellor of the Exchequer on promoting low-strength alcohol beverages.
The duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits increased by Retail Price Index inflation, in line with the previous forecasts, including financial incentives to produce lower levels of alcohol. Rates were published on 13 March 2017 and are available here:
Earlier this year the Government also launched a consultation on options to ensure duty rates for cider and wine better correspond to alcoholic strength, and to encourage the production and consumption of lower strength drinks. One option looked at the impacts of a new low-strength wine band between 5.5% and 8.5% ABV. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and will announce its next steps in due course.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on tobacco prevention education in the UK in 2016.
Answered by Steve Brine
In 2016 Public Health England spent £33,700 on tobacco prevention education as part of its Rise Above online marketing campaign. The campaign aims to prevent or delay the uptake by 11-16 year-olds of risky behaviours including smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs and sexual relationships.
Some local authorities use funding from the public health grant to undertake smoking prevention and education activities in their communities.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2016 to Question 53721, what estimate he has made of the number of sustainable transformation plan areas with stroke service reconfiguration in their plans.
Answered by David Mowat
Receiving rapid diagnoses and medical treatment is vital for the survival and recovery of stroke patients. Across England there is a variation in the level of care for survivors, and there is strong evidence that more specialist stroke units providing high quality care 24 hours a day, seven days a week will save more lives and support recovery. Data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme has shown that there is a strong relationship between the number of patients and the quality of care from the greater experience these more practiced clinicians have, access to costly specialised facilities and equipment available.
In 2014 NHS England published the NHS Five Year Forward View. This is being implemented through 44 local Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs). These plans are partnerships between local National Health Service organisations, councils and others who are now working more closely together than ever.
Plans are at various stages of development for stroke services. NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke continues to support partners within each of the 44 areas to develop their plans to achieve the best outcomes for stroke care. The arrangement of stroke services is a matter for local decision makers using the best clinical evidence available. This may include the creation of specialist stroke services, where clinically appropriate and supported by decision makers, staff, residents and transport infrastructure. NHS and local government partners are currently engaging communities on their draft plans, and no change to services people currently receive will be made without consultation where it is required. Each organisation collaborating on an STP retains its usual duties to engage local people on any new proposals. There are longstanding assurance processes in place to make sure this happens.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2016 to Question 53721, what guidance his Department has given to clinical commissioning groups on the commissioning of stroke-specific services.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department does not issue guidance to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on the commissioning of stroke-specific services. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to CCGs on commissioning services.