Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the shingles vaccine to adults aged 65 and over.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Shingrix programme was recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), to provide better and longer lasting population-level protection from a younger age than the previous Zostavax programme. The Shingrix shingles vaccination programme was introduced from September 2023, to offer two doses of the vaccine to immunocompetent individuals turning 65 and 70 years old, and severely immunosuppressed adults over 50 years old.
A cost-effectiveness review by the JCVI concluded that although the highest monetary benefit would be to provide the Shingrix vaccination at 65 years old, by offering it at 60 years old the highest number of cases would be prevented. For immunosuppressed individuals, Shingrix was determined to be cost-effective between the ages of 50 to 90 years old.
To avoid undue additional pressure on National Health Service delivery services, the Shingrix vaccine will be delivered in a phased approach over 10 years, after which the vaccine would then be offered routinely from 60 years old.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the Football Governance Bill.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to introducing a new independent regulator for English football, to protect and promote the sustainability of English football for the benefit of fans and the local communities football clubs serve.
The Government is working at pace to establish an Independent Football Regulator on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14673 on Dangerous Dogs: Registration and with reference to his oral contribution on 1 February 2024, Official Report, column 970, for what reason he advised those who had not yet registered their XL Bully dogs to register them as soon as possible.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I would like to clarify that during his oral contribution on 1 February the Secretary of State inadvertently misspoke. As highlighted in the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14673 on Dangerous Dogs, the scheme through which owners could register their XL Bully dog for a Certificate of Exemption closed at midday on 31 January 2024. This deadline was set out in The Dangerous Dogs (Compensation and Exemption Schemes) (England and Wales) Order 2023.
From 1 February 2024, it became a criminal offence to possess an XL Bully breed type without a valid Certificate of Exemption, and new exemptions can now only be authorised by a court order. If owners think they have an XL Bully dog and do not have a Certificate of Exemption, we advise that they should contact their local police force.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of former miners have had an application for industrial injuries disablement benefits rejected over the last 10 years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below shows the number of assessments by outcome for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) for people whose Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code on which the IIDB claim is based, is ‘Mining and Quarrying’ over the last 10 years from 2013/14 to 2022/23.
| Number | Percentage |
Accepted - payable | 8,450 | 25% |
Accepted - not payable | 4,200 | 12% |
Accepted – no loss of faculty | 0 | 0% |
Disallowed | 19,570 | 57% |
Withdrawn | 490 | 1% |
Not applicable / Unknown | 1,570 | 5% |
Total | 34,290 | 100% |
Individual outcome categories do not sum to total due to rounding.
Information on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments by decision type and Standard Industrial Classification code can be found on Stat-Xplore.
You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions a decision made by his Department on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has been found to be incorrect or unsuitable in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have determined this query as relating to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits (IIDB) disputes, i.e. Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals.
Decisions can be overturned at a later stage in the claim journey for a number of reasons - it does not necessarily mean that the original decision was incorrect. The main reasons that decisions are overturned on appeal are: tribunals drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, cogent oral evidence given by the individual, or new written evidence provided at the hearing.
From October 2022 to September 2023 inclusive, 1,100 IIDB Mandatory Reconsiderations were completed. In 100 of these the decision was changed.
Information on First-tier Tribunal appeals is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics .
Specifically, information on the number of appeal receipts, disposals and outcomes of IIDB appeals, can be found in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tables: SSCS_1, SSCS_2 and SSCS_3 of the Main Tables.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions his Department's final decision on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has differed from the medical opinion of the recommendation of Maximus staff in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Information on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments by decision type can be found on Stat-Xplore.
You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is required for staff making decisions on eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department always aims to make the right decision as early as possible, and all staff making decisions on eligibility for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) receive appropriate training in line with this aim. This includes standardised training packages targeted at certain decision-making staff, and new staff sitting with experienced decision makers for an initial period, to observe the process for a range of different possible decisions. Further standardised training packages are also being developed.
Detailed decision making guidance for IIDB is also made available to all decision makers. The Department publishes its “Decision Makers’ Guides” on GOV.UK, and the relevant materials for IIDB are available here.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to change the industrial injuries disablement benefits final decision making system.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department always aims to make the right decision as early as possible on claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Where a person receives a decision about their IIDB and they disagree with that decision, they can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to look at the decision again (this is called a Mandatory Reconsideration). If the claimant remains dissatisfied with the decision following Mandatory Reconsideration, they may appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal, where the decision will be looked at again by the independent judiciary. The Department has no plans to change its decision-making processes.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing NHS patients to seek a second opinion on their (a) condition and (b) treatment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The guidance Good Medical Practice, from the General Medical Council (GMC), sets out the standards of care and behaviour expected of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It states that doctors must recognise a patient’s right to choose whether to accept their advice, and respect a patient’s right to seek a second opinion. The GMC is an independent regulator and is responsible for operational matters, including any assessment of its policies and guidance. Managing second opinion requests is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations.
On 21 February 2024, the Government announced that Martha’s Rule will be rolled out from April of this year, allowing at least 100 NHS trusts to introduce the rule during 2024/25, with the programme being evaluated throughout this year and next. This patient safety initiative will give NHS patients and families the right to obtain a rapid review outside of their immediate care team when a patient’s condition is thought to be deteriorating. The escalation process will be available around-the-clock to patients, families and NHS staff, and will be advertised throughout hospitals, making it quickly and easily accessible. Martha’s Rule will allow early intervention and rapid review, which may avoid harm to patients.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to reopen registrations for XL bully dogs for owners who missed the deadline.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to reopen registrations for XL Bully dogs for owners who missed the deadline to apply for a Certificate of Exemption. Applications opened on 14 November 2023 and closed at midday on 31 January 2024. This date was set out in legislation and gave owners over two months to apply. It is now against the law to keep an XL Bully dog without a valid Certificate of Exemption, and new exemptions can only be authorised by a court order. If owners think they have an XL Bully dog and do not have a Certificate of Exemption, we advise that they should contact their local police force.