Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 merits of commissioning an independent review into alcohol harms.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. However, in 2016 the former Public Health England published an assessment of the effectiveness of policies to reduce alcohol-related harm in England. This included a review of the evidence on the public health burden of alcohol in England and policy responses to reduce the health, social and economic harm.
Alcohol-related harms are being addressed through commitments in the ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ green paper, the NHS Long Term Plan and improvements to the substance misuse treatment system through the drugs strategy ‘From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of restoring the pay of junior doctors to a level equivalent in real terms to the pay they received in 2008.
Answered by Will Quince
Junior Doctors are in a pre-existing multi-year pay and contract reform deal, which ends in March 2023. The upcoming pay round is the appropriate time to discuss pay after the multi-year deal ends.
Outside of multi-year agreements, the independent pay review body (PRB) process is the established mechanism for developing pay recommendations. PRBs are made up of industry experts who carefully consider evidence submitted to them from a range of stakeholders, including government and trade unions. They base their recommendations on several factors including the economic context, cost of living, recruitment and retention, morale, and motivation of NHS staff.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of calorie labelling on menus for those living with eating disorders since April 2022.
Answered by Caroline Johnson
The Department continues to evaluate the impact of the out of home calorie labelling Regulations and is commissioning additional research to ensure that the impact on those with lived experience of eating disorders is considered. The Department will publish a post-implementation review within five years of the policy’s implementation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to supporting people with learning disabilities under the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The ‘COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan’ provided £31 million to support those with a learning disability and autistic people. This funding aims to support earlier discharge from mental health settings to the community and prevent admission into inpatient care.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 adequacy of provision of specialist care for patients diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Answered by James Morris
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 adequacy of provision of specialist care for patients diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome in the North West.
Answered by James Morris
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 include pancreatic cancer in the 10-Year Cancer Plan for England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Holly Mumby-Croft) on 24 May 2022 to Question 3800.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to prioritise targeted, lab-based studies to find possible treatments for those suffering from long covid.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Over £50 million has been invested in research projects into the long term effects of COVID-19, with £38.6 million awarded to 19 projects commissioned through two research calls.
The National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) second research call specified the need for studies to review possible treatments and interventions and develop a greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease. Six of the studies funded through this call are directly examining treatments and therapies.
Further research on the long term effects of COVID-19 and providing support for those affected has been funded through the NIHR’s programme funding streams. These include a £3.5 million award to the HEAL-COVID study to develop treatments for COVID-19 which reduce the long term risks of death and disability.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including potential treatments for post-COVID-19 syndrome. 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.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support people with sickle cell disease to access free prescriptions.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are no current plans to review or extend the prescription charge medical exemptions list to include long term conditions such as sickle cell disease. Approximately 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and there are arrangements in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension. Those with sickle cell disease may therefore meet the eligibility criteria for prescription charge exemptions and in receipt of free prescriptions.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the modern slavery statement covering procurement of personal protective equipment since January 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department published its statement on modern slavery in October 2021, which covered the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020. A separate statement by the NHS Supply Chain relating to modern slavery in the procurement of PPE is due to be published in the autumn.