Written Question
Wednesday 27th March 2019
Asked by:
Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
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 effect of the roll-out of 5G technology on people's health.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and health evidence reviews have been prepared by scientific expert groups in the United Kingdom and around the world. The independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) published their report in the UK in 2012 and the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published their report in 2015. The World Health Organization is presently preparing a review. The AGNIR report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radiofrequency-electromagnetic-fields-health-effects
The SCENIHR report is available at the following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/scientific_committees/docs/citizens_emf_en.pdf
Based on the accumulated evidence and reviews, Public Health England (PHE) advises that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that EMF exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects.
PHE has committed to keeping the emerging evidence under review and to preparing another comprehensive review when sufficient new evidence has accumulated.
Written Question
Tuesday 26th March 2019
Asked by:
Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question
to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has any plans to review the RCGP Advanced Knowledge Test in relation to ME and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to ensure it (a) remains up-to-date and (b) demonstrates best practice for treatment of those conditions.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The responsibility for reviewing and updating the Advanced Knowledge Test (AKT) lies with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
General practice is where most patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis are likely to be managed, and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the RCGP AKT content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of general practitioners’ qualifying exams.
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Jan 2019
Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting)
"I wonder how Hansard records a sneeze...."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting)
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 24 Jul 2018
Oral Answers to Questions
"Cancer survival rates are now at an all-time high thanks to the brilliant and dedicated work of clinicians, including at Cheltenham General Hospital, but prevention is better than cure. Will the Secretary of State direct his customary energy towards prevention work, including vaccinations, but also tackling risk factors such as …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 21 Jun 2018
ME: Treatment and Research
"It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell. Like other hon. Members, I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Glasgow North West (Carol Monaghan), who has shown great stamina in fighting for this cause and who set out the position at the outset of the …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: ME: Treatment and Research
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 19 Jun 2018
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
"The hon. Lady, through her constituent’s experience, is painting a vivid picture of the pain. Does she agree that hearing accounts such as that of my constituent Helena Stone—she said it was like barbed wire being tightened across one’s leg—give an insight into the viciousness of this debilitating condition and …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 19 Jun 2018
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
"The hon. Lady is being extremely generous in giving way. My constituent experienced the problem of not being believed. Does the hon. Lady agree it is all the more galling that the NHS website recognises the condition and states that it is “poorly understood”? Does that not make the point …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 18 Jun 2018
Acquired Brain Injury
"rose—..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Acquired Brain Injury
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 18 Jun 2018
Acquired Brain Injury
"The Minister rightly listed a number of impacts from traumatic brain injury. Does he agree that one of those can be an increasing propensity to commit criminal offences? We are starting to wake up to the fact that a number of people in custody have sustained precisely that injury. That …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: Acquired Brain Injury
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 18 Jun 2018
NHS Long-Term Plan
"I warmly welcome this enormous funding boost, which is far in excess of that proposed by any Opposition party. Does my right hon. Friend agree that local trusts should consider using these further resources to help to attract and retain additional doctors in tough-to-recruit fields such as emergency medicine, to …..."Alex Chalk - View Speech
View all Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) contributions to the debate on: NHS Long-Term Plan