Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that Government support for healthy eating focuses on a balanced diet rather than reduction of negative nutrients.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The United Kingdom’s healthy eating food model, the Eatwell Guide, shows the overall dietary pattern and the proportions of food and drink which contribute to a healthy, balanced diet.
The Eatwell Guide is promoted through platforms such as NHS.UK and social marketing campaigns. The Government’s reduction and reformulation programme challenges industry to make products healthier by lowering the amount of sugar, salt and calories to allow consumers to choose healthier food and drink.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken since the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy, to ensure that all healthcare professionals undertake training on domestic abuse delivered by specialist organisations to ensure trauma-informed practices.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Department is currently formulating the details of the Women’s Health Strategy in England. The Strategy will be published later this year. NHS England are collaborating with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Domestic Abuse peer advocacy services and national helplines to direct National Health Service staff to existing specialised training.
All NHS staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training which includes a focus on domestic abuse. NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England continue to review mandatory safeguarding training for all health professionals to ensure that they are fully equipped with the appropriate key skills, knowledge and principles.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 including aspiration in the vaccine administration procedures for the covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No assessment has been made. The UK Health Security Agency’s guidance on immunisation techniques states that it is not necessary to aspirate the syringe after the needle is introduced into the muscle, as there are no large blood vessels at the recommended injection sites. This guidance is also consistent with the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The SPCs do not state that aspiration is required prior to injection of the vaccine. As with all recommendations for vaccine administration, this is kept under regular review in line with the latest available evidence.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 effectiveness of direct payment pay rates in attracting care staff; and whether his Department has plans to increase the rate of pay for carers under the direct payment system.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
No assessment has been made. The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay, independent of central government. Local authorities work with care providers, including those in receipt of Direct Payments, to determine a fair rate of pay based on local market conditions.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to implement local women and girls’ mental health strategies, to help ensure that meeting the mental health needs of domestic abuse survivors is reflected at both a national and local level.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We plan to launch a public discussion paper this year to inform the development of a new long term mental health strategy. This will discuss potential solutions at local and national level to improve mental health and wellbeing, including in women and girls.
‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’ was published in December 2021 which commits to gather evidence on the impacts of trauma-informed practice to support the victims of violence against women and girls.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what engagement his Department has had with (a) survivors of domestic abuse, (b) the domestic abuse sector and (c) the wider violence against women and girls sector, since the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Call for Evidence, which informs the priorities, content and actions of the Women’s Health Strategy, for England ran for 14 weeks. Organisations and individuals were invited to contribute, including those supporting the victims of domestic abuse and those with lived experience. Since publication, we have continued to engage with representatives from the sector.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support podiatrists within primary care to respond to increasing trends foot ulceration and amputation and to maintain peoples’ walking, working, and wellbeing.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Evidence suggests that multidisciplinary footcare teams (MDFTs), including podiatrists, play an important role in diabetes footcare pathways and can significantly reduce amputations and diabetic foot disease.
Between 2020/21 and 2023/24, a further £75 million of targeted funding is being allocated for the treatment and care of people living with diabetes. This will support new or expanded services towards the provision of universal access to MDFTs. NHS England continues to work with local teams to identify and develop plans to address gaps in service provision. General practitioner practices are incentivised through the Quality and Outcomes Framework to identify and proactively manage diabetic patients in line with guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This includes ensuring a foot examination and risk classification is recorded each year
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the £25 million of funding announced to support unpaid carers will include young carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We expect this funding will identify and test a range of new and existing interventions to support unpaid carers, which could include respite and breaks, peer group and wellbeing support and new ways to combine these to maximise their impact. We will continue to work with stakeholders, including organisations working with young carers and people with lived experience of caring as we develop our proposals.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 potential need to clarify and raise awareness that the Better Care Fund applies to the integration of health and care services for children and young people.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Better Care Fund (BCF) is primarily focussed on supporting adults in the health and care system, through the integration of health, adult social care and housing. The BCF includes the Disabled Facilities Grant, which funds housing applications for disabled individuals, including those under 18 years old. Local areas have the discretion to include children’s health and social care services in their BCF plans. The forthcoming integration white paper will provide further detail on plans for health and social care integration.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to issue guidance for people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, and therefore vulnerable to covid-19, to work from home.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Updated public health advice was issued on 24 December 2021 for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19, which is available at the following link: