Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Mental Health Support Teams in reducing levels of demand on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
An independent early evaluation commissioned by the Department of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme was published in January and is available at the following link:
The evaluation examines the development, implementation, and early progress of the first wave of mental health support teams in the first 25 ‘trailblazer’ areas participating in the programme, which became operational from January 2020.
A second independent evaluation, which will consider the longer-term impacts of Mental Health Support Teams has also been commissioned through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This project commenced in June 2023 and is due to complete June 2026. The findings will be published once a final report has been submitted and approved by the NIHR.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Ministers will form the UK’s delegation for the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP10).
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
There are no plans for Ministers to attend the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP 10). The United Kingdom delegation will consist of officials from the Department’s as is usual practice.
The Government has regularly set out our position on vaping at the Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and will do so at the next conference in November 2023. The delegation will not agree to any decisions which would impact on our ability to make regulated vapes available for adult smokers who wish to quit smoking.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what positions his Department will put forward on e-cigarettes at the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, COP10.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
There are no plans for Ministers to attend the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP 10). The United Kingdom delegation will consist of officials from the Department’s as is usual practice.
The Government has regularly set out our position on vaping at the Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and will do so at the next conference in November 2023. The delegation will not agree to any decisions which would impact on our ability to make regulated vapes available for adult smokers who wish to quit smoking.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority as an independent regulator.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Public Bodies Review Programme began its review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in March 2023, as part of its regular review process of all Government Arm’s Length Bodies. The review is due to conclude later this year. The Department will consider the report and its recommendations upon their publication.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2023 to Question 186145 on Global Tobacco Regulators Forum, what issues were discussed at that Forum; what issues the UK delegate raised; and what the conclusions of the Forum were.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘No Tobacco Unit’ in the Health Promotion Department hosts and runs the Global Tobacco Regulators Forum (GTRF) meetings. Papers, discussions and conclusions from the meetings are not publicly available from the WHO.
However, we are able to disclose that the United Kindom delegate updated the GTRF about the 11 April Government announcements in achieving Smokefree 2030 including the launch of a world first vaping swap to stop scheme, the new illicit vape enforcement squad and work to tackle youth vaping.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospital trusts (a) employ at least one and (b) do not employ a motor neurone disease clinical nurse specialist; and, of the trusts that employ at least one, how many each of them employed in the latest period for which information is available.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England, which are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
The published data does not provide a breakdown by nurse specialty.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of WHO's implementation of harm reduction strategies to help reduce smoking; and will he make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Department has not made an assessment on the effectiveness of World Health Organization’s implementation of harm reduction strategies to help reduce smoking. We have no future plans to perform an assessment or issue a statement.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the members of the delegation which attended the Global Tobacco Regulators Forum in 2023.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
One official from the Department’s tobacco control policy team attended to represent the United Kingdom as a lead and expert in tobacco control policy. It is not Department policy to publish the names below SCS1 that attend events.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release, Crackdown on illegal sale of vapes, published on 9 April 2023, how much of the £3 million funding for tackling the illegal sale of vapes will be allocated to West Northamptonshire.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
Details of funding allocated to specific localities has not yet been determined.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether current employees of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust Gender Identity Development Service will lead the replacement multi-disciplinary teams within the new provider.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
NHS England’s new draft interim service specification that went out to consultation proposes that the new multi-disciplinary teams will only be led by a medical practitioner. They will also have a broader composition of expertise than under the previous service, including paediatricians and experts in neurodiversity and autism.
NHS England’s national transformation programme aims to ensure that relevant expertise is transferred to the new teams. The new providers and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust are working together to establish a process that is consistent with employment law and with National Health Service human resources best practice.