Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 prepare for a future pandemic caused by non-flu and non-coronavirus family viruses.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the new public health body focused on health protection and security, became fully operational on 1 October 2021 and includes the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness (CPP). Working with the CPP, the UKHSA will focus on protection from all future health threats, including pandemics, building on the enhanced capabilities deployed to tackle COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks.
The UKHSA and the CPP will work across Government through the newly established Pandemic Diseases Capability Board to identify critical capabilities across the United Kingdom for pandemic disease preparedness which should be maintained, developed or initiated.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the covid-19 infection rate was for each month following the removal of the requirement to wear face coverings in England on 19 July 20201; and what the comparable rates in (a) Scotland and (b) Wales were in those months.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information is not available in the format requested. However, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes weekly COVID-19 case rates for England which is available at the following link:
The UKHSA does not monitor COVID-19 infection rates for the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will hold a public consultation on the health effects of implanted materials in patients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department currently has no plans to hold a consultation on the health effects of implanted materials in patients. However, we are ensuring that the patients’ voice is routinely heard. This includes the creation of a statutory role of the Patient Safety Commissioner to promote the safety of patients in the use of medicines and medical devices and the importance of the views of patients and the public on the safety of medicines and medical devices.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the Com-COV study on the immune response from mixing covid19 vaccines, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing a different type of covid-19 vaccine from a recipient's original dose as a booster.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Com-CoV vaccine trial is studying the use of different combinations of approved COVID-19 vaccines for the first and second immunisation doses. The COV-BOOST trial is studying combinations of different COVID-19 vaccines for a booster dose following completion of the primary two-dose course. Data from the trial indicates that booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines are generally well tolerated and provide a substantial increase in vaccine-induced immune responses.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that a full dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or a half dose of the Moderna vaccine should be offered as a booster dose, irrespective of the vaccine used for the first two doses.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government intends to add the Sputnik V Gamaleya covid-19 vaccine to the approved list of vaccines for the purposes of quarantine free travel to the United Kingdom.
Answered by Maggie Throup
From 22 November, the United Kingdom will recognise vaccines listed on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Emergency Use Listing for quarantine free travel to the UK. Sputnik V Gamaleya is not currently on the WHO’s Emergency Use List.
We continue to explore the expansion of our inbound vaccination policy to more countries and territories where it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 making the Johnson and Johnson one shot covid-19 vaccine available to NHS and care workers.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Janssen vaccine - the commercial name of the Johnson and Johnson manufactured vaccine - was authorised for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on 28 May 2021. At the time of authorisation, no supply was available and none was expected until the end of the year. On 30 October 2021 the Government announced that it would donate all 20 million Janssen vaccines doses it had ordered to COVAX.
Given the maturity of the United Kingdom vaccination programme and strength of existing supplies to meet domestic requirements, the Government was able to identify the Janssen vaccine supply for donation, to be distributed to those most in need overseas. We remain confident that existing stocks of authorised vaccines meet the current requirement for National Health Service and care workers for both the primary course and booster vaccinations.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 people under the age of 50 in the covid-19 vaccine booster programme.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) assessment of including people under the age of 50 years old in the COVID-19 vaccine booster programme is ongoing. On 14 September 2021, the JCVI advised that individuals who received COVID-19 vaccinations in phase one of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in priority groups one to nine should be offered a booster vaccine. This includes those aged 16 to 49 years old with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19.
The JCVI has advised that it will continue to review data as it emerges and consider further advice on booster vaccinations in younger adult age groups, children aged 12 to 16 years old with underlying health conditions and women who are pregnant.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department may take against nursing homes who refuse to allow family visits in response to covid-19 infection rates.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Department’s guidance is clear that blanket bans on visiting in care homes are not acceptable. All care home residents can choose to nominate an essential care giver who may visit the home to attend to essential care needs, with no limits to the number of named visitors a resident can nominate.
If a resident or their family have concerns that a care home is not following visiting guidance appropriately, it should be raised with the home in the first instance. The Care Quality Commission can also investigate complaints where providers do not appropriately support people to have access to visits.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to nursing homes to allow residents to see their loved ones over winter 2021.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have recently reviewed our guidance on visiting care homes and expect to publish updated guidance shortly. The guidance will help care home providers ensure visits can take place over the winter months.
The third Infection Control and Testing fund, announced in October, will provide £388.3 million to support infection prevention and control and testing in adult social care. We have made available more than £2.5 billion for adult social care during the pandemic. We have also provided free personal protective equipment and testing to care home staff, residents and visitors and will continue to do so throughout the winter.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 safety of cosmetic procedures being undertaken by non-licenced healthcare professionals.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
In England cosmetic surgery may only be performed by doctors registered with the General Medical Council. Providers of surgery must also register with the Care Quality Commission and meet its fundamental standards of safety and quality.
The Government is evaluating the existing education and qualification frameworks for practitioners of non-surgical cosmetic procedures operating in England and assessing options for improving standards. This includes consideration of whether increased oversight of practitioners performing some of the most invasive non-surgical procedures is needed and how to achieve a proportionate system of practitioner regulation that protects the public.