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Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Wednesday 14th April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

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 monitor the effect on (a) local residents, (b) local shop owners and (c) the Magic Roundabout Nursery of the covid-19 testing centre being situated in Jack Dash House, Isle of Dogs, London.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

All local test sites are provided by the relevant local authority as they are best placed to make considerations upon where testing would be most beneficial. The local authority is responsible for engaging with all local residents and businesses.

All local authorities utilising local test sites are provided with a National Health Service Test and Trace site criteria guide to consider the location of the site, the demand, ownership, the duration that the site might be in use for and surrounding uses.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Wednesday 14th April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) local residents, (b) local shop owners, (c) representatives of the Magic Roundabout Nursery and (d) representatives of the local authority on the functioning of the covid-19 testing centre situated in Jack Dash House, Isle of Dogs, London.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

All local test sites are provided by the relevant local authority as they are best placed to make considerations upon where testing would be most beneficial. The local authority is responsible for engaging with all local residents and businesses.

All local authorities utilising local test sites are provided with a National Health Service Test and Trace site criteria guide to consider the location of the site, the demand, ownership, the duration that the site might be in use for and surrounding uses.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Wednesday 14th April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consultation his Department undertook with (a) local residents, (b) local shop owners, (c) representatives of the Magic Roundabout Nursery and (d) representatives of the local authority prior to the opening of the covid-19 testing centre in Jack Dash House, Isle of Dogs, London.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

All local test sites are provided by the relevant local authority as they are best placed to make considerations upon where testing would be most beneficial. The local authority is responsible for engaging with all local residents and businesses.

All local authorities utilising local test sites are provided with a National Health Service Test and Trace site criteria guide to consider the location of the site, the demand, ownership, the duration that the site might be in use for and surrounding uses.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Wednesday 14th April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the covid-19 testing centre in Popular and Limehouse constituency was situated in Jack Dash House.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

All local test sites are provided by the relevant local authority as they are best placed to make considerations upon where testing would be most beneficial. The local authority is responsible for engaging with all local residents and businesses.

All local authorities utilising local test sites are provided with a National Health Service Test and Trace site criteria guide to consider the location of the site, the demand, ownership, the duration that the site might be in use for and surrounding uses.


Written Question
Gender Recognition: Clinics
Tuesday 13th April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

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 trends in the level of waiting times for appointments at NHS Adults' Gender Identity Clinics; and if he will allocate additional resources to reduce those waiting times.

Answered by Jo Churchill

The Department and NHS England recognise that waiting times for gender identity clinics are unacceptably long. To address this, a new service specification has been developed to deliver services in local health settings. Three new clinics, operating as a pilot scheme for this specification, have been established in London, Manchester and Cheshire and Merseyside. These clinics are subject to ongoing evaluation with the ambition of further clinics being established.


Written Question
Travel Restrictions: Coronavirus
Tuesday 13th April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason visiting elderly relatives abroad is not a permitted reason for travel during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting those overseas visits on medical and compassionate grounds.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

At this time international travel is limited to reduce the risk of the virus spreading, including variants of concern. However some of the reasonable excuses for international travel will enable people to visit relatives where essential, such as where it is reasonably necessary to provide care and assistance to a vulnerable person.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 1st April 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the people over the age of 85 who have not been vaccinated (a) have an NHS number and (b) come from a BAME background.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

We do not hold this information.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Friday 26th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people aged over 65 in (a) prisons and (b) immigration detention centres have been prioritised for covid-19 vaccination.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

If an individual in prison or an immigration detention centre is over 65 years old, they will be prioritised for vaccination in line with the rest of the population.


Written Question
Musculoskeletal Disorders: Remote Working
Wednesday 24th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has made of the number of musculoskeletal issues arising from home-working arrangements during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether his Department is taking steps to develop a strategy to tackle those issues.

Answered by Edward Argar

No such estimate has been made.

We will continue to monitor prevalence and treat musculoskeletal conditions, taking into account long standing best practice guidance in this area, including from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 18th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long on average patients registered with the GP At Hand service have had to wait between being (a) offered a covid-19 vaccine and (b) able to attend an appointment to receive that vaccine.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

As at 1st March 2021, there were 92,470 patients registered at the ‘GP at Hand’ practice.

Data on how many of those patients have been unable to access COVID-19 vaccines in their local area, how far they have had to travel, or the average wait between being offered a vaccine and attending to receive, is not collected centrally. Individuals eligible for vaccination have a choice on where they can book their COVID-19 vaccination. More than 98% of the country is now within 10 miles of a vaccination site.