Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on (a) improving understanding of and (b) finding a cure for Lobular cancer as of 31 January 2024.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), with NIHR expenditure for all cancers being £121.8 million in 2022/23.
Current NIHR research into breast cancer includes a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, such as lobular breast cancer. The NIHR also supports research on lobular breast cancer through its research infrastructure, including Biomedical Research Centres which are undertaking research on early detection and genetic aspects of breast cancer. It is difficult to attribute research infrastructure funding allocations to specific disease and therapy areas as the staff and facilities funded through the NIHR infrastructure supports research across disciplines.
Additionally, the NIHR supports breast cancer research funded by research partners in the charity and public sectors through the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network (CRN). Over the last five years the CRN has supported delivery of 10 lobular breast cancer-related studies.
Research on the underpinning science to understand the mechanisms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer, is funded through the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Medical Research Council who spend £125 million annually on cancer research. The NIHR also works closely with research funding partners including Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Now, Medical Research Council, and other cancer charities.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of publishing a plan to help support unpaid carers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers and local authorities are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any unpaid carer who appears to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from the carer.
The enormous contribution made by unpaid carers is reflected throughout Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care published April 2023.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 19 June 2023 to Question 189024 on NHS: Pay, for what reason no assessment was made of the full cost of passing on the non-consolidated awards for 2022/23 to all staff employed by NHS contractors.
Answered by Will Quince
The pay deal that was accepted by the NHS Staff Council on 2 May 2023 covered staff directly employed by NHS organisations. Independent providers, including not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. If they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract, it is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate and how to recoup any additional costs they face.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Royal College of Radiologists entitled Improving Paediatric Interventional Radiology services in the UK, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report's findings on (a) the number of consultant paediatric interventional radiology posts in the UK and (b) the proportion of those that are outside London.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department will be discussing the geographic spread of posts with NHS England.
I have agreed to meet the Royal College of Radiologists so this matter will also be discussed in a meeting with them.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure equal access to paediatric interventional radiology services in the UK.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department regularly discusses the equity of access to health services with NHS England. We will discuss access to paediatric interventional radiology services specifically with NHS England.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to require all hospitals that provide paediatric services to have paediatric interventional radiology service policies in place.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department will discuss these issues with NHS England. National Health Service trusts are expected to have the relevant policies in place, in line with service specification and commissioning guidance produced by NHS England.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to expand national capacity for paediatric interventional radiology training.
Answered by Will Quince
As of January 2023, there were 1,584 full-time equivalent (FTE) trainee doctors working in clinical radiology services in the NHS in England. This is an increase of 274 (20.9%) since 2020.
The Government funded an additional 20 Specialty Training posts for interventional radiologists in 2021/22 and 2022/23. These increases have expanded the number of radiologists who can train to deliver paediatric interventional radiology.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the Citizens Advice Bureau on the handling of NHS patient data and the new Palantir contract for that service.
Answered by Will Quince
There have been no specific discussions.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 potential merits of ringfencing NHS Dental funding provisions.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population. Many of these functions will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023.
We have assessed the merits of ringfencing National Health Service dental funding provisions. NHS England has provided guidance for ICBs that requires dental funding to be ringfenced, with any unused resources re-directed to improve NHS dental access in the first instance. A schedule setting out the dental ringfence has been issued to ICBs. NHS England’s 2023/24 revenue finance and contracting guidance, which provides more detail, is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2023-24-revenue-finance-and-contracting-guidance/
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 in the last 12 months to improve the capacity of NHS Dental provision in Huddersfield.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population. Many of the dentistry commissioning functions undertaken by NHS England will transfer to integrated care boards from April 2023. NHS England has made available to commissioners an Assurance Framework to provide assurances on commissioning.
In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which sets out how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to National Health Service dental care, including in Huddersfield, whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices.
These changes have been implemented, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022. This includes enabling commissioning of up to 110% of contracted Units of Dental Activities to increase NHS care, fairer remuneration for practices providing complex treatment within current Band 2 treatments and removing barriers around use of staff skills mix in NHS dentistry. We have also worked with the General Dental Council on legislative proposals to allow the regulator greater flexibility to expand the registration options open to international dentists.
NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System planned to take place this year.