Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on the implementation of baby loss certificates similar to those in England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Eligibility for the Baby Loss Certificate service is being continually assessed. Although health is a devolved matter, my officials have been in regular contact with their counterparts in the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, to discuss implementation of Baby Loss Certificates in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps with the drinks industry to reduce the level of (a) sugar and (b) calories in pre-packed milk-based drinks.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Milk based drinks are included in the Government’s voluntary sugar reduction programme as they are excluded from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL). Businesses across industry were asked to deliver a 20% sugar reduction in these drinks by 2021. Between 2017 and 2020, sugar and calories in pre-packed milk based drinks sold through retail have reduced by 29.7% and 20%, respectively. Pre-packed milk substitute drinks, such as soya, oat and almond based products, have reduced sugar and calories by 6.9% and 8%, respectively.
The final assessment of industry progress on reducing the sugar and calorie content of milk based drinks is expected to be published in 2024. HM Treasury said it would reconsider the exemption of milk based drinks from SDIL if insufficient reductions had been achieved by 2021.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with eye cancer in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. The following table shows the number of eye cancer diagnoses, specifically of International Classification of Diseases code C69, each year from 2017 to 2021:
Year | Males | Females | Total |
2017 | 400 | 341 | 741 |
2018 | 384 | 356 | 740 |
2019 | 419 | 372 | 791 |
2020 | 338 | 297 | 635 |
2021 | 428 | 358 | 786 |
Source: these figures were taken from tables that support National Statistics publication, which are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2021---summary-counts-only
However, health is a transferred matter, and for eye cancer diagnosis rates in Northern Ireland you may wish to contact the Department of Health.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with adrenal cortex carcinoma in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. The following table shows the number of adrenal cortex carcinoma diagnoses each year from 2017 to 2021:
Year | Males | Females | Total |
2017 | 18 | 29 | 47 |
2018 | 21 | 25 | 46 |
2019 | 36 | 29 | 65 |
2020 | 13 | 21 | 34 |
2021 | 17 | 34 | 51 |
Source: these figures are taken from the tables that support the National Statistics publication, which are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2021---summary-counts-only
However, health is a transferred matter, so for cancer diagnosis rates in Northern Ireland you may wish to contact the Department of Health.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with pseudomyxoma peritonei in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. The following table shows the number of pseudomyxoma peritonei diagnoses each year from 2017 to 2021:
Year | Males | Females | Total |
2017 | 22 | 42 | 64 |
2018 | 22 | 35 | 57 |
2019 | 29 | 54 | 83 |
2020 | 31 | 57 | 88 |
2021 | 24 | 41 | 65 |
Source: these figures are taken from the tables that support the National Statistics publication, which are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2021---summary-counts-only
However, health is a transferred matter, so for cancer diagnosis rates in Northern Ireland you may wish to contact the Department of Health.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve NHS (a) social and (b) emotional care for people living with kidney disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, care for patients with chronic kidney disease is addressed through the specialised service specifications for renal services. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations providing specialised care and, for renal services, they require patients to have access to psychology services and social work advice as a core component of a multi-disciplinary team.
NHS England, through its Renal Services Transformation Programme (RSTP) and regional renal clinical networks, is progressing a series of programmes to: provide better and more joined-up care across care settings; reduce health inequalities; and focus on prevention and timely intervention, through streamlined patient pathways to address management of deteriorating kidney disease. Psychosocial support within renal services has been identified by the RSTP as a theme for improvement.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 10 recommendations in Kidney Care UK's report entitled Caring for people with kidney disease: Psychosocial health – a manifesto for action, published in June 2022, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to improve the (i) social and (ii) emotional care provided to people with kidney disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, care for patients with chronic kidney disease is addressed through the specialised service specifications for renal services. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations providing specialised care and, for renal services, they require patients to have access to psychology services and social work advice as a core component of a multi-disciplinary team.
NHS England, through its Renal Services Transformation Programme and regional renal clinical networks, is progressing a series of programmes to provide better and more joined-up care across care settings, reducing health inequalities, and focussing on prevention and timely intervention through streamlined patient pathways to address management of deteriorating kidney disease. Psychosocial support within renal services has been identified by the Programme as a theme for improvement.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 impact of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy on obesity levels amongst people aged 18 and under.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
To date, Government has not assessed the impact of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) on obesity levels amongst people aged 18 years old and under.
Rogers et al. (2023) undertook an independent assessment of obesity prevalence in English primary school children and the United Kingdom SDIL. This assessment found that the SDIL was associated with decreased prevalence of obesity in Year Six girls, with the greatest differences in those living in the most deprived areas. They estimated that the reduced sugar-sweetened beverages consumption of drinks covered by SDIL may have prevented around 5,000 cases of obesity in Year Six girls aged 10 to 11 years old, across all socio-economic groups.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 raise awareness of the importance of (a) healthy cholesterol levels and (b) regular cholesterol checks.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department continues to support the national implementation of the National Health Service Health Check programme. The check involves awareness, assessment and management of the top six risk factors for cardiovascular disease, one of which is cholesterol. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is working with local Government to modernise the NHS Health Check programme and delivering social marketing and behavioural interventions to improve health.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to priority four of the UK Rare Diseases Framework, what steps his Department is taking to reduce regional variations in access to specialist care for patients with (a) hereditary angioedema and (b) other rare diseases.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England regularly assesses the geographic spread of patients accessing highly specialised services. If there are any regional variations, NHS England will work with the relevant service to investigate and address these issues. No specific assessment has been made of patient-supported education as a means of reducing regional variation in care for hereditary angioedema or other rare diseases.
No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the recognition by clinicians in emergency settings of hereditary angioedema and other potentially life-threatening rare diseases. However, the 2021 UK Rare Diseases Framework aims to improve the awareness of all rare diseases, including hereditary angioedema. England’s second Rare Diseases Action Plan, published in February 2023, reports on progress made to increase knowledge and improve the resources available to healthcare professionals. This includes the development of GeNotes, an educational resource that aims to increase the awareness of genetic and rare diseases amongst healthcare professionals. The Genomics Education Programme actively delivers education and training to the National Health Service workforce to support awareness, knowledge and management of rare disease.