Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of widening the list of mandated common allergenic ingredients of public health concern.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for food allergen labelling in Scotland.
The FSA is aware that pea protein allergies are an emerging area of concern and there are reports of adverse reactions to pea protein in the scientific literature. However, evidence on this is currently limited and the prevalence of pea protein allergies is unknown in the United Kingdom at present. As and when information is available, the FSA will assess the evidence, but have no current plans to amend the 14 allergens list. Any additions to this list would only be made based on relevant scientific evidence and views gathered through public consultation. The FSA continues to monitor the situation closely and is currently working with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology on hidden and emerging food allergens.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including pea protein as an allergen in food labelling.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for food allergen labelling in Scotland.
The FSA is aware that pea protein allergies are an emerging area of concern and there are reports of adverse reactions to pea protein in the scientific literature. However, evidence on this is currently limited and the prevalence of pea protein allergies is unknown in the United Kingdom at present. As and when information is available, the FSA will assess the evidence, but have no current plans to amend the 14 allergens list. Any additions to this list would only be made based on relevant scientific evidence and views gathered through public consultation. The FSA continues to monitor the situation closely and is currently working with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology on hidden and emerging food allergens.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve labelling for people with allergies to legumes and pulses on (a) restaurant and (b) shop-bought food products.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for food allergen labelling in Scotland. Food businesses have a duty to inform customers about 14 mandatory allergens which are recognised across Europe as the most common allergenic ingredients of public health concern. Pulses and legumes (with the exception of peanuts) are not included in the list of 14 mandated allergens. The prevalence of allergy to pulses and legumes in the United Kingdom is currently unknown, though any emerging evidence will continue to be assessed as it becomes available.
Food businesses who sell prepacked or prepacked for direct sale foods, such as food-to-go, are required to provide a full list of ingredients, and to highlight the 14 allergens on packaging. Those with an allergy or intolerance to foods outside of the 14 mandated allergens should be able to check the ingredients list and avoid the foods they need to.
For non-prepacked food, such as food served in a restaurant, the food business must provide information on the presence of any of the 14 allergens. They can do this in writing or verbally. People with food hypersensitivities should ask if the food they wish to avoid is used in any of the dishes. If in doubt, or the information cannot be reliably provided, the advice is to not eat at the premises.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish the cross-Government delivery plan on ME/CFS for England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department plans to publish a draft delivery plan on ME/CFS shortly. We intend to seek views on the draft plan before publishing a final delivery plan at a later date.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish an inquiry into the difference in the average incidence of deaths of Asian and Asian British babies each year.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
A confidential enquiry into perinatal deaths of black/black British babies is currently being undertaken by the MBRRACE-UK Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme. The Department has no current plans to concurrently establish an inquiry into the rates of stillbirth and neonatal deaths among Asian and Asian British babies.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to assess the (a) availability and (b) dissemination of covid-19 vaccine information in (i) Tigrinya, (ii) Amharic, (iii) Blen, (iv) Kibajuni, (v) KiSwahili, (vi) Tigre, (vii) Oromo, (viii) Afar, (ix) Sidayama, (x) Wolayatta, (xi) Hausa, (xii) Chichewa, (xiii) Igbo, (xiv) Pashto and (xv) other languages spoken by asylum seeker and refugee communities.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We are working closely with the National Health Service and Public Health England to provide advice and information at every possible opportunity to encourage people to come forward for vaccination when they are eligible, and support anyone who might have questions about the vaccination process, regardless of their immigration or residency status.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government Community Champions scheme works with trusted local leaders to engage with their communities. The Government’s vaccination programme includes the use of street ambassadors to provide advice and information to local communities. The teams include ambassadors who can speak KiSwahili, Oromo, Afar, Yoruba, Akan and Somali. The programme can access additional translation support if a local need is identified.
Anyone living in the United Kingdom, including refugees and asylum seekers, can receive the vaccine free of charge in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) prioritisation groups. Because there is no charge for the vaccine for people living in the UK, no proof of residence or immigration status is needed. NHS Regional teams, working with various appropriate local systems will reach out to unregistered people to ensure they are offered the vaccine.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle covid-19 vaccine misinformation among African communities in the UK by providing accurate information in (a) Tigrinya, (b) Amharic, (c) Blen, (d) Kibajuni, (e) KiSwahili, (f) Tigre, (g) Oromo, (h) Afar, (i) Sidayama, (j) Wolayatta, (k) Hausa, (l) Chichewa and (m) Igbo.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Community Champions scheme works with trusted local leaders to advise local communities about the vaccine and support local communities. The Government’s vaccination programme includes the use of street ambassadors to provide advice and information to local communities. The teams include ambassadors who can speak KiSwahili, Oromo, Afar, Yoruba, Akan and Somali.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 9 September 2020 from the hon. Member for Glasgow North West on patient recovery from covid-19.
Answered by Edward Argar
We are working to provide all Members and external correspondents with accurate answers to their correspondence, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hon. Member’s letter will be answered as soon as possible.