Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to use provisions of the Health and Care Act 2022 to regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures; and whether that regulation is a policy priority.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are committed to improving the safety of cosmetic procedures by ensuring that the regulatory framework allows consumers to make informed and safe choices. Officials are considering how a future licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England may be implemented. Any future licensing requirements would be subject to both stakeholder engagement and public consultation to inform the scope and details of the scheme.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) clinical commissioning groups and (b) integrated care systems that have (i) time limits, (ii) restrictions on balancing surgery, (iii) limits on the number of procedures and (iv) other local restrictions on breast reconstruction in place as of 14 June 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Information on specific funding allocated for breast reconstruction services is not held in the format requested. However, to support the recovery of elective services, including breast reconstruction, we are providing more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund made available in 2021/22.
No estimate has been made of the number of clinical commissioning groups and integrated care systems where local restrictions may be in place. The NHS Cancer Programme has reiterated that no local time limits should be applied to reconstructive surgery, particularly where reconstructive surgery has been delayed due to the pandemic. Cancer Alliances have been asked to ensure that wherever possible surgery with immediate breast reconstruction takes place and to seek opportunities to accelerate reconstruction for those women who have not yet undergone the procedure following previous breast surgery during the pandemic.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many delayed breast reconstructions have taken place since March 2020; and what proportion of those delayed reconstructions have used (a) free flap and (b) autologous breast reconstruction.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The data is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his timeline is for the new cervical screening IT system going live, as a minimum viable product; and by what date will the schedule and contents of subsequent releases, including the expected scope of the system on completion, be ready.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The new NHS Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) will provide multiple benefits to both staff and patients and replace outdated technology. The new system will connect to the NHS Personal Demographics Service to provide a single source of national patient demographic information. National Health Service staff will be able to track a patient’s screening history more easily and patients will be able to manage their screening appointments online.
The launch date for the new CSMS minimum viable product has not yet been confirmed. The Digital Transformation of Screening Programme Board aims to confirm a deployment date during 2022/23. The schedule and contents of subsequent releases has yet to be agreed and will be considered as part of the implementation plan.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the validity of a paper covid-19 pass beyond 30 days.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The NHS COVID Pass in digital and letter form is currently valid for 30 days as a protection measure against fraud. Expiration dates for the NHS COVID Pass will be kept under review.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
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 ensure that domiciliary care providers are able to order covid-19 lateral flow tests in bulk.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Domiciliary care providers can order polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in bulk for care workers to test on a weekly basis. Providers are currently unable to order lateral flow device (LFD) tests in bulk. The advice on LFD testing is moving to a risk-based approach although we continue to review guidance in line with the latest public health advice. Domiciliary care workers have continuous access to LFD tests via GOV.UK to collect from pharmacies or for home delivery.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
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 15 December 2021 to Question 88708 on INFACT, for what reason his Ministers are not planning to meet the INFACT campaign to discuss the topic of sodium valproate.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is now focusing on implementing the accepted recommendations from the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, including those related to sodium valproate. We aim to publish an update on progress in summer 2022.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Ministers in his Department will meet with hon. Members and INFACT to discuss the impact of Sodium Valproate in pregnancy; and for what reason Ministers were previously advised to disregard meeting requests with this campaign group.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We value engagement with stakeholders, such as INFACT, to inform our response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review. The former Minister of State for Patient Safety, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (Rt hon. Ms Nadine Dorries MP) met with INFACT on 14 July. We have no current plans to meet with INFACT.
The Government published its response to the IMMDS Review on 21 July, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made on the HPV vaccination catch-up programme.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS England and its providers continue to follow the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations. The National Health Service is prioritising the first dose of HPV vaccine for all those eligible whilst addressing immunisations that have been missed. NHS providers are digitalising consent processes, using closed school estates and a range of alternative community settings to deliver vaccines where appropriate. NHS England has also been working closely with the Department of Education to ensure that schools facilitate the continuation of vaccinations where possible.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) membership of the Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum, (b) dates on which that Forum has met and (c) policy recommendations that Forum has made to Government.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum met on 13 October 2020 and 21 April 2021. The forum has not made any specific recommendations to the Department to date. We are unable to provide the membership of the Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum as it relates to the formulation of Government policy.