Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice his Department has provided to General Practitioners on the provision of in person appointments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
General practice is open and has been throughout the pandemic. Practices must ensure they offer face to face appointments and respect patient preferences for face to face care where clinically appropriate, in line with the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter to general practice of 13 May 2021.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 bring (a) tobacco pouches and (b) nicotine pouches within the scope of the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tobacco pouches are illegal under the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016 (TRPR) (Regulation 17) which states that no person may produce or supply tobacco for oral use in the United Kingdom. Nicotine pouches are not regulated under the TRPR, but they are covered under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
The Department is currently undertaking a post implementation review on the TRPR. We are exploring areas of regulation that could be strengthened and we will publish our response later this year.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department takes to ensure that when people choose to opt-out of the REACT covid-19 testing research study that their wishes are recorded and that they cease to be contacted; and if he will make statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The REACT study is being conducted by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Department. Participation in the REACT study is voluntary and participants can withdraw from the study at any time. This is managed by Ipsos MORI via a dedicated helpline and inbox that handle all queries including opt out. This ensures that participants who opt out will no longer be contacted by the study. If Ipsos MORI receive a request to cease future contact indefinitely, participants’ details are also added to their corporate ‘do not contact’ database, against which all future survey samples are screened.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria are used to determine which countries are red listed for travel as a result of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of the spread of variants of concern internationally. These risk assessments cover a range of factors for each country including assessment of surveillance and sequencing capability, available surveillance and genome sequencing data, evidence of in-country community transmission of COVID-19 variants, evidence of exportation of new variants to the United Kingdom or other countries and travel connectivity with the UK.
Decisions on ‘red-listing’ are taken by Ministers informed by evidence including the JBC’s analysis as well as other relevant information about the risk of the spread of variant. The list of countries on the red list is kept under constant review.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department makes available to fund research into (a) Stargardt disease and (b) other inherited retinal diseases; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) supports research in response to proposals from the research community and welcomes high-quality applications for support into any aspect of human health, including Stargardt’s disease and other inherited retinal diseases.
In the last five years the NIHR directly funded three studies related to Stargardt’s disease for a total of £1.87 million. Six further studies on Stargardt’s disease were additionally supported by the NIHR through Central Commissioning Facility-managed and Clinical Research Network Coordinating Centre infrastructure.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to establish a Smokefree 2030 Fund in Budget 2021, funded by the tobacco industry, to help the UK meet its smoking reduction targets; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to comment on announcements for Budget 2021. However, the Government is committed to addressing the harms from tobacco and will set out its ambition for England to be smoke-free by 2030 in a new Tobacco Control Plan to be published this summer.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 bring forward proposals in the Green Paper, Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s, in the upcoming Tobacco Control Plan; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Prevention Green Paper set out an ambition to go ‘smoke-free’ in England by 2030. We have committed to publishing a new Tobacco Control Plan this summer to outline our Smokefree 2030 plans.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 ensure that (a) elderly people and (b) people with underlying health conditions who are housebound receive the covid-19 vaccine in a timely manner within their home; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Local vaccination services play a vital role in reaching those who may be elderly or housebound. These services mobilise general practice, working together in groups of Primary Care Networks plus large and small community pharmacy sites. These services provide the largest number of locations and are well placed to support our highest risk individuals, many of whom already have a trusted relationship with their local health services. They also coordinate and deliver vaccination to people who are unable to attend a vaccination site, including visiting care homes, the homes of housebound individuals and other settings such as residential facilities for people with learning disabilities or autism.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising (a) paramedics, (b) healthcare professionals and (c) other staff involved in the transporting of covid-19 patients across regions for covid-19 vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
All frontline healthcare staff who are eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination should be offered the vaccine in phase one of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including paramedics, healthcare professionals and staff involved in the transporting of COVID-19 patients.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the role that heated tobacco products have to play in helping to achieve England's 2030 smoke-free target; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest evidence to the Government, published by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food on the 12 December 2017, show that although products still pose harm to users, they are likely to be less harmful than conventional cigarette smoking. Data on the impacts to human health are very limited, and it is recommended that smokers quit completely rather than move to these products. Use of these products has remained low at less than 1% of the adult population in England.
The Government will be publishing a new Tobacco Control Plan for England to outline our Smokefree 2030 vision later this summer.