Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing Section 3(D) of the Abortion Act 1967 in the context of potential risks presented to the health and safety of women.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made of the implications for policies on the provision of abortion pills to a woman beyond the legal time limit for abortion.
The law on abortion and required standards of medical care are clear. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure that abortions in England are performed in accordance with the Abortion Act 1967.
There are no plans to review Section 3(D) of the Abortion Act 1967. Parliament decided the circumstances under which abortion can legally be undertaken. It would be for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 implications for his policies of provision of abortion pills to a woman beyond the legal limit for abortion by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made of the implications for policies on the provision of abortion pills to a woman beyond the legal time limit for abortion.
The law on abortion and required standards of medical care are clear. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure that abortions in England are performed in accordance with the Abortion Act 1967.
There are no plans to review Section 3(D) of the Abortion Act 1967. Parliament decided the circumstances under which abortion can legally be undertaken. It would be for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 effect of NHS England’s Budget Impact Test on single-dose gene therapies.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made.
The Budget Impact Test is an integral part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluation process for new interventions, including gene therapies. It assesses the financial implications of introducing a new therapy by considering factors such as patient eligibility, treatment costs, and the impact on National Health Service resources. NICE undertakes a Budget Impact Test for each individual single-dose gene therapy as part of standard NICE process.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to implement the commitment in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s methods and processes review to accept a greater degree of uncertainty in the evaluation of innovative new health technologies, including emerging cell and gene therapies.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its guidance. NICE made a number of changes to its health technology evaluation manual in January 2022 following a comprehensive review of its methods and processes, including to clarify its committees’ additional flexibility in considering uncertainty when evidence generation is difficult. NICE’s technology appraisal and highly specialised technology committees are now using the updated health technology evaluation manual for all new evaluations which began after 1 February 2022, including evaluations of cell and gene therapies.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Single Technology Appraisal pathway is compatible with emerging innovations including gene therapies.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates gene therapies through both its technology appraisal programme and its highly specialised technologies programmes as appropriate. NICE’s processes have been proven to be suitable for the evaluation of advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs) where companies are willing to price their products in a way that represents value to the taxpayer. NICE has recommended 80% of the ATMPs it has evaluated for use by the National Health Service and they are now available for the treatment of NHS patients, including through the Cancer Drugs Fund and managed access agreements negotiated between the NHS and the manufacturer.
Most recently, in April 2023, NICE recommended eladocagene exuparvovec, the first and currently only gene therapy for children with an ultra-rare genetic disorder, aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency, enabling its use on the NHS in England.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many participants were recruited to industry-sponsored clinical trials in each of the National Institute for Health and Care Research's Local Clinical Research Networks in 2022-23.
Answered by Will Quince
A total of 32,328 participants were recruited into industry sponsored clinical trials in England in 2022/23 which were supported by the National Institute for Health Research and Clinical Research Network (CRN). The following table shows a breakdown of the number by Local CRN.
Local CRN | 2022/23 |
East Midlands | 1716 |
East of England | 2,579 |
Eastern | 0 |
Greater Manchester | 3,449 |
Kent, Surrey and Sussex | 847 |
North East and North Cumbria | 2,571 |
North Thames | 2,723 |
North West Coast | 1,840 |
North West London | 3,216 |
South London | 2,255 |
South West Peninsula | 1,807 |
Thames Valley and South Midlands | 1,432 |
Wessex | 1,692 |
West Midlands | 2,507 |
West of England | 1,262 |
Yorkshire and Humber | 2,432 |
Total | 32,328 |
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) automated dispensing technology, (b) digital consultations and (c) other digital technologies on levels of efficiency in the pharmacy sector.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Between 16 March and 8 June 2022, the Government ran a consultation on proposals to enable all pharmacies to be able to access external hub dispensing services facilitating greater use of automation. An impact assessment which takes into consideration the role of automated dispensing technology in the hub and spoke model was completed as part of this work. The impact assessment is available at the following link:
There will be synergistic efficiencies gained by using hub and spoke dispensing and original pack dispensing (OPD) supporting the highly automated processes that hubs are likely to employ. Between 1 November and 13 December 2021, the Government consulted on proposals to enable OPD. The consultation response is available at the following link:
The Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, published on 9 May, commits to significantly improving the digital infrastructure between general practice and community pharmacy by introducing interoperable digital solutions to support secure communications between general practice and community pharmacies. There are no plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of digital consultations and other digital technologies on levels of efficiency.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, published on 9 May 2023, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of the pharmacy sector in helping patients to monitor (a) high blood pressure and (b) other long-term conditions at home.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
On 9 May, as part of the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we announced a further investment of up to £645 million over two years to expand the role of community pharmacy including the expansion of existing blood pressure services. This service offers a blood pressure cuff check, as well as ambulatory monitoring where appropriate. General practitioners can also refer their patients directly to the community pharmacy for ambulatory blood pressure measurements, supporting care closer to home and self-care. Pharmacists are experts on medicines and any prescription which is dispensed by a community pharmacist requires the pharmacy to provide to the patient information and advice including how to use the medicines safely. This includes products patients require to monitor their long-term conditions, for example blood glucose testing strips for diabetic patients and peak flow monitors for patients with asthma.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, published on 9 May 2023, what steps his Department is taking to improve IT connectivity between community pharmacies and other parts of the NHS.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Delivery plan commits to significantly improving the digital infrastructure between general practice and community pharmacy by introducing interoperable digital solutions to support secure communications between general practice and community pharmacies. Community pharmacists will be able to access patients’ records, view previous interventions and results, and populate those records with standardised messages related to the services provided in community pharmacy and referrals will be enabled from general practice to community pharmacies and between pharmacies.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
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 30 January 2023 to Question 129959 on Drugs: Prices, how many of the 24 commercial agreements that resulted in non-uniform pricing since 2020 were agreed through (a) The Cancer Drugs Fund, (b) routine commissioning and (c) the Innovative Medicines Fund.
Answered by Will Quince
Of the 24 commercial agreements that resulted in non-uniform pricing since 2020, 11 were agreed through the Cancer Drugs Fund and 13 were agreed through routine commissioning. NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will lead a public engagement exercise on proposals for the Innovative Medicine Fund in due course. NHSE&I and NICE will continue to work collaboratively in line with NHSE&I’s published commercial framework to negotiate deals with industry that enable patients to access the most innovative and effective new medicines and ensure the National Health Service gets the best value.