Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish all the scientific data supporting the findings in the Joint position paper from the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) and Committee on Toxicity (COT) on establishing a provisional acceptable daily intake (ADI) for pure form (≥98%) cannabidiol (CBD) in foods, based on new evidence, which was published on 12 October 2023.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The scientific data was summarised in the joint position paper from the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes and Committee on Toxicity, which is available at the following link:
Further detailed information will be published on the Food Standards Agency’s website in safety assessments relating to the novel foods applications for cannabidiol, as required by Article 23 4 (e) of Novel Foods Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, which are in preparation.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
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 increase the level of research into the use of psilocybin for the treatment of (a) depression, (b) addiction and (c) other chronic conditions on health inequalities; and if he will take steps to fund research into the use of psilocybin.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), who have invested £1.1 million in a randomised controlled trial to examine if it is feasible, safe and effective to use psilocybin to treat people with treatment-resistant depression. NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the use of psilocybin in the treatment of depression, addiction and other chronic conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
NIHR infrastructure is supporting psilocybin research via the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre where researchers are developing and evaluating the efficacy and safety of psilocybin therapy for use in the National Health Service and other healthcare settings.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the paper entitled Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression, published in 2022, if he will ask the Chief Medical Officer to assess the (a) medicinal and (b) therapeutic utility of psilocybin.
Answered by Will Quince
As it says in the conclusion of the paper “Larger and longer trials, including comparison with existing treatments, are required to determine the efficacy and safety of psilocybin for this disorder.” When new treatments are sufficiently developed, there are existing mechanisms in the United Kingdom to licence those treatments and determine their cost effectiveness and use. These are the correct routes to follow, once the evidence is sufficiently developed.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason his Department took more than five months to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Reigate sent on 5 December 2021 on behalf of a constituent regarding student nurse placement hours.
Answered by Edward Argar
In 2021, the Department received over 43,500 items of correspondence – an increase of almost four times compared to 2019. While we endeavour to reply to cases within 20 working days, the increased volumes of correspondence have led to backlog of cases, which officials are addressing as quickly as possible. We are committed to restoring our response times for correspondence to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of a February 2021 British Medical Journal report on sexual and reproductive health that 89 per cent of women who have used the telemedicine service for early medical abortion have reported that they would opt to have treatment at home again if necessary and a February 2021 report published by the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology that complications due to abortion have decreased since that service was introduced, if he will make it his policy to make that service permanent.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are considering all evidence submitted to the Government’s public consultation on whether to make permanent the temporary measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion. We will publish our response in due course.