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, whether NHS PCR tests contain latex; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people with allergies to latex have access to reliable covid-19 tests.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are not made with natural rubber latex. However the presence or traces of natural rubber latex in the product as delivered to the end-user cannot be excluded completely due to the potential to come into contact with latex during transportation or handling processes. We are currently reviewing all aspects of PCR testing in light of this potential risk.
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, what risk assessment he has made of the implications of ending UK participation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) European Drug Report 2021; and on what basis the UK Government has withdrawn from participation, in the context of EU membership not being a requirement.
Answered by Jo Churchill
In line with the Withdrawal Agreement, the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addition (EMCDDA) on 31 January 2020. As the UK is no longer a member of EMCDDA, it does not take part in the annual reporting process.
The UK continues to have strong domestic drugs monitoring and surveillance systems, augmented through our sharing of information and expertise with international partners, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization.
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, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the likelihood of alcohol and tobacco being misused, (b) the risk of alcohol and tobacco misuse causing harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem and (c) the effectiveness of excluding alcohol and tobacco from control of harmful drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No recent assessment has been made.
The Government is committed to supporting the most vulnerable at risk from alcohol misuse, including through establishing alcohol care teams in hospitals and supporting children of alcohol dependent parents. We will be publishing a new Tobacco Control Plan later this year setting out plans for England to become a smoke-free country by 2030.
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, whether (a) his Department and (b) NHS England undertook an equalities impact assessment of the amendments to NHS England’s service specification for Gender Identity Development Services for children and adolescents published on 1 December 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No equalities impact assessment was undertaken by the Department or NHS England and NHS Improvement.
NHS England and NHS Improvement took immediate action following the High Court Ruling on 1 December. Their amendment to the service specification for gender identity services for children and young people was published on the day of the judgement in order to protect patients and clinicians given the significant safeguarding, clinical and legal issues raised. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust will be conducting a clinical risk assessment of every young person who is immediately affected by the decision.
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 letter of 16 October 2020 from the Minister with responsibility for drugs to the hon. Member for Reigate, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of emerging evidence on the use of Psylocybin in the treatment of depression and trauma.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Government has made no recent assessment of the potential merits of rescheduling psilocybin, which remains a Schedule 1 substance under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (the 2001 Regulations).
Ministers continue to take a close interest in any new evidence relating to controlled drugs and they would seek expert advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs before making any amendments to the 2001 Regulations.
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, whether (a) his Department and (b) NHS England undertook an equalities impact assessment of the amendments to NHS England’s service specification for Gender Identity Development Services for children and adolescents published on 1 December 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No equalities impact assessment was undertaken by the Department or NHS England and NHS Improvement.
NHS England and NHS Improvement took immediate action following the High Court Ruling on 1 December. Their amendment to the service specification for gender identity services for children and young people was published on the day of the judgement in order to protect patients and clinicians given the significant safeguarding, clinical and legal issues raised. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust will be conducting a clinical risk assessment of every young person who is immediately affected by the decision.
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, pursuant to the oral response of the Minister for Women and Equalities to the Urgent Question from the hon. Member for Reigate of 24 September 2020, Official Report, column 1137, on the Gender Recognition Act Consultation, whether the three clinics announced by the Minister for Women and Equalities in her Written Ministerial Statement of 22 September 2020 were originally identified as pilot clinics by his Department.
Answered by Jo Churchill
In 2018 a new service specification was developed for gender identity clinics, this new specification concluded that access to specialist interventions by trained healthcare professionals was needed within primary care and other local health settings.
Three new clinics were announced earlier this year. The new services will provide the range of services available from an established gender dysphoria clinic. The clinics are based in London, Manchester, and Cheshire and Merseyside. The first of these services began in July 2020 in London. These services will be evaluated as pilots over a period of up to three years to determine how they could be expanded nationally.
These services were referenced by the Minister for Women and Equalities in her response of 24 September.
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, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to ensure continuity of care for patients affected by the recent court ruling in Bell v Tavistock.
Answered by Jo Churchill
A full clinical review must be carried out for all patients under the age of 16 years old who are currently receiving puberty blockers. If the patient intends to continue on puberty blockers or progress onto cross sex hormones, the lead clinician must make a ‘best interests’ application to the Court for final determination of that individual’s needs. No patients will have puberty blockers withdrawn unless, as a result of the clinical review, a clinical decision, in consultation with the patient, is made to withdraw puberty blockers, or a court considers a ‘best interest’ decision and decides it is not in the patient’s interest to remain on puberty blockers.
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, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of patients whose treatment has been suspended or cancelled following the judgment in Bell v Tavistock.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Gender Identity Development Service will ensure that appropriate psychosocial support and psychological therapies are available to patients who are removed from puberty blockers, as well as to their families and carers.