Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 NHS staff have more opportunities to engage in research delivery.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery published in March 2021 committed to create a research positive culture in the National Health Service and develop a sustainable and supported research workforce, offering rewarding opportunities and careers for healthcare and research staff. In 2021, the Phase 1 Implementation Plan set out plans for new professional roles, expansion of flexible workforce and delivery models and increased capacity for research in primary and community care. The Phase 2 Implementation Plan is currently being developed and is planned for publication in summer 2022.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 limit the over-prescription of medication by GPs to patients judged to be at risk from them.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is for a general practitioner or other responsible clinician to work with their patient to determine the most clinically appropriate treatment for the individual. In September 2021, we published a review of over-prescribing ‘Good for you, good for us, good for everybody’. It sets out actions to reduce patient harm by reducing unnecessary prescribing. A three-year national over-prescribing programme is being established to lead on implementation of the 20 recommendations in the review.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are implementing the recommendations in ‘Dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines: An evidence review’, published in September 2019 by the former Public Health England. A framework for action is also being developed to support integrated care systems and partners to optimise the delivery of personalised care for patients at risk of or experiencing prescribed drugs dependence or withdrawal.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of lateral flow tests required daily, (b) the number of lateral flow tests the Government has available and (c) the cost of each lateral flow test.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No specific estimate of the number of lateral flow device (LFD) tests required each day as demand varies significantly. We expect to distribute 90 million tests in the United Kingdom each week. We expect 400 million tests to be made available by the UK Health Security Agency in January. We are unable to provide the cost per test of each LFD test as this information is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on the potential merits of expanding the scope of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's Innovation Office to support UK-based SMEs in a similar way to the European Medicines Agency’s SME office.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are regular discussions between the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) relating to ongoing work with global regulators. The MHRA is committed to continuing cooperation with international fora, including the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use and the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities.
The MHRA currently has no plans to establish a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) office, as there are a number of incentives that provide benefits and assistance to SMEs. The MHRA’s Innovation Office provides free, high level regulatory advice designed to be accessible to small product developers, such as SMEs, academic institutions and individuals, which are unfamiliar with the regulatory system.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 regulatory assistance the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency provides to UK-based SMEs compared to the European Medicines Agency’s SME office.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are regular discussions between the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) relating to ongoing work with global regulators. The MHRA is committed to continuing cooperation with international fora, including the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use and the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities.
The MHRA currently has no plans to establish a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) office, as there are a number of incentives that provide benefits and assistance to SMEs. The MHRA’s Innovation Office provides free, high level regulatory advice designed to be accessible to small product developers, such as SMEs, academic institutions and individuals, which are unfamiliar with the regulatory system.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on building strong links with global regulators to position the UK as a route to international markets.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are regular discussions between the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) relating to ongoing work with global regulators. The MHRA is committed to continuing cooperation with international fora, including the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use and the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities.
The MHRA currently has no plans to establish a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) office, as there are a number of incentives that provide benefits and assistance to SMEs. The MHRA’s Innovation Office provides free, high level regulatory advice designed to be accessible to small product developers, such as SMEs, academic institutions and individuals, which are unfamiliar with the regulatory system.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pigs were slaughtered in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland in each month of the last three years.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for delivering Official Controls in abattoirs in England and Wales. Official Controls in Northern Ireland are delivered by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on behalf of the FSA. We are unable to provide the information requested for Scotland as this is a matter for Food Standards Scotland.
The following table shows the number of pigs slaughtered in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Totals | Date | England | Wales | Northern Ireland | United Kingdom total excluding Scotland |
Year Total: October to December 2018 | 2018 | 2,258,502 | 7,814 | 441,823 | 2,708,139 |
| October | 803,768 | 2,726 | 178,572 | 985,066 |
| November | 788,112 | 2,443 | 144,337 | 934,892 |
| December | 666,622 | 2,645 | 118,914 | 788,181 |
Year total for January to December 2019 | 2019 | 8,912,967 | 28,586 | 1,787,680 | 1,072,9233 |
| January | 768,372 | 2,090 | 174,284 | 944,746 |
| February | 682,008 | 1,941 | 140,191 | 824,140 |
| March | 699,843 | 2,187 | 133,646 | 835,676 |
| April | 752,207 | 2,477 | 162,470 | 917,154 |
| May | 750,741 | 2,048 | 124,842 | 877,631 |
| June | 658,189 | 2,319 | 127,991 | 788,499 |
| July | 770,109 | 2,689 | 162,514 | 935,312 |
| August | 749,714 | 2,367 | 147,700 | 989,781 |
| September | 736,300 | 2,662 | 146,307 | 885,269 |
| October | 821,708 | 2,485 | 185,220 | 1,009,413 |
| November | 786,061 | 2,659 | 149,850 | 938,570 |
| December | 737,715 | 2,662 | 132,665 | 873,042 |
Year total for January to December 2020 | 2020 | 9,070,908 | 27,198 | 1,437,233 | 10,535,339 |
| January | 784,512 | 2,200 | 180,140 | 966,852 |
| February | 695,637 | 2,043 | 140,442 | 838,122 |
| March | 781,534 | 2,437 | 146,904 | 930,875 |
| April | 739,660 | 1,845 | 120,979 | 862,484 |
| May | 693,445 | 1,946 | 85,876 | 781,267 |
| June | 742,557 | 2,302 | 98,814 | 843,673 |
| July | 784,037 | 2,153 | 121,388 | 907,578 |
| August | 708,665 | 2,357 | 103,208 | 814,230 |
| September | 802,330 | 2,685 | 102,606 | 907,621 |
| October | 797,837 | 2,421 | 134,188 | 934,446 |
| November | 760,353 | 2,673 | 109,150 | 872,176 |
| December | 780,341 | 2,136 | 93,538 | 876,015 |
Year total for January to September 2021 | 2021 | 6,913,392 | 20,809 | 1,334,352 | 8,268,553 |
| January | 721,631 | 2,077 | 126,182 | 849,890 |
| February | 753,014 | 2,125 | 103,382 | 858,521 |
| March | 861,074 | 2,537 | 150,397 | 1,014,008 |
| April | 784,809 | 2,024 | 187,611 | 974,444 |
| May | 744,365 | 2,090 | 147,534 | 891,989 |
| June | 781,702 | 2,560 | 148,433 | 932,695 |
| July | 756,250 | 2,183 | 177,362 | 935,795 |
| August | 765,519 | 2,687 | 146,557 | 914,763 |
| September | 745,028 | 2,526 | 146,894 | 894,448 |
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a response to its consultation on front-of-pack nutrition labelling.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are considering the responses to the United Kingdom-wide public consultation on our current front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme including views and evidence on new international examples, specifically the Nutri-score label and Chile’s warning label. We chose to consider the Nutri-score and Chile’s warning label because they differ significantly from the UK’s multiple traffic light scheme and have evidence of the impact on public health in non-UK markets.
The consultation included a technical annex which provides a provisional commentary on the costs and benefits on the suggestions included in the consultation. We will publish a consultation response as soon as possible. If changes to the scheme are required, we will consult again on proposed policy changes and publish a full impact assessment.
Research was commissioned alongside the consultation to test which front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme supports people in Great Britain to identify healthier choices. This research tested the Government-recommended multiple traffic light, Nutri-score, Chile’s warning and Positive Choice Tick labels with a British population. The preliminary study was published 10 March 2021 and is available at the following link:
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/3/900
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what market research his Department has undertaken on consumer responses to (a) multiple traffic light, (b) nutriscore and (c) Chilean warning system front-of-pack nutrition labelling.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are considering the responses to the United Kingdom-wide public consultation on our current front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme including views and evidence on new international examples, specifically the Nutri-score label and Chile’s warning label. We chose to consider the Nutri-score and Chile’s warning label because they differ significantly from the UK’s multiple traffic light scheme and have evidence of the impact on public health in non-UK markets.
The consultation included a technical annex which provides a provisional commentary on the costs and benefits on the suggestions included in the consultation. We will publish a consultation response as soon as possible. If changes to the scheme are required, we will consult again on proposed policy changes and publish a full impact assessment.
Research was commissioned alongside the consultation to test which front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme supports people in Great Britain to identify healthier choices. This research tested the Government-recommended multiple traffic light, Nutri-score, Chile’s warning and Positive Choice Tick labels with a British population. The preliminary study was published 10 March 2021 and is available at the following link:
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/3/900
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
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 ensure the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) adopts innovative processes to help UK patients get earlier access to regulatory-approved medicines.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The rapid approval and delivery of clinical trials in the United Kingdom to respond to COVID-19 has made a leading contribution to the international vaccine and therapeutics effort. In March the Government set out its vision for the future of clinical research delivery to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally-enabled research environment. Implementation plans and strategies setting out how the Government and devolved administrations will begin to deliver the vision during 2021 to 2022 will be published shortly.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) launched the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) at the start of 2021, to reduce the time to market for innovative medicines. The ILAP combines the MHRA’s independence and high standards of quality, safety and efficacy, with improved efficiency and flexibility. It provides a single integrated platform between the MHRA, partners and the medicine developer, to ensure that patients receive the highest quality medicines and treatments as soon as they become available.