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, whether he has made an assessment of the treatment by recruitment agencies of nurses working in social care who were recruited from India.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We continue to work closely with partners in the Home Office to share concerns and intelligence related to poor practice in the recruitment and employment of overseas workers in the care sector.
All employers of international health and care staff must follow the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel to make sure staff are recruited ethically and are treated with respect.
In addition, the Home Office’s sponsor licence system places clear and binding requirements and obligations on employers looking to recruit and manage overseas workers. The UK Visas and Immigration body has conducted visits and investigations in the sector, following which sponsors have had their licences suspended pending investigation and then revoked.
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, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the adequacy of response times to requests for further information on clinical trials.
Answered by Will Quince
Before December 2021, applicants were required to respond to all requests from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for further information (also known as ‘grounds for non-acceptance’) within 14 days. However, since December 2021, applicants have had the flexibility to request additional time to respond to requests for further information, as required, by contacting the Clinical Trials Helpline.
Furthermore, as stated in the Government response to the Consultation on legislative proposals for clinical trials (published 21 March 2023), we will introduce a 60-day timeframe (with flexible extension) to respond to any requests for further information. This flexibility will enable sponsors to prepare robust responses and interact with assessors to satisfy the regulators and avoid application rejections. It is important to note that the 60-day proposal is a maximum timeframe, so the sponsor could respond as quickly as they would like up to this limit.
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 much funding has been allocated to the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital; and what stage has been reached in the approvals process for this project.
Answered by Will Quince
The new hospital scheme for the Cancer Research Hospital has received £14.654 million in funding up to the end of 2022/23 financial year. The total individual funding will be subject to a Full Business Case being reviewed and agreed, including by HM Treasury.
The scheme is currently at Outline Business Case stage. The Outline Business Case has been received and is in the process of being reviewed, as per the standard business case assurance process.
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of withdrawing (a) masks and (b) other protective measures in medical settings for immunosuppressed people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In April 2022, NHS England published the National infection prevention and control manual (NIPCM), which ensures a consistent approach to infection prevention and control guidance across the National Health Service. The NIPCM is mandatory across NHS England or settings where NHS England services are delivered and is complimented by pathogen- or disease-specific guidance produced by the UK Health Security Agency. Guidance allows for nuanced local risk assessment, with any additional infection prevention and control measures beyond those outlined in the NIPCM applied at local discretion.
The NIPCM does not require patients or visitors to National Health Service settings to routinely wear a face mask. However, there are some circumstances where it is recommended that patients and visitors to care settings wear masks. For example, universal masking should be considered in settings where patients are at high risk of infection due to immunosuppression such as, oncology or haematology. This should be guided by local risk assessment.
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, with reference to his Department’s ongoing VPAS pre-negotiation workshops, whether he plans to make the outputs of those discussions publicly available.
Answered by Will Quince
The objective of the pre-negotiation workshops was to enable a mutual understanding of the impact of the current voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) upon the different organisations represented and to discuss the potential objectives and priorities for a new voluntary scheme. The discussions in the workshops will feed into the upcoming negotiation of a successor to the 2019 VPAS. In order to facilitate a transparent and candid discussion, participants agreed that all contributions and resulting outputs would be kept confidential to those who attended.
The following organisations were invited to the workshops:
Industry bodies (including representatives of their member companies):
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry;
- British Generic Manufacturers Association;
- Ethical Medicines Industry Group;
- BioIndustry Association.
Patient organisations and civil society organisations:
- Cancer52;
- The Blood Cancer Alliance;
- The Charity Medicines Access Coalition;
- National Voices;
- The Patients Association;
- Alzheimer’s Research UK;
- Anthony Nolan;
- Cystic Fibrosis Trust;
- Genetic Alliance UK;
- The Association of Medical Research Charities;
- Breast Cancer Now;
- Myeloma UK;
- Office of Health Economics;
- King’s Fund;
- NHS Confederation.
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, with reference to his Department’s ongoing VPAS pre-negotiation workshops, if he will publish the (a) minutes and (b) attendees of those workshops.
Answered by Will Quince
The objective of the pre-negotiation workshops was to enable a mutual understanding of the impact of the current voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) upon the different organisations represented and to discuss the potential objectives and priorities for a new voluntary scheme. The discussions in the workshops will feed into the upcoming negotiation of a successor to the 2019 VPAS. In order to facilitate a transparent and candid discussion, participants agreed that all contributions and resulting outputs would be kept confidential to those who attended.
The following organisations were invited to the workshops:
Industry bodies (including representatives of their member companies):
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry;
- British Generic Manufacturers Association;
- Ethical Medicines Industry Group;
- BioIndustry Association.
Patient organisations and civil society organisations:
- Cancer52;
- The Blood Cancer Alliance;
- The Charity Medicines Access Coalition;
- National Voices;
- The Patients Association;
- Alzheimer’s Research UK;
- Anthony Nolan;
- Cystic Fibrosis Trust;
- Genetic Alliance UK;
- The Association of Medical Research Charities;
- Breast Cancer Now;
- Myeloma UK;
- Office of Health Economics;
- King’s Fund;
- NHS Confederation.
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, if he will publish (a) the minutes from and (b) a list of attendees at the workshops his Department has been running ahead of negotiations on a new Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access.
Answered by Will Quince
The objective of the pre-negotiation workshops was to enable a mutual understanding of the impact of the current voluntary scheme upon the different organisations represented, and to discuss the potential objectives and priorities for a new voluntary scheme. The discussions in the workshops will feed into the upcoming negotiation of a successor to the 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access. In order to facilitate a transparent and candid discussion, participants agreed that all contributions would be kept confidential to those who attended.
The following external organisations were invited to the workshops:
Industry bodies:
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
- British Generic Manufacturers Association
- Ethical Medicines Industry Group
- BioIndustry Association
Patient organisations and civil society organisations:
- Cancer52
- The Blood Cancer Alliance
- The Charity Medicines Access Coalition
- National Voices
- The Patients Association
- Alzheimer’s Research UK
- Anthony Nolan
- Cystic Fibrosis Trust
- Genetic Alliance UK
- The Association of Medical Research Charities
- Breast Cancer Now
- Myeloma UK
- Office of Health Economics
- King’s Fund
- NHS Confederation
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, whether he plans to publish information about the outcomes from the workshops that his Department has been running ahead of negotiations on a new Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access.
Answered by Will Quince
The objective of the pre-negotiation workshops was to enable a mutual understanding of the impact of the current voluntary scheme upon the different organisations represented, and to discuss the potential objectives and priorities for a new voluntary scheme. The discussions in the workshops will feed into the upcoming negotiation of a successor to the 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access. In order to facilitate a transparent and candid discussion, participants agreed that all contributions would be kept confidential to those who attended.
The following external organisations were invited to the workshops:
Industry bodies:
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
- British Generic Manufacturers Association
- Ethical Medicines Industry Group
- BioIndustry Association
Patient organisations and civil society organisations:
- Cancer52
- The Blood Cancer Alliance
- The Charity Medicines Access Coalition
- National Voices
- The Patients Association
- Alzheimer’s Research UK
- Anthony Nolan
- Cystic Fibrosis Trust
- Genetic Alliance UK
- The Association of Medical Research Charities
- Breast Cancer Now
- Myeloma UK
- Office of Health Economics
- King’s Fund
- NHS Confederation
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 his Department plans to take to use (a) vaccination and (b) other treatments, including antivirals amongst vulnerable groups in winter 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 25 January 2023, the Government accepted interim advice from the JCVI to plan to offer a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose in autumn 2023 to those at higher risk of severe COVID-19. The Government will confirm the approach to autumn vaccination for COVID-19 once final advice is received from the JCVI later this year.
JCVI’s 2023/24 seasonal influenza (flu) advice was published on 30 November 2022 confirming its advice on which vaccines should be prioritised for various at-risk groups. NHS England will publish the 2023/24 reimbursement letter and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will publish the annual flu letter in due course. These will set out details about which cohorts will be offered a free flu vaccine and which vaccines they will be offered.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that can be serious, especially for infants. An RSV monoclonal antibody is offered to a very small group of at-risk infants from each autumn which is the beginning of the annual RSV season. The JCVI is reviewing new products for potentially improving and expanding the RSV immunisation offer. The Government will announce these in due course.
COVID-19 patients in England whose immune system means they are at the highest risk from COVID-19, and who test positive for the virus, can currently directly access antiviral treatments through the National Health Service at any time of year. For flu, the UKHSA will recommend the appropriate timing for antiviral medicines to be prescribed and supplied in both primary and secondary care for patients in clinical at-risk group.
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 his Department is taking to help increase the UK's share of the global pharmaceutical research and development market.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department, alongside the former Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, have jointly commissioned an independent review of clinical trials. The review, currently underway, will offer recommendations on how commercial clinical trials can help the life sciences sector unlock United Kingdom growth and investment opportunities. It will also advise on how to resolve key challenges in conducting commercial clinical trials in the UK and will build on the 2021 publication of ‘Saving and Improving Lives: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’. This vision sets out plans restructuring the UK’s research delivery to enable increased recruitment and market share of global trial numbers and aims to make study set-up and delivery faster, more efficient and more innovative. All of these measures will offer the assurance to global pharmaceutical companies that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to deliver cutting-edge research and increase the share of the global pharmaceutical research and development market.