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 progress he has made to (a) harness the potential of NHS health data for research purposes and (b) improve the interoperability of existing data sets.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
On 2 March 2022, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced a joint investment of £200 million in data infrastructure for research and development. Over the next three years, this will create a National Health Service-wide health data research and innovation infrastructure which enhances care and sustains the health and care system. This includes making data available to approved researchers in a streamlined and secure way which protects privacy through an interoperable system of Trusted Research Environments. NHS Digital is working with suppliers to ensure that systems across health and care are interoperable.
Through the NHS Standard Contract, NHS Digital is ensuring a common ‘language’ to identify citizens, care settings and the treatments provided. All data collected nationally and made available to research receives rigorous design to ensure it aligns to the standards in the Contract. The information standard for each dataset is incorporated into the requirements definition mandated on health and care providers.
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
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
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
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
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
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 |