Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether steps are being taken to prevent the closure to new patients of the Lower Urinary Tract Services Clinic in north London.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Trust has been working to address the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians following a service review of the Lower Urinary Tract Service, before the clinic is re-opened to new patients. The Trust is currently in negotiations with commissioners to establish the re-opening of the clinic in the 2018/19 contract.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
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 ensure that the UK is at the global forefront of collecting and using patient data to improve health and care outcomes.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Government is committed to supporting innovation and improvement through the safe and secure use of data from the health and care system. NHS Digital is the national provider of high-quality information, data and IT systems for health and social care, with a statutory duty in the Health and Social Care Act 2012, to assure the quality of all the data it collects, publishes and makes available, under strict controls, to the research community. At present, a wide range of data is collected from the National Health Service to support a range of secondary uses including within the research community. Recognising the value and importance of this data, NHS Digital has made a number of commitments to the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy. In addition, NHS Digital has set out national standards and approaches for data and interoperability and sponsors the Professional Records Standards Body to define the standards needed for good care records which are the foundation of strong data for research. To support researchers understanding of the data access environment, NHS Digital is also rolling out a series of Roadshows for Researchers which will promote understanding of the types of data that are available for research and how to access this data.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to implement the recommendation in the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy to evolve medicines value assessments to include improved patient outcome measures.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is supportive of the vision of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy (LSIS). However, it is a sector led document and not official Government policy. The Government has committed to implement some of the recommendations in collaboration with the sector through the first Life Sciences Sector Deal, which was published as part of the Industrial Strategy White Paper. The Sector Deal did not include measures on this specific recommendation. However, Sector Deals are iterative and recommendations not taken forward in the first phase may be considered for future phases or alternative policy delivery routes.
The LSIS recommends that ‘Value assessments should be evolved in the long-term with improved patient outcome measures, affordability and cost management data extending beyond one year timeframes’. It relates to a number of issues raised in the Accelerated Access Review (AAR) and work is ongoing between the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England to address them as part of the Government’s response to the AAR.
In 2012 NICE reviewed the guidance on technology appraisals, including a public consultation on a potential new value assessment framework. This included amendments to include patient outcome measures. However, the review concluded that there was insufficient consensus to modify the assessment framework at that time. NICE is planning to start the work on the next update to its guide to methods of technology appraisal in 2019.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the need for additional investment in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is a Government trading fund, and will continue to be so after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. As a Government trading fund, the Agency will carry on recovering costs in the usual way.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the government is taking to ensure that the UK continues to attract the best talent in science and healthcare after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has always said it is committed to ensuring leaving the European Union is a success and wants the United Kingdom to remain a hub for attracting international talent including to the National Health Service and UK research.
The Department is working with other Government Departments, including the Home Office, to ensure continued access to the brightest and best international talent.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
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 for people from at-risk groups, as identified in NICE Public Health Guideline 56, who are no longer able to access appropriate licensed vitamin D maintenance treatments as a result of only over the counter treatments being available under NHS England proposals.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Department has no such plans. NHS England recently consulted on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care, ‘A consultation on guidance for CCGs’ and also published a full Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment which covers groups protected by the Equality Act 2010 and those on low income. A copy of the document is attached.
NHS England’s consultation document proposed that people who have demonstrated vitamin D deficiency will continue to have access to vitamin D on prescription. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Public Health Guideline 56 refers to widened access to vitamin D for those who are at risk of vitamin D deficiency, including the ability to purchase appropriate supplements if needed and access support from health care professionals to be able to safeguard their own health.
The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances states that vitamins and minerals should be prescribed only in the management of actual or potential vitamin or mineral deficiency, and are not to be prescribed as dietary supplements. We understand that NHS England’s consultation is in line with this. Prescribing vitamin D for maintenance would be classed as a treatment for prevention or as a dietary supplement.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
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 the number of (a) restaurants, (b) takeaways and (c) cafes that provide calorie labelling (i) on their menus and (ii) at the point of purchase.
Answered by Steve Brine
No estimate has made of the number of out of home settings providing calorie information and no assessment has been made of the merits of mandating calorie labelling in these settings.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
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 the number of (a) retailers and (b) manufacturers that have adopted the front-of-pack traffic-light labelling system.
Answered by Steve Brine
Businesses that have adopted the front of pack nutrition labelling scheme account for approximately two thirds of the market for pre-packed foods and drinks.
Evidence suggests that people who use the front of pack labels tend to have healthier shopping baskets with fewer calories, less sugar, fat and salt, and more fibre. Evidence from businesses using the scheme suggests that shoppers use the scheme to make healthier choices within categories, for example, ready meals.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of front-of-pack traffic-light labelling on people's choice of food.
Answered by Steve Brine
Businesses that have adopted the front of pack nutrition labelling scheme account for approximately two thirds of the market for pre-packed foods and drinks.
Evidence suggests that people who use the front of pack labels tend to have healthier shopping baskets with fewer calories, less sugar, fat and salt, and more fibre. Evidence from businesses using the scheme suggests that shoppers use the scheme to make healthier choices within categories, for example, ready meals.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent review of Early Access to Medicines Scheme, published in March 2016, what reforms his Department has made to the early access to medicines scheme since the publication of that report.
Answered by Steve Brine
Since the publication of the independent review of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) the Government has made a number of improvements. Partners have worked together to provide updated guidance on the benefits and entry requirements for EAMS and are developing further guidance on collecting real world data in the scheme to support the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraisal.
Furthermore, the EAMS task group exists to provide a forum for industry to engage with and make suggestions to the Government, the devolved administrations and arm’s length bodies regarding EAMS, as per the recommendations of the 2016 review.