Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
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 antenatal screening for syphilis is (a) effective and (b) accessible to pregnant women.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Syphilis screening is offered to all pregnant women in early pregnancy. The proportion of women taking up the test, known as coverage, has remained high in England for a number of years. The acceptable threshold is 95%, and the achievable threshold is 99%. Coverage has been above the achievable threshold in England since the screening year from 2016 to 2017.
This shows that pregnant women are being offered screening for syphilis as part of the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening (IDPS) programme, are accepting the test, and are receiving their screening result. The blood test used for the IDPS programme is generally well-accepted by pregnant women, as seen by the high coverage rates.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the Global Fund on tackling (a) HIV (b) tuberculosis and (c) and malaria globally.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the world's largest multilateral funder of global health grants in low- and middle-income countries . Since 2002, the Global Fund partnership has saved over 65 million lives and reduced the combined death rate from the three diseases by 63 per cent. In countries where the Global Fund invests, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 73 per cent, TB deaths have been reduced by 36 per cent and malaria deaths have been reduced by 28 per cent.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department is having with (a) their international counterparts and (b) private sector donors on maintaining their levels of funding for the Global Fund.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the co-hosts of the Global Fund's 8th replenishment with South Africa we are actively engaging with both international counterparts and private sector partners to advocate maintaining or increasing funding for the Global Fund. The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) pledged $150 million to the Global Fund on 2 April at an event in parliament celebrating the contribution of the private sector. Minister West spoke at the meeting and welcomed the pledge, the first of the replenishment.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps with (a) Ukrainian health authorities and (b) NGOs to ensure the continuity of HIV services in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As a founding member and third largest investor, the UK is a committed partner of the Global Fund to fight health risks including HIV/AIDS. Since 2002, the Global Fund has invested more than US$980 million in Ukraine for HIV and TB programmes and to support strong and resilient health systems. The Global Fund allocated US$27.7 million in emergency funding to Ukraine between March 2022 and August 2023 to support the continuity of HIV (and TB) prevention, testing and treatment services. Through the investments of the Global Fund partnership, nearly 120,000 people received antiretroviral therapy for HIV in Ukraine in 2023 alone. Figures for 24/25 are not yet available.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support HIV (a) prevention and (b) treatment programs in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As a founding member and third largest investor, the UK is a committed partner of the Global Fund to fight health risks including HIV/AIDS. Since 2002, the Global Fund has invested more than US$980 million in Ukraine for HIV and TB programmes and to support strong and resilient health systems. The Global Fund allocated US$27.7 million in emergency funding to Ukraine between March 2022 and August 2023 to support the continuity of HIV (and TB) prevention, testing and treatment services. Through the investments of the Global Fund partnership, nearly 120,000 people received antiretroviral therapy for HIV in Ukraine in 2023 alone. Figures for 24/25 are not yet available.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of zonal energy pricing in Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency on household energy bills.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Through the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), the government is continuing to assess options for strengthening locational and operational signals in the electricity market. This includes measures which could be implemented under national pricing, as well as a zonal pricing option.
Zonal pricing has the potential to deliver large consumer benefits by creating a more efficient energy system. It would result in a smaller, more efficient power system reducing the need for new power stations and lower the amount of new network that needs to be built.
However, we recognise that implementing zonal could also create uncertainty for investors. We are considering the balance between potential consumer and system benefits from enabling greater demand-side flexibility, potential distributional impacts, and the future trajectory of network charging which already introduces regional variations in consumer bills.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households in Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency remain dependent on the Radio Teleswitch Service for their energy meter connections.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold constituency level data on remaining RTS meters, but we are regularly engaging with energy suppliers, Ofgem and the industry body Energy UK to review local plans for the switch-off.
Energy suppliers have contacted all premises with RTS meters and Ofgem is encouraging customers to book an appointment to ensure they are provided with a replacement meter ahead of the switch-off.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of (a) science and (b) other innovation to the development of healthier staple food.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Science and innovation have a key role in developing a healthy, resilient and sustainable food system. Defra is contributing to a £47.5 million UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-led research programme on food systems for both planetary and human health; and a £15 million UKRI-led ‘Diet and Health Open Innovation Research Club’ food sector innovation programme.
In 2024, Defra launched a £15 million 5-year investment in breeding for crop improvement, the Genetic Improvement Networks, which includes enhancing the nutritional quality of UK staple crops.
Innovative technologies such as precision breeding also have a key role to play in enhancing crop nutritional quality. Upcoming competitions within the Farming Innovation Programme include a competition to unlock the opportunities provided by the Precision Breeding Act.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of improving the nutritional content of foods through a Government Food Strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, and in doing so will consider elements of the food system that can contribute towards those outcomes
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding his Department has provided for research into nutrition in the last 12 months; and whether he has had recent discussions with UK Research and Innovation on nutrition research.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Ministers and official meet regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on a range of issues. UKRI funds a broad range of high-quality research relating to nutrition, spanning different research councils.
During the last 5 years UKRI has spent £251 million on nutrition research, with £65 million spent during the most recent financial year for which full data is available (2023-24).
In addition to this, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds research, including on nutrition, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
NIHR spent £11.8 million on nutrition research in the last year and £23.3 million in the last 5 years across a broad spectrum of areas related to nutrition to inform Government policy to improve patient care and help people stay well for longer.