Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
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 potential merits of extending sick pay support for healthcare staff with long covid.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department introduced temporary non-contractual COVID-19 sickness guidance at the start of the pandemic, to ensure National Health Service staff received full pay should they be advised to self-isolate or become ill with COVID-19.
As we learn to live with COVID-19, we have withdrawn this temporary non-contractual COVID-19 guidance. Staff who were on COVID-19 sickness pay have moved back to the normal terms and conditions (T&Cs) sickness arrangements. The NHS T&Cs pay up to six months full pay and six months half pay, depending on length of service. The Department has no plans to assess the potential merits of extending sick pay support for healthcare staff with long COVID-19.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 174153 on Baroness Harding of Winscombe, if he will publish the diary of Baroness Harding of Winscombe, in her role as Executive Chair of Test and Trace for the first month of her appointment.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have no plans to do so. Information on meetings at Ministerial and Permanent Secretary level only are routinely published at GOV.UK.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the diary of Baroness Harding of Winscombe, in her role as Executive Chair of Test and Trace from the date of her appointment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To obtain the information requested and publish Baroness Harding's complete diary would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many contracts his Department has issued without tendering since the start of the covid-19 outbreak; what the total value is of those contracts; how many of those contracts required advance payment of some or all of the costs; and in how many cases the supplier has failed to fulfil the contract.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 1 April 2021, award notices have been published for 1,151 contracts worth an estimated £19 billion by the Department in response to the pandemic for a wide range of products and services. The majority of these contracts have been let using a direct award. Contract Award Notices are published for each contract which contain information on the reasons for the selected procurement route, the value of the contract, its duration and the name of the supplier.
Advanced payments have been used on a number of personal protective equipment contracts. Each contract is different as some are payment on delivery and others have permitted a percentage of payment upfront. Our approach has been to take some managed risk in order to secure supplies in an exceptional and globally highly competitive market. Contracts have break clauses in them, meaning if the company supplies faulty products or misses delivery dates, we can cancel the contracts and reclaim the money.
Different commercial teams within the Department are responsible for manging these contracts in terms of negotiating with suppliers for refunds or other forms or redress against the supplier. This information is not currently collated and held centrally, consequently to provide a validated assessment of how many suppliers the Department has reclaimed money from would involve disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish details on the UK's regime to replace the role of the European Food Safety Authority.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
United Kingdom food and feed safety and hygiene law lays down the principles, requirements and procedures that underpin decision-making in matters of food and feed safety. Since 1 January 2021 the Food Standards Agency (FSA), alongside Food Standards Scotland, has been responsible for providing many of the risk analysis functions previously undertaken by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Commission, with Government ministers making the final decisions, ensuring that the high standard of food safety and consumer protection we enjoy in the UK is maintained. Information on the UK food and feed risk analysis process is provided on the FSA’s website.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body will conduct risk assessments for Northern Ireland after the UK no longer has access to the European Food Safety Authority after 1 January 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since 1 January 2021 the Food Standards Agency (FSA), alongside Food Standards Scotland, has been responsible for providing many of the risk analysis functions for the United Kingdom, with ministers in the UK is maintained.
Although the FSA is responsible for the safety of food and feed across England, Wales,and Northern Ireland, European Union law that applies in Northern Ireland under the NI Protocol (NIP) will generally not be subject to a risk analysis by the FSA in addition to the analysis carried out by the EU’s risk management process.
When we consider an issue through the UK risk analysis process, we will continue to consider the interests of consumers in Northern Ireland, whilst recognising the continued application of the EU’s risk management process in Northern Ireland under the NIP.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department had a relationship with Randox Laboratories Ltd before the awarding of a contract to provide covid-19 testing in March 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s procurement records show that the Department has had no contracts with Hologic Ltd and Randox Laboratories Ltd over the last five years prior to the awarding of SARS-Cov-2 test and COVID-19 testing contracts respectively.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department had a relationship with Hologic Ltd before the awarding of a contract to provide SARS-Cov-2 tests in April 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s procurement records show that the Department has had no contracts with Hologic Ltd and Randox Laboratories Ltd over the last five years prior to the awarding of SARS-Cov-2 test and COVID-19 testing contracts respectively.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department had a relationship with Draeger Safety Limited before the awarding of a contract to provide FFP3 respirators in July 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s procurement records show that the Department has had no contracts with these companies over the last five years prior to the award of the personal protective equipment contracts.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department had a relationship with Uniserve Limited before the awarding of a contract to provide personal protective equipment in May 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s procurement records show that the Department has had no contracts with these companies over the last five years prior to the award of the personal protective equipment contracts.