Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to announce the allocations from the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department finalising the details of the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
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 help increase the availability of residential places in social care settings.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Under the Care Act local authorities are responsible for making sure the care needs of their residents are met but it is clear that they are struggling.
That is why we have set up a £1.4 billion fund for local authorities to use to meet their duties under the care act – and to make sure they are paying the fair cost of care to care homes and agencies.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to further deliver the Covid Pass Programme.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Domestic certification ended on 12 May and the need for the domestic pass was removed.
The NHS COVID travel pass remains an important tool, allowing holiday makers and business travellers to demonstrate COVID-19 vaccination status when they travel outside of the UK.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for a Covid Pass.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The NHS COVID Pass was launched on 17 May 2021. The COVID Pass allows English, Welsh and Isle of Man residents to demonstrate COVID vaccination status abroad and will continue to be developed in line with international standards. This is expected to remain a common requirement for international travel until the summer of 2023.
The Domestic Pass was removed on 12 May 2022 following the end of domestic certification.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether visitors to residents in care homes will continue have access to free covid-19 lateral flow tests.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Most visitors to care homes will no longer need to test before entering a care setting. Visitors are asked to take necessary precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, in line with general population guidance. There are a small number of residents who need support with personal care from a visitor with whom they have a close relationship. These visitors may be asked to test before entering, up to twice weekly if visiting more than twice, with free lateral flow device tests available for these visitors.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether care home staff who were dismissed for failure to receive covid-19 vaccinations may now be re-employed in care homes.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Regulations making vaccination a condition of deployment in care homes were in force between 11 November 2021 and 14 March 2022. During that period, care homes were legally required to only deploy vaccinated or exempt staff. The matter of re-hiring staff who have been dismissed or resigned as a result of the regulations is a matter for individual employers.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure that abortion pills sent to patients by post without an in-person consultation are taken by the patient for whom they were intended.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Women seeking an abortion should be informed during the consultation process that medical abortion is a two-stage process which requires the administration of Mifepristone followed by Misoprostol to successfully complete the procedure. If a woman is eligible to receive both abortion pills at home under the provisions of the temporary approval currently in place, providers should supply medicines obtained through a regulated supply chain, appropriately labelled for individual patients to be safely used only by those patients.
Abortion providers should provide women with information on what to do with the pills if they choose not to take them after they have been received, such as returning pills to a pharmacy, clinic or general practitioner for safe disposal. Supply of abortion medication outside of the provisions of the temporary approval is unlawful.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of number of women who have had to be admitted to hospital after taking medical abortion pills supplied by post.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will instruct the companies that undertook trials for covid-19 vaccines that have been approved by the MHRA to publish the anonymised participant level data underlying those trials.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There are no plans to do so. All trials are ongoing and it is not appropriate to publish detailed, subject level data. A sponsor may choose to publish interim results for a trial with individual listings of safety events but this will not include subject level detail. There is also an expectation that a summary of the results is published within 12 months of study completion. This applies whether the results are positive, negative, neutral or inconclusive.