Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow 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 has taken to help ensure that housebound patients receive a (a) covid-19 booster and (b) influenza vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Housebound individuals were prioritised from the very start of the current COVID-19 booster campaign, alongside care home residents and staff, with home visits for autumn boosters starting from 5 September. Opportunities to co-administer COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines have been offered where feasible, but not to unduly delay the administration of either jab.
Local arrangements are in operation to vaccinate those who are housebound, with general practitioners, community pharmacies and National Health Service community teams visiting those who are housebound and are eligible for their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines.
Nationally, to ensure eligible housebound individuals have access to a home visit for vaccinations, NHS regions and integrated care systems (ICS) together with primary care networks and Community Pharmacy-led and local vaccination services are working jointly to monitor progress and identify whether further interventions are required to help support and increase uptake.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been provided to Regions, ICSs and local health teams to support their efforts in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to housebound people, including capacity planning. This SOP can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1432-Standard-Operating-Procedure-Roving-and-mobile-models-v2.pdf
We continue to focus on offering housebound individuals their seasonal vaccinations and increasing uptake of both COVID and flu vaccinations for all eligible groups this winter.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow 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 housebound patients receive a (a) Covid-19 booster and (b) influenza vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Housebound individuals were prioritised from the very start of the current COVID-19 booster campaign, alongside care home residents and staff, with home visits for autumn boosters starting from 5 September. Opportunities to co-administer COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines have been offered where feasible, but not to unduly delay the administration of either jab.
Local arrangements are in operation to vaccinate those who are housebound, with general practitioners, community pharmacies and National Health Service community teams visiting those who are housebound and are eligible for their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines.
Nationally, to ensure eligible housebound individuals have access to a home visit for vaccinations, NHS regions and integrated care systems (ICS) together with primary care networks and Community Pharmacy-led and local vaccination services are working jointly to monitor progress and identify whether further interventions are required to help support and increase uptake.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been provided to Regions, ICSs and local health teams to support their efforts in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to housebound people, including capacity planning. This SOP can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1432-Standard-Operating-Procedure-Roving-and-mobile-models-v2.pdf
We continue to focus on offering housebound individuals their seasonal vaccinations and increasing uptake of both COVID and flu vaccinations for all eligible groups this winter.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2022 to Question 107055 on Integrated Care Boards: Diabetes, what steps his Department is taking to tackle inequities in diabetes (a) prevalence, (b) care and (c) outcomes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme is available to anyone identified, through a blood test, as being at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, for referral. Local systems receive regular data on whether the numbers of people accessing the programme who are black or minority ethnic or who live in areas of higher deprivation are proportionate to the local population.
Additionally, in September 2020 the National Health Service started piloting a Low Calorie Diet treatment programme for people who are overweight and living with type 2 diabetes. The programme aims to support people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to lose weight and make better decisions about their health, enabling them to better control their blood sugar levels – reducing the need for diabetes-related medication and potentially achieving remission of their diabetes.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department have been allocated to deal with issues related to international trade in (a) each of the past five years and (b) the next two years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has a central coordinating team working directly on issues related to international trade. The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the central coordinating team in each of the last five years.
Year | FTE officials |
2022/23 | 11.7 |
2021/22 | 11.7 |
2020/21 | 8 |
2019/20 | 8 |
2018/19 | 7 |
In the next two years, the number of staff will be dependent on business planning. The central team is supported by advice from Departmental officials on specific policy areas as needed.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the consultation on the extension of Healthy Start eligibility to families with No Recourse to Public Funds will take place; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are currently considering options and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many integrated care boards in London provide diabetic advice services to members of the South Asian community; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are four integrated care boards in London providing diabetes services to all residents, including members of the South Asian communities.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beneficiaries who were previously receiving Healthy Start paper vouchers have not yet re-enrolled via the new online registration system.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The NHS Business Services Authority estimate that as of 13 November 2022 there were 38,089 households which previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme. At the same date there were 131,658 households on the prepaid card scheme which were not previously in receipt of paper vouchers.
As of March 2022, uptake of the Healthy Start scheme was estimated to be 72%, higher than the 55% uptake in March 2021.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2022 to Question 140359 on Healthy Start Scheme, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of recent trends in inflation on the effectiveness of Healthy Start scheme vouchers; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications for the Healthy Start payment have been made from applicants with No Recourse to Public Funds with British children; and how many beneficiaries are currently in receipt of payments.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department has received 44 fully completed applications for the Healthy Start payment which meet the eligibility criteria for the temporary extension to the Healthy Start scheme. There are currently 31 beneficiaries in receipt of payments from the temporary extension to the Healthy Start scheme.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the value of Healthy Start payments to keep them in line with the current high levels of food price inflation; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Johnson
While there are no current plans to increase the value of Healthy Start, this is kept under continuous review. In April 2021 the value of the Healthy Start increased from £3.10 to £4.25, providing additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices. Due to the increase, eligible families with children aged under one year old receive £8.50 compared to £6.20 previously.