Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the availability of Buvidal, broken down by region.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice have discussed the issue. The Department of Health and Social Care advises local areas that they can use the funding given to them to deliver drug and alcohol treatment to enable prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injection in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain and grow this provision and this includes for those who leave prison.
It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England; the following table shows its availability in community structured treatment as a proportion of the overall population in treatment for opiate use, broken down by region, for the fourth quarter of 2023/24, the latest period for which data is available:
Region | Adults in treatment for opiates | Buprenorphine long lasting injection | Buprenorphine long lasting injection (%) |
East Midlands | 11619 | 184 | 1.58% |
East of England | 10886 | 226 | 2.08% |
London | 17630 | 686 | 3.89% |
North East | 10121 | 329 | 3.25% |
North West | 24116 | 939 | 3.89% |
South East | 14485 | 282 | 1.95% |
South West | 13371 | 288 | 2.15% |
West Midlands | 16666 | 342 | 2.05% |
Yorkshire & the Humber | 18355 | 529 | 2.88% |
England | 137249 | 3805 | 2.77% |
Source: National Drug Treatment Monitoring System March 2024
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) decentralise the commissioning of radiotherapy and (b) give English regions more control over (i) treatment pathways and (ii) new radiotherapy technologies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is investing £70 million of central funding to replace radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to patients who need it, however since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines has been with local systems.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those undergoing radiotherapy treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of buvidal in (a) County Durham and (b) Easington constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, and this includes the provision of buprenorphine long-acting injections, including Buvidal. The Department funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services through the Public Health Grant and the additional Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant. Through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant, the Department allocated local authorities an additional £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced very shortly.
The Department has advised local areas that they are able to use these funding sources to enable the prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injections in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain, and grow this provision. The Department promotes sharing and learning between local authorities and is working on additional clinical guidance which will be published later this year.
It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and including for those who have been released from prison. The Government has no current plans to ring fence funding specifically for the provision of Buvidal and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not held discussions with Cabinet colleagues specifically on this issue and the provision of Buvidal for prisoners.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of ringfencing funding for buvidal.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, and this includes the provision of buprenorphine long-acting injections, including Buvidal. The Department funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services through the Public Health Grant and the additional Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant. Through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant, the Department allocated local authorities an additional £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced very shortly.
The Department has advised local areas that they are able to use these funding sources to enable the prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injections in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain, and grow this provision. The Department promotes sharing and learning between local authorities and is working on additional clinical guidance which will be published later this year.
It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and including for those who have been released from prison. The Government has no current plans to ring fence funding specifically for the provision of Buvidal and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not held discussions with Cabinet colleagues specifically on this issue and the provision of Buvidal for prisoners.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the availability of buvidal for people released from prison.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, and this includes the provision of buprenorphine long-acting injections, including Buvidal. The Department funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services through the Public Health Grant and the additional Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant. Through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant, the Department allocated local authorities an additional £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced very shortly.
The Department has advised local areas that they are able to use these funding sources to enable the prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injections in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain, and grow this provision. The Department promotes sharing and learning between local authorities and is working on additional clinical guidance which will be published later this year.
It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and including for those who have been released from prison. The Government has no current plans to ring fence funding specifically for the provision of Buvidal and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not held discussions with Cabinet colleagues specifically on this issue and the provision of Buvidal for prisoners.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the availability of Buvidal.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, and this includes the provision of buprenorphine long-acting injections, including Buvidal. The Department funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services through the Public Health Grant and the additional Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant. Through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant, the Department allocated local authorities an additional £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Funding for 2025/26 will be announced very shortly.
The Department has advised local areas that they are able to use these funding sources to enable the prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injections in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain, and grow this provision. The Department promotes sharing and learning between local authorities and is working on additional clinical guidance which will be published later this year.
It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and including for those who have been released from prison. The Government has no current plans to ring fence funding specifically for the provision of Buvidal and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not held discussions with Cabinet colleagues specifically on this issue and the provision of Buvidal for prisoners.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish the contract for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. We will announce the outcome in the normal manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to conclude its consultation on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. We will announce the outcome in the normal manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cancer patients have had access to minimally invasive cancer therapies in the last year by integrated care board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of cancer patients that have had access to minimally invasive cancer therapies in the last year by integrated care board (ICB), is not collected. The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number and availability of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and the ICBs are required to put access in place for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the NICE.
Where treatments are approved by the NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the NHS is required to make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment, and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation. All systems are asked to make progress in transforming pathways of care in their priority areas.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 increase the availability of non-invasive cancer treatment technologies in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of cancer patients that have had access to minimally invasive cancer therapies in the last year by integrated care board (ICB), is not collected. The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number and availability of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and the ICBs are required to put access in place for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the NICE.
Where treatments are approved by the NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the NHS is required to make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment, and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation. All systems are asked to make progress in transforming pathways of care in their priority areas.