Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
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 Royal Mail on the delivery of NHS vaccination invitation letters.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Minsters have had discussions with Royal Mail to emphasise the importance of vaccination letters reaching people as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of rejected applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme have been successfully appealed in each year since 2002.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is responsible for the administration of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Decisions on applications to the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme are based on the rules of the scheme and informed by medical evidence. Where an applicant is dissatisfied with a decision made, the NHS Business Services Authority operates a two stage Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) procedure in accordance with the Pensions Act 1995. If the IDR process has been exhausted and the applicant remains dissatisfied with the decision, they may approach the Pensions Ombudsman to investigate their complaint.
No statistics have been produced on how many and what proportion of rejected applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme have been successfully appealed in each year since 2002. For the NHS Business Services Authority to interrogate all individual member records, as would be necessary to obtain this data, would incur disproportionate cost
To obtain the information requested on the number of complaints received since 2002 would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what avenues of appeal applicants who have been denied permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme are able to take if they can demonstrate inconsistencies between the findings at different stages of the review process.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is responsible for the administration of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Decisions on applications to the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme are based on the rules of the scheme and informed by medical evidence. Where an applicant is dissatisfied with a decision made, the NHS Business Services Authority operates a two stage Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) procedure in accordance with the Pensions Act 1995. If the IDR process has been exhausted and the applicant remains dissatisfied with the decision, they may approach the Pensions Ombudsman to investigate their complaint.
No statistics have been produced on how many and what proportion of rejected applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme have been successfully appealed in each year since 2002. For the NHS Business Services Authority to interrogate all individual member records, as would be necessary to obtain this data, would incur disproportionate cost
To obtain the information requested on the number of complaints received since 2002 would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
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 employment criteria for Dispute Advisers within the NHS Business Service Authority.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is responsible for the administration of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Decisions on applications to the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme are based on the rules of the scheme and informed by medical evidence. Where an applicant is dissatisfied with a decision made, the NHS Business Services Authority operates a two stage Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) procedure in accordance with the Pensions Act 1995. If the IDR process has been exhausted and the applicant remains dissatisfied with the decision, they may approach the Pensions Ombudsman to investigate their complaint.
No statistics have been produced on how many and what proportion of rejected applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme have been successfully appealed in each year since 2002. For the NHS Business Services Authority to interrogate all individual member records, as would be necessary to obtain this data, would incur disproportionate cost
To obtain the information requested on the number of complaints received since 2002 would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints his Department has received on the suitability of the review process for the award of (a) permanent injury benefit and (b) any other benefits under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme, since 2002.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is responsible for the administration of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Decisions on applications to the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme are based on the rules of the scheme and informed by medical evidence. Where an applicant is dissatisfied with a decision made, the NHS Business Services Authority operates a two stage Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) procedure in accordance with the Pensions Act 1995. If the IDR process has been exhausted and the applicant remains dissatisfied with the decision, they may approach the Pensions Ombudsman to investigate their complaint.
No statistics have been produced on how many and what proportion of rejected applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme have been successfully appealed in each year since 2002. For the NHS Business Services Authority to interrogate all individual member records, as would be necessary to obtain this data, would incur disproportionate cost
To obtain the information requested on the number of complaints received since 2002 would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when (a) UK visa holders and (b) other temporary UK residents who are clinically vulnerable and unable to travel out of the UK due to the risk of contracting covid-19 will be eligible to receive the covid-19 vaccine from UK health authorities.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Vaccination against COVID-19 is free to everyone living in the United Kingdom and all overseas visitors to England, regardless of their nationality. While National Health Service numbers form an important part of the administrative process, they are not a pre-condition for being offered a vaccine. For those not registered with a general practitioner, NHS regional and local health and social care systems will contact those individuals to ensure they are offered the vaccine.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies on the use of medical cannabis of the study published in the Journal of Obstetrics Gynaecology Canada on 1 March 2020 entitled Cannabis see, a self-management strategy among Australian women with endometriosis: results from a national online survey.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has made no such assessment.
It is widely recognised that further research is needed on the quality, safety, and efficacy of cannabis-based medicines. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on cannabis-based medicinal products in November 2019. NICE maintains surveillance of new evidence that may affect its published guidance and would consult on proposed changes with a wide range of stakeholders if required.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures has his Department taken, in cooperation with the Welsh Government, to ensure that the covid-19 testing application system is available in Welsh; and what proportion of service users are able to access the service through the medium of Welsh.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our Welsh sites operate with bilingual guidance which is handed out to patients in their test kits. We also aim to ensure that ingress and egress signage on the sites is bilingual, and that bilingual staff where available are on hand in our local testing sites or regional testing sites to assist patients with any queries about testing.
We have also worked with the Welsh Government to deliver the National Health Service COVID-19 contact tracing app with Welsh language support from launch. This presents citizens with another means of accessing a test through the medium of Welsh.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential for increases in post-viral complications, symptoms and ME as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Public Health England has advised that they have made no assessment on the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on the potential for increases in post-viral complications, symptoms and myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
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 effect on public health of the lack of access to public toilets during the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England has made no assessment of the effect on public health of the lack of access to public toilets during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Local authorities are responsible for maintaining public toilet facilities.