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
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
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
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.
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 much and what proportion of his Department's budget has been spent on tackling female genital mutilation in the UK in each financial year since 2015.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department funded the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Prevention Programme between 2014 and 2018. The spend is shown in the following table:
Financial Year | Amount | Proportion of Department’s budget |
2015-16 | £900,014 | 0.0008% |
2016-17 | £607,808 | 0.0005% |
2017-18 | £494,265 | 0.0004% |
2018-19 | £349,050 | 0.0003% |
NHS England and local National Health Service bodies also fund healthcare services for women and girls who have undergone FGM, alongside Departmental funding for national FGM prevention work.
Note:
The above figures are based on the Department's financial records. The proportion of Department’s budget spent on FGM is shown as a percentage of the Department’s total revenue spend.
- | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
FGM spend (£ million) | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Department Group spend (£ million) | 113,700.0 | 117,000.0 | 120,700.0 | 125,300.0 |
FGM spend as % of Department Group spend | 0.0008% | 0.0005% | 0.0004% | 0.0003% |
Spend for 2019-20 is not yet available as accounts have yet to be audited.
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, pursuant to the oral contribution on 21 June 2018 Vol 643 c229WH, what steps his Department has taken to improve GP awareness of ME.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
General practice is where most patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis are likely to be managed, and the condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the Royal College of General Practitioners (GPs) Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams.
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 steps his Department is taking to ensure ME clinics and treatment centres are aware of the risks of graded exercises to sufferers of ME.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline for ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children’, was published in 2007 to support clinicians in the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of people with ME. This sets outs evidence-based best practice for the management of people with the condition and assists commissioners in planning services for local populations. The guideline recommended graded exercise therapy as a safe and appropriate treatment for mild to moderate CFS/ME, in line with the best available evidence.
The NICE guideline acknowledges that there is no one form of treatment to suit every patient and that treatment and care should take into account the personal needs and preferences of the patient. Decisions concerning the appropriateness of treatments should be made by on a case by case basis, and in discussion with patients, and their families or carer, if appropriate.
On 20 September 2017, NICE announced its decision to undertake a full update of the guideline following a review of the latest available evidence on the diagnosis and management of CFS/ME and a public consultation. New guidance is expected in October 2020. More information on this update can be found at the following link:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10091
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 efficacy of the NHS Business Services Authority in processing applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS injury benefits scheme.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for the administration of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Injury Benefits Scheme covers NHS workers with injuries or diseases contracted through their employment before 31 March 2013.
The NHS Business Services Authority will process Injury Benefits applications received up to and including 30 March 2018 but only in respect of injuries or diseases occurring on or before 30 March 2013. An exception to this rule is that the NHS Business Services Authority will process Injury Benefit applications received by 30 March 2038 for applicants who can provide evidence that there has been a delayed onset of their symptoms, such that application was not possible before 30 March 2018.
The NHS Business Services Authority has always had a dedicated team to process Injury Benefit applications, and the Department is content with the efficacy of their administration.
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 applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme have been made in each year since 2002; and what proportion of those applications have been successful.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for the administration of the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme on behalf of the Secretary of State. The following table shows the number of applications for permanent injury benefit under the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme received by the NHS Business Services Authority in each scheme year since 2002.
Year | Number of Cases Received |
2002 | 678 |
2003 | 710 |
2004 | 765 |
2005 | 584 |
2006 | 465 |
2007 | 349 |
2008 | 524 |
2009 | 520 |
2010 | 381 |
2011 | 312 |
2012 | 301 |
2013 | 208 |
2014 | 212 |
2015 | 176 |
2016 | 106 |
2017 | 77 |
2018 | 94 |
2019 | 18 |
Information is not held in the format requested on the number of successful applications, and it would incur disproportionate cost to the NHS Business Services Authority to interrogate individual member records to produce this data.
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 merits of reviewing the permanent injury benefit system under the NHS injury benefits scheme.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has made no recent assessment of reviewing the NHS Injury Benefits Scheme. A partnership review of the Scheme was conducted by NHS Employers and Trade Unions of the NHS Injury Benefit provisions in 2013, and new arrangements came into force from 1 April 2013.