Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 adequacy of psychosocial provision for people with Cystic Fibrosis.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England’s adult and paediatric cystic fibrosis service specifications set out national standards for cystic fibrosis services, including the importance of access to multidisciplinary teams involving appropriately trained clinical psychologists and social workers. There are regular review meetings between the regional commissioning teams and providers to ensure compliance with service standards. Those with long term conditions such as cystic fibrosis can also access psychological support via Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.
Health Education England has supported a 60% expansion in the clinical psychology training intake in the past two years. Trainees can undertake specialist placements and upon qualification take up posts across a wide range of settings, including working with adults and children with cystic fibrosis.
The white paper, ‘People at the Heart of Care’, is supported by at least £500 million to develop and support the adult social care workforce over the next three years. We are also supporting the social care workforce through the development of a post-graduate mental health social work programme, the Education Support Grant and Social Work Bursaries.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of respite support for carers in (i) England and (ii) Northern Ireland and (b) publish the findings from that assessment.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have no plans to make an assessment. However, we will invest up to £25 million to improve the support provided to unpaid carers in England. We expect this funding will identify and test a range of new and existing interventions, which could include respite and breaks, peer group and wellbeing support. We will also work with the sector, including local authorities, to explore different models of respite, how respite services are accessed by carers and any barriers which carers may experience in accessing these services.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS takes to ensure that the costs of abortion services provided on the NHS by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are an accurate reflection of the costs involved.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not held centrally. Contracting and funding abortion services and assurance of spend is a matter for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). It is for CCGs to take appropriate steps to ensure the costs of abortion services provided through the National Health Service by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are an accurate reflection of the costs involved.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Social Care, what steps the NHS takes to monitor and review its funding of abortions carried out by third-party providers.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how her Department (a) records and (b) reports on the allocation of NHS funding for abortion; and whether that information is presented in a searchable format.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how NHS funding on abortion is recorded and reported by his Department; and whether that information is available in a searchable format.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the NHS has spent on repeat abortions over the last year.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not collected centrally. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning abortion services and monitoring funding and contracts.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will supply a decision on behalf of the Government on each of the 25 recommendations made by the select committee on Health and Social Care in its Eighth Report, Children and Young People's Mental Health, HC 17, published on 9 December 2021; and if he will make a statement on that matter at the first available opportunity.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We welcome the Committee’s report. In our response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report, we set out where we agreed with its recommendations or where we are taking forward the recommendations in part or in full. We will be considering the recommendations in full during the development of a new long term cross-Government plan for mental health. We are launching a wide-ranging discussion paper and call for evidence to support development of the plan. The Committee’s inquiry and evidence from witnesses will be considered during this process.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the introduction of the home abortion policy and Freedom of Information requests to NHS Trusts that have disclosed that women have been presenting with complications at a potentially higher rate than recorded in his Department's abortion statistics, if his Department will request data from NHS Trusts and Emergency Services on (a) the incidence of Retained Products of Conception and Evacuation of Retained Products of Conception following medical abortions over the last five years and (b) whether in each case, both abortion pills were taken at home or in a clinic.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on whether both pills are taken at home or in a clinic is collected through the statutory abortion forms that clinicians send to the Chief Medical Officer. Data for 2020 will be published later this year as part of the annual abortion statistics.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether medical devices benefit from the same grace period of medicines in terms of their transport to Northern Ireland from Great Britain; and what steps he is taking to ensure there are no interruptions to the supply of those devices to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Medical devices can continue to move into Northern Ireland without checks. Medical devices are goods marked with a conformity assessment marking – for example, the CE mark or UKCA mark, and are regulated under a different set of rules from medicines. As long as medical devices are compliant with the European Union acquis, they can be placed on the Northern Ireland market. Medical devices are not required to comply with the requirements of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive and they are not included in the grace period for medicines.
The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, is working closely with the health and care system, suppliers and industry to put in place robust measures to help ensure the continued supply of medicines and medical devices to the whole of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland.