Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to maintain the Government's £500m annual budget to tackle malaria internationally.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the government to take the difficult decision to temporarily reduce ODA to 0.5% of GNI. The Foreign Secretary has set out a strategic approach to ensure maximum impact for our aid spend. Global health remains a priority. It is one of seven challenges where the Foreign Secretary believes UK aid can make the most difference.
In light of this decision, we are currently planning spend for the next financial year, and will be able to provide more information in due course. We will seek to remain one of the most generous donors in the world on malaria. The UK's current pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is our largest to date and will help to distribute 92 million bednets.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of protection conferred by pneumococcal vaccination in reducing deaths of people who have tested positive for covid-19 and (b) current level of take-up of pneumococcal vaccination among groups eligible for that vaccination; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for that vaccination during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There were large reductions in pneumococcal disease since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely because of the lockdown measures that were implemented nationally. Co-infections of SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcal disease occur very rarely. The number of pneumococcal infections and more so deaths due to pneumococcal disease in people with COVID-19 has been low. As such, it is not possible to assess the effectiveness of protection conferred by pneumococcal vaccination in reducing deaths of people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The most recently published pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) coverage data are for the year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. PPV coverage was 69.0% in all patients aged 65 years and over, immunised at any time up to 31 March 2020 in England, rising to 82.4% for those aged 75 years and over. The proportion immunised in the last 12 months for these two age groups was 3.8% and 1.4% respectively.
These data are available to view here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pneumococcal-polysaccharide-vaccine-ppv-vaccine-coverage-estimates
As the supply of the PPV23 vaccine is limited due to high demand, the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation is not currently planning to undertake an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for the vaccine. Public Health England has issued comprehensive clinical guidance on how to prioritise those who should receive this vaccine.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether charities conducting medical research will be able to access the funding for research and development announced in the 2020 Spending Review.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the funding of medical research charities.
The Government already provides significant direct funding to charities’ research through Research England’s Quality Related (QR) charity support funding. This year charity QR will amount to £204m, to support charity funded research in universities in England.
Additionally, the Government supports this research through investments in the necessary infrastructure, through collaborations with UKRI and through the tax system. In 2018-19 over £1.3bn in tax relief on donations was received through Gift Aid benefitting all charities, including those carrying out vital medical research.
BEIS officials have also been meeting regularly with the Association of Medical Research Charities to develop an appropriate approach to supporting the important research that their members fund through the challenges they are currently facing.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 raise clinical and public awareness of Kawasaki disease.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Recent studies have found links between COVID-19 and a ‘Kawasaki-like’ syndrome. NHS England has taken steps to work with experts to define what is now called ‘Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Disorder Temporally Related to Sars CoV2 infection (PIMS-TS)’. All paediatric units and intensive care units have been briefed.
The Government plans to publish a new United Kingdom Rare Diseases Framework by the end of 2020 to replace the current Strategy which will outline the key priorities for rare diseases in the UK over the next five years. One priority area, as identified through the ‘national conversation’ on rare diseases, is to further increase awareness of rare diseases amongst health professionals.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of patients receiving treatment for Kawasaki disease in (a) Wales and (b) the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department only holds data for activity in England as health is a devolved matter. The Department, alongside NHS England, continues to consider the impact of COVID-19 on patients with Kawasaki disease and other rare diseases.
NHS England has had discussions with some services and patients/patient groups to understand the impact of COVID-19. NHS England has worked with commissioned providers, patient groups and charities throughout the pandemic to ensure that patients, carers and their families have been supported during the COVID-19 outbreak and ensuring those discussions inform planning for autumn and winter.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that children suffering from Kawasaki disease can access suitable treatment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that rare disease patients, including those with Kawasaki disease have access to suitable treatment, and takes steps to improve access via implementation of the United Kingdom Strategy for Rare Diseases.
The Government plans to publish a new UK Rare Diseases Framework by the end of 2020 to replace the UK Rare Disease Strategy. One priority area, as identified through the ‘national conversation’ on rare diseases, is to improve access to specialist care.
Specialised commissioning within NHS England and NHS Improvement have ensured sufficient stock of intravenous immunoglobulin ahead of the second wave of COVID-19.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 readiness of (a) delivery methods and (b) storage infrastructure for a potential vaccine for covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England is making preparations for storage of COVID-19 vaccines at the required temperatures to support a national COVID-19 vaccination programme. This includes both the central storage of vaccines and distribution capability across the United Kingdom to the National Health Service.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 of changes to reimbursement mechanisms in the NHS on the funding for weight management services; and what the timelines are for the introduction of those changes.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government departments work very closely on reducing obesity. Through the obesity strategy we are committed to expanding weight management services and will provide further details on this later in the year.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to clinical commissioning groups. This process is independent of Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
NHS England has advised that it does not routinely commission weight management services. However, funding for weight management services for those living with obesity plus diabetes and/or hypertension was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement through the NHS Long Term Plan. NHS England and NHS Improvement are commissioning a Digital Weight Management Innovation Platform which will allow general practitioners to refer eligible service users into weight management services.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how funding for weight management services is allocated to NHS organisations throughout the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government departments work very closely on reducing obesity. Through the obesity strategy we are committed to expanding weight management services and will provide further details on this later in the year.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to clinical commissioning groups. This process is independent of Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
NHS England has advised that it does not routinely commission weight management services. However, funding for weight management services for those living with obesity plus diabetes and/or hypertension was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement through the NHS Long Term Plan. NHS England and NHS Improvement are commissioning a Digital Weight Management Innovation Platform which will allow general practitioners to refer eligible service users into weight management services.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
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 the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the funding of weight management services.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government departments work very closely on reducing obesity. Through the obesity strategy we are committed to expanding weight management services and will provide further details on this later in the year.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to clinical commissioning groups. This process is independent of Government and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.
NHS England has advised that it does not routinely commission weight management services. However, funding for weight management services for those living with obesity plus diabetes and/or hypertension was allocated to NHS England and NHS Improvement through the NHS Long Term Plan. NHS England and NHS Improvement are commissioning a Digital Weight Management Innovation Platform which will allow general practitioners to refer eligible service users into weight management services.