Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS prescriptions for medicinal cannabis (a) THC and (b) CBD have been issued in England since December 2018.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
NHS England is using extant systems to monitor use of the newly rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary care. NHS England Controlled Drug Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the National Health Service and independent sector.
Data on the number of items of cannabis-based medicines dispensed in NHS primary care in England from December 2018 to January 2019 has been published by the NHS Business Services Authority. Such data is published three months in arrears, and we expect information for February 2019 to be published shortly.
The published data shows that the following number of items of Nabilone and Sativex (two cannabis-based medicines) were dispensed from December 2018 to January 2019:
| December 2018 | January 2019 |
Nabilone | 49 | 44 |
Sativex | 181 | 167 |
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 the NHS Pension Scheme and tax arrangements have had on senior consultants in the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department has sought to make available to NHS Pension Scheme members all possible flexibility under Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs legislation and the current fiscal framework for public sector pension schemes.
The Department has therefore recently made changes to the NHS Pension Scheme to extend the scope of the ‘Scheme Pays’ facility. The ‘Scheme Pays’ facility allows scheme members to manage tax liabilities by paying annual allowance charges from the value of their pension benefits rather than upfront. This facility has been extended to cover payment of tax charges of any amount, and those arising from the tapered annual allowance.
The Department recognises that the tax implications of the annual allowance, particularly the effects of the taper, may contribute to decisions from consultants to retire early or limit their National Health Service commitments. We are also listening carefully to senior doctors and NHS employers about those concerns. The Government keeps the impact of public sector pay and pensions policies under constant review.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been paid from the public purse to private companies for the management of Assessment and Treatment Units in England in each financial year since 2011.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Data on the number of injuries sustained at assessment and treatment units in England is not collected centrally.
485 people out of 2,295 mental health inpatients with learning disability or autism, recorded in February 2019, were 100 kilometres or more from home.
The following table shows learning disability and autism spectrum disorder specialised commissioning spend for 2017/18 in the independent sector.
| 2017-18 £ million |
Learning disabilities | 80.0 |
autism | 28.7 |
Total learning disability and autism | 108.7 |
Prior to 2017-18, data was not collected centrally.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients at Assessment and Treatment Units in England are placed more than 100 miles from their referring hospital or GP practice.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Data on the number of injuries sustained at assessment and treatment units in England is not collected centrally.
485 people out of 2,295 mental health inpatients with learning disability or autism, recorded in February 2019, were 100 kilometres or more from home.
The following table shows learning disability and autism spectrum disorder specialised commissioning spend for 2017/18 in the independent sector.
| 2017-18 £ million |
Learning disabilities | 80.0 |
autism | 28.7 |
Total learning disability and autism | 108.7 |
Prior to 2017-18, data was not collected centrally.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department has taken to assess the number of (a) minor and (b) severe injuries sustained at Assessment and Treatment Units in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Data on the number of injuries sustained at assessment and treatment units in England is not collected centrally.
485 people out of 2,295 mental health inpatients with learning disability or autism, recorded in February 2019, were 100 kilometres or more from home.
The following table shows learning disability and autism spectrum disorder specialised commissioning spend for 2017/18 in the independent sector.
| 2017-18 £ million |
Learning disabilities | 80.0 |
autism | 28.7 |
Total learning disability and autism | 108.7 |
Prior to 2017-18, data was not collected centrally.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 trends in life expectancy over the last ten years.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Average life expectancy at birth in England has been increasing for men and women and is currently around its highest ever. However, improvements in life expectancy have slowed for both males and females since 2011, and average life expectancy in England is currently stable.
The Department published a vision for putting prevention at the heart of the nation's health in November 2018 which set out an ambition for everyone to enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035 and to reduce the gap between the richest and poorest. Later this year we plan to publish a prevention Green Paper which will set out cross-Government plans for prevention in greater detail.
We are working across Government and with partners nationally and locally to deal with the conditions that make people ill in the first place. We already have world leading programmes for example on childhood obesity and tobacco control, prevention of diabetes and heart disease. We now need to go further to make sure we are targeting our efforts where the need is greatest.
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out new funded action the National Health Service will take to strengthen its contribution to prevention and health inequalities. All major national programmes and every local area across England will be required to set out specific measurable goals and mechanisms by which they will contribute to narrowing health inequalities over the next five and 10 years.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 close the life expectancy gap between socio-economic groups.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
Average life expectancy at birth in England has been increasing for men and women and is currently around its highest ever. However, improvements in life expectancy have slowed for both males and females since 2011, and average life expectancy in England is currently stable.
The Department published a vision for putting prevention at the heart of the nation's health in November 2018 which set out an ambition for everyone to enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035 and to reduce the gap between the richest and poorest. Later this year we plan to publish a prevention Green Paper which will set out cross-Government plans for prevention in greater detail.
We are working across Government and with partners nationally and locally to deal with the conditions that make people ill in the first place. We already have world leading programmes for example on childhood obesity and tobacco control, prevention of diabetes and heart disease. We now need to go further to make sure we are targeting our efforts where the need is greatest.
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out new funded action the National Health Service will take to strengthen its contribution to prevention and health inequalities. All major national programmes and every local area across England will be required to set out specific measurable goals and mechanisms by which they will contribute to narrowing health inequalities over the next five and 10 years.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of problem gambling on mental ill health.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Government is committed to supporting all those identified as suffering from problems with gambling and specific aims have been laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan to invest in expanding additional specialist clinics. At present, people who experience problems with gambling can access services in primary care and secondary care including specialised mental health and addiction services. There are a range of services available details of which can be found on the NHS website.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 that NHS login is fully tested and fit for launch.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
NHS Digital has advised that the National Health Service login service is currently being rigorously user tested to ensure that it is accessible, trusted and valued before being made available more widely.
The NHS login service has been developed following iterative and agile delivery methods to ensure that user research, enhancements and security testing are continuously conducted, and software releases are rapid, controlled and monitored. Each change into a live environment is independently approved against information governance, security and clinical standards and risk assessments.
The service is constantly monitored and tested to ensure that it can predict and mitigate security threats and vulnerabilities.