Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NICE on acceptance of the classification of myalgic encephalomyelitis as a neurological disease as defined by the World Health Organisation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Department has had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and develops its guidance based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and in consultation with stakeholders. NICE is currently updating its clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, with expected publication on 14 October 2020.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of sleep-in back liability for providers in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on 26 February 2018 to Question 128962.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospital in the UK treats the largest number of primary referrals from tertiary centres for children with arrhythmic heart conditions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Mowat
Information is not available in the format requested, as we are unable to identify in Hospital Episode Statistics primary referrals from tertiary centres.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will institute a revision of NICE guidelines for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 23 November 2016 to his Question 53645.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will remove CBT and GET from the list of treatments for ME patients.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 23 November 2016 to his Question 53645.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the PACE trial, Pacing, graded Activity and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, if he will ask NICE and the NHS to revise their approach to treating myalgic encephalomyelitis to removing references to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Graded Exercise Therapy.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for ensuring that its guidance remains up to date. NICE has advised that it has brought forward the next review date for its guidance on the diagnosis and management of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis from 2019 to 2017 to coincide with the expected publication of relevant new evidence.
NICE’s aim is to make a decision on whether an update of the guideline is required by the end of 2017.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the equality impact assessment on the proposed reduction to staff levels in his Department.
Answered by David Mowat
The Department is undertaking an Equality Impact Assessment of the DH 2020 change programme in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. This will be published internally in 2017 when the outcomes of the current selection process are known.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer to Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town of 1 April 2014, Official Report, House of Lords, column 53WA, on alcohol, what action his Department is taking to address the predicted 0.8 per cent increase in alcohol consumption.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Answer to Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town of 1 April 2014 made clear that estimated changes in alcohol consumption are relative to the effects of the previous alcohol duty rates policy. Changes in consumption will be subject to a number of factors, of which changes in duty rates are one.
The Government's Alcohol Strategy aims to cut the number of people drinking at harmful levels.
In November 2012, the Home Office launched a consultation on five key areas with the aim of reducing alcohol-fuelled crime, anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related health harm.
The Government response, published in July 2013, provided an analysis of the responses and set out the next steps that the Government will take:
- Targeted national action, ending sales of the cheapest alcohol by introducing a ban on selling alcohol below the price of duty and VAT, and strengthening the ban on irresponsible promotions in pubs and clubs.
- A challenge to industry to increase its efforts, building on what has already been achieved through the Public Health Responsibility Deal. This includes tackling high strength products; promoting alcohol responsibly in shops; improving education around drinking; and supporting targeted local action.
- Support local action on alcohol-related harm, identifying a number of high harm local alcohol action areas and take action with them to strengthen local partnerships; improve enforcement; and share good practice based on what works locally. The Minister for Crime Prevention announced the 20 successful areas on 13 February 2014.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to address the health effects of alcohol on the population in the next year.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Answer to Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town of 1 April 2014 made clear that estimated changes in alcohol consumption are relative to the effects of the previous alcohol duty rates policy. Changes in consumption will be subject to a number of factors, of which changes in duty rates are one.
The Government's Alcohol Strategy aims to cut the number of people drinking at harmful levels.
In November 2012, the Home Office launched a consultation on five key areas with the aim of reducing alcohol-fuelled crime, anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related health harm.
The Government response, published in July 2013, provided an analysis of the responses and set out the next steps that the Government will take:
- Targeted national action, ending sales of the cheapest alcohol by introducing a ban on selling alcohol below the price of duty and VAT, and strengthening the ban on irresponsible promotions in pubs and clubs.
- A challenge to industry to increase its efforts, building on what has already been achieved through the Public Health Responsibility Deal. This includes tackling high strength products; promoting alcohol responsibly in shops; improving education around drinking; and supporting targeted local action.
- Support local action on alcohol-related harm, identifying a number of high harm local alcohol action areas and take action with them to strengthen local partnerships; improve enforcement; and share good practice based on what works locally. The Minister for Crime Prevention announced the 20 successful areas on 13 February 2014.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's First Interim Report on the Responsibility Deal on Alcohol, published in April 2014, what evidence his Department holds that the reduction in alcohol sales of 253 million units is as a result of industry action.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Identifying a change in alcohol by volume (ABV) was the methodology agreed by the Responsibility Deal Monitoring Group as the best way to measure progress towards delivery of the Responsibility Deal pledge, made by alcohol producers and retailers, to remove 1 billion units of alcohol from the market by the end of 2015 principally through improving consumer choice of lower alcohol products.
The first interim monitoring report of progress, considered the extent to which the number of units of alcohol sold in the United Kingdom changed between 2011 and 2012 (a reduction of 1.3 billion units) and the portion of that change that can be attributed to changes in the average alcoholic strength of products (a reduction of 253 million units). When shifts between different categories of drink are controlled for, the average ABV decreased by 0.04 percentage points from 7.26% in 2011 to 7.22% in 2012. This generated the reduction of 253 million units of alcohol.
This takes into account a downward pressure from an overall reduction in the volume of product sold, a slight upward pressure from a shift in market share towards higher strength products (wine and spirits) and a downward pressure from an overall reduction in the strength of drinks within product categories.
The first interim monitoring report has been placed in the Library.