Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
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 health departments of governments overseas on the development of research into heat-not-burn products.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Government has committed Public Health England (PHE) to annually reviewing the evidence on e-cigarettes and novel tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products, until the end of Parliament in 2022. PHE’s current review was published in February 2018. The review looked at the latest available evidence on heated tobacco products and, based on that evidence, concluded that these products were less harmful than cigarettes, but more harmful than e-cigarettes. This is in agreement with the Committee on Toxicity (CoT), who concluded in December 2017 that there is a likely reduction in risk for smokers switching to heated tobacco products.
Both PHE and CoT identified shortcomings in the current evidence base: there are no long term studies as these products are relatively new, and a majority of the research is carried out by the tobacco industry. The Department will review and consider where there are gaps in evidence for further independent research, and continues to collaborate and share knowledge both in the United Kingdom and internationally to help develop the research base and understanding of these products. The UK Government is also represented on the Global Tobacco Regulators' Forum, which brings together a number of countries, as well as the European Union and World Health Organization, to discuss regulatory issues of common interest, including research into heated tobacco products.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what gaps his Department has identified in the available independent research into the safety of heat-not-burn products.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Government has committed Public Health England (PHE) to annually reviewing the evidence on e-cigarettes and novel tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products, until the end of Parliament in 2022. PHE’s current review was published in February 2018. The review looked at the latest available evidence on heated tobacco products and, based on that evidence, concluded that these products were less harmful than cigarettes, but more harmful than e-cigarettes. This is in agreement with the Committee on Toxicity (CoT), who concluded in December 2017 that there is a likely reduction in risk for smokers switching to heated tobacco products.
Both PHE and CoT identified shortcomings in the current evidence base: there are no long term studies as these products are relatively new, and a majority of the research is carried out by the tobacco industry. The Department will review and consider where there are gaps in evidence for further independent research, and continues to collaborate and share knowledge both in the United Kingdom and internationally to help develop the research base and understanding of these products. The UK Government is also represented on the Global Tobacco Regulators' Forum, which brings together a number of countries, as well as the European Union and World Health Organization, to discuss regulatory issues of common interest, including research into heated tobacco products.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
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 ensure the availability of a reliable body of independent research on heat-not-burn products.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Government has committed Public Health England (PHE) to annually reviewing the evidence on e-cigarettes and novel tobacco products, such as heated tobacco products, until the end of Parliament in 2022. PHE’s current review was published in February 2018. The review looked at the latest available evidence on heated tobacco products and, based on that evidence, concluded that these products were less harmful than cigarettes, but more harmful than e-cigarettes. This is in agreement with the Committee on Toxicity (CoT), who concluded in December 2017 that there is a likely reduction in risk for smokers switching to heated tobacco products.
Both PHE and CoT identified shortcomings in the current evidence base: there are no long term studies as these products are relatively new, and a majority of the research is carried out by the tobacco industry. The Department will review and consider where there are gaps in evidence for further independent research, and continues to collaborate and share knowledge both in the United Kingdom and internationally to help develop the research base and understanding of these products. The UK Government is also represented on the Global Tobacco Regulators' Forum, which brings together a number of countries, as well as the European Union and World Health Organization, to discuss regulatory issues of common interest, including research into heated tobacco products.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
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 develop new indicators for the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework to enable better scrutiny of choice and quality in end of life care.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The NHS England End of Life Care team, its partners and stakeholders regularly seek to identify suitable indicators to better measure choice and quality in end of life care. The NHS England End of Life Programme Board and the Ambitions Partnership for Palliative and End of Life Care meet on a regular basis throughout the year. The review and assessment of the effectiveness of datasets and metrics relating to palliative and end of life care features frequently on the agenda for both groups.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with which stakeholders his Department will consult to develop new indicators on end of life care for inclusion in the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The NHS England End of Life Care team would consult with their Ambitions Partners (which includes professional bodies and third sector colleagues) as well as their clinical network colleagues across the country in such development. Information about the Ambitions Partners can be accessed at the following link:
http://endoflifecareambitions.org.uk/partners/
The current plan is to understand the outcomes from the indicator on proportion of people with three or more emergency admissions in 90 days of life before looking at further indicators for End of Life Care in the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the launch of the new national survey of bereaved people.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Since 2012 the National Survey of Bereaved People (VOICES) survey has provided valuable insight into the quality of care delivered to people in the last three months of their lives, highlighting variations in the quality of care delivered in different areas of the country and to different groups of patients.
Following publication of the last set of survey results in June 2016, NHS England held a consultation on the future of the VOICES survey to seek views on the approach and relevance of the survey to ensure that it remained fit for purpose. Whilst the response showed that the VOICES survey remained a valuable tool, key amongst its findings were that the majority of respondents indicated that the VOICES survey would be more helpful if the sample size were made large enough to report at a local commissioner level. Following this, work was undertaken to revise the survey and consider approaches to a larger sample size and then put in place arrangements to re-commission the VOICES survey. NHS England has been involved in discussions with the Office for National Statistics, which collects the death registration data used to identify survey recipients, about arrangements for access to the data for the new survey. Changes to the safeguarding arrangements on data-sharing, designed to ensure any concerns about care raised via the survey can be appropriately investigated, have resulted in delays to commencing the new VOICES survey.
Work is ongoing to resolve this matter, and a timetable for the publication of the next survey cannot be provided at this time. In the meantime NHS England is exploring the piloting of experience measures, including use of the VOICES survey, at a local level, in a number of National Health Service end of life care demonstrator sites.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the paused national survey of bereaved people, whether he plans to run a re-commissioned survey.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Since 2012 the National Survey of Bereaved People (VOICES) survey has provided valuable insight into the quality of care delivered to people in the last three months of their lives, highlighting variations in the quality of care delivered in different areas of the country and to different groups of patients.
Following publication of the last set of survey results in June 2016, NHS England held a consultation on the future of the VOICES survey to seek views on the approach and relevance of the survey to ensure that it remained fit for purpose. Whilst the response showed that the VOICES survey remained a valuable tool, key amongst its findings were that the majority of respondents indicated that the VOICES survey would be more helpful if the sample size were made large enough to report at a local commissioner level. Following this, work was undertaken to revise the survey and consider approaches to a larger sample size and then put in place arrangements to re-commission the VOICES survey. NHS England has been involved in discussions with the Office for National Statistics, which collects the death registration data used to identify survey recipients, about arrangements for access to the data for the new survey. Changes to the safeguarding arrangements on data-sharing, designed to ensure any concerns about care raised via the survey can be appropriately investigated, have resulted in delays to commencing the new VOICES survey.
Work is ongoing to resolve this matter, and a timetable for the publication of the next survey cannot be provided at this time. In the meantime NHS England is exploring the piloting of experience measures, including use of the VOICES survey, at a local level, in a number of National Health Service end of life care demonstrator sites.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the timetable for the introduction of an indicator on the Care Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework to measure the proportion of people with three or more emergency admissions in their final 90 days of life.
Answered by Steve Brine
The clinical commissioning group Improvement and Assessment framework contains an indicator to measure the percentage of deaths with three or more emergency admissions in last three months of life. This was introduced for 2017/18, published on 21 November 2017.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps he is taking to support hospitals in special measures.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Trusts in Special Measures are receiving increased support and intensive oversight from NHS Improvement to turn around their performance, including tailored improvement packages and Improvement Directors.
22 trusts are now out of Special Measures for Quality since the programme began in 2013.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Brine
The United Kingdom continues to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations where statehood is not a prerequisite and where Taiwan can make a valuable contribution. The UK believes the World Health Assembly (WHA) meets these criteria.
The Department has supported the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We have worked with likeminded countries to lobby the World Health Organization at official level to issue an invitation to Taiwan to observe the WHA.