Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to (a) replace and (b) modernise the laboratories at Porton Down.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is actively considering its options for investment to replace and modernise the UK Health Security Agency’s laboratories, including those at Porton Down, to ensure the best public health outcomes and value for money.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
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 estimate of the number of community diagnostic centres that have bone densitometry scanning facilities.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of mid-January 2024, 19 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are delivering dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) testing, with plans for five more CDCs to start providing DEXA tests by the end of 2023/24.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the number of non-EU nationals who received health and care worker visa on staffing levels in (a) the NHS and (b) care homes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a vaccine strategy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 May 2023 to Question 186075.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many items of what sort of personal protective equipment he plans to stockpile for future pandemics; and what account he has taken of previous experience in deciding levels and sorts of such equipment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is committed to learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and has sought expert advice on personal protective equipment products that should be held, or otherwise contracted for, to support the United Kingdom’s preparedness for future pandemic and emerging infectious disease threats.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to stockpile personal protective equipment for potential future pandemics.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is committed to learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and has sought expert advice on personal protective equipment products that should be held, or otherwise contracted for, to support the United Kingdom’s preparedness for future pandemic and emerging infectious disease threats.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
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 help maintain a resilient supply chain for personal protective equipment.
Answered by Will Quince
Responsibility for the supply and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) on a day-to-day basis lies with NHS Supply Chain. The Department, NHS Supply Chain and NHS England continue to work collaboratively to deliver procurement and supply chain excellence for PPE that meets customer and patient needs, and to drive value for money for taxpayers.
The Department actively monitors and mitigates supply threats and disruptions to help ensure continuity of supply of medical products, and the Department has experience of this through EU Exit, COVID-19 and other supply disruptions.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he has allocated to spending on preventive healthcare in the next fiscal year.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Core annual allocations are made to integrated care boards and Local Authorities for their health functions, and do not specify amounts allocated for preventative health care. The balance of local spend between preventative care and other services is determined by local commissioners.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were receiving auditory verbal therapy in England as of 6 October 2023; if his Department will make an estimate of the number of deaf children in England who might benefit from such therapy; if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) accessibility of auditory verbal therapy to deaf children through the NHS and (b) potential social return on further investment in that therapy; and whether his Department has plans to provide investment to train an additional 300 specialist therapists as recommended by Auditory Verbal UK.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Data regarding the number of children receiving Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) in England is not held centrally. According to the National Deaf Children’s Society, there are over 50,000 deaf children in England. There are currently no plans to make an estimate of the number of deaf children in England who could benefit from AVT. Similarly, there are currently no plans to assess the accessibility of AVT for deaf children through the NHS or the potential social return on further investment in this therapy.
‘Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups’ was published in July 2016. This framework supports CCGs (and now integrated care boards) to make informed decisions about what is good value for the populations they serve and provide more consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.
There are also no plans currently to provide specific investment in training Auditory Verbal therapists. However, we recognise the need to improve access to therapies generally. Since September 2020, all eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. Additional funding is also available for studying certain courses – for example, Mental Health Nursing and Learning Disabilities Nursing - with further financial support available to students for childcare, dual accommodation costs and travel.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
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 implications for his policies of levels of (a) patient and (b) staff satisfaction with hospital food.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England is collecting data about trusts’ progress in implementing the eight mandatory elements of the Hospital Food and Drink Standards, including trusts having a named board member with responsibility for hospital food. The results are expected by March 2024.
Results from NHS England’s latest survey into patient’s assessment of their care survey published in March 2023 show a 90% approval on food/hydration, which demonstrates the overall impact of the improvements being made to hospital food such as the roll out of the eight mandatory Hospital Food and Drink Standards.