Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will supply a decision on behalf of the Government on each of the 25 recommendations made by the select committee on Health and Social Care in its Eighth Report, Children and Young People's Mental Health, HC 17, published on 9 December 2021; and if he will make a statement on that matter at the first available opportunity.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We welcome the Committee’s report. In our response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report, we set out where we agreed with its recommendations or where we are taking forward the recommendations in part or in full. We will be considering the recommendations in full during the development of a new long term cross-Government plan for mental health. We are launching a wide-ranging discussion paper and call for evidence to support development of the plan. The Committee’s inquiry and evidence from witnesses will be considered during this process.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice he has given to pharmacies on the distribution of covid-19 lateral flow tests that are not for resale after 31 March 2022; and whether they will be required to provide those lateral flow tests to people for free.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Pharmacies have been advised to distribute all their remaining stock before the end of the service on the 31 March 2022 to minimise the amount of surplus stock. There will be no process in place for collecting unused kits from pharmacies at the end of the service and the UK Health Security Agency are discouraging the destruction of test kits. Pharmacy teams can use their knowledge of their local communities to proactively distribute test kits. This may include distribution to people who are National Health Service staff, carers, the clinically vulnerable, digitally excluded or anyone who in the professional opinion of the pharmacist would benefit.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice the Government has provided to pharmacies regarding the distribution of free lateral flow tests that are not for resale after 31 March 2022.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Pharmacies have been advised to distribute all their remaining stock before the end of the service on the 31 March 2022 to minimise the amount of surplus stock. There will be no process in place for collecting unused kits from pharmacies at the end of the service and the UK Health Security Agency are discouraging the destruction of test kits. Pharmacy teams can use their knowledge of their local communities to proactively distribute test kits. This may include distribution to people who are National Health Service staff, carers, the clinically vulnerable, digitally excluded or anyone who in the professional opinion of the pharmacist would benefit.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
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 potential for the number of cases of Covid-19 in care homes to increase as a result of the ending of free lateral flow tests.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The testing regimes for adult social care from 1 April 2022 are currently under review. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
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 potential merits of providing covid-19 recovery certificates for UK citizens who desire to travel abroad.
Answered by Maggie Throup
COVID-19 recovery certificates for United Kingdom citizens can be obtained 10 days after a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test demonstrating recovery from infection within the previous 180 days. The certificates are already available for those aged 16 years old and over in the digital NHS COVID Pass for travel via the NHS App and NHS.UK. A digital solution to allow those aged 12 years old and over access to recovery certificates will be made available shortly.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take in response to retail spaces that are not enforcing the wearing of face masks.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There is a legal requirement for in-scope businesses including shops, to display signage to inform the public that face coverings are mandated in their premises, unless they are exempt from wearing them or have a reasonable excuse.
The Regulations already provide for local authority enforcement officers to be able to use their enforcement powers against businesses for contravening the requirement relating to signage and information through issuing fixed penalty notices.
Staff in retail spaces and other places can remind people of the requirement to wear a face covering, but this should not result in anyone having to prove that they have an exemption or reasonable excuse.
If necessary, the police and community support officers can issue a fixed penalty notice to anyone who does not comply with this law without a valid exemption or reasonable excuse.
The Government will keep this policy under review.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to encourage supermarkets to ask customers to wear face masks in their stores during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Maggie Throup
There is a legal requirement for in-scope businesses, including shops, to display signage to inform the public that face coverings are mandated in their premises, unless they are exempt from wearing them or have a reasonable excuse. Staff should remind people of the requirement to wear a face covering, but this should not result in anyone having to prove that they have an exemption or reasonable excuse. If necessary, police and police community support officers can issue a fixed penalty notice to anyone who does not comply without a valid exemption or reasonable excuse.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the level of covid-19 infection arriving in the UK from (a) Pakistan and (b) other countries from people who have travelled abroad; and whether there are any reports of new variants of that infection from Pakistan.
Answered by Jo Churchill
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.