Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) trade and levy organisations and (b) other members of health, voluntary sector and industry were invited to be part of the external reference group for the formation of the new Eat Well guide.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Public Health England convened an external reference group in July 2014 to inform the refresh of the Eatwell Guide. Members from health, voluntary sector and industry were invited, including trade and levy organisations. Government departments and agencies were observers.
The following organisations were invited and formed the reference group; The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, The Association of Directors of Public Health, The Association for Nutrition (chair), The Association of Convenience Stores, The British Dietetic Association, The British Nutrition Foundation, The British Retail Consortium, The Food and Drink Federation, Health Education England, Institute of Grocery Distribution, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, The Royal College of Nursing and UK Health Forum.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rationale was for the reduction in the dairy food group from 15 to eight per cent in the revised Eatwell Guide; and on what scientific evidence the new recommendations on dairy consumption are based.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government has adopted the refreshed Eatwell Guide which reflects updated government dietary recommendations based upon conclusions from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, robust modelling and consumer research. It shows the proportions of the different types of foods and drinks we should consume to have a healthy, balanced diet.
An external reference group was convened to inform the development of the Eatwell Guide. Members from health, voluntary sector and industry were invited, including trade and levy organisations.
Linear programming, the approach considered the most objective and robust by the reference group to inform the sizes of the food group segments, ensured all government dietary recommendations were met, including that for calcium. This analysis resulted in a new image with a reduced ‘dairy and alternatives’ segment, which will support consumers to reduce saturated fat and salt consumption, while still meeting calcium recommendations.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Government is making in implementing the recommendations in his Department's Innovative Medicines Review.
Answered by George Freeman
The Accelerated Access review into innovative medicines and medical technologies was launched on 20 November 2014. On 11 March, the Government published the review’s terms of reference and announced that Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair of Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust, will chair the review. The review will produce an interim report before the autumn.
Work on the review is underway. Background work to map the current development pathways for medicines, devices and diagnostics is ongoing, as is initial work on international comparators. The review has also started to engage with stakeholders from across the landscape, and this dialogue will continue as the review progresses.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to publish a new dementia strategy.
Answered by Norman Lamb
On 21 February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his new Challenge on Dementia 2020, which builds on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015, the successor to the National Dementia Strategy 2009-2014. It sets out aspirations for dementia care, support, awareness and research to be transformed by 2020.
What happens from 2015/16 to 2020 will be determined by the next Government in the context of the Spending Review, however the expectation, subject to the outcome of the Spending Review, is to work with key stakeholders on the implementation on the vision to ensure that real and sustainable improvements are delivered for people with dementia, their carers and families.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Food Standards Agency on implementing the recommendations in the efficiency review carried out by the National Audit Office in 2013.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a non-ministerial department and asked the National Audit Office to undertake an efficiency review in order to identify whether it was delivering the official controls required for the United Kingdom meat industry under European and UK legislation as efficiently as possible. The review took place early in 2013 and encompassed both frontline operational and support functions. Findings were presented to the FSA Board in July 2013, and an action plan developed in response.