Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the UK Commission on Bereavement’s findings that over 40 percent of adult respondents who wanted formal bereavement support did not receive any.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has established a cross-Government bereavement working group and is committed to working with the voluntary sector, including the UK Commission on Bereavement, to assess how further support can be provided to those who have been bereaved. We are also working with the National Institute of Health and Care Research on research into the barriers that prevent minority ethnicity groups from accessing bereavement services. We expect the findings of this research in 2024.
In addition, NHS England have developed statutory guidance to support integrated care boards in their duty to commission palliative care services within integrated care systems which states that commissioners should ensure there is sufficient access to bereavement services.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of delaying the introduction of legislation to protect children from junk food advertising until 2025.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on improving health and wellbeing, including measures to reduce obesity.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on public health in the next five years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. However, this winter we are spending £55 billion to help households and businesses with their energy bills, amongst the largest support plans in Europe. A typical household will save around £900 this winter through the price guarantee in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.
We are also spending £9.3 billion over the next five years on energy efficiency and clean heat, making homes easier and cheaper to heat. We will spend £26 billion in total on cost of living support next year, including the £900 cost of living payment for eight million poorer households.
We have also put in place the largest ever increase to the National Living Wage - for 2 million workers – taking it up to £10.42, which is worth over £1,600 a year to a full-time worker aged 23 and over.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of potential disruption to the supply of finasteride.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Stocks of finasteride tablets currently remain available.
The Department works with NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry and others operating in the supply chain, to prevent shortages and expedite resupply where possible.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK's supply of alfacalcidol.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There have been no specific discussions.
The Department works with suppliers, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and expedite resupply where possible to ensure that any risks to patients are minimised.
The Department is aware of a shortage of alfacalcidol one microgram capsules affecting one of three suppliers due to manufacturing delays. We understand that this issue is due to be resolved in November 2022. Two alternative suppliers hold stock of all strengths of alfacalcidol capsules with no anticipated supply issues.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase research funding for mental health.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2020/21, the NIHR’s expenditure on mental health research was approximately £109 million. The NIHR has recently invested an additional £30 million in a Mental Health Research Initiative to address the disparity between regional needs and mental health research activity. This has funded more than 100 new mental health projects in areas of unmet need across the NIHR’s research infrastructure. The NIHR is exploring the provision of further support to improve research capacity and capability in regions with low research activity and high unmet need. The NIHR’s funding is available through open competition and researchers are encouraged to submit applications in this area.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's Living with COVID-19 plan, published on 21 February 2022, which states that free testing will be available from 1 April 2022 for a small number of at-risk groups, whether his Department plans to provide financial support to people who wish to purchase covid-19 tests privately but are unable to afford them; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of immunocompromised people of their relatives and friends potentially limiting contact with them after 1 April 2022 as a result of being unable to access free covid-19 tests.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Our guidance will make clear that in most circumstances, people will not need to test. The Government will enable COVID-19 tests to be made available for those who wish to purchase them through the private market. We are working with retailers and pharmacies to establish the private market in testing and reducing the cost of private testing to ensure it is affordable.
Further details on which at-risk groups will be eligible for tests will be available in due course. We will keep the impact of these COVID-19 policies on people such as those who are immunocompromised under review.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the financial cost of increases in employers' National Insurance contributions relating to NHS England in financial years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has compensated departments and other public sector employers in England for the increased cost of the Levy, including National Health Service (NHS) England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) and provided Barnett consequentials on this funding to the devolved administrations.
The Autumn Budget set out that the cost of this across public sector employers is c. £1.7bn-£1.8bn a year overall. The amount the NHS will be compensated by will be proportional to the NHS paybill, and NHSE/I will prepare and communicate its allocations to individual organisations and service lines in due course.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the financial cost of increases in energy prices will be for NHS England in financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Whilst NHS England and NHS Improvement have made no formal estimate, National Health Service organisations are responsible for their energy strategy, including responding to energy price changes. Where this occurs, organisations can reconsider their purchasing strategies by entering into longer term contracts for greater certainty of costs and reduce demand by upgrading existing inefficient systems. In addition, NHS organisations can increase their longer-term resilience by installing on-site renewable energy.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase funding for research on mental health.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom, through the Department. The NIHR spent £93.4 million on mental health research in 2019/20. While it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, the NIHR’s funding is available through open competition and it encourages researchers to submit applications, including for mental health research.