Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure the vaccination of eligible people who have not previously accessed the shingles vaccine.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are committed to delivering the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) recommendation on shingles immunisation. The vaccine is being offered routinely to those aged 70 years and to all those aged 71 to 79 years through a progressive catch-up.
In the first year of the programme, 2013/14, the vaccine was offered to all those aged 70 and 79 years old. In 2014/15 the vaccine was offered to all those aged 70, 78 and 79 years old and in 2015/16, the vaccine will be offered to those aged 70 and 78 years old.
General practitioners may also continue to offer immunisation to all those who have become eligible as 70 year olds from 1 September 2013 but have not yet been immunised.
This progressive programme will ensure that all those JCVI has recommended be vaccinated will be offered the vaccine.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the shingles vaccination will be included as an indicator in the Public Health Outcomes Framework along with other recommended vaccination programmes.
Answered by Jane Ellison
There will be a review of the Public Health Outcomes Framework later in 2015. Any proposal to include shingles vaccination as an indicator will be considered as part of the review process.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Government plans to make the shingles vaccine available to everyone who requests it in the 70-79 age group.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We are committed to delivering the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) recommendation on shingles immunisation. The vaccine is being offered routinely to those aged 70 years and to all those aged 71 to 79 years through a progressive catch-up.
In the first year of the programme, 2013/14, the vaccine was offered to all those aged 70 and 79 years old. In 2014/15 the vaccine was offered to all those aged 70, 78 and 79 years old and in 2015/16, the vaccine will be offered to those aged 70 and 78 years old.
General practitioners may also continue to offer immunisation to all those who have become eligible as 70 year olds from 1 September 2013 but have not yet been immunised.
This progressive programme will ensure that all those JCVI has recommended be vaccinated will be offered the vaccine.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the current shingles vaccination schedule is for 70 to 79 year olds; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended that shingles vaccine should be offered to all those aged 70 – 79 years. The vaccine is being routinely offered to all those aged 70 years and to all those aged 71 to 79 years through a progressive catch-up.
In the first year of the programme, 2013/14, shingles vaccination was offered to patients aged 70 and 79 years old. For 2014/15, we are offering vaccination to patients aged 70, 78 and 79 years old and, for 2015/16, we will offer the vaccine to patients aged 70 and 78 years old.
We are committed to delivering the JCVI’s recommendation in full. Eligibility criteria for immunisation in each year of the programme are informed by the volumes of vaccine that have been contracted and scheduled for delivery in that particular year.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to curb excessive disparities in the cost of dispensing (a) dermatology and (b) non-dermatology preferred unlicensed dermatological preparations; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all pharmacies in England obtain a whole-of-market quote from manufacturers of such preparations, as is the case in Scotland.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Drug Tariff sets out what National Health Service dispensing contractors will be paid for the products supplied as part of providing pharmaceutical services and the fees for providing those services in primary care.
The current arrangements for paying for unlicensed medicines were introduced in 2011. These arrangements, unlike the ones for Scotland, do not require pharmacy contractors to obtain a whole-of-market quote from manufacturers. However, the Drug Tariff sets the price that the NHS pays to dispensing contractors for dispensing many of the most popular specials. Setting a reimbursement price, applied to all contractors, stops disparity of payment for these products and encourages dispensing contractors to obtain best value for the NHS, while also ensuring patients receive the medicines they need, when they need them. Due to the number of unlicensed medicines that can potentially be prescribed, it is not possible to list a reimbursement price for all available specials.
Where the reimbursement price of a product has not been set, dispensing contractors are paid according to how the product is sourced. Where a dispensing contractor buys the product from a specials manufacturer or an importing company, they must claim the invoice price of the pack size used to dispense the product minus any discounts or rebates received.
NHS England is responsible for commissioning pharmaceutical services in primary care and it is for NHS England to consider whether dispensing contractors have acted appropriately, including excessive claims for payment made by contractors. In addition, the General Pharmaceutical Council is responsible for regulating the pharmacy professions should there be any concerns of professional misconduct.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin report on sunbed regulation, published in May 2014; when he plans to announce his Department's response to that report; and whether his Department is preparing secondary legislation to implement the conditions of that report.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Department is carefully assessing the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin’s recommendations and we will provide our response by the end of October.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2014, Official Report, on the General Dental Council, if (a) his Department and (b) the Professional Standards Authority For Health and Social Care will publish its review of the business case for the increase in years charged by the General Dental Council; and if similar reviews will be published of the Care Quality Commission increase in fees to dental professionals.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The business case referred to in the answer given on 2 August 2014 is the General Dental Council’s (GDC) consultation document setting out the GDC’s rationale for the proposed fee rise. The consultation closed on 4 September 2014 and the document is available at:
www.gdc-uk.org/GDCcalendar/Consultations/Pages/Consultation-on-the-Annual-Retention-Fee-(ARF)-Level-for-2015.aspx
The GDC is an independent body and therefore neither the Department nor The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care as a formal role in reviewing the GDC’s case. However, in my role as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health, on 3 September 2014 I met with the GDC where this issue was discussed.
Each year the Care Quality Commission (CQC) consults on its proposed fee structure for the following year. The CQC intends to publish a consultation on its proposed fee structure for 2015-16 and draft impact assessment in the next month. The final impact assessment will be published in 2015. These documents will be available on the CQC’s website. Following consultation, the CQC will present its proposals to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
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 General Dental Council on its proposal to increase the annual retention fee by 64 per cent; and what his Department's response is to that proposal.
Answered by Dan Poulter
No formal discussions have taken place with the General Dental Council (GDC) on their proposal to increase the annual retention fee.
The GDC is an independent body and it is therefore for the GDC Council to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration. The proposed fee increase is subject to public consultation where the GDC’s case will be scrutinised. The Department does not usually contribute to such consultations but all professional regulators, including the GDC, are aware of the Department’s position on registration fees. In February 2011, the Government published Enabling Excellence, which states that we would not expect registration fees to increase beyond their current levels, unless there is a clear and robust business case that any increase is essential to ensure the exercise of statutory duties.
In my role as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health I have regular contact with regulators on a whole range of issues and I have a meeting scheduled with the GDC in September.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on top-level pay at the General Dental Council.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The General Dental Council is an independent body, directly accountable to Parliament. It is therefore for the General Dental Council to determine its top-level pay. However the Department expects all regulators to show restraint and to set salaries which are appropriate.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures his Department has put in place to deal with the consequences of a failure by the General Dental Council to meet key tests set by the Professional Standards Authority.
Answered by Dan Poulter
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is an independent body and the Department does not have any input into the reviews or investigations it carries out. In its annual report the PSA have recommended to each of the regulators that they:
- review this year’s performance review report as a whole, taking account of the PSA’s views, and consider whether they can learn and improve from the practices of the other regulators;
- address any areas of concern that are highlighted in this year’s performance review report; and
- ensure that their Councils review and discuss the performance review report in a public Council meeting.