Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
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 increase access to new medicines among people living with progressive forms of MS.
Answered by Edward Argar
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraises all new medicines, including for multiple sclerosis, and is committed where possible, to publishing draft guidance at the time of licensing with final guidance published within three months. NICE has published guidance recommending a number of medicines for multiple sclerosis for routine use in the National Health Service. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
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 accessibility of the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines on consumption of alcohol by children and young people.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines do not include specific guidelines on consumption of alcohol by children and young people. However, advice on alcohol consumption is available at NHS.UK, the Talk to FRANK online resource, and GOV.UK.
The National Health Service provides advice that alcohol use in teenage years is related to a range of health and social problems and recommends that children and young people do not drink alcohol before the age of 18 years old. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/should-my-child-drink-alcohol/
Education on alcohol use is also a statutory component of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education in England.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that parents and children are aware of the Chief Medical Officer’s guidance on underage drinking.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines do not include specific guidelines on consumption of alcohol by children and young people. However, advice on alcohol consumption is available at NHS.UK, the Talk to FRANK online resource, and GOV.UK.
The National Health Service provides advice that alcohol use in teenage years is related to a range of health and social problems and recommends that children and young people do not drink alcohol before the age of 18 years old. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/should-my-child-drink-alcohol/
Education on alcohol use is also a statutory component of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education in England.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to (a) attract and (b) retain more neurology specialists.
Answered by Edward Argar
Neurology is a popular specialty and generally achieves a 100% fill rate for training places, with no significant attrition issues. A new curriculum is being introduced with increased emphasis on working and training in internal medicine and stroke as well as neurology, which will increase the number of trainees in the acute areas of neurology.
To improve the retention of all National Health Service staff, the NHS People Plan focuses on actions for organisations to build a more compassionate and inclusive culture. This includes a focus on staff health and wellbeing, support for flexible working and a renewed commitment to tackling inequality. The NHS Retention Programme is seeking to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
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 impact of the covid-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption by children and young people.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
No assessment has yet been made as data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption by children and young people is not currently available. NHS Digital’s Smoking, Drinking and Drugs among Young People Survey provides information on drinking behaviours and attitudes among children aged 11 to 15 years old. The last survey was carried out in 2018. Field work for the 2021 survey began in autumn 2021.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a policy of pre-exposure protection using new and emerging monoclonal antibody and antiviral treatments for immunosuppressed people who remain vulnerable to covid-19 despite receiving a vaccination.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments, such as monoclonal antibody therapies and repurposed compounds. The RAPID C-19 collaboration has enabled active multi-agency oversight of national and international trial evidence as it emerges for COVID-19 therapies, both in potential treatment and prophylactic indications. Where material evidence is identified, this has enabled the rapid formation and implementation of United Kingdom-wide clinical access policies. The RAPID C-19 collaboration actively reviews all promising compounds. To date, the evidence has most strongly supported treatment use, but the evidence around prophylactic use will continue to be actively reviewed.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2021 to Question 86579 on Chickenpox: Vaccination, what steps (a) he has taken and (b) plans to take to increase the routine immunisation modelling capacity of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation formulates advice and recommendations based on appraisal of the best scientific and other evidence available and has no specific allocated modelling resource. Modelling is commissioned from a range of resources as and when required.
There are no plans to increase capacity at present. Modellers in academic institutions, public bodies and the Government have been focused on supporting efforts against COVID-19 through the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2021 to Question 86579 on Chickenpox: Vaccination, what data his Department holds on the number of modellers available to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI); what plans he has to increase the JCVI’s routine immunisations modelling capacity; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Data on the number of modellers is not held. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation formulates advice and recommendations based on appraisal of the best scientific and other evidence available and has no specific allocated modelling resource. Modelling is commissioned from a range of resources as and when required.
There are no plans to increase the routine immunisations modelling capacity at present. Modellers from academic institutions, public bodies and the Government have been focused on supporting efforts against COVID-19 through the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the UK Government has made of the concept of brain health in encouraging people to reduce their dementia risk.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Currently, the NHS Health Check programme aims to raise awareness of the risk factors that affect both heart and brain health. This aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease, and some cases of dementia among adults aged 40 to 74 years old.
We will be setting out our future plans on dementia for England in 2022. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is contributing to the development of the new strategy which will include a focus on prevention and risk reduction. As part of this, the concept of brain health in encouraging people to reduce their dementia risk, is being explored. Officials are engaging with a range of stakeholders on the new strategy including members of the Dementia Programme Board and other Government departments.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Government has spent on research into (a) dementia prevention and (b) brain health in each of the last three years; and what plans he has to increase funding for research in those areas.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Funding for dementia research is allocated via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The following table shows spending on research into dementia prevention by each organisation in each of the last three years. Spending by the MRC in 2020/21 is not yet available.
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
MRC | £10.8 million | £6.7 million | N/A |
ESRC | £0.7 million | £0.7 million | £1.1 million |
NIHR | £1.8 million | £1.5 million | £1.7 million |
Total | £13.3 million | £8.9 million | £2.8 million |
The following table shows spending on research into ‘brain health’ in each of the last three years. Figures for the MRC’s spend reflect research into neurodegeneration, epilepsy and stroke which is directly relevant to brain health research, as the MRC does not have a specific brain health research portfolio. Spending by the MRC in 2020/21 is not yet available.
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
MRC | £71.1 million | £68.1 million | N/A |
ESRC | £0.1 million | £0.2 million | £0.4 million |
NIHR | £3.9 million | £5.8 million | £5.4 million |
Total | £75.1 million | £74.1 million | £5.8 million |
The Government has committed to invest £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases, including dementia. We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in 2022. This will include our ambitions for dementia research.