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, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2019 to Question 238305 on Vaccination, what advice the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Healthcare Associated Infections Working Group provided on the development of better tools to estimate and quantify the potential impact of vaccines in reducing the long-term burden of antimicrobial resistance; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Advice on the development of better tools to estimate and quantify the potential impact of vaccines in reducing the long-term burden of antimicrobial resistance has not been provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Healthcare Associated Infections Working Group.
The Healthcare Associated Infections Working Group was formed and met in 2018 and 2019. The Working Group, or an equivalent, will be reconvened in due course once relevant vaccines progress through the vaccine pipeline.
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, with reference to Alzheimer’s Research UK’s report entitled Tipping Point: The Future of Dementia, what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of people with a dementia diagnosis who are registered to be informed about dementia clinical trials.
Answered by Will Quince
Join Dementia Research (JDR), delivered by the Department via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer Scotland and Alzheimer’s Research UK, is our main tool for enabling people to register their interest in dementia research and be matched to trials. The goal is to improve participation and diversity in dementia research by making it possible for anyone who wants to be involved in dementia research to get the chance to do so.
To increase the proportion of people with a dementia diagnosis in dementia clinical trials and other research and to increase awareness of opportunities to take part, the NIHR is undertaking several actions, including but not limited to: direct text messaging from general practitioners to patients at selected sites across England; establishing links with NHS Memory Services and other care networks to integrate discussion of JDR into their processes; working with the NHS Admiral Nurses to develop training materials to support healthcare professionals when discussing research with patients; and working to establish a national network of local JDR champions who will build on relationships with local organisations, charities and local groups representing under-represented communities to engage people with JDR.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the correspondence from Garden Court Chambers of (a) 24 August and (b) 14 September 2023 on pension age changes for women born in the 1950s, whether he plans to meet with them to discuss this issue.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has not completed his investigation into communication of changes to women’s state pension. It would be inappropriate to enter into Alternative Dispute Resolution with third parties or comment while the PHSO investigation is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
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, with reference to page 35 of the report Tipping Point: The Future of Dementia, published by Alzheimer’s Research UK in September 2023, whether his Department is taking steps to increase awareness among people with a dementia diagnosis about dementia (a) clinical trials and (b) other research.
Answered by Will Quince
Join Dementia Research (JDR), delivered by the Department via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer Scotland and Alzheimer’s Research UK, is our main tool for enabling people to register their interest in dementia research and be matched to trials. The goal is to improve participation and diversity in dementia research by making it possible for anyone who wants to be involved in dementia research to get the chance to do so.
To increase the proportion of people with a dementia diagnosis in dementia clinical trials and other research and to increase awareness of opportunities to take part, the NIHR is undertaking several actions, including but not limited to: direct text messaging from general practitioners to patients at selected sites across England; establishing links with NHS Memory Services and other care networks to integrate discussion of JDR into their processes; working with the NHS Admiral Nurses to develop training materials to support healthcare professionals when discussing research with patients; and working to establish a national network of local JDR champions who will build on relationships with local organisations, charities and local groups representing under-represented communities to engage people with JDR.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps with his international counterparts to include older people from developing countries in consultations on the development of Universal Health Coverage in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to championing universal health coverage (UHC). In the 2019 Political Declaration on UHC, United Nations Member States committed to promote healthy and active ageing and to respond to the needs of ageing populations. We are working with other Member States to retain and build on that commitment at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting. We continue to work with country partners and global organisations such as the World Health Organization on integrated and equitable approaches to strengthening health systems and achieving UHC that meets the needs of people of all ages and promotes their participation and inclusion.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to include older people in developing countries in his Department’s White Paper on International Development.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK will produce a White Paper in late 2023 which sets out a vision for global development that delivers on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, poverty reduction, economic growth and tackling climate change.
The precise content of the White Paper will be determined by consultation across the UK government, civil society, those in the sector (and outside it) in the UK and our international partners. The open call for evidence will close on 16 September. In parallel, UK government officials are undertaking targeted outreach to stakeholders and partners in different areas of development policy, and the FCDO global network are consulting around the world with partner organisations and countries. External engagement has involved consultations looking at inclusion as part of the White Paper development.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take with his international counterparts to include older people in commitments made at the United Nations High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage in September 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to championing universal health coverage (UHC). In the 2019 Political Declaration on UHC, United Nations Member States committed to promote healthy and active ageing and to respond to the needs of ageing populations. We are working with other Member States to retain and build on that commitment at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting. We continue to work with country partners and global organisations such as the World Health Organization on integrated and equitable approaches to strengthening health systems and achieving universal health coverage that meets the needs of people of all ages.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress the Government has made on ensuring that young people have the skills for entry into the space industry.
Answered by George Freeman
Ensuring that people of all ages can enter the UK space sector is a whole-of-government effort. This is recognized in the UK Science and Technology Framework (March 2023), which commits to expanding participation in all STEM careers. The UK Space Agency has a strong history of ensuring children are inspired and learning about space throughout their education and as they move into potential space careers. This has included educational projects following Tim Peake’s Principia mission, which reached over 1.6 million young people nationwide (Impact Assessment: Principia Campaign, 2018).
The Agency’s Space Placements in Industry (SPIN) Programme supports university students to undertake a space-related summer internship, with over 400 participants to date. The Programme will receive a three-fold increase in funding in 2024. In July, the Department for Education launched the new Level 6 Space Systems programme, which will enable apprentices to receive quality training in the industry while earning a salary.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the Scottish Roadmap for a Sustainable Space Industry; and what steps her Department is taking to promote sustainability in that sector.
Answered by George Freeman
The sustainability of the space environment is a priority. The 2022 Plan for Space Sustainability includes measures to improve responsibility across the sector, including regulatory and international leadership, and developing new industry-led standards. We fund important projects with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, one implementing the Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines of Outer Space Activities, and another project on Registration of Space Objects. We will consult shortly on applying variable liability limits for satellite operations to reflect mission sustainability.
The UK government will consider further the Scottish Space Sustainability Roadmap as thinking develops on how sustainability measures could be implemented.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Scotland and the UK build satellite capabilities to help support global leadership in that field.
Answered by George Freeman
As announced on 1 August 2023, the Government is working to establish the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) scheme, a potential £160 million R&D scheme to fund the next generation of satellite communications development and boost the UK’s leadership in the ever-growing global satellite market. The goal of the scheme would be to support suppliers across the UK in developing the technologies critical to the future of low Earth orbit satellite communications. These areas remain subject to change as the scheme develops but funding could go towards using AI to make data delivery faster, connecting satellites together for improved connection, and payload development.
The C-LEO programme is currently in development. Launch of the scheme and commitment of any funding would be subject to standard Government business case and other approvals.