Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
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 potential merits of reviewing prescription charges for people with Cystic Fibrosis.
Answered by Steve Brine
We have no current plans to review the list of medical conditions which provide for exemption from prescription charges because arrangements exist to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. A broad range of prescription charge exemptions are in place, for which someone with a long-term condition and cystic fibrosis may qualify. To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, prescription prepayment certificates are available. A holder of a 12 month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the role of NSPCC's Childline in the provision of early mental health support; and what steps is his Department taking to support that organisation.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Government welcomes the work of the NSPCC’s Childline. The Government supports the NSPCC through an £8 million grant over four years (up to 2020), as a contribution to funding both ChildLine and the NSPCC’s National Helpline, for anyone with concerns or worries about a child.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has (a) made to and (b) received from manufacturers representations on supply problems affecting the availability of EpiPens.
Answered by Steve Brine
Departmental officials have been in regular contact with the supplier of Epipens, Mylan, and are working closely with them to resolve the supply situation as quickly as possible. Supplies are currently available, although limited, and are being closely managed to ensure that pharmacies can obtain stock to fulfil prescriptions for patients.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
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 adequacy of NHS stocks of EpiPens; and what steps he is taking to ensure pharmacies can meet demand for EpiPens.
Answered by Steve Brine
Departmental officials have been in regular contact with the supplier of Epipens, Mylan, and are working closely with them to resolve the supply situation as quickly as possible. Supplies are currently available, although limited, and are being closely managed to ensure that pharmacies can obtain stock to fulfil prescriptions for patients.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the role of speech and language therapy services in developing communication and literacy skills.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Education and Public Health England to enable early years professionals to identify and support children’s early speech, language and communication needs. In an exchange of letters with the former Minister of State for Children and Families (Robert Goodwill MP) last November, the Department agreed to ensure that we and Public Health England prioritise the required activities to support the social mobility action plan launched in December 2017. Detailed work is ongoing between the Department for Education and Public Health England.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
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 recent trends in waiting times to access children’s speech and language therapy services.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
No assessment has been made of recent trends in waiting times to access children’s speech and language therapy services as this data is not reported centrally. There are no mandated referral to treatment times for speech and language therapy services. Local commissioners have responsibility for assessing the needs of their local population, and arranging services to meet those needs.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the role of speech and language therapy services in developing communication and literacy skills.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Education and Public Health England to enable early years professionals to identify and support children’s early speech, language and communication needs. In an exchange of letters with the former Minister of State for Children and Families (Robert Goodwill MP) last November, the Department agreed to ensure that we and Public Health England prioritise the required activities to support the social mobility action plan launched in December 2017. Detailed work is ongoing between the Department for Education and Public Health England.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
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 recent trends in waiting times to access children’s speech and language therapy services.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
No assessment has been made of recent trends in waiting times to access children’s speech and language therapy services as this data is not reported centrally. There are no mandated referral to treatment times for speech and language therapy services. Local commissioners have responsibility for assessing the needs of their local population, and arranging services to meet those needs.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
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 potential effect of the increase in NHS dental charges from 1 April 2018 on people’s (a) ability to pay for such services and (b) decision to access such services.
Answered by Steve Brine
Prior to the decision to uplift patient charges, the Department undertook an equality analysis and impact assessment. These have been published and can be found at the following link:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/336/resources
The current exemption and charge remission arrangements are intended to ensure that individuals are not deterred from obtaining any necessary treatment on financial grounds.
There has been no change to the exemption arrangements as a result of current increases to National Health Service dental charges. NHS dental treatment remains free for those under the age of 18, those under the age of 19 and in full-time education, pregnant women, those who have had a baby in the previous 12 months and those on low incomes.
In addition, adults who are not in receipt of qualifying benefits, but are on a low income, may qualify for full or partial help with charges through the NHS Low Income Scheme.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
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 effect on the provision of services provided by sexual health clinics of moving responsibility for and funding of those clinics to local authorities.
Answered by Steve Brine
The delivery of open access sexual health services is mandated for all local authorities. Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles have been developed by Public Health England (PHE) to support local authorities, public health leads and other interested parties to monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their population and the contribution of local public health related systems. The Department closely monitors the range of indicators and outcomes at national level. Progress continues to be made: for example, in 2016, more people than ever were tested for sexually transmitted infections and the number of people infected fell, the under-18 conception rate in 2016 was 18.9 conceptions per thousand women aged 15 to 17 years; this is the lowest rate recorded since comparable statistics were first produced in 1969, declining by 10% since 2015 and 45% since 2010. The United Kingdom is one of the first countries in Europe to witness a substantive decline in HIV diagnoses. In 2016, 5,164 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK (3,938 men and 1,226 women), representing an 18% decline from the 6,286 diagnoses reported in 2015. The decrease was most apparent in gay and bisexual men. In this group, the number of HIV diagnoses reported steadily increased from 2,850 in 2007 to 3,570 in 2015, and then decreased by 21% to 2,810 in 2016.