Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has for the new public health science campus at Harlow to play a leading role in the UK's preparedness against future pandemics.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The public health science campus at Harlow is not yet operating as a Public Health England facility. The modern state-of-the-art campus will bring the very latest technology and capabilities to support an efficient and effective response to future emergencies and pandemics.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to promote the Healthy Start scheme via a new communications package to improve uptake when the value of the vouchers increases in April 2021; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of working with (a) food partnerships, (b) public health teams and (c) other local stakeholders to promote that scheme.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
From April 2021 the Healthy Start voucher value will increase from £3.10 to £4.25. We will work closely with Healthy Start beneficiaries, retailers, local authorities and healthcare professionals to prepare for this.
The Healthy Start scheme continues to be promoted through the Healthy Start and Start4Life websites. All eligible beneficiaries receive a letter inviting them to apply for Healthy Start, together with a pre-populated application form.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason there has been a reduction in uptake of the Healthy Start scheme since May 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of beneficiaries receiving Healthy Start Vouchers has remained stable over the past year, at around 300,000. All eligible beneficiaries receive a letter inviting them to apply for Healthy Start, together with a pre-populated application form.
On 8 November 2020, it was announced that the value of the Healthy Start voucher in England will rise from £3.10 to £4.25 per week from April 2021. This will provide additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices.
In addition, we are developing a digital approach to Healthy Start, to make it easier for families to apply for, receive and use Healthy Start benefits.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 ensure that care homes in Harlow will receive rapid covid-19 tests.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All care homes, including those in Harlow, have access to lateral flow device kits and received deliveries in December and January and can now order their own kits.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
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 reduce waiting times for (a) knee and (b) hip replacement surgery.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The recent Spending Review provided £3 billion for 2021/22 to support the National Health Service in tackling the impact of COVID-19. This included £1 billion to tackle long waiting lists and address backlogs by facilitating up to one million extra checks, scans and additional operations such as knee and hip replacement surgery.