Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a clinical assessment of the effect on rates of problem gambling of shirt-front gambling sponsorship in sport.
Answered by Jo Churchill
On 8 December 2021, as part of the continued commitment to address gambling-related harms, the Government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005, with publication of a Call for Evidence. This includes a call for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise and engage in sponsorship arrangements in sport. The initial Call for Evidence will close on 31 March 2021.
The Department continues to work collaboratively with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, supporting the comprehensive review of the Gambling Act 2005, ensuring the regulatory framework is fit for purpose and protecting children and vulnerable people from gambling-related harms.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of adding nuclear medicine technologists to the Health and Care Professions Council register.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government has no plans to extend statutory regulation to nuclear medicine technologists. The statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for Sativex have been issued by the NHS in each month since November 2019.
Answered by Jo Churchill
There have been 1,700 items for Sativex prescribed on an NHS prescription, dispensed in the community in England and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement for the period November 2019 to August 2020, the latest data available. The following table shows the number of items by month.
Month | Items |
November 2019 | 172 |
December 2019 | 177 |
January 2020 | 175 |
February 2020 | 160 |
March 2020 | 177 |
April 2020 | 187 |
May 2020 | 154 |
June 2020 | 167 |
July 2020 | 178 |
August 2020 | 153 |
The NHS Business Service Authority is unable to provide the number of National Health Service prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based products dispensed in the community in England. This information is being withheld in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, due to the number of items attributed to less than five patients and potential for patient identifiable information to be published.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department (a) is taking to improve access to medicinal cannabis for people living with multiple sclerosis and (b) if he will publish a Government strategy for improving access to medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Two prescription medicines - Sativex – for the treatment of spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis patients, and Epidyolex – for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy, have been made available for prescribing on the National Health Service, where clinically appropriate. This follows clear demonstrated evidence of their safety, and clinical and cost effectiveness.
We continue to work hard with the health system, industry and researchers to improve the evidence base for other cannabis-based medicines, and to implement the recommendations of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s review on barriers to accessing unlicensed cannabis based medicinal products. This includes the design of clinical trials and the establishment of a national patient registry.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines the NHS issued in 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill
There have been 1,700 items for Sativex prescribed on an NHS prescription, dispensed in the community in England and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement for the period November 2019 to August 2020, the latest data available. The following table shows the number of items by month.
Month | Items |
November 2019 | 172 |
December 2019 | 177 |
January 2020 | 175 |
February 2020 | 160 |
March 2020 | 177 |
April 2020 | 187 |
May 2020 | 154 |
June 2020 | 167 |
July 2020 | 178 |
August 2020 | 153 |
The NHS Business Service Authority is unable to provide the number of National Health Service prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based products dispensed in the community in England. This information is being withheld in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, due to the number of items attributed to less than five patients and potential for patient identifiable information to be published.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what increase there has been in the number of patients seeking assistance from the NHS when gambling is a relevant factor, since 2007.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We do not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many private prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines have been prescribed and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority in each month from November 2018 to August 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The NHS Business Services Authority is unable to provide the number of National Health Service prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based products dispensed in community pharmacy in England. This information is being withheld in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, due to the number of items attributed to less than five patients and potential for patient identifiable information to be published.
313 private prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based products were prescribed and dispensed in community pharmacy in England (November 2018 – February 2020). During the COVID-19 outbreak, the NHS Business Services Authority temporarily suspended the processing of private prescriptions of this nature, so data between March 2020 and August 2020 is currently unavailable.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many unlicensed cannabis-based products have been prescribed on an NHS prescription, dispensed in the community in England and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement in each month from November 2018 to August 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The NHS Business Services Authority is unable to provide the number of National Health Service prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based products dispensed in community pharmacy in England. This information is being withheld in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, due to the number of items attributed to less than five patients and potential for patient identifiable information to be published.
313 private prescription items for unlicensed cannabis-based products were prescribed and dispensed in community pharmacy in England (November 2018 – February 2020). During the COVID-19 outbreak, the NHS Business Services Authority temporarily suspended the processing of private prescriptions of this nature, so data between March 2020 and August 2020 is currently unavailable.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
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 24 June 2020 to Question 57346 on Cannabis: Medical Treatments, what progress the Government has made on implementing a patient registry to monitor outcomes among medical cannabis patients.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The patient registry for cannabis-based products for medicinal use is currently being developed by NHS England and NHS Improvement with input from specialist clinicians and other advisory bodies. The purpose of this registry is to collect a uniform data set for patients prescribed these products, including patient outcomes. NHS England and NHS Improvement intends to pilot the registry this autumn, to enable operational use as soon as practicable.