Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for the (a) disposal and (b) continued storage of PPE purchased for the UK and stored in China.
Answered by Will Quince
Imported personal protective equipment (PPE) is now provided by suppliers appointed to NHS Supply Chain’s Single Use PPE framework agreement. Suppliers are appointed following a competitive tender process to ensure value for money. Every product on this framework is assessed, involving work with regulators, safety standards agencies and national experts who agree the safety standards and requirements that products must meet in order to be used in the National Health Service.
From April 2022, responsibility for the operational management for retaining a pandemic stockpile of PPE transferred to NHS Supply Chain. Providers of PPE will be invited to become part of the procurement frameworks which NHS Supply Chain manages, and the current framework agreement includes a number of United Kingdom-based companies.
The Government welcomes commitment from UK-based companies to produce high-quality PPE. UK-based manufacturers are likely to be crucial in the event of another pandemic, particularly in the face of any global supply chain issues.
As of 31 March 2023, there were 12 million items of PPE remaining in storage in China. The remaining stock held in China is in categories of PPE for which the Department has sufficient stock in the UK to meet current demand, and the items were therefore surplus to requirements. In managing down the stock held in China we have made donations to other countries, but selling on surplus stock has not been financially viable for the Department. The remaining items now held in China are therefore being disposed of through incineration, with the aim of enabling an exit from this facility as soon as possible.
The Department wrote to the Public Accounts Committee on 16 March 2023 setting out strategic aims for the Department in relation to PPE, including future supply.
The letter is available at the following link:
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/34476/documents/189909/default/
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government's PPE strategy will be published.
Answered by Will Quince
Imported personal protective equipment (PPE) is now provided by suppliers appointed to NHS Supply Chain’s Single Use PPE framework agreement. Suppliers are appointed following a competitive tender process to ensure value for money. Every product on this framework is assessed, involving work with regulators, safety standards agencies and national experts who agree the safety standards and requirements that products must meet in order to be used in the National Health Service.
From April 2022, responsibility for the operational management for retaining a pandemic stockpile of PPE transferred to NHS Supply Chain. Providers of PPE will be invited to become part of the procurement frameworks which NHS Supply Chain manages, and the current framework agreement includes a number of United Kingdom-based companies.
The Government welcomes commitment from UK-based companies to produce high-quality PPE. UK-based manufacturers are likely to be crucial in the event of another pandemic, particularly in the face of any global supply chain issues.
As of 31 March 2023, there were 12 million items of PPE remaining in storage in China. The remaining stock held in China is in categories of PPE for which the Department has sufficient stock in the UK to meet current demand, and the items were therefore surplus to requirements. In managing down the stock held in China we have made donations to other countries, but selling on surplus stock has not been financially viable for the Department. The remaining items now held in China are therefore being disposed of through incineration, with the aim of enabling an exit from this facility as soon as possible.
The Department wrote to the Public Accounts Committee on 16 March 2023 setting out strategic aims for the Department in relation to PPE, including future supply.
The letter is available at the following link:
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/34476/documents/189909/default/
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release, Crackdown on illegal sale of vapes, published on 9 April 2023, what his planned timescale is for the (a) appointment and (b) launch of the illicit vapes enforcement squad; which Department the new team will sit under; whether it will be affiliated to a Government agency; and whether he plans to publish reports on the work and progress of the squad.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities within the Department is currently designing the scope and delivery mechanism for the new illicit vaping enforcement squad. We are working closely with a range of organisations including Trading Standards, the Office of Product and Safety Standards, Border Force and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, who will help deliver the programme over the next two years. We will provide further details, including on timelines, monitoring and reporting, in due course.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to reduce the potential disruption to children’s learning progress caused by possible future disease pandemics.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Most infectious diseases, including COVID-19, can be managed in schools by following the advice set out in the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) ‘Health protection in children and young people settings, including education’ guidance. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities. The Department maintains close links to UKHSA.
The Department has appointed a dedicated Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Russell Viner, who ensures that the Department is fully linked up with the science network across Government.
In addition, schools can consult the Department’s ‘Emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings’ guidance to ensure their emergency plans cover the possibility of any future significant public health incidents. This guidance is due to be updated in May 2023. The current guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.
The Department is committed to learning lessons and continuous improvement from COVID-19. Almost £5 billion for education recovery was made available in response to COVID-19. The Department will continue to maintain focus on the implementation and impact of these recovery interventions, evaluating and learning from delivery, alongside the Department’s wider efforts to drive up attainment outcomes, specifically those of disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects his Department to complete the review of the Disabled Persons Railcard being conducted with the Rail Delivery Group and the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is currently working alongside the Rail Delivery Group and the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee to undertake a review of the Disabled Persons Railcard and expects to complete the review in the coming months.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much free covid-19 rapid lateral flow tests provided by the NHS for people who work in healthcare or adult social care costed in each month since 1 April 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many free covid-19 rapid lateral flow tests were provided by the NHS for people who work in healthcare or adult social care in each month since 1 April 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The following table shows the monthly breakdown of how many free COVID-19 lateral flow tests were provided in England only for National Health Service workers and adult social care.
LFD test volume | Adult social care workers (millions) | NHS workers (millions) |
April 2022 | 9.8 | 4.9 |
May 2022 | 3.7 | 1.8 |
June 2022 | 3.0 | 2.2 |
July 2022 | 4.8 | 3.9 |
August 2022 | 3.6 | 2.0 |
September 2022 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
October 2022 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
November 2022 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
December 2022 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
January 2023 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
February 2023 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
March 2023 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
Financial year 22/23 | 33.7 | 23.6 |
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is the policy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to require pre-market testing of e-cigarette products from any manufacturer who has been found to breach the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016 and who wishes to bring a new product to market.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The notification obligations of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 require producers of E-cigarette products to carry out testing of their products prior to the submission of their notification. This data is submitted as required by the legislation and reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for compliance with the regulations. Where the data provided is compliant with the regulations, the MHRA is required to publish the product on its website. Once published the product can be legally supplied to the United Kingdom. Post market non-compliance is enforced by the Trading Standards authorities.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is the policy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to allow e-cigarette manufacturers to bring e-cigarette products to the UK market using a pre-existing notification that was used for a non-compliant e-cigarette product that was removed from sale.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
It is not the policy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to allow submitters to modify an existing publication in order to bypass the requirements of notification. Therefore, MHRA policy does not permit e-cigarette manufacturers to bring e-cigarette products to the United Kingdom market using a pre-existing notification that was used for a non-compliant e-cigarette product that was removed from sale. The MHRA will review intelligence linked to non-compliant activities on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he expects to publish the results of the consultation on the appointment of a building safety director to support resident-led organisations with their duties under the Building Safety Act.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The consultation on the secondary legislation relating to the building safety director proposals is open until 7 February 2023. We are analysing the responses as they come through and will consider all responses prior to finalising the policy.