Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 tackling the backlog in dementia diagnoses as a result of the outbreak of covid-19.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In 2021/22, we allocated £17 million to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses, including for Parkinson’s-related dementia. This funding was made available to clinical commissioning groups in June 2021. In 2022/23, NHS England will provide funding to general practitioners in some areas to undertake pilot approaches to increase the dementia diagnosis rate and improve access to post-diagnostic support.
We will set out plans for dementia in England for the next 10 years later this year, which will include a focus on dementia diagnosis.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle anti-Sikh discrimination in healthcare settings.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All National Health Service providers must comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires an organisation to have due regard to eliminating discrimination when carrying out its activities. The NHS Standard Contract also contains requirements on equity of access, equality and non-discrimination.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many care workers in the UK are not British citizens.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Department does not hold citizenship data for care workers in the United Kingdom. However, Skills for Care’s data on the estimated proportion of the adult social care workforce by nationality and job role, shows that in 2020/21, 19% of care workers were of non-British nationality.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women under the age of 35 have been diagnosed with breast cancer since January 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The department does not hold this information in the format requested.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women aged between 40 and 50 have been diagnosed with breast cancer since January 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The department does not hold this information in the format requested.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people awaiting an invitation for breast cancer screening.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This data is currently not held in the format requested.
The number of women receiving breast screening over the course of 2020/21 will be available to the public and the Department on 24 February, when NHS Digital publish Official Statistics for the NHS Breast Screening Programme in England for 2020/21. This will be available at the following link:
Breast Screening Programme - NHS Digital
NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that volume of invitations going out for breast screening are now greater than pre-pandemic levels and services have increased capacity, backed by additional financial investment, including putting on evening and weekend clinics.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 lowering the breast cancer screening age to help prevent the late diagnosis of breast cancer.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) awaits the publication of the Age Extension Trial before a recommendation can be made to the Department. The results of the AgeX trial will be critical to providing a better understanding of what the benefits and harms are for offering screening outside the recommended screening ages. Publication of the AgeX trial is expected in 2026.The UK NSC is in contact with the researchers and will be able to review the findings as soon as they are available. Any changes to national screening policy are made on the basis of robust evidence where the benefit to screen outweighs the harms.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the UK National Screening Committee on the potential merits of lowering the breast cancer screening age.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) awaits the publication of the Age Extension Trial before a recommendation can be made to the Department. The results of the AgeX trial will be critical to providing a better understanding of what the benefits and harms are for offering screening outside the recommended screening ages. Publication of the AgeX trial is expected in 2026.The UK NSC is in contact with the researchers and will be able to review the findings as soon as they are available. Any changes to national screening policy are made on the basis of robust evidence where the benefit to screen outweighs the harms.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 15 November 2021 to Question 70322 on NHS and Social Services: Migrant Workers, if he will publish in any format available how many overseas NHS and care workers have received a reimbursement for the immigration health surcharge since the Government announced the policy in 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
While the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration Services and the NHS Business Services Authority manage the system of reimbursement and collect management information on the number of refunds that have been made, this information is currently unvalidated. The Home Office is considering whether this information can be verified and released in line with data standards.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many care workers are eligible to pay the immigration health surcharge.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department has made no such estimate. Since 4 August 2020 health and care staff on a Health and Care Visa are exempt from paying the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). In addition, since 1 October 2020, eligible health and care staff on visas which give them a right to work in the United Kingdom, and who have paid the IHS, are able to claim a reimbursement on a six-monthly basis.