Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165185 on Free School Meals, what the complex data, systems, financial and legal implications are of a government-led rollout of automatic enrolment for all eligible children.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As previously communicated, the department has looked at auto-enrolment and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst also ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints, which still remain an important consideration. These include constraints around data-sharing, as well as the need for families to make a claim for free school meals to be eligible under the current process.
The department continues to engage with key stakeholders in this area, noting the methods currently being trialled across a number of local authorities to increase and maximise take up.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 121 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, for what reason the fruitless payment relating to the Reconstruction of Multi Threat Wall for Typhoon Synthetic Trainers was made.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Additional costs were incurred on the Typhoon Future Synthetic Training new buildings to ensure the internal walls complied with the latest appropriate standards, in order to meet security requirements.
This required the redesign and rework of walls that were already being constructed and resulted in the fruitless payment detailed in the Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support research into (a) understanding, (b) treating and (c) curing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Medical Research Council (MRC) has invested in research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, awarding £6.6m in this area since 2012. This includes through DecodeME, the world’s largest ME/CSF study, via strategic co-funding with the National Institute of Health and Care Research, which aims to find genetic factors to better understand ME/CFS disease pathways and unlock future treatment pathways.
We continue to encourage high-quality proposals across our funding opportunities, maintaining an open highlight notice to encourage ME/CFS research. MRC also co-funded the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership to identify research priorities for ME/CFS, led by people with ME/CFS, their carers and clinicians, and facilitated by Action for M.E.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how the Government plans to allocate funding for research into (a) myalgic encephalomyelitis and (b) other post-viral diseases.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Medical Research Council (MRC) has invested in research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, awarding £6.6m in this area since 2012. This includes through DecodeME, the world’s largest ME/CSF study, via strategic co-funding with the National Institute of Health and Care Research, which aims to find genetic factors to better understand ME/CFS disease pathways and unlock future treatment pathways.
We continue to encourage high-quality proposals across our funding opportunities, maintaining an open highlight notice to encourage ME/CFS research. MRC also co-funded the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership to identify research priorities for ME/CFS, led by people with ME/CFS, their carers and clinicians, and facilitated by Action for M.E.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what research the Medical Research Council is funding on the (a) causes and (b) treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Medical Research Council (MRC) has invested in research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, awarding £6.6m in this area since 2012. This includes through DecodeME, the world’s largest ME/CSF study, via strategic co-funding with the National Institute of Health and Care Research, which aims to find genetic factors to better understand ME/CFS disease pathways and unlock future treatment pathways.
We continue to encourage high-quality proposals across our funding opportunities, maintaining an open highlight notice to encourage ME/CFS research. MRC also co-funded the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership to identify research priorities for ME/CFS, led by people with ME/CFS, their carers and clinicians, and facilitated by Action for M.E.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165185 on Free School Meals, whether any complex data, systems, financial and legal implications are still a barrier to the rollout of auto-enrolment.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Maximising the take up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
The department has looked at auto-enrolment and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints, which still remains an important consideration.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on the final delivery plan for ME/CFS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have been consulting on My Full Reality, the cross-government interim delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition.
We are analysing the results of the consultation, and the views and experiences gathered through this consultation will be used to build a picture of how well the interim delivery plan identifies and meets the needs of the ME and CFS community, and to highlight any significant gaps where further action may be necessary. We will publish a summary of the consultation responses, which will inform the final delivery plan, in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to ensure that the SNOMED CT classification system used by GPs in primary care is (a) adequate and (b) used consistently for diagnosing myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) is the structured clinical vocabulary for use in an electronic health record. It is a contractual requirement for all National Health Service healthcare providers in England to use SNOMED CT for capturing clinical terms, including diagnoses, within electronic patient record systems.
Within SNOMED CT, all content for myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome is contained within a single overarching code, with linked codes for mild, moderate, and severe forms. These can be used by all NHS healthcare providers, including general practitioners.
Updates to the United Kingdom’s edition of SNOMED CT are made by NHS England, with any user being able to submit requests for new or changed concepts and codes, via a central portal.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research the National Institute for Health and Care Research is undertaking on the potential link between Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and long covid.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has invested more than £50 million into 22 research projects for long COVID, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation.
In the last five years, the NIHR has allocated approximately £3.44 million to support nine research projects on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome. The NIHR is also co-funding, with the Medical Research Council, a £3.2 million study called DecodeME, which is the world’s largest genetic study of the disease.
The Department commissions research through the NIHR. It is not currently specifically funding research on potential links between ME and long COVID, but it welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to fund research to (a) tackle the causes of and (b) treat Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on the causes and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
In the last five years, the NIHR has allocated approximately £3.44 million to support nine research projects on ME and chronic fatigue syndrome. The NIHR is also co-funding, with the Medical Research Council, a £3.2 million study called DecodeME, which is the world’s largest genetic study of the disease.