Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to receive specialist electric wheelchairs on NHS patients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services and the development of their local wheelchair service eligibility criteria based on the needs of their local population.
NHS England is taking several steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs including any specialist electric wheelchair provision, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. These include establishing a national wheelchair dataset, developing a national wheelchair tariff, publishing a wheelchair model service specification, and introducing personal wheelchair budgets.
Information on waiting times for specialist electric wheelchairs for NHS patients is not held centrally. Although there is a national data collection for wheelchair services, which includes waiting times data, this does not include specific data on the type of wheelchair provided. We do not currently have any plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to receive specialist electric wheelchairs on NHS patients.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to reduce the waiting time for specialist electric wheelchairs for NHS patients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services and the development of their local wheelchair service eligibility criteria based on the needs of their local population.
NHS England is taking several steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs including any specialist electric wheelchair provision, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. These include establishing a national wheelchair dataset, developing a national wheelchair tariff, publishing a wheelchair model service specification, and introducing personal wheelchair budgets.
Information on waiting times for specialist electric wheelchairs for NHS patients is not held centrally. Although there is a national data collection for wheelchair services, which includes waiting times data, this does not include specific data on the type of wheelchair provided. We do not currently have any plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to receive specialist electric wheelchairs on NHS patients.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 (a) improve access to and (b) reduce waiting times for counselling for children and young people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24, which will allow an extra 345,000 more children and young people to get the National Health Service-funded mental health support they need.
There are now almost 400 mental health support teams in place in schools and colleges across England so that more young people get mental health support. Mental health support teams now cover over three million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges. We are aiming to increase this coverage to 50% by April 2025.
There are currently approximately 65 locally funded early support hubs in England. These hubs are open to those aged between 11 and 25 years old and, importantly, they are for anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support. This means children and young people experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to in their community when their problems first emerge without the need for a referral.
On 25 October 2023, we announced £4.92 million of new funding to deliver and evaluate innovative mental health and wellbeing support for young people at 10 hub sites across England until the end of 2024/25. Bids are currently being considered and the ten successful hubs will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to promote child dental health.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tooth decay can be almost entirely prevented by reducing the amount and frequency of the consumption of sugar in food and drink and providing adequate exposure to fluoride. In England, local authorities have a statutory duty to assess needs, develop oral health strategies and commission the appropriate oral health improvement programmes. We have published evidence-based toolkits for local service commissioners, which are available at the following link:
We intend to go further with prevention measures for babies and children and will publish a Dentistry Recovery Plan shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help prevent tooth decay in children.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tooth decay can be almost entirely prevented by reducing the amount and frequency of the consumption of sugar in food and drink and providing adequate exposure to fluoride. In England, local authorities have a statutory duty to assess needs, develop oral health strategies and commission the appropriate oral health improvement programmes. We have published evidence-based toolkits for local service commissioners, which are available at the following link:
We intend to go further with prevention measures for babies and children and will publish a Dentistry Recovery Plan shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of pediatric waiting times.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the National Health Service are committed to ensuring that babies, children, and young people are prioritised in integrated care systems and that reforms in the Health and Care Act 2022 aiming to improve child health and wellbeing outcomes are delivered on the ground.
NHS England has established a National Children and Young People Elective Recovery Delivery Group, bringing together the national Elective Recovery Programme, the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme and other stakeholders. This group aims to accelerate progress and ensure the recovery of paediatric services keeps pace with recovery of adult elective care.
We are making good progress bringing down all waits, including those for children.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential relationship between junk food advertising and trends in the levels of junk food consumption by children.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The Department promotes the Eatwell Guide principles through platforms such as the National Health Service website and social marketing campaigns including Healthier Families and Better Health. More information on the marketing campaigns is available at the following links:
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/
We have taken action to empower people to make healthier food choices, which includes implementing regulations in 2022 on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses including restaurants, cafes and takeaways and restricting the placement of less healthy products in key selling locations in store and online. We are committed to bringing forward further measures by 2025, restricting adverts on television for less healthy foods and drinks before the 9pm watershed, as well as paid-for adverts online and restricting volume price promotions of less healthy foods such as buy-one-get-one-free offers.
Measures to restrict advertising are underpinned by evidence which suggests that exposure to high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) advertising can affect what and when children eat, shaping children’s food preferences from a young age. Over time, excess consumption can lead to children becoming overweight or obese, all of which puts their future health at risk. This evidence is referenced in the recent consultation from December 2022, Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar: consultation on secondary legislation. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. More information on the consultation is available at the following link:
Through our Healthy Food Schemes, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those who need it the most. Healthy Start, Nursery Milk and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme together help more than three million children. Over £200 million is devoted to the Healthy Food Schemes each year to reflect this commitment.
The School Food Standards are set in legislation and require school caterers to serve healthy and nutritious food and drinks to ensure children get the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day. The standards define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted to a minimum, and those which must not be provided. HFSS foods are restricted.
Education around healthy eating is also covered through several curriculum subjects including design and technology, science and health education. The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet; the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals; the characteristics of a poor diet; and risks associated with unhealthy eating.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the consumption of junk food among children.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The Department promotes the Eatwell Guide principles through platforms such as the National Health Service website and social marketing campaigns including Healthier Families and Better Health. More information on the marketing campaigns is available at the following links:
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/
We have taken action to empower people to make healthier food choices, which includes implementing regulations in 2022 on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses including restaurants, cafes and takeaways and restricting the placement of less healthy products in key selling locations in store and online. We are committed to bringing forward further measures by 2025, restricting adverts on television for less healthy foods and drinks before the 9pm watershed, as well as paid-for adverts online and restricting volume price promotions of less healthy foods such as buy-one-get-one-free offers.
Measures to restrict advertising are underpinned by evidence which suggests that exposure to high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) advertising can affect what and when children eat, shaping children’s food preferences from a young age. Over time, excess consumption can lead to children becoming overweight or obese, all of which puts their future health at risk. This evidence is referenced in the recent consultation from December 2022, Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar: consultation on secondary legislation. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. More information on the consultation is available at the following link:
Through our Healthy Food Schemes, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those who need it the most. Healthy Start, Nursery Milk and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme together help more than three million children. Over £200 million is devoted to the Healthy Food Schemes each year to reflect this commitment.
The School Food Standards are set in legislation and require school caterers to serve healthy and nutritious food and drinks to ensure children get the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day. The standards define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted to a minimum, and those which must not be provided. HFSS foods are restricted.
Education around healthy eating is also covered through several curriculum subjects including design and technology, science and health education. The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet; the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals; the characteristics of a poor diet; and risks associated with unhealthy eating.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help encourage the consumption of healthy foods by children.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The Department promotes the Eatwell Guide principles through platforms such as the National Health Service website and social marketing campaigns including Healthier Families and Better Health. More information on the marketing campaigns is available at the following links:
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/
We have taken action to empower people to make healthier food choices, which includes implementing regulations in 2022 on out of home calorie labelling for food sold in large businesses including restaurants, cafes and takeaways and restricting the placement of less healthy products in key selling locations in store and online. We are committed to bringing forward further measures by 2025, restricting adverts on television for less healthy foods and drinks before the 9pm watershed, as well as paid-for adverts online and restricting volume price promotions of less healthy foods such as buy-one-get-one-free offers.
Measures to restrict advertising are underpinned by evidence which suggests that exposure to high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) advertising can affect what and when children eat, shaping children’s food preferences from a young age. Over time, excess consumption can lead to children becoming overweight or obese, all of which puts their future health at risk. This evidence is referenced in the recent consultation from December 2022, Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high in fat, salt or sugar: consultation on secondary legislation. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course. More information on the consultation is available at the following link:
Through our Healthy Food Schemes, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those who need it the most. Healthy Start, Nursery Milk and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme together help more than three million children. Over £200 million is devoted to the Healthy Food Schemes each year to reflect this commitment.
The School Food Standards are set in legislation and require school caterers to serve healthy and nutritious food and drinks to ensure children get the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day. The standards define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted to a minimum, and those which must not be provided. HFSS foods are restricted.
Education around healthy eating is also covered through several curriculum subjects including design and technology, science and health education. The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet; the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals; the characteristics of a poor diet; and risks associated with unhealthy eating.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists have been recruited since the launch of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since the launch of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan on 30 June 2023, there has been an increase of 1,144 dentists registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) in England. From 15 January 2023 to 15 December 2023 there has been an increase of 1,423 dentists registered with the GDC in England.
The Long Term Workforce Plan sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The focus is not short-term recruitment but putting workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.
We will expand dentistry training places by 40% so that there are over 1,100 places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.