Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 10 July 2019 to Question 272107 on Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit, what medicines will be in the small medical supply consignment referred to in that answer.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Express Freight Service is intended to provide access to an end to end solution able to deliver small consignments on a 24 hour basis with additional provision to move larger pallet quantities on a two to four day basis. The initial contract length is one year, extendable by a further one year, with sufficient flexibility to end the contract earlier if required. The total estimated value of services provided to the Department over a two year period of the contract, if exercised, is £3 million. Users of the freight solution would be required to pay for any capacity they use. The bid response period closed on 22 August and the bids are currently being evaluated by the Department.
The Government recognises the vital importance of all medicines and medical products and as such, the Express Freight Service is designed to be capable of transporting all medicines and medical products used within the health and social care system in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 10 July to Question 272107 on Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit, whether his Department has assessed the average additional costs facing companies transferring medicines and medical equipment in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As part of a responsible Government, the Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for European Union exit. It is a priority for the Department and industry to work together to put in place robust preparations to help ensure a continuous supply of medicines and medical products. We recognise suppliers may incur additional costs for their contingency planning, including storage costs, rerouting products and preparing for new border arrangements. We have been working closely with industry to minimise costs and are considering how best we might support suppliers in their contingency planning.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 10 July 2019 to Question 272107 on Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit, how many regulatory requirements still need to be changed.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government is committed to ensuring a functioning statute book after Exit day in all scenarios and all exit related statutory instruments being laid in Parliament will help provide certainty for businesses and the public.
To date, the Department has laid 36 exit-related statutory instruments, including those on behalf of the Food Standards Agency and Northern Ireland Civil Service, all of which can be found at the following link
All critical legislation required to achieve a functioning statute book after Exit day is on track to be laid in time to come into force on 31 October.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 10 July 2019 to Question 272107 on Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit, how many citizens with existing healthcare conditions the Government has contacted to help ensure that they have the correct travel insurance.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The United Kingdom Government has published advice for all United Kingdom nationals visiting the European Union after exit day. This advice is available on GOV.UK and NHS.UK at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-brexit
People requiring treatment for existing healthcare conditions when travelling should always seek advice from their doctor or specialist unit before booking travel.
The Government has always advised UK citizens to take out comprehensive travel insurance when going overseas, both to EU and non-EU destinations. The European Healthcare Insurance Card is not an alternative to travel insurance and we have always advised that individuals should have both when travelling abroad.
People with existing healthcare conditions are advised talk with their general practitioner or healthcare provider, as well as their insurer about how to get the right cover, and how this might affect their travel.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps Spanish and Portuguese citizens visiting the UK after the 31 October 2019 or residing in the UK but without Settled Status will have to take to prove that they are entitled to free healthcare under the bilateral agreements on healthcare rights for EU citizens in the event that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government has made clear in a ‘no deal’ scenario, the rights of European Union citizens, including Spanish and Portuguese citizens, in the United Kingdom on exit day will be protected. This includes being able to access National Health Service care without charge on the basis that they are ordinarily resident in the UK, and the NHS will apply the same eligibility tests as it does now. It should be noted that EU citizens already living in the UK on exit day have up until 31 December 2020 to apply for Settled Status, but their access to healthcare will remain the same regardless of whether they apply for Settled Status before then.
The Government has proposed to all EU Member States that when we leave, we should maintain the existing healthcare arrangements including the European Healthcare Insurance Card (EHIC) Scheme until 31 December 2020, with the aim of minimising disruption to healthcare provision for UK nationals and EU citizens. This is subject to agreement by individual EU Member States.
For those Spanish and Portuguese citizens visiting the UK after exit day, if agreed under bilateral agreements with Spain and Portugal, visitors will be able to use their EHIC as they do now. Should individual countries not agree to continue reciprocal healthcare, then access to healthcare cover for visitors from those countries may change.
Visitors from Spain or Portugal to the UK whose visit begins before and continues over exit day will still be able to use their EHIC during that visit, should they fall ill or have a medical emergency.
We welcome action from EU Member States such as Spain and Portugal who have prepared their own legislation for a ‘no deal’ scenario.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Overseas visitor charging: no-deal Brexit guidance for NHS service providers published in April 2019, what steps NHS Trusts will have to take to determine whether EU citizens seeking healthcare after the 31 October 2019 in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal have secured Settled Status.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
In the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal on 31 October 2019, the Department has advised National Health Service providers that they should continue to establish eligibility for healthcare in the same manner as they do now, including for those EU citizens who have secured Settled Status.
The Government has made clear that the rights of EU citizens in the UK on exit day will be protected, and this includes being able to access NHS care without charge on the basis that they are ordinarily resident in the UK. EU citizens already living in the UK on exit day have up until 31 December 2020 to apply for Settled Status, but their access to healthcare will remain the same regardless of whether they apply for Settled Status up to then.
No additional funding has been allocated to trusts to carry out eligibility checks for EU citizens. The Chancellor announced on 1 August that he has made an additional £2.1 billion available to prepare for EU Exit which includes the creation of an Operational Contingency Fund, to meet the costs of ‘no deal’ operations. This fund is available for bids where EU Exit operational costs arise that cannot be met by existing funding settlements.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Overseas visitor charging: no-deal Brexit guidance for NHS service providers published in April 2019, what guidance his Department has provided to NHS Trusts about how they should carry out eligibility checks for EU citizens seeking healthcare after the 31 October 2019 in the event that the UK leaves the EU without an agreement; and how much funding has been allocated to NHS Trusts to enable them to carry out those checks.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
In the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal on 31 October 2019, the Department has advised National Health Service providers that they should continue to establish eligibility for healthcare in the same manner as they do now, including for those EU citizens who have secured Settled Status.
The Government has made clear that the rights of EU citizens in the UK on exit day will be protected, and this includes being able to access NHS care without charge on the basis that they are ordinarily resident in the UK. EU citizens already living in the UK on exit day have up until 31 December 2020 to apply for Settled Status, but their access to healthcare will remain the same regardless of whether they apply for Settled Status up to then.
No additional funding has been allocated to trusts to carry out eligibility checks for EU citizens. The Chancellor announced on 1 August that he has made an additional £2.1 billion available to prepare for EU Exit which includes the creation of an Operational Contingency Fund, to meet the costs of ‘no deal’ operations. This fund is available for bids where EU Exit operational costs arise that cannot be met by existing funding settlements.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how local areas will be held accountable for progress made on the five year deal to expand GP services.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As delegated commissioners of primary care services, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will ensure general practitioner (GP) practices and their Primary Care Network (by extension through the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES)) are delivering their contractual requirements. As such, CCGs are responsible for assuring that services outlined in the GP contract (including the Network Contract DES) are delivered and that any claims for funding are validated.
CCGs are supported in this by NHS England and NHS Improvement regional teams.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Childhood Obesity Plan, Chapter two, what steps he is taking to ensure the halving of childhood obesity by 2030.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of delivering measures outlined in chapter two of the childhood obesity plan, we have held consultations on ending the sale of energy drinks to children, calorie labelling in the out-of-home sector, restricting promotions of fatty and sugary products by location and by price, and introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high is fat, salt and sugar. The consultation on Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services runs until 13 August. We have received a high level of responses to the consultations and it is important we take the time to consider them carefully before we set out further action.
Chapter 3 of the childhood obesity plan, published on 22 July 2019 as part of ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’, sets out further measures to help meet our ambition including confirmation of our intention to end the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16, and our plans for infant feeding, clear nutrition labelling, food reformulation to improve the nutritional content of foods, and support for individuals to achieve and maintain a healthier weight.
In addition, the Chief Medical Officer is reviewing what more can be done to help us meet our ambition of halving childhood obesity by 2030. The review, due to report in September, will consider the approaches taken internationally, regionally and across the country, and will make a series of recommendations.
‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/advancing-our-health-prevention-in-the-2020s
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the proposed Green Paper on Prevention, what assessment of he has made of his Department's ability to improve healthy life expectancy by at least five extra years by 2035.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Prevention Green Paper ‘Advancing our Health: prevention in the 2020s’, was published on 22 July 2019. The proposals it sets out will make a valuable contribution to the nation’s health. The Green Paper acknowledges further action will be needed in future to support the Ageing Grand Challenge ambition on healthy life expectancy.