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Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Monday 28th February 2022

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department is giving to Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure sufficient covid-19 vaccine centres are located around the county to meet demand and without overcrowding.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Guidance was supplied to all clinical commissioning groups (CCG), including Kent and Medway CCG, on 13 December in 2021 in response to the national expansion of the COVID-19 booster programme. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/12/C1488-letter-next-steps-for-the-nhs-covid-19-vaccine-deployment.pdf

This guidance highlighted the priority for all CCGs to ensure additional capacity to maximise throughput and efficiency at existing sites, opening additional vaccination sites and extending opening times. NHS England and NHS Improvement provided 71 vaccination sites in Kent and Medway in mid-December 2021. A static vaccination site opened in Sovereign Way Car Park, Tonbridge from 1 December 2021 and a second mobile trailer for the Bat and Ball area in Sevenoaks opened in early February 2022. Community pharmacy provision was increased by 50% in Kent and Medway.

As of 13 February 2022, over 1.4 million people in Kent and Medway CCG have received their first dose, over 1.2 million people have received their second dose, and over one million people aged 18 years old and over have received either their booster, third primary dose or fourth dose as a booster.


Written Question
British Students Abroad: Coronavirus
Friday 23rd April 2021

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

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 announcement on the covid-19 vaccine priority applicable to students planning to study abroad in the 2021-22 academic year; and if he will make it his policy that those students will be eligible to receive both doses of that vaccine prior to the start of that academic year.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

There are no plans to do so.

On 13 April, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published their final advice on phase two of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, which was to continue with an age-based programme. Students planning to study abroad in the 2021-22 academic year will receive their vaccinations in line with that advice when they become eligible because of their age, individual clinical risk factors, or because they are students who work as frontline health or social care workers or are unpaid carers. In line with other adults in the United Kingdom, they can expect to receive their first dose by the end of July 2021 and their second dose within 12 weeks of their first.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Tuesday 23rd March 2021

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what financial support will be provided to venues currently operating as covid-19 vaccination sites to compensate such venues for loss of income when their normal bookings would be able to be resumed under the Government’s roadmap for easing covid-19 restrictions.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

Non-National Health Service vaccination sites have been secured under formal lease or licence where required. As payment of rental and other costs for the use of these sites has been agreed in each case, there is no expectation of payment for loss of income.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Photography
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

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 23 November 2020 to Question 119289, whether photographers are able to work (a) indoors and (b) outdoors in areas under (i) tier 1, (ii) tier 2 and (iii) tier 3 covid-19 restrictions.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

Photographers who are practising in a work capacity are exempt from the gathering restrictions, though anybody who is not working and is taking part in the photography, including those being photographed, must adhere to the social contact restrictions that apply in that tier both indoors and outdoors.

Photographers cannot operate in premises that are closed, for example in a hospitality setting in tier 3, unless they are ‘making a film, television programme, audio programme or audio-visual advertisement’.

The Government is keeping the restrictions under continual review.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Photography
Thursday 3rd December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether photographers are permitted to work (a) indoors and (b) outdoors during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

In the national restrictions, which are due to expire on 2 December 2020, photography studios are not considered to be essential services and should not be open to members of the public, although a photographer may continue to leave the house to go to their own studio for work purposes. While photographers could meet one other person outside for the purposes of work, there is not an exemption allowing someone to leave the house to meet a photographer. Photographers may legally visit someone's home if necessary for work purposes. However, we would advise this is kept to a minimum or for essential purposes.


Written Question
Day Centres: Coronavirus
Wednesday 2nd December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the need to prevent mixing of households during covid-19 restrictions, what guidance he has given to local authorities where an individual's assessed need under the Care Act 2014 states that they should attend more than one local day centres.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise the importance of day centres for many vulnerable people.

Whilst we have not published specific guidance advising local authorities about individuals’ attendance at more than one local day centre, there is a range of other guidance material available. Guidance published on GOV.UK on 3 November outlines that support groups, including day centres, which are formally organised in order to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support in person, can continue to meet with up to 15 participants.


Written Question
NHS: Capital Investment
Tuesday 28th July 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is given to NHS Property Services on reinvesting the proceeds of the sale of NHS capital assets on new medical facilities serving the same population.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

NHS Property Services has to date been required to reinvest proceeds of surplus site disposals in maintaining its existing estate. The Department is working now with NHS England and NHS Improvement to give NHS Property Services the ability to ringfence a proportion of future proceeds secured from disposals of surplus sites for reinvestment in local National Health Service estate priorities.

With regards to Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital, the site is not currently surplus to NHS operational requirements and unless this position changes and the property is vacated and sold, there are currently no such receipts available to reinvest. NHS Property Services is working closely with the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group and the local Sustainability and Transformation Partnership to understand their priorities and how it can best support this.


Written Question
Edenbridge and District War Memorial Hospital: Land
Tuesday 28th July 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the proceeds of the sale of the land at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital can be used to fund the new combined medical facility in Edenbridge.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

NHS Property Services has to date been required to reinvest proceeds of surplus site disposals in maintaining its existing estate. The Department is working now with NHS England and NHS Improvement to give NHS Property Services the ability to ringfence a proportion of future proceeds secured from disposals of surplus sites for reinvestment in local National Health Service estate priorities.

With regards to Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital, the site is not currently surplus to NHS operational requirements and unless this position changes and the property is vacated and sold, there are currently no such receipts available to reinvest. NHS Property Services is working closely with the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group and the local Sustainability and Transformation Partnership to understand their priorities and how it can best support this.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Kent
Tuesday 7th July 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are included on the Shielded Patient List in (a) Tonbridge and Malling constituency, (b) Tonbridge and Malling Borough and (c) Sevenoaks District.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held at this local level.


Written Question
Tonbridge Hospital
Friday 5th June 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS Property Services on the return of Tonbridge Cottage Hospital to Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Tonbridge Cottage Hospital transferred from West Kent Primary Care Trust upon its abolition in 2013 to NHS Property Services. Since May 2019 National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts can request a transfer of estate in the ownership of the NHS Property Companies, which includes NHS Property Services.

Applicant trusts are required to submit a business cases to the Department explaining how a transfer of ownership will benefit the local health system and confirming that the transfer would be on the terms set out in guidance. The Department will then decide whether the transfer should take place.

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust submitted a business case for the transfer of Tonbridge Cottage Hospital in March 2020. We are currently assessing this and are in discussions with the trust and NHS Property Services as part of the process.