Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much revenue the health surcharge for migrants generated in each year from 2018 to 2022 inclusive.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) income data is published annually in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts.
Please note that the IHS figure is made up of both Retained Income and Consolidated Funds. The IHS amounts for financial years from 2018 to 2022 inclusive are as follows:
- 2017/18: £240,483,000
- 2018/19: £297,927,000
- 2019/20: £597,677,000
- 2020/21: £480,822,000
- 2021/22: £1,423,284,000
- 2022/23: £1,706,112,000
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of trends in the level of pharmacy students in Walsall South constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion to fund additional education and training places over the next five years, sets out the ambition to increase training places for pharmacists across England by nearly 50% to around 5,000 by 2031/32, and to grow the number of pharmacy technicians. Increasing training places will increase the number of pharmacy students, including those choosing to study in schools of pharmacy in proximity to Walsall South constituency.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
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 providing free prescriptions for immunosuppressants for transplant patients.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to provide free prescriptions for immunosuppressants for transplant patients. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge in community pharmacies and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which transplant patients may meet the eligibility criteria and be in receipt of free prescriptions.
In addition, those on a low income can apply for additional support through the NHS Low Income Scheme. This provides both full and partial help with a range of health costs, not just prescription charges. Those who do not qualify for low-income help, may benefit from the purchase for prescription pre-payment certificate. This caps the cost of prescriptions at £111.60 per year, helping people to get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of (a) covid-19 infection, (b) admissions to hospital as a result of covid-19 infection or related complications and (c) deaths attributed to covid-19 in the last six months.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
UK Health Security Agency are continually monitoring trends in COVID-19, to inform the Government on the spread, severity and impact of COVID-19. Long term trends must be interpreted with caution, as they can be affected by changes in dominant variant, timing of vaccine booster campaigns, seasonality, and changes to testing policy.
Over the last six months, trends have shown that cases of COVID-19 are seen to increase approximately every three months before returning to a baseline. This was seen over the Christmas period, and there has been a slow increase over March that has returned to baseline. Overall, the peaks are smaller than those seen in previous waves, peaking at 8,236 cases per day in December 2022 compared to a peak of 30,388 in July 2022.
Hospital admission due to COVID-19 tend to mirror cases of COVID-19. Over the last six months there have been peaks in hospital admissions over the Christmas period and a slow increase over March that has begun to decrease. Admissions peaks are similar or smaller than those seen previously, peaking at 1,376 admissions per day in December 2022, 1,418, in October 2022 and 2,005 in July 2022.
For deaths attributed to COVID-19, where COVID-19 is recorded on the death certificate/registration, over the last six months there has been an increase in deaths over the early January period, and a slow increase in April 2023. Peaks in deaths have been similar or lower to those seen previously, peaking at 126 per day in Jan 2023, 111 in Oct 2022, and 189 in July 2022.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaths recorded in (a) England and Wales and (b) Walsall were attributed to covid-19 in (i) October 2022, (ii) January 2023 and (iii) the most recent 30-day period for which figures are available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It should be noted that UK Health Security Agency have two measures of death associated with COVID-19, any death that has a positive COVID-19 test in the preceding 28 days, and deaths which have COVID-19 recorded on their death registration.
For England and Wales, in October 2022 there were 4,223 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and 2,573 deaths were recorded with COVID-19 on the death registration. In January 2023 there were 4,063 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and 3,380 deaths were recorded with COVID-19 on the death registration. In the 30 day period between 12 March 2023 and 10 April 2023 there were 3,366 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and 1,704 deaths were recorded with COVID-19 on the death registration
For Walsall, in October 2022 20 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and 17 deaths were recorded with COVID-19 on the death registration. In January 2023, 27 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and 14 deaths were recorded with COVID-19 on the death registration. In the 30 day period between 12 March 2023 and 10 April 2023, 22 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test and four deaths were recorded with COVID-19 on the death registration.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in (a) Walsall and (b) England and Wales were admitted to hospital as a result of covid-19 infection or associated complications in (i) October 2022, (ii) January 2023 and (iii) the most recent 30-day period for which figures are available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We do not hold the data in the format requested for people in Walsall being admitted to hospital, however we do hold the data by National Health Service trust. The most relevant trust for the question asked would be Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and this data is provided below.
For Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, in October 2022, 187 people were admitted to hospital with or for COVID-19. In January 2023, 77 people were admitted to hospital with or for COVID-19. In the 30-day period from 12 March to 10 April 2023, 144 people were admitted to hospital with or for COVID-19
For England and Wales, in October 2022, 31,613 people were admitted to hospital with or for COVID-19. In January 2023, 21,033 people were admitted to hospital with or for COVID-19. In the 30-day period from 12 March to 10 April 2023, 24,989 people were admitted to hospital with or for COVID-19.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in (a) Walsall and (b) England and Wales tested positive for covid-19 in (i) October 2022, (ii) January 2023 and (iii) the most recent 30-day period for which figures are available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
To provide more accurate data on COVID-19 infections and avoid double counting cases, if a person tests positive multiple times within a certain time period, these are all counted as a single case of COVID-19. In England this period is 90 days, and in Wales 42 days.
For Walsall, in October 2022 there were 952 cases of COVID-19 detected. In January 2023 there were 468 cases of COVID-19 detected. In the 30-day period between 14 March 2023 and 12 April 2023 there were 404 new cases of COVID-19 detected.
For England and Wales, in October 2022 there were 217,044 cases of COVID-19 detected. In January 2023 there were 83,659 new cases of COVID-19 detected. In the 30-day period between 14 March 2023 and 12 April 2023 there were 92,736 new cases of COVID-19 detected.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
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 causes of the rise of excess deaths from non covid-19 illnesses in 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
It is likely that a combination of factors has contributed to an increase in the number of deaths at home, including high flu prevalence and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. We are taking steps to help reduce excess deaths.
The National Health Service has published a delivery plan setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. The plan commits the NHS to deliver 9 million additional treatments and diagnostic procedures over the next three years and around 30% more elective activity than it was doing before the pandemic by 2024/25.
We are making progress in restoring NHS Health Check delivery, a core part of our cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention pathway. Delivery is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by June 2023 and we are creating a national digital NHS Health Check so we can go even further. We continue to work closely with partners to consider what more can be done to improve the prevention, detection, diagnosis and management of CVD and we will set out our plan in the Major Conditions Strategy.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
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 the number of adult care home places that are required for people with epilepsy as of 9 November 2022; and whether his Department has taken recent steps to support people with epilepsy in adult care homes which have been forced to close.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to make a specific estimate, as demand projections do not specifically identify those with epilepsy. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a temporary duty to ensure continuity of care if a provider fails or exits the market. This ensures that people, including those with epilepsy, should continue to receive care and support if an adult social care provider is no longer able to deliver services.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall 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 implications for her policies of trends in the level of life expectancy in Walsall South constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made.