Asked by: Jo Gideon (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 9 December 2022 on Health Update, HCWS 433, what her planned timetable is for completion of the steps required to implement the introduction of further advertising restrictions on TV and online for less healthy food and drink products; and when she plans to bring forward proposals for the necessary secondary legislation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 1 October 2025, the Government will introduce a United Kingdom-wide 9:00pm television watershed for the advertising of less healthy products, and a restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online. The Government and regulators are working through the necessary steps to implement and enforce the regulations. These steps include consulting, finalising guidance, and laying regulations.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
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 4 March 2024 to Question 16199 on Alcoholic Drinks: Health, whether the post of (a) Head of Alcohol Policy and (b) Senior Policy Manager for Alcohol is (i) occupied and (ii) combined with other policy areas.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health Improvement Directorate leads on public health policy to reduce alcohol-related health harm. Within the directorate, the Head of Alcohol and Gambling and the Head of Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery, which have direct responsibility for aspects of alcohol policy, are occupied. There are several policy and programme leads working directly on different aspects of alcohol policy and programme delivery. There are two live vacancies in the alcohol and gambling policy and programme team, and we are recruiting staff to fill them.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to lay regulations under the Health and Care Act introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for less healthy food products.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 1 October 2025, the Government will introduce a United Kingdom-wide 9:00pm television watershed for the advertising of less healthy products, and a restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online. The Government and regulators are working through the necessary steps to implement and enforce the regulations. These steps include consulting, finalising guidance, and laying regulations.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
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 15 April 2024 to Questions 18426 and 18425 on Laboratories: Disease Control, if she will publish a breakdown of each expense category of (a) expenditure and (b) maintenance costs; for what reason Porton Down and Colindale scientific campus sites do not have separate operational costs for the Category 4 laboratories; what plans she has to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of Cat 4 laboratory sites; and what steps she is taking to protect the UK from (i) synthetically designed viruses and (ii) other new and emerging biothreats.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of the findings of the Cass Review, published on 10 April 2024, on the adequacy of levels of funding for child mental health and specialist paediatric services.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I would once again like to thank Dr Cass for her excellent report which provides much needed clarity for services and patients. We are working with NHS England to take forward its recommendations.
NHS England has committed £17.1 million to the two new regional hubs for Children and Young People gender services in 2024/25.
We are providing record levels of investment to transform NHS mental health services in England. Since 2019 spending has increased by £4.7 billion in cash terms.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Lord Markham on 22 March (HL Deb col 441), how they reconcile his assertion that “the Government do not set policy" on foetal sentience with the provisions of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 which included the establishment of an animal sentience committee.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs formulates policy on animal welfare. The Animal Sentience Committee holds functions relating to the effect of government policy on the welfare of animals.
By contrast, the determination of foetal sentience and its implications for abortion and neonatal medical practice is reached through professional consensus and clinical guidance, rather than through policy. For example, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ most recent Fetal Awareness Evidence Review was published in December 2022, a copy of which is attached.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the financial position of each integrated care board at the end of financial year 2023–24.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The financial year-end reports for integrated care boards are still in progress and not yet finalised. We anticipate that final, audited reports will be completed and available in July 2024.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 133232 on Antibiotics: Drug Resistance and to the policy paper entitled UK five-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance: 2019 to 2024, published on 24 January 2019, what recent progress her Department has made on halving healthcare-associated Gram-negative blood stream infections.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As described in the answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 133232, progress towards the target of halving healthcare-associated Gram-negative bloodstream infections (GNBSI) has proved very challenging, in part due to the diverse nature of the underlying causes of these infections. Data on the incidence of these infections in England is published quarterly by the UK Health Security Agency, and is available at the following link:
Incidence of the three main healthcare-associated GNBSI organisms, E. coli, klebsiella pneumoniae, and pseudomonas aeruginosa, has fluctuated between 2019 and 2024, including a sharp decline in the incidence of E. coli seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, overall, the total incidence of healthcare associated GNBSI remains significantly above the target.
We are currently developing the 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance national action plan. We anticipate that in the delivery of this plan, we will continue to focus on GNBSI, building on lessons learnt over the past five years.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
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 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services waiting lists.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are committed to expanding and transforming National Health Service mental health care through the NHS Long Term Plan so more people, including children and young people, can be supported more quickly. The NHS forecasts that, between 2018/19 and 2023/24, spending on mental health services has increased by £4.7 billion in cash terms, compared to the target of £3.4 billion set out at the time of the NHS Long Term Plan. Nationally, overall spend on children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23. In the year to December 2023, over 750,000 children and young people aged under 18 years old were supported through NHS funded mental health services, a 31% increase since March 2021.
We are rolling out Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges in England, and as of May 2023, these teams cover 3.4 million pupils in England, or the equivalent to 35% of pupils. We expect this to increase to 44% by spring 2024, and we are extending coverage to 50% of pupils by the end of March 2025. We are also providing £8 million to fund 24 early support hubs across the country. This will improve access for children and young people to vital mental health support in the community, offering early interventions to improve wellbeing before their condition escalates further.
In addition, the NHS is working towards implementing five new waiting time standards for people requiring mental healthcare in both accident and emergency and in the community, to ensure timely access to the most appropriate, high-quality support. Four of these include children and young people.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to end the funding of hospices through integrated care boards.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I commend my Rt Hon. Friend’s tireless advocacy for high-quality end-of-life care, through his work on the APPG for Dying Well.
I understand his concerns about potential variation in provision. However, the Health and Care Act 2022 included a legal duty for integrated care boards to commission palliative and end of life care, in line with wider NHS devolution.
Integrated care boards are best positioned to understand and meet the needs of their local population, and commission appropriate end-of-life services, including from the NHS and voluntary sector organisations, such as hospices.