Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Citizens Advice report Home Advantage: Unlocking the Benefits of Energy Efficiency, published in June 2023, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the realisation of the economic and social benefits of improving the energy efficiency of homes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament in clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings, through schemes including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant.
This summer the Government will launch the £1 billion Great British Insulation Scheme, meaning approximately 300,000 of the country’s least energy efficient homes could save £300-£400 each year
The Government has committed a further £6bn of funding for energy efficiency and low carbon heating from 2025 to 2028.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 189864 on Public Lavatories: Men, what the expected timescale is for when the Health and Safety Executive will have concluded its review of the guidance on the disposal of sanitary dressings in toilets; and whether the guidance will be open to public consultation.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Officials at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will ensure web-based guidance is clear that provisions must be made for any workers with a disability to enable them to have access to facilities which are adjusted to their use if necessary. This work is in hand and will be completed in the autumn. As this is a simple clarification, it will not be open for public consultation.
HSE is the workplace regulator therefore the legislation and guidance will apply to toilets for used by workers in workplaces, made available to them as a place of work.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to prioritise type 2 diabetic patients for Ozempic prescriptions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
There are global supply issues with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes, including the branded medicine Ozempic. This appears to be largely driven by off-label prescribing for weight loss, which has led to shortages of these medicines for patients with type 2 diabetes.
We have issued guidance in the form of a Medicine Supply Notification (MSN), addressing all GLP-1 RAs, advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines. We are considering whether further communications are required.
The Government expects all providers of healthcare services, whether National Health Service or private, and all those with responsibility for prescribing to take appropriate account of national guidance such as MSNs. The guidance is clear that these medicines should only be prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, in order to protect supply for diabetes patients. Medicines which are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss.
We are working closely with national diabetes specialists, the NHS, wholesalers, all manufacturers of these medicines and the relevant regulatory bodies and agencies to address this problem and to understand how we can help ensure type 2 diabetic patients continue to get access to treatment.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make (a) an assessment of the adequacy of the NHS (i) capacity and (ii) capability to diagnose Lyme disease and (b) a comparative assessment of best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease in (A) the UK, (B) the US and (C) Germany.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not conducted an assessment of the adequacy of National Health Service capability and capacity to diagnose Lyme disease or a comparative assessment of best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.
Diagnosis of Lyme disease in England and Wales is conducted by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). RIPL provides Lyme polymerase chain reaction PCR testing and a comprehensive serological panel which has been fully validated to UK Accreditation Service standards.
Services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally. These services are the responsibility of integrated care board and general practitioners use their professional judgement in diagnosing and treating this condition.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of best practice for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of Lyme disease in the (i) United States and (ii) Germany.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not conducted an assessment of the adequacy of National Health Service capability and capacity to diagnose Lyme disease or a comparative assessment of best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. Diagnosis of Lyme disease in England and Wales is conducted by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). RIPL provides Lyme polymerase chain reaction PCR testing and a comprehensive serological panel which has been fully validated to UK Accreditation Service standards.
Published research, for example the VICTORY study in Lancet ID, indicates that cellular tests for Lyme borreliosis used by many private laboratories in Europe have a high false positive rate. A copy of the VICTORY study in Lancet ID, is available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00205-5.)
UK Health Security Agency published accompanying guidance documents on Lyme disease in July 2018, which describe the clinical signs and symptoms and are consistent with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/lyme-disease-management-and-prevention
Services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally. These services are the responsibility of integrated care board and general practitioners use their professional judgement in diagnosing and treating this condition.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
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 adequacy of the (a) capacity and (b) capability of the NHS to diagnose Lyme disease.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government has not conducted an assessment of the adequacy of National Health Service capability and capacity to diagnose Lyme disease or a comparative assessment of best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
Diagnosis of Lyme disease in England and Wales is conducted by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). RIPL provides Lyme polymerase chain reaction PCR testing and a comprehensive serological panel which has been fully validated to UK Accreditation Service standards.
Published research, for example the VICTORY study in Lancet ID, indicates that cellular tests for Lyme borreliosis used by many private laboratories in Europe have a high false positive rate. A copy of the VICTORY study in Lancet ID, is available at the following link:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00205-5.)
UK Health Security Agency published accompanying guidance documents on Lyme disease in July 2018, which describe the clinical signs and symptoms and are consistent with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/lyme-disease-management-and-prevention
Services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally. These services are the responsibility of integrated care board and general practitioners use their professional judgement in diagnosing and treating this condition.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of tendering sustainable aviation fuel contracts to help support UK production of sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is working with the Department for Transport (DfT) to understand opportunities for Defence to support the UK Jet Zero Strategy. As a baseline, MOD procurement of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will be led by the DfT SAF Mandate which intends to introduce a minimum percentage of sustainably derived fuel into aviation fuel sales from 2025, increasing to 10% by 2030, and continuing to increase beyond that point. The MOD is already seeking to procure SAF earlier than 2025, ahead of the mandate, in order to play its part in the migration towards a zero-carbon economy, including the desire to help create a domestic demand.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Written Statement HCWS172 of 4 July 2022 on Building Regulations, when his Department plans to issue a technical consultation on the provision of toilets.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 83564 on 17 November 2022. Preparatory work on a technical consultation on the provision of toilets is underway, with a view to publication later this summer.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to take steps to update the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) 1992 Regulations and Approved Code of Practice to ensure that there are sufficient toilets in workplaces for men experiencing incontinence following a radical prostatectomy to (a) dispose of their incontinence products hygienically and (b) not have to use facilities for disabled people.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Regulation 2(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulation 1992 aims to ensure that workplaces meet the health, safety and welfare needs of any worker. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has informed me that they believe the Regulations are fit for purpose in this respect.
Additionally, the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) (para 189) already states that provision must be made for any workers with a disability to enable them to have access to facilities which are adjusted to their use if necessary.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase recycling of chewing gum.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra, in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy and chewing gum producers, have established the Chewing Gum Task Force through which gum producers will take greater responsibility for the litter and staining caused by their products. Gum producers will be investing up to £10 million over five years to help tackle the issue. As part of the programme of works the Task Force will look at ways of supporting innovation and sharing latest research, which might include recycling of chewing gum.