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, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) availability of allergy training for GPs.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have made no assessment. General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high-quality care to all patients.
All UK registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice. This gives patients confidence doctors are up to date with their practice and promotes improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance.
The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant medical Royal College and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed an allergy e-learning online resource to support their continuing professional development which aims to educate GPs about the various presentations of allergic disease.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Food Standards Agency on introducing allergen guidance for schools to help protect children with food allergies.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department works closely with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on all matters relating to school food.
Given the complexity and individual nature of allergies, the Department believes that head teachers, school governors, and their caterers are best placed to make decisions about their allergy handling policies, which consider individual circumstances.
The Department already has statutory guidance for schools to support pupils with medical conditions, which makes clear that schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with allergies and have processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Parents should be fully consulted and engaged in any discussions in relation to their child’s allergies. This guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
While the Department keeps these policies under review, and welcomes feedback on how to better support schools’ implementation of them, the Department feels that the existing mix of national requirements and local flexibility is appropriate for this complex issue.
Asked by: Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve interoperability of (1) NHS information management systems, and (2) homecare medicines services information management systems.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
An Information Standard Notice (ISN) which puts in place definitions that are to be used when a health professional sends or receives patient medication and allergy/intolerance information, by computer system, between care locations, has been published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
The purpose is to ensure that medication and allergy information is transferred between systems and locations in a machine-readable format. This will be achieved by: transferring medication information using the newest version for the United Kingdom of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource, by use of either ‘Medication Codable Concept’ or ‘Medication Resource’ as is most appropriate to the use case; usage of dose syntax to transfer the amount of medication per dose as a simple coded quantity; and transferring allergy/intolerance information using Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms and dictionary of medicines and devices codes.
All clinical IT systems that will be used for prescribing homecare medicines will be required to be compliant with this ISN.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of widening the list of mandated common allergenic ingredients of public health concern.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for food allergen labelling in Scotland.
The FSA is aware that pea protein allergies are an emerging area of concern and there are reports of adverse reactions to pea protein in the scientific literature. However, evidence on this is currently limited and the prevalence of pea protein allergies is unknown in the United Kingdom at present. As and when information is available, the FSA will assess the evidence, but have no current plans to amend the 14 allergens list. Any additions to this list would only be made based on relevant scientific evidence and views gathered through public consultation. The FSA continues to monitor the situation closely and is currently working with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology on hidden and emerging food allergens.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
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 assessment of the potential merits of including pea protein as an allergen in food labelling.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for food allergen labelling in Scotland.
The FSA is aware that pea protein allergies are an emerging area of concern and there are reports of adverse reactions to pea protein in the scientific literature. However, evidence on this is currently limited and the prevalence of pea protein allergies is unknown in the United Kingdom at present. As and when information is available, the FSA will assess the evidence, but have no current plans to amend the 14 allergens list. Any additions to this list would only be made based on relevant scientific evidence and views gathered through public consultation. The FSA continues to monitor the situation closely and is currently working with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology on hidden and emerging food allergens.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of nutrition to children's educational attainment.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government supports the provision of nutritious food in schools to enable pupils to be well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and to concentrate in school. The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 require schools to provide all children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. The regulations restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods.
Governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the standards and should appropriately challenge the head teacher and school leaders to ensure the school is meeting its obligations. Departmental advice and guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.
The provision of free school meals (FSM) to children who are eligible for them is of the utmost importance to this government. The greatest ever proportion of school children, over one third, are now provided with free school meals. Around 2 million pupils are claiming benefits-related FSM. In addition, almost 1.3 million infants are supported through the universal infant free school meal policy. Free meals are also available to disadvantaged young people in further education.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of food banks in schools; and what guidance they have issued to school governors regarding children having access to at least one nutritious meal a day.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government supports the provision of nutritious food in schools to enable pupils to be well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and to concentrate in school. The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 require schools to provide all children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. The regulations restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods.
Governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the standards and should appropriately challenge the head teacher and school leaders to ensure the school is meeting its obligations. Departmental advice and guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.
The provision of free school meals (FSM) to children who are eligible for them is of the utmost importance to this government. The greatest ever proportion of school children, over one third, are now provided with free school meals. Around 2 million pupils are claiming benefits-related FSM. In addition, almost 1.3 million infants are supported through the universal infant free school meal policy. Free meals are also available to disadvantaged young people in further education.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children in schools who are not in receipt of nutritious meals.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government supports the provision of nutritious food in schools to enable pupils to be well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and to concentrate in school. The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 require schools to provide all children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. The regulations restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods.
Governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the standards and should appropriately challenge the head teacher and school leaders to ensure the school is meeting its obligations. Departmental advice and guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.
The provision of free school meals (FSM) to children who are eligible for them is of the utmost importance to this government. The greatest ever proportion of school children, over one third, are now provided with free school meals. Around 2 million pupils are claiming benefits-related FSM. In addition, almost 1.3 million infants are supported through the universal infant free school meal policy. Free meals are also available to disadvantaged young people in further education.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve labelling for people with allergies to legumes and pulses on (a) restaurant and (b) shop-bought food products.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland are responsible for food allergen labelling in Scotland. Food businesses have a duty to inform customers about 14 mandatory allergens which are recognised across Europe as the most common allergenic ingredients of public health concern. Pulses and legumes (with the exception of peanuts) are not included in the list of 14 mandated allergens. The prevalence of allergy to pulses and legumes in the United Kingdom is currently unknown, though any emerging evidence will continue to be assessed as it becomes available.
Food businesses who sell prepacked or prepacked for direct sale foods, such as food-to-go, are required to provide a full list of ingredients, and to highlight the 14 allergens on packaging. Those with an allergy or intolerance to foods outside of the 14 mandated allergens should be able to check the ingredients list and avoid the foods they need to.
For non-prepacked food, such as food served in a restaurant, the food business must provide information on the presence of any of the 14 allergens. They can do this in writing or verbally. People with food hypersensitivities should ask if the food they wish to avoid is used in any of the dishes. If in doubt, or the information cannot be reliably provided, the advice is to not eat at the premises.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people waited for allergy testing for more than 12 weeks in each of the past 10 years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not collected centrally.