Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
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 adequacy of dentistry provision in the youth secure estate.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has statutory responsibility for the direct commissioning of health services in the children and young people secure estate. Intercollegiate Healthcare Standards for children and young people in secure settings were first published in 2013 to support high quality healthcare provision for children in secure settings, and were refreshed in 2023. These standards are available at the following link:
https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/healthcare-standards-children-young-people-secure-settings
They formed the basis of an outcome-based dental service specification, which is available at the following link:
All children in the secure estate receive individualised care according to need and following an assessment via the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool. This is an evidence based, validated health assessment tool for under 18-year-olds, which screens for physical health, substance misuse, mental health and neurodisability. This would include any dental care needs.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to allow (a) next of kin and (b) executors of deceased armed forces personnel to gain access to the (i) medical records and (ii) diagnostic tests of those personnel that were completed before the Access to Health Records Act 1990 came into force.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There are no plans to change Ministry of Defence policy which is consistent with wider UK practice across the medical profession. There is an ethical obligation to respect a patient’s confidentiality after death and access to deceased patients’ health records, including for Armed Forces personnel, is governed by the Access to Health Records Act 1990.
Under the terms of the Act, someone will only be entitled to access a deceased person’s health records created after 1 November 1991 if they are either a personal representative (the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate) or someone who has a claim resulting from the death (this could be a relative or another person). The only exception is if disclosure of medical records created before 1 November 1991 is needed to make intelligible any record created after that date.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s work with third sector organisations to deliver employment support to veterans.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work through a range of support including face-to-face time with Work Coaches, job-search advice and more intensive employment programmes.
Specifically on veterans, DWP takes its responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant very seriously. Veterans who need support from the department in finding employment are able to get support from their Work Coach. For those who might need extra specialist support, we have a network of Armed Forces Champions spread throughout the Jobcentre Plus network.
Veterans have early voluntary entry to the Work and Health Programme. Other employment support may be available to veterans depending on their circumstances, including specialist local support provided by the third sector which the department may be able to refer them to. Veterans generally enjoy successful employment outcomes when they leave the services, and the Career Transition Partnership has published annual statistics on those they have supported.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which policies under each arms length body reporting to their Department fall within the scope of the Environmental principles policy statement, published on 31 January 2023.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The duty does not require us to maintain a comprehensive list of policies within scope of the duty. The duty applies to all policies made from 1 November 2023, whether developed by a central department or an arm’s length body, which are made by Ministers of the Crown; and not covered by the exemptions for the armed forces, defence or national security, taxation, spending or the allocation of resources within Government.
The environmental principles policy statement provides further information on what is considered policy in scope of the duty. Examples include strategies and frameworks.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been prescribed Mefloquine by pharmacies under a contract with his Department since 2017.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Anti-malaria drugs, including mefloquine, are only prescribed after a face-to-face individual risk assessment. The recommended anti-malaria drug is determined by the sensitivity of malaria parasites to those drugs in different parts of the world based on Public Health England guidance.
Mefloquine is only prescribed by a doctor and after other alternatives have been identified as unsuitable and is not prescribed to divers, aircrew, or air traffic controllers.
In all cases, the authority and supply details for anti-malarial drugs are recorded on the individual’s medical note, and personnel supplied with anti-malarial drugs are issued copies of all manufacturer-provided patient documentation relevant to that drug.
Between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2023, there were 210 prescriptions for mefloquine issued to 172 UK Armed Forces personnel.
Prescriptions for military personnel, issued by community pharmacies under contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), are captured in the data.
Armed Forces personnel are advised to inform Defence healthcare if they receive healthcare outside of the MOD to ensure it is captured on their healthcare record.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, under which circumstances members of the British Armed Forces are issued with Mefloquine.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Anti-malaria drugs, including mefloquine, are only prescribed after a face-to-face individual risk assessment. The recommended anti-malaria drug is determined by the sensitivity of malaria parasites to those drugs in different parts of the world based on Public Health England guidance.
Mefloquine is only prescribed by a doctor and after other alternatives have been identified as unsuitable and is not prescribed to divers, aircrew, or air traffic controllers.
In all cases, the authority and supply details for anti-malarial drugs are recorded on the individual’s medical note, and personnel supplied with anti-malarial drugs are issued copies of all manufacturer-provided patient documentation relevant to that drug.
Between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2023, there were 210 prescriptions for mefloquine issued to 172 UK Armed Forces personnel.
Prescriptions for military personnel, issued by community pharmacies under contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), are captured in the data.
Armed Forces personnel are advised to inform Defence healthcare if they receive healthcare outside of the MOD to ensure it is captured on their healthcare record.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Mefloquine has been issued to service personnel since 2017.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Anti-malaria drugs, including mefloquine, are only prescribed after a face-to-face individual risk assessment. The recommended anti-malaria drug is determined by the sensitivity of malaria parasites to those drugs in different parts of the world based on Public Health England guidance.
Mefloquine is only prescribed by a doctor and after other alternatives have been identified as unsuitable and is not prescribed to divers, aircrew, or air traffic controllers.
In all cases, the authority and supply details for anti-malarial drugs are recorded on the individual’s medical note, and personnel supplied with anti-malarial drugs are issued copies of all manufacturer-provided patient documentation relevant to that drug.
Between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2023, there were 210 prescriptions for mefloquine issued to 172 UK Armed Forces personnel.
Prescriptions for military personnel, issued by community pharmacies under contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), are captured in the data.
Armed Forces personnel are advised to inform Defence healthcare if they receive healthcare outside of the MOD to ensure it is captured on their healthcare record.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take legislative steps to exempt members of the Local Government Pension Scheme from the proposed increase to the national minimum pension age in April 2028.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The normal minimum pension age is the lowest age at which the majority of members can take benefits from a registered pension scheme without incurring tax charges, except in cases of ill-health. It will increase from age 55 to age 57 in April 2028.
This change will not apply to members of the police, firefighters or armed forces public service schemes, nor to those whose scheme rules provide an unqualified right to take benefits before age 57. Members with these rights will have a protected pension age. Whether an individual has a protected pension age will depend on their pension scheme rules.
Although the Government keeps all tax rules under review, there are no plans to make any changes to this increase in the normal minimum pension age.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of Armed Forces personnel who are medically discharged due to hearing related (a) damage and (b) impairments.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence’s policy for managing noise and preventing noise induced hearing damage or impairment is set out in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 375 – Management of health and safety in Defence, chapter 25 – Noise at work.
20220909_JSP_375_Chapter_25_Noise_at_Work.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
To ensure it remains compliant with legislation and aligned to best practice, JSP 375 is subject to an on-going rolling review programme. As part of this, chapter 25 was last updated in September 2022 with input from both Defence and external subject matter experts.
Chapter 25 provides clear and succinct policy statements, mapped to relevant legislation, setting out the measures to be taken to eliminate noise exposure risks or reduce them to as low as is reasonably practicable (ALARP) and tolerable. If a noise risk assessment indicates a health risk to personnel, they must be placed under suitable audiometric health surveillance.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2023 to Question 3438 on Armed Forces Compensation Scheme: Pain, whether the tariff system within the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme allows for a separate award to be made for (a) chronic neuropathic pain, (b) chronic secondary visceral pain, (c) chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain, (d) chronic secondary headache or orofacial pain, (e) chronic postsurgical or posttraumatic pain and (f) chronic cancer-related pain where the initial injury is attributable to service but is recognised as disproportional or no longer attached to that initial injury.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The terms primary and secondary chronic pain are reflected within a new approach to pain nomenclature introduced by the 2022 World Health Organisation disease classification system (International Classification of Diseases 11 (ICD 11)). ICD 11 is not yet in widespread use in routine UK clinical practice, nor referenced in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) Order, which uses the extant ICD 10.
Dependent on case specific evidence, AFCS awards have been made for pain since the introduction of AFCS in 2005. Awards for all AFCS tariff descriptors include an element for pain and suffering. Where pain is reasonably controlled with treatment of the underlying condition and AFCS entitlement criteria for that condition are met, the award covers all pain and suffering i.e. a separate standalone chronic pain diagnosis is not recognised. If, despite appropriate treatment of the accepted condition, pain remains uncontrolled, and is claimed as a separate /additional claimed condition, an award may be paid dependent on case facts.
Separate awards for the categories of secondary pain listed a-f within the question may be made in line with this approach.