To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Health: Technology
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS is taking steps with (a) technology developers and (b) academia to help accelerate the introduction of innovative medical solutions.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In February 2023, the Department published the MedTech strategy which outlined how we will work with key stakeholders, including technology developers and academia, to ensure the health and social care system can reliably access safe, effective, and innovative medical technologies. To accelerate the introduction of innovative medical solutions, we are working with stakeholders at pace to implement solutions to streamline and join-up the innovation adoption pathway, from providing clear signals to industry on the innovation we need, to reforming regulation, comparative assessment, and with clearer procurement pathways.

In October 2023, the Government announced £30 million of investment in the Health Tech Adoption and Acceleration Fund. The fund is supporting integrated care systems to invest in the latest technology to help cut waiting lists, speed up diagnosis, and deliver new and improved ways to treat patients. Thanks to this fund, tens of thousands of patients at risk of kidney disease will be able to get tested from the comfort of their own homes. In February 2024, the Government announced eight innovative tech companies who will be supported to bring their devices to market through the Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP). One of the technologies allows chemotherapy patients to self-test at home, using a finger-prick blood test, for neutropenic sepsis. Another is a smartphone app that delivers exercises, cognitive behaviour therapy, and targeted physical activity in a personally customisable format to help patients manage multiple sclerosis.


Written Question
Health: Technology
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help encourage innovation in the development of healthcare technology for at home use.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In February 2023, the Department published the MedTech strategy which outlined how we will work with key stakeholders, including technology developers and academia, to ensure the health and social care system can reliably access safe, effective, and innovative medical technologies. To accelerate the introduction of innovative medical solutions, we are working with stakeholders at pace to implement solutions to streamline and join-up the innovation adoption pathway, from providing clear signals to industry on the innovation we need, to reforming regulation, comparative assessment, and with clearer procurement pathways.

In October 2023, the Government announced £30 million of investment in the Health Tech Adoption and Acceleration Fund. The fund is supporting integrated care systems to invest in the latest technology to help cut waiting lists, speed up diagnosis, and deliver new and improved ways to treat patients. Thanks to this fund, tens of thousands of patients at risk of kidney disease will be able to get tested from the comfort of their own homes. In February 2024, the Government announced eight innovative tech companies who will be supported to bring their devices to market through the Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP). One of the technologies allows chemotherapy patients to self-test at home, using a finger-prick blood test, for neutropenic sepsis. Another is a smartphone app that delivers exercises, cognitive behaviour therapy, and targeted physical activity in a personally customisable format to help patients manage multiple sclerosis.


Written Question
Multiple Sclerosis: Menopause
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)

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 with Cabinet colleagues to support research into the potential impact of menopause on people with multiple sclerosis.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds research on menopause, but it is not currently funding any specific research into the potential impact of menopause on people with multiple sclerosis.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and we want to ensure that we answer the most important research questions and address topics that make the biggest difference to patients, and the public. On 18 October 2023, World Menopause Day, the James Lind Alliance (JLA) launched a Priority Setting Partnership focused on menopause. This initiative engages women who have experienced menopause as well as healthcare professionals, to identify research priorities. This will result in the creation of a public Top 10 list that researchers can access and consider as a focus for their work. The final priority setting process will be a full day workshop facilitated by the JLA in October 2024.


Written Question
Cancer: Screening
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of women who (a) have and (b) do not have multiple sclerosis attended (i) cancer screening appointments, (ii) mammograms and (iii) cervical screening appointments in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

National Health Service screening programmes do not collect data on an individual’s long-term condition, and therefore no data is available on what proportion of women who have multiple sclerosis, participate in cancer screening programmes.

Under the Equality Act 2010, and the Health and Social Care Act 2012, NHS screening providers have a legal duty to make sure screening services are accessible to everyone, including people with long term conditions, who may have issues with access.

The following table provides data on the percentage of coverage for the three cancer screening programmes, breast, cervical and bowel, within the age groups invited for NHS screenings, in England over the last five years:

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

Breast Screening – ages 50 to 71 years old

74.9%

74.6%

74.2%

64.2%

65.3%

66.4%

Cervical Screening – ages 25 to 64 years old

71.4%

71.9%

72.2%

70.2%

69.9%

68.7%

Bowel Screening – ages 60 to 74 years old

59.2%

59.5%

60.5%

64.3%

66.1%

70.3%


Note: Data for bowel cancer screening is not separated based on sex.


Written Question
Multiple Sclerosis
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

To support the provision of optimal support for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions, NHS England has established the Neuroscience Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme aimed at improving specialised adult neuroscience services in England and developing a new model of integrated care for neurology services.

The Neuroscience Transformation Programme seeks to support emerging regional teams in addition to Integrated Care Systems in the National Health Service, through establishing a ‘what good looks like’ for specialised neuroscience services for a local population.

NHS England has also established the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national programme, which is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth, clinically led review of specialties to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved.

The GIRFT National Specialty Report on Neurology, published in September 2021, focuses on improving access to care and ensuring services are available close to patients’ homes where feasible. The report highlights differences in how services are delivered and highlights examples of local good practice to improve patient services nationally.

NHS systems should also continue to implement the guidance set out in the Progressive Neurological Conditions RightCare Toolkit, which was developed in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the MS Trust and the MS Society. The Toolkit supports improvements to pathways for progressive neurological patients, ensuring that commissioners focus on quicker and more accurate diagnoses and increasing the availability of neurorehabilitation, reablement, and psychosocial support.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that PIP assessors receive adequate training relating to (a) Parkinson’s disease, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) Crohn’s disease and (d) colitis.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out by qualified health professionals (HPs), who receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to both physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and Colitis.

HPs have access to a range of resources and experienced clinicians to support them in assessing individuals with specific conditions. Assessment providers engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen their training programmes.

This year’s Health & Disability White Paper committed to developing the skills of HPs. As a result, the department began a proof of concept to match an individual’s primary health condition to a HP who has professional experience in their condition. In addition to their professional experience, HPs will also take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.


Written Question
Neurology: Research
Thursday 16th November 2023

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to invest in research for early detection of neurological conditions.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to supporting research into the early detection of neurological conditions and funds such research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including research for early detection of neurological conditions. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

The NIHR delivers the Clinical Research Network Neurological Disorders Speciality Group, which supports clinical research in the National Health Service in epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, headache, neuro-muscular disease, neurological infections, and the normal development of the nervous system. By promoting high quality clinical research, the group aims to increase the understanding of the causes of these conditions, and improve the prevention, detection, care and treatment for people suffering from them. The NIHR has also supported studies relating to the early detection of neurological conditions, such as Project Rhapsody which investigated the clinical feasibility of using artificial intelligence-based deep audio and language processing techniques to diagnose neurological and psychiatric diseases.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that PIP assessors take into account the hidden symptoms of multiple sclerosis when making their assessments; and what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the PIP assessment process on the mental health of people with multiple sclerosis.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Assessments for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are carried out by qualified health professionals (HPs), who receive training in assessing the impacts of a variety of disabilities including multiple sclerosis (MS), to ensure they are familiar with the clinical aspects of the conditions and their impact on daily functions.

HPs have access to Condition Insight Reports (CIRs) which are developed specifically to enable them to gain further insight into clinical and functional information, relating to specific conditions. Both Capita and Independent Assessment Services (IAS), who conduct PIP assessments on behalf of the department, hold CIRs on MS, which have been produced for them by representative groups.

DWP recognises that attending an assessment can be a stressful experience, which is why claimants are not invited to attend a face-to-face, telephone or video assessment where there is sufficient paper evidence to determine benefit entitlement.

Companions are also encouraged to attend and can play an active role in the assessment to support individuals or help them manage any anxiety they may feel.


Written Question
Nabiximols
Tuesday 11th July 2023

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an (a) adequate and (b) equitable supply of Sativex for people with multiple sclerosis to integrated care boards.

Answered by Will Quince

There are currently no reported supply issues concerning the licensed cannabis-based medicine Sativex. The Department has well-established processes to manage and mitigate medicine supply issues, working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, Devolved Governments and others operating in the supply chain, to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise.

The decision on whether to prescribe Sativex must be taken by a specialist clinician on a case-by-case basis and funding of this medicine is subject to local National Health Service decisions.

On 6 September 2021, NHS England issued a reminder to NHS trusts and commissioners (now integrated care boards) of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance relating to Sativex and their responsibilities. Data from the NHS Business Services Authority indicates that dispensing of this drug in the community has almost doubled between September 21 (205 items) to March 2023 (402 items), according to the latest available data.


Written Question
Multiple Sclerosis: Diagnosis
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the last five years; and if he will provide a breakdown of those figures by age and gender.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information is not held in the format requested.