17 Dec 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhether his Department plans to expedite implementation of the recommendations from the Hughes report, published on 7 February 2024; and whether he plans to prioritise establishment of (a) interim
ReplyThe Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report. The report sets out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including proposals for a financial s...
4 Dec 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedBy what procedure central government funding is allocated to institutions providing hospice care.
ReplyPalliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in ...
4 Dec 2024·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support (a) low and (b) middle income countries issuing compulsory licenses for the HIV prevention tool lenacapavir.
ReplyLenacapavir could play a critical role in the global fight against HIV but only when it is available and affordable in countries that need it. We strongly supported Unitaid's decision to invest £17 million to accelerate access to Lenacapavir through marke...
4 Dec 2024·Department for Education·Answered
AskedWhat steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the amount of health-related content in the national curriculum.
ReplyHealth education has been compulsory in all state-funded schools in England since 2020, as part of statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).The RSHE curriculum, which is currently being reviewed, includes a wide range of health-related top...
4 Dec 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to monitor the rise in cases in the more spreadable variant of mpox now detected in the UK.
ReplyThere are two distinct types of the mpox virus: clade I and clade II. The previous significant outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2022 was from clade II. Clade I is currently classified as a high consequence infectious disease. The risk to the UK populatio...
4 Dec 2024·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will prioritise global health spending in the Overseas Development Assistance budget in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.
ReplyThe UK is a leader on global health and one of the largest providers of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for health, including to organisations like Gavi, helping to vaccinate one billion children, and through the Global Fund, which has cut the globa...
2 Dec 2024·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, with reference to his speech to the 2024 Country Land and Business Association conference of 21 November 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the pr
ReplyAt the Country Land and Business Association conference, Defra communicated that we would work together with farmers on a 25-year roadmap. This means we will not be telling farmers what to do. The 25-year farming roadmap will be co-produced to transition ...
12 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhether he plans to increase the number of medical speciality training places (a) in total and (b) in anaesthesia.
ReplyNHS staff have been overworked for years, with staff being burnt out and demoralised.We are committed to training the staff we need, including anaesthetists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.We will e...
12 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat assessment he has made of the potential impact of anaesthetic workforce shortages on the NHS’s ability to tackle the elective backlog.
ReplyTackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We have committed to getting back to the NHS Constitutional standard that at least 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. As a first step t...
12 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat estimate he has made of the percentage of (a) doctors and (b) anaesthetists preparing to leave the profession; and what steps he is taking to improve retention.
ReplyThe Government is committed to tackling the workforce crisis across the National Health Service. This will be achieved through better workforce planning, which will address the recruitment and retention challenges facing the NHS.NHS England continues to l...
12 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of anaesthetists.
ReplyNHS staff have been overworked for years, with staff being burnt out and demoralised.We are committed to training the staff we need, including anaesthetists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.We will e...
11 Nov 2024·Cabinet Office·Answered
AskedWhen his Department plans to publish updated (a) life expectancy and (b) healthy life expectancy statistics for (i) electoral wards and (ii) middle layer super output areas.
ReplyThe information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 11th November is attached.
8 Nov 2024·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·Answered
AskedCommunities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 5.149 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, how long discounts on the Right to Buy scheme will be reduced for.
ReplyThe discount levels in question will remain in place until further notice.
8 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWith reference to Lord Darzi's Independent investigation of the NHS in England, published on 12 September 2024, what steps his Department is taking to support integrated care boards to increase cap
ReplyThe Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, which means we require world class NHS infrastructure across the entire NHS estate. Beyond hospitals, we know we need the right infrastructure in the right pla...
8 Nov 2024·Department for Culture, Media and Sport·Answered
AskedMedia and Sport, what discussions she has had with Premier League clubs on gambling sponsorship on their websites.
ReplyAll major sporting bodies, including the Premier League, have published their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct, setting minimum standards for socially responsible gambling sponsorships. As part of the Code of Conduct, clubs must ensure that no gambli...
8 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedIf he will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a National GP Retention Strategy backed by ring-fenced funding.
ReplyThe Government has committed to increasing the number of general practitioners (GPs), and this includes doing more to address GP retention and the reasons why GPs leave the profession. The 10-Year Health Plan, which will be published in spring 2025, will ...
8 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedIf he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the provision of advice on plant-based diets by clinicians in primary care settings on (a) achieving the aim in the NHS Long Term Plan of su
ReplyThe Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) discussed the topic of plant-based diets at its horizon scan meetings in 2022 and 2024. The SACN concluded it is an important topic and will continue to grow in interest, particularly from a sustainabi...
8 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWith reference to paragraph 2.71 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, what support his Department plans to give to GP practices unable to access the fund for GP surgery upgrades.
ReplyThere is no additional national funding for those not prioritised by their local systems to access the capital fund of £102m for GP upgrades allocated in the 2024 Autumn Budget.This capital fund is in addition to annual capital allocations to Integrated C...
6 Nov 2024·Women and Equalities·Answered
AskedWhat steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the potential impact of socio-economic disadvantage on future earnings.
ReplyThrough the Opportunity Mission and the Child Poverty Taskforce we will build opportunity for all by giving every child the best start in life, helping them achieve and thrive, building skills for opportunity and growth; and ensuring family security, so b...
4 Nov 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWith reference to paragraph 2.71 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, how many new surgical hubs will focus solely on orthopaedic procedures.
ReplyThe Department, in collaboration with NHS England, will outline details of the funding allocation for surgical hubs at the earliest opportunity. This will include the number of hubs to be established, and their specialty focus. Each hub will be developed ...