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, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the responsiveness of crisis teams in mental health services; and if he will set national standards for that responsiveness.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
No specific assessment has been made. As part of its clinically-led review of National Health Service access standards, NHS England published the outcomes of its consultation on the potential to introduce five new access and waiting time standards for mental health services in February 2022. Two of these relate to community-based mental health crisis services, including: an ‘urgent’ referral to a community based mental health crisis service, for which a patient should be seen within 24 hours from referral, across all ages; and a ‘very urgent’ referral to a community based mental health crisis service, for which a patient should be seen within four hours from referral, for all age groups.
As a first step, NHS England has shared and promoted guidance with its local system partners to consistently report waiting times to support the development of a baseline position.
Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are eligible for the spring covid-19 booster.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations. The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme continues to be the prevention of severe disease, hospitalisation and mortality. Older persons, residents in care homes for older adults, and those who are immunosuppressed continue to be at highest risk of severe COVID-19.
As a precautionary measure, the JCVI has recommended that an extra booster vaccine dose should be offered in spring 2023 to adults 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults and individuals five years old and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) green book.
Individuals with ME/CFS are not eligible for the COVID-19 spring 2023 booster vaccination unless they meet the criteria for one or more of the groups listed in addition to having ME/CFS.
The JCVI regularly reviews its advice in relation to the COVID-19 vaccination programme, considering new data, evidence on the effectiveness of the programme and the epidemiological situation.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the menopause taskforce last met.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Menopause Taskforce last met on 7 June 2022.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on tackling hormonal replacement therapy shortages.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We have accepted and are taking forward the recommendations of the HRT Supply Taskforce, which was temporarily established to explore what could be done to address hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply issues in the short and long-term. A key recommendation was to continue the dialogue with industry and we are doing that through regular meetings with individual suppliers as well as holding quarterly roundtables with manufacturers, wholesalers and community pharmacist representatives to monitor progress and agree what more needs to be done to boost production.
Access to high-demand products has improved since actions have been taken by industry with our support, as well as the issuance of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) for some HRT products facing supply issues, to limit dispensing to three months’ supply to even out distribution and allow specified alternative products to be supplied, as necessary.
21 SSPs for HRT products have been issued since April 2022. The majority of these have been withdrawn as supply issues have been resolved, and only five SSPs remain in place.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of recent alcohol duty changes on the competitiveness of the UK spirits industry.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the assessment of impacts from changes to the duty rates made at the Spring Budget 2023.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legal advice available to people making an asylum claim.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Government is committed to ensuring that those seeking asylum in this country have access to publicly funded legal advice and representation.
Access to legal aid is a key part of a fair immigration system, which is why we are spending around £8m expanding access to legal aid, helping victims of modern slavery, individuals prioritised for removal and individuals appealing an age assessment decision.
The Legal Aid Agency keeps market capacity and the provision of services under constant review and takes immediate action when gaps appear, working with providers to ensure provision nationally.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government is taking steps to increase the availability of legal advice to people making an asylum claim.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Government is committed to ensuring that those seeking asylum in this country have access to publicly funded legal advice and representation.
Access to legal aid is a key part of a fair immigration system, which is why we are spending around £8m expanding access to legal aid, helping victims of modern slavery, individuals prioritised for removal and individuals appealing an age assessment decision.
The Legal Aid Agency keeps market capacity and the provision of services under constant review and takes immediate action when gaps appear, working with providers to ensure provision nationally.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
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 ensure the NHS has flexible and effective procedures for identifying the correct treatments for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
People with breast cancer are cared for by a team of healthcare professionals, each with their own expertise. This is known as the multidisciplinary team (MDT). Each MDT should include the full range of health professionals required to best inform and plan the most appropriate treatment options for the patient including for those patients with metastatic breast cancer. This would include appropriate surgeons, oncologists and clinicians from a wide range of other disciplines including nursing, radiology and pathology.
NHS England expects treating clinicians will consider all available treatment options, taking account of relevant clinical and professional guidelines and the individual needs of the patient. In all cases, discussions about treatment options should take place in line with the General Medical Council’s Decision Making and Consent Guidance to ensure that people can make an informed choice about their treatment.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to fund British Sign Language classes for families with deaf children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department understands the great importance of British Sign Language (BSL) for bridging barriers to communication between hearing and deaf people. We also appreciate the vital need for families with deaf children to be able to access BSL courses, as early access to language is essential to help children learn and thrive.
Funding is available through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) for qualifications in or focussing on BSL, up to and including level 2. These qualifications include, for example, the Level 1 Award in BSL which allows learners to communicate in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use, thereby giving them the basic skills and confidence in production and reception of BSL. It will depend on an individual’s circumstances as to whether they are entitled to free provision or expected to meet part of the cost (through co-funding).
About 60% of the AEB has been devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who determine which provision to fund for learners who live in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas. Where community learning providers offer BSL courses, those providers are responsible for determining the course fees, including levels of fee remission.
For some BSL courses, Advanced Learner Loans (ALLs) are available, and parents can find more information about which qualifications are eligible here: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/Search. More general information about the provision of ALLs is available at: https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan.
For parents learning BSL on an AEB funded course, there is also additional support available. The AEB provides funding to colleges and providers to help adult learners overcome barriers preventing them from accessing learning. Providers have discretion to help learners meet costs such as transport, accommodation, books, equipment, and childcare. Learning support funding also helps colleges and training providers to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that all patients with primary breast cancer have an end of treatment summary in order to speed up detection of secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The NHS Long Term Plan states that, where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan and health and wellbeing information and support. This includes provision of end of treatment summaries, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer.
The introduction of tailored follow up pathways for people after their initial breast cancer treatment has ensured there are clear access points for people with worrying symptoms or concerns to speak immediately to someone in the cancer team. Breast cancer-tailored follow up, which includes ‘patient initiated follow up’ or ‘open access follow up’ for suitable patients, is now in place in 95% of trusts.