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  • Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222493, what records NHS England keeps of the medicines that are paid for by the industry rebate payments through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

    George Freeman

    The Mandate for 2015-16 has set a firm NHS England budget for 2015-16, which is £3 billion (3%) higher than its budget for 2014-15. This increase takes into account a number of things, including additional funding for the National Health Service announced in the Autumn Statement and the fact that the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) payment in 2015-16 is now forecast to be higher than originally expected.

    All the PPRS payments go back into spending on improving patients’ health and care and it will be up to NHS England how they split that overall budget between clinical commissioning groups, specialised commissioning etc. Following normal Government accounting rules, there is no separately identified ring-fenced funding stream associated with the PPRS payment. Accordingly, it would not be possible to identify what or how many medicines are paid for by PPRS payments.

    The Government believes that NHS commissioners and providers are best placed to decide how to allocate their budgets to deliver improvements in the outcomes for patients. The PPRS includes a number of commitments for improving patient outcomes and for improving patient access to clinically and cost effective medicines.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the rates of people being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

    Norman Lamb

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance Multiple sclerosis: management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care, updated in October 2014, states that around 100,000 people in the United Kingdom have multiple sclerosis (MS). Estimates from studies on annual incidence are more uncertain, and vary between 2,500 and 6,000 newly diagnosed cases each year. About 85 out of 100 people with MS have relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) where periods of stability (remission) are followed by episodes when there are exacerbations of symptoms (relapses). About 10 to 15 out of 100 people with MS have primary progressive MS where symptoms gradually develop and worsen over time from the start, without ever experiencing relapses and remissions.

    The guidance sets out a range of initial assessments a clinician should make including testing of vision and blood tests before referral to a consultant neurologist who can confirm or exclude a diagnosis of MS, subject to investigation. The guidance makes a range of recommendations on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of MS. NICE has recommended a number of drugs for the treatment of MS and is currently appraising Nerventra (laquinimod) for RRMS and ilenya (fingolimod) for primary-progressive MS. In addition over 18,000 patients have benefitted from disease-modifying treatments through the MS risk sharing scheme, established by the Department in 2002.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many quick service restaurants have endorsed all eight nutrition-based Responsibility Deal pledges to date.

    Jane Ellison

    Full details of the quick service restaurants and other out-of-home catering businesses who have signed up to the nutrition-based Responsibility Deal (RD) pledges are available on the RD website at:

    https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/

    “

  • Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Part 5 (a) (ii) of the Mitochndrial Donation Regulations 2015, how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority plans to define a significant risk” of having or developing serious mitochondrial disease.”

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that if Parliament passes the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015, it will need to design a regulatory process of which the consideration of “significant risk” is a part. In designing that process it will take into account, where relevant, the existing regulatory process for embryo testing (preimplantation genetic diagnosis).

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on how many people have experienced adverse health effects as a result of using the drug ruxolitinib.

    George Freeman

    Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. The Yellow Card Scheme collects information relating to suspected adverse drug reactions, which include both serious and non-serious effects which a health care professional or patient suspect may have been due to a medicine.

    The MHRA has received a total of 74 United Kingdom spontaneous suspected ADR reports in association with ruxolitinib up to and including 10 February 2015. This number includes reports received directly from healthcare professionals, patients and indirectly through pharmaceutical companies which have a legal obligation to report suspected ADRs.

    The inclusion of a particular ADR in a report does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the drug, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have, or it had a close temporal relationship to the administration of the suspect drug. The fact that symptoms occur after a treatment does not necessarily mean that they have been caused by the drug itself, as underlying illnesses and other conditions may be responsible.

    In 2013, the product information for ruxolitinib was updated to warn healthcare professionals that cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) have been reported with ruxolitinib and to recommend that patients are monitored at regular intervals for any new or worsening neurological symptoms or signs. The Market Authorisation Holder is currently conducting studies to investigate the risk of PML further. The benefits of ruxolitinib to adult patients with myelofibrosis who have an enlarged spleen or symptoms related to the disease are considered to outweigh the risks.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumer choice represented by the European Commission’s plans to bring forward the setting of maximum premitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements through the food supplements directive.

    Jane Ellison

    No discussions have yet taken place with Commissioner Andriukaitis. The new European Commission has not announced any renewed plans to implement Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive and the Government has not recently made an assessment of potential effects of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals, either on consumer choice, or on British businesses. Our advice to United Kingdom manufacturers on safe daily dose levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements is based on the report of the UK’s Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals. The industry has supported the use of these levels and the report is also used by some other member states as advice for safe upper levels.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on British businesses in the health and nutrition sector of the European Commission’s plans to implement maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements through the food supplements directive.

    Jane Ellison

    No discussions have yet taken place with Commissioner Andriukaitis. The new European Commission has not announced any renewed plans to implement Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive and the Government has not recently made an assessment of potential effects of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals, either on consumer choice, or on British businesses. Our advice to United Kingdom manufacturers on safe daily dose levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements is based on the report of the UK’s Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals. The industry has supported the use of these levels and the report is also used by some other member states as advice for safe upper levels.

  • Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to require the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to produce further regular scientific reviews of the evidence concerning the safety and effectiveness of mitochondrial donation.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 require the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to assess each application for mitochondrial donation on a case-by-case basis. This will include consideration of the evidence of safety and effectiveness.

  • Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to review the Mitochondrial Donation Regulations 2015 in the event that (a) research by Dr Shoukhrat Mitalipov at Oregon Health and Science University and (b) other research in non-human primates shows pro-nuclear transfer to be unsafe or ineffective.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 require the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to assess each application for mitochondrial donation on a case-by-case basis. This will include consideration of the evidence of safety and effectiveness.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the possible risk of Greek sovereign default and subsequent effects on the UK banking sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Treasury regularly monitors global economic developments and their impact on the UK as part of the normal process of policy development. The UK is one of the most open economies in the world through trade and financial channels, and we are not immune to developments in the global economy. The best way to insulate the UK economy from any such instability is to stick to our long term economic plan.

    The exposure of UK banks to Greece is small. Moreover the Bank of England’s recent stress tests showed that our banking sector is far stronger and better capitalised than before.