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  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found at:

    http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

    “

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) oral and (b) written communication, guidance and information there has been between his Department and (i) NHS England and (ii) NHS foundation trusts on implementation of changes to junior doctors’ contracts and terms and conditions.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department communicates on a regular basis with NHS England and foundation trusts.

    However, NHS Employers are, on behalf of government, leading on the implementation of the new contract and they are in regular contact with NHS trust and foundation trust employers.

    Details of NHS Employers communications can be found at:

    http://www.nhsemployers.org/~/link.aspx?_id=3C38D4A74B8148FE88422AC66DB51E72&_z=z

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing the national diabetes-related amputation rate since his 2013 commitment to halving that rate.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS Five Year Forward View committed to introducing the first national diabetes prevention programme to be delivered nationwide. As a result, NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK have been working together on Healthier You: the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme which this year will offer at least 10,000 places on an evidence based behaviour change intervention shown to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Preventing diabetes from developing in those at risk will be key to combatting the rise of this condition and its complications, including those resulting in amputation, in the coming years.

    We have made achieving a measurable reduction in variation in the management and care of people with diabetes by 2020 a mandate objective for NHS England and improving foot care for people with diabetes is an important part of achieving this. NHS England will support clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and providers in identifying the steps they need to take to improve outcomes for patients with diabetes, including foot care services for inpatients.

    Improvements in outcomes for patients with diabetes will be monitored as part of the CCG Improvement and Assessment Framework. Also, the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit, the first of which was published in March, provides data on all diabetes foot care services. This will enable all foot care services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people who develop diabetic foot disease.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from academics and health experts on the health benefits and disadvantages of vaping.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department engages with a wide range of interested parties with views on e-cigarettes and vaping. The Department will continue to listen to all parties to inform our decisions as well as drawing on the reports such E-cigarettes – an evidence update published by Public Health England in 2015.

    “

  • Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support research into mesothelioma.

    George Freeman

    The Government agrees that more mesothelioma research is needed and has taken measures to stimulate an increase in the level of research activity.

    Patients, carers, clinicians and funders have worked in partnership to identify what the priorities in research are. Following a survey and a workshop, the top 10 mesothelioma research priorities were announced in December 2014. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) published a final report from the Priority Setting Partnership in July 2015. In advance of the identification of research questions by this partnership, the NIHR highlighted to the research community that it wanted to encourage research applications in mesothelioma.

    The NIHR subsequently invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the partnership. Eight NIHR programmes participated in this themed call. Fifteen individual applications were received, of which two have been approved for funding.

    In addition, the NIHR Research Design Service continues to be able to help prospective applicants develop competitive research proposals. This service is well-established and has

    10 regional bases across England. It supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.

    The National Cancer Research Institute is facilitating ongoing dialogue between relevant research funders on the topic of mesothelioma, to discuss what the barriers to research are and what is needed to stimulate research in the field.

    The Chancellor’s Budget Report committed £5 million of LIBOR fines over the next four years for the National Mesothelioma Centre.

    The Department has received recent representations relating to funding of mesothelioma research from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK and from several hon. Members on behalf of constituents.

  • Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department plans to provide on types of e-cigarette advertising which will be permitted following the introduction of restrictions under the EU Tobacco Product Directive on 20 May 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. At the same time, it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and that we continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. For this reason, the Department welcomes the new rules set out in the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) which will apply in the United Kingdom from 20 May 2016.

    The Government has taken a minimal approach to transposition of the TPD provisions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law, taking into account existing European case law. The Directive requires a prohibition of e-cigarette advertising in certain media such as TV and newspapers and online, but not for example on billboards. The provisions are compatible with the right to an individual’s freedom of speech and do not prevent individuals’ independent reviews on social media or internet forums. These provisions are enacted by The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016/507 and changes to the Office of Communications Broadcast Codes.

    The Department will work in close partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards, including on the need for further guidance for businesses, especially in the first year of implementation to build compliance with the new requirements.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the potential annual cost to the public purse of exempting all people with long-term medical conditions from prescription charges.

    Alistair Burt

    We have not made a recent estimate of the cost to the public purse in lost revenue from introducing an exemption from prescription charges for all people with long-term medical conditions. However, the review of prescription charges by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, which was commissioned by a previous Government and published in 2010, estimated that extending the prescription charge exemption to everyone with a long-term condition would cost £360 to £430 million a year. This is likely to be an underestimate, given the increase in the prescription charge and increasing numbers of prescriptions dispensed since the Review was published. Overall prescription charge revenue for 2014/15, which is the last year for which we have a complete audited figure, was £503.9 million.

    A number of prescription charge exemptions are in place, for which someone with a long-term condition may qualify. These include exemptions based on low income, such as certain out of work benefits and the NHS Low Income Scheme, and age. Where someone does not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates are available. The 3-month and 12-month certificates allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as they need for £29.10 and £104, respectively. Approximately 90% of all prescriptions are dispensed in England without a charge.

  • Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will provide guidance on what communications by e-cigarette manufacturers will fall to be considered as (a) informative and (b) promotional under the provision of the Tobacco Products Directive.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. At the same time, it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and that we continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. For this reason, the Department welcomes the new rules set out in the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) which will apply in the United Kingdom from 20 May 2016.

    The Government has taken a minimal approach to transposition of the TPD provisions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law, taking into account existing European case law. The Directive requires a prohibition of e-cigarette advertising in certain media such as TV and newspapers and online, but not for example on billboards. The provisions are compatible with the right to an individual’s freedom of speech and do not prevent individuals’ independent reviews on social media or internet forums. These provisions are enacted by The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016/507 and changes to the Office of Communications Broadcast Codes.

    The Department will work in close partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards, including on the need for further guidance for businesses, especially in the first year of implementation to build compliance with the new requirements.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of hospitals which do not have a multi-disciplinary diabetes foot care team as advised in NICE guidance.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published clinical guidance and quality standards on the treatment of diabetes and its complications. The NICE Diabetes Quality Standard is clear that people with diabetes who are at risk of foot ulceration should receive regular reviews by a foot protection team in accordance with its clinical guidance. The Health and Social Care Act (2012) places a duty on NHS England to have regard to the NICE Quality Standards. Clinical commissioning groups should also have regard to them in planning and delivering services, as part of a general duty to secure a continuous improvement in quality.

    Our mandate to NHS England for next year includes an objective for NHS England “to lead a step change in the NHS in preventing ill health and supporting people to live healthier lives”.

    There has been an increase in the provision of access to a Multidisciplinary Diabetes Foot care Teams and an indicator measuring performance is included within the National Diabetes Audit to enable progress to be tracked. The focus to date has been on improving access to assessment and treatment by a specialist team. In terms of the proportion of hospitals with a Multidisciplinary Diabetes Foot Care Team, this was 60% in 2011, 72% in 2013, and the figure for 2015 will be published soon as part of the National Diabetes Inpatient Audit 2015 report.

  • Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on how the Government plans to transpose the provisions of the EU Tobacco Products Directive on restrictions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law to take account of Public Health England’s conclusions on the level of harm e-cigarettes cause relative to smoking.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. At the same time, it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and that we continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. For this reason, the Department welcomes the new rules set out in the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) which will apply in the United Kingdom from 20 May 2016.

    The Government has taken a minimal approach to transposition of the TPD provisions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law, taking into account existing European case law. The Directive requires a prohibition of e-cigarette advertising in certain media such as TV and newspapers and online, but not for example on billboards. The provisions are compatible with the right to an individual’s freedom of speech and do not prevent individuals’ independent reviews on social media or internet forums. These provisions are enacted by The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016/507 and changes to the Office of Communications Broadcast Codes.

    The Department will work in close partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards, including on the need for further guidance for businesses, especially in the first year of implementation to build compliance with the new requirements.