Tag: Department of Health and Social Care

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 13 June 2023.

Over one million NHS staff are already receiving pay rises, backdated to April, and one-off payments agreed between the government and the NHS staff council.

• The government and the NHS staff council launch a joint programme to implement non-pay measures in the deal to better support the NHS workforce, including improving opportunities for nursing career progression, reviewing safe staffing guidance and reducing agency spend
• Stakeholders asked to share their views on the NHS Pay Review Body process – including timing of the pay round, and appointments process for members

NHS staff are now benefitting from the Agenda for Change pay deal agreed between government and unions, ultimately helping to cut waiting lists and improve patient care.

Writing in an open letter to NHS staff today, the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay will thank them for their hard work and update them on the measures being taken to improve their working lives.

The letter also outlines how the government will work with the NHS staff council to oversee the implementation of the non-pay elements of the recent NHS pay agreement. NHS staff council and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) will jointly chair a programme board, working collaboratively with leads from NHS England and NHS Employers to begin implementing the commitments. This includes ways to boost the welfare and retention of the NHS workforce and to improve opportunities for nursing career progression, reviewing safe staffing guidance and reducing agency spend.

As well as this, stakeholders who participate in the NHS Pay Review Body process – including health unions, NHS Employers, NHS Providers, NHS England and the devolved administrations – are being invited to share their views on how the NHS Pay Review Body can work as effectively as possible. This includes timing of the pay round, appointments process for members, input of the NHS staff council and the data and evidence that is fed in.

It follows over one million NHS staff receiving their pay rise, backdated to April, in their pay checks this month alongside one-off bonuses.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

I hugely value the work of NHS staff and the vital role they’re playing to cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s 5 priorities.

That’s exactly why we are pushing ahead with the deal we agreed with unions, which is about much more than just pay – it’s also about protecting people’s wellbeing and supporting their development.

We are working hand in hand with the NHS staff council to ensure we’re delivering the changes that staff want to see and will benefit them, and patients, the most.

The pay rise will see an Agenda for Change employee at the Band 6 entry point – such as an experienced physiotherapist, paramedic or a midwife – receive over £5,100 in extra pay across last year and this year, with over £2,000 in bonus payments arriving as a lump sum in pay cheques this month while a newly qualified nurse in Band 5 will receive £1,890 in one-off payments and see their basic pay increase to over £28,400.

It also means staff working on the lower bands in Bands 1 and 2 will be earning £11.45 per hour in 2023 to 2024, significantly above (9.9%), the National Living Wage.

To build a stronger, healthier NHS for the long-term with patients at its centre, it is vital to have the workforce to support it. There are already record numbers of staff working in the NHS to care for patients and cut waiting lists, with over 53,600 more people compared to a year ago – including over 5,400 more doctors and 12,900 more nurses. The government and NHS will build on this progress and will soon publish a workforce plan focused on recruiting and retaining more staff to make the NHS the best place to work.

Background

Stakeholders will be contacted shortly by the department to set out the next steps on how to submit their views on the Pay Review Body process.

See a copy of the letter from the Health Secretary to Agenda for Change staff.

A programme board, chaired by DHSC and staff council chairs, will provide oversight of the programme and ensure outcomes are in line with the original intention behind the deal.

The programme board would be responsible for commissioning workstreams, supporting policy development and ensuring work is delivered as intended with the Agenda for Change deal. Individual work strands will be owned and driven by either DHSC, NHS England or the NHS staff council.

Through the jointly owned programme board, DHSC and the NHS staff council will oversee all non-pay elements of the deal which include:

• looking for ways to improve nursing career progression
• a review of safe staffing guidance in order to develop a national evidence-based policy framework
• improving support for newly qualified healthcare registrants
• exploring the factors driving increasing rates of agency spend in the NHS
• looking for ways for the pay setting process and the NHS Pay Review Body to operate effectively
• agree amendments to terms and conditions to ensure that existing NHS staff will not suffer a detriment to their basic pay when they undertake apprenticeships as part of agreed career development
• considering how the job evaluation system can be consistently applied
• working with the Social Partnership Forum to identify ways to tackle and reduce violence against NHS staff
• consider the application of a cap to redundancy payments of £100,000 and over

For more information on the Agenda for Change pay deal see DHSC’s media fact sheet.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 13 June 2023.

Lord Markham’s keynote speech at London Tech Week 2023.

I’m delighted to be here with you all today at our annual Health Tech Summit in collaboration with London Tech Week.

As you will have heard from the Prime Minister earlier today, this government has a clear mission – to make the UK the most innovative economy in the world. The UK tech industry is one of the engines for economic growth and a clear representation of our plan to cement the UK’s status as a Science and Technology ‘Superpower’ by 2030.

Last year, the UK became just the third country in the world to have a tech sector valued at $1 trillion. It is the biggest in Europe by some distance and behind only the US and China globally.

I want to illustrate my passion about the role of innovation and technology in improving the health of our nation, and how I’ve seen the power they hold first-hand. During my role as ITV Strategy Director, I discovered the power of innovation during the transition from analogue to digital TV while pioneering the move to Freeview.

I later moved into healthcare where the company I set up significantly reduced the waiting time for PCR results from 72 hours down to just 3 or 4 hours. It was at this point I also experienced first-hand the challenges of doing business with the NHS, so I sympathise wholeheartedly with anyone who’s struggled in that regard and am committed to removing barriers and ensuring our health service remains on the frontline of innovation.

Today I’d like to talk to you about how government is supporting innovation and the adoption of digital health technologies, offering significant opportunities to transform the way we deliver access to health and care, with some substantial investment and activity to boost the range of technologies available for adoption across the NHS.

As we all know, the NHS is under increasing pressure.

This is arising from increasing demand, an ageing population, and co-morbidities to name a few factors. At the same time, healthcare expenditure represented around 12% of GDP in 2021. This cost to our economy is only set to increase in future years and we have a real challenge to ensure that the NHS is sustainable.

Digital and technology is one major way that we will address some of the challenges that face the NHS. We know that digitally mature trusts operate with approximately 10% improved efficiency compared with their less digitally mature peers.

We are exploring new technologies which it would be useful for the NHS to adopt and we’re working collaboratively across a range of areas to support companies to develop and deploy digital health technologies and I’d like to share some examples with you.

The Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare award programme supports innovators and entrepreneurs. As of 2022 to 2023, the programme has made cumulative investments of over £129 million and has funded a total of 324 projects.

The Digital Health Partnership Award has funded 43 NHS projects identified as novel, with the potential to scale at pace. The technologies are focused on supporting people at home and over 140,000 patients have been supported in under 2 years.

Innovate UK provides funding to UK-based businesses or research organisations to support and stimulate innovation in the UK economy, offering grants of between £25,000 and £10 million and innovation loans of between £100,000 and £1 million.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research works with industry at all stages of the clinical development pipeline. Funding is available to support promising innovations to generate the evidence needed to get to market.

We’ve provided £123 million to test and evaluate 86 AI technologies in areas such as urgent stroke care, home testing for disease and cancer screening. These technologies are being deployed and scaled across 99 hospitals, and 300 primary care networks in the UK.

We’re working on coordinating these investment programmes and evidencing the impact for scale across the NHS – I will return to this point a little later.

As well as the excellent technologies which currently exist, we continue to identify new opportunities to support innovation that can be scaled at a national level. I am excited to share further details of our plans for digital therapeutics.

In March the Chancellor included £225 million of ringfenced funding within the Budget for digital mental health and musculoskeletal, known as MSK, initiatives.

We’re accelerating the deployment and adoption of clinical grade technologies that are evidence-based, and used to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease. The first mental health and MSK products will be available via the NHS App later this year, allowing 24/7 access to suit lifestyle factors without the need for a clinician referral.

This is a significant change, moving from these technologies only being available in some areas of the country, and for those who have been referred into a clinical pathway. This demonstrates our commitment to scaling well evidenced technologies and breaking down commissioning barriers. And these 2 areas are only the start.

And, we’ll pilot new, novel mental health technology that has potential to transform our model of care, enabling our citizens to have access years earlier to the most promising technologies.

We’ll also be levelling up the use of digital tools within our existing NHS mental health talking therapies services so that people have support from day one while waiting for their appointment.

We are supporting the NHS to be in a better position to adopt the right technologies.

A key priority for technology funding is supporting health and care systems to ‘level up’ their digital maturity and ensure they have a core level of infrastructure, digitisation and skills by March 2025.

The What Good Looks Like guidance builds on established good practice to provide clear direction for health and social care leaders to digitise, connect and transform services to improve outcomes for the people we serve.

To support systems level up, we’re conducting a digital maturity assessment to help organisations baseline their current level of digital maturity against What Good Looks Like to improve decision-making, identify opportunities for collaboration, and enhance patient experience.

The assessment is an essential tool for health and care systems to track their levelling up journey and will be repeated annually to track progress.

Digital maturity is just one side of the picture however. The New Hospital Programme will ensure our world-class healthcare system and staff have the facilities they need for the future. It will help to bring things together in terms of tech and modern building design. Digital design is at the heart of our approach to standardisation in the New Hospital Programme. Our aim is for this to bring even greater productivity gains than digital alone and there could be 20% productivity gains from that, which will encourage the Treasury to help fund even more new hospitals.

Data Saves Lives, published a year ago this week, set the strategy for making better use of data to improve services and transform lives. This document provided the ambitious direction, and good progress has been made on implementing it. Over half of the commitments we promised are now delivered, including ensuring that all 42 of our integrated care systems have a shared care record in place and the agreement of a target architecture for health and care. But we now need to move deeper into delivery, so more people can enjoy the benefits of a modern, data-driven health and care service. You’ll hear more about our progress later this month.

As I’ve already mentioned, we’re working to evidence the impact of digital health technologies for scale across the NHS and to develop a clear policy framework and market pathway to support this.

NHS England are working collaboratively with NICE, MHRA and other partners to create a clear, efficient and user-centred pathway to scale digital health technologies in the NHS.

The pathway is being co-designed with views from industry and will be reflective of the dynamic market.

The proposed commercial pathway will determine how products will be recommended across the NHS, which will provide clarity for innovators about how they evidence their products and how they will be reimbursed. The process will support the emerging digital health technology market, while providing value for money for the NHS. It will help to consolidate the buying points, streamline market access for industry and will also provide opportunity to leverage the buying power of the NHS.

A conditional recommendation pathway is being designed to support innovators to gather evidence while undergoing the evaluation process.

This improved pathway will enable a faster, more flexible route to market for digital health technologies across the NHS.

We’re working to increase visibility and compliance with technology standards through the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC).

DTAC is a critical assurance process for all digital health technologies used for medical, health and wellness, or system efficiency purposes.

It ensures that technologies deployed within the NHS meet our baseline standards for clinical safety, data protection, cyber security, interoperability and accessibility and usability.

We’ve introduced audits which provide critical information on the level of risk we’re holding in relation to digital health technologies and clinical systems and gives us the first national picture of what digital health technologies are deployed where across the NHS. We continue to ensure that standards are not a blocker for technology adoption.

We’ve developed guidance on which framework agreements to use to simplify buying digital and IT goods and services.

Our digital and technology procurement framework strategy recommendations make the procurement process easier for both buyers and vendors to navigate, removing duplication and reducing costs.

We’ve introduced a number of nationally led dynamic purchasing systems enabling buyers and sellers to be agile in the purchasing and supply of digital solutions for the NHS.

AI and digital can have transformative impact, but only if developed safely, ethically and in line with best practice in evidence based medicine. That’s why we funded the AI and Digital Regulations Service, which brings together all guidance on regulations that apply to digital and AI in one place, as well as advice on ensuring it is truly value-adding.

I’m happy to announce the service has launched in full today – so if you’re a developer of AI, or a clinician or social care worker looking to use AI, you can use the service’s website for information and help to do it the right way.

If you’re developing an AI device, you’ll find which regulations you need to meet and when.

If you’re looking to adopt an AI device, you’ll find guidance to help you feel confident about using AI in your health or care service.

Users have told us this ‘one stop shop’ has made it easier to understand regulations and saved them time in bringing products to market.

This is a partnership led by NICE, MHRA, CQC and HRA, but brings in even more relevant regulators such as the Information Commissioner’s Office; demonstrating one way our health service is leading in innovation-friendly regulation.

This is the direction across the rest of government, as the AI regulations white paper looks to provide joined-up support like this to developers.

Despite the undeniable progress we’ve already made, we must be restless and relentless in our drive to ensure that the UK maintains its rightful place at the cutting edge of innovation. And we must continue to make the UK the go to place for industry to develop healthcare innovations, with access to the best data in the world to do so.

I am absolutely determined to ensure that my experience of the challenges of doing business with the NHS are addressed. We are working hard on multiple fronts to streamline the market pathway, listening to the concerns of industry and taking practical steps to ensure market access is a lot smoother.

I‘m more confident than ever that together we can create one of the most exciting health innovation systems in the world.

Thank you very much for listening.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 13 June 2023.

The facilities will help cut urgent and emergency care waiting times for tens of thousands of patients across the country.

• Six new ambulance hubs will increase efficiency – cutting out unnecessary delays and getting ambulances back on the road faster, ensuring they can reach people as quickly as possible
• 42 discharge lounges are freeing up hospital beds, providing a more comfortable environment for patients who are about to return home
• Backed by nearly £50 million in investment as part of plans to improve urgent and emergency care performance and cut waiting lists, one of the government’s top five priorities

Six new ambulance hubs and 42 new and upgraded discharge lounges are opening at hospitals across the country, which will help cut urgent and emergency care waiting times for tens of thousands of patients.

The new facilities are backed by the £50 million investment that was announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay in January to help free up hospital beds and cut down on waiting times for patients ahead of next winter.

In certain areas, ambulance queues to hand patients over to hospital care can be made worse due to a lack of physical space. The ambulance hubs will increase efficiency– cutting out unnecessary delays and getting ambulances back on the road faster, ensuring they can reach people as quickly as possible.

Four of the new hubs – located at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford Shropshire, the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, and the Doncaster Royal – are already live and providing additional urgent and emergency care capacity. Two further hubs will come into use this summer at the Queen’s Hospital in Romford, east London, and the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.

Feedback from Trusts suggests that 1,000 patients have already benefitted from the ambulance hubs so far. The Doncaster Royal has met national targets for ambulance handovers every day since its hub opened, while the Leicester Royal Infirmary has reported an 86% reduction in hours lost to delays since November 2022.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

These new ambulance hubs and discharge lounges are another example of how we’re investing to cut waiting times – one of the government’s top five priorities. They are already benefitting tens of thousands of patients by freeing up beds and reducing the time for patients waiting to be admitted from A&E.

The hubs will allow ambulances to manoeuvre more quickly and cut out unnecessary delays, and the lounges will free up hospital beds, while offering patients a more comfortable environment to recover in while they’re waiting to leave hospital. All of this is to ensure we can bring down waiting times and prepare for next winter.

Health Minister Lord Markham said:

Waiting times have already substantially reduced from the peak of winter pressures – but we know there is more to do, and we are investing record funding in health and care services to reduce waiting times and improve patient care.

These new ambulance hubs will help free up ambulance crews to get back on the road more quickly and respond to emergencies, while expanded and upgraded discharge lounges will help free up hospital beds and cut A&E waiting times.

NHSE National Director of Integrated Urgent and Emergency Care and NHSE Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Sarah-Jane Marsh, said:

The hard work of health and social care teams across the country has meant we have seen improvements in ambulance response times and A&E performance since December, despite the impact of seasonal viruses, industrial action, and higher than usual bed occupancy.

These dedicated spaces, alongside the range of actions we have outlined in our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, including thousands of new beds, hundreds of new ambulances and measures to help treat more people in the community, will help us further improve patient experience and help avoid unnecessary hospital admissions ahead of next winter.

Patients who are due to be discharged that day but are waiting for medication or transportation will benefit from the discharge lounges – helping to free up beds and reduce waits for patients waiting to be admitted from A&E. These dedicated rooms will provide 439 additional beds, 364 chairs, and 44 extra trolleys in hospitals, freeing up capacity up across the country.

The discharge lounges are improving patient experience by creating more space in hospitals, offering a comfortable environment with TVs, hot meals and discharge lounge nurses to attend to people’s needs while they are waiting – with 26 already open.

Backed by more than £360,000 in funding, Northwick Park Hospital in north west London upgraded its lounge with six new beds and 10 chairs – improving flow through the hospital and impacting nearly 2,500 patients. The Hull Royal Infirmary received £300,000 in funding to convert its discharge lounge and provide an additional 52 beds, and nearly 1,500 patients have already used the facilities.

Earlier this year, the government and NHS published an Urgent and Emergency Recovery Care Plan to achieve one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in the NHS’ history. Frontline capacity will be boosted with 800 new ambulances, including 100 specialist mental health vehicles, and 5,000 more sustainable hospital beds backed by a £1 billion dedicated fund.

The NHS successfully met the first target in its Elective Recovery Plan to virtually eliminate waits of over two years and has cut 18 month waits by over 91% from the peak in September 2021.

There are already record numbers of people working in the NHS overall, and the NHS will shortly publish a long term workforce plan setting out plans to recruit and retain more staff. All of this is backed by up to £14.1 billion for health and social care over the next two years, on top of record funding.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 9 June 2023.

The one-stop shops have delivered over 4 million additional checks for a range of conditions from cancer to heart or lung disease.

• Across the country, community diagnostic centres (CDCs) have delivered over 4 million additional checks for a range of conditions from cancer to heart or lung disease – helping to cut waiting lists
• Eight new CDCs to open, in addition to the 108 already delivering lifesaving checks
• The one-stop shops support quicker access to care and offer patients a wide range of tests closer to home

CDCs have delivered over 4 million checks, tests and scans for patients across the country since July 2021, cutting waiting lists and giving patients quicker access to care.

The government is showing progress on its promise to open 160 of the facilities by March 2025, with a further 8 due to open before the end of the year, the Health and Social Care Secretary has today confirmed. These will provide capacity for more than 742,000 extra tests a year once fully operational, bolstering access to care.

The government is investing £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services, with 108 CDCs already up and running and a further 41 due to open. They have opened in a range of settings since the programme started in July 2021, including shopping centres and university campuses.

GPs can refer patients to a centre so they can access life-saving checks closer to home and be diagnosed for a range of conditions, rather than travelling to hospital. The centres are not only more convenient for patients but are also more efficient for staff and free up clinicians’ time to help further cut the waiting lists.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

These new centres will benefit tens of thousands of patients, cutting out unnecessary hospital visits and delivering closer, more convenient care.

Patients will be able to access a range of life-saving tests, including MRI scans, X-rays, and respiratory checks – speeding up the diagnosis of illnesses like cancer and heart disease.

We have already made significant progress in bringing down waiting lists – one of the government’s top 5 priorities – and community diagnostic centres are a key part of this, with over 4 million vital checks delivered so far.

These include:

• Scarborough Gateway CDC: this will open in the town centre near Scarborough train station in December 2023 and offer 91,000 additional checks a year once fully operational
• Scarborough CDC (Ripon) will open at Ripon Community Hospital in the same month, and will have capacity for 27,000 checks a year once up and running
• Oldham CDC (South East Manchester) will open at the Crown Point Retail Park in Denton, Greater Manchester in December 2023, and offer 129,000 extra tests a year when all services are live
• Manchester and Trafford  CDC (North Manchester) – this will open in Harpurhey in December 2023 and offer 41,000 tests when fully operational
• Clacton CDC (Bluebird Lodge) – this will open at the Bluebird Lodge community hospital in Ipswich in December 2023 and carry out 24,000 extra tests once up and running
• Plymouth CDC – this will open in the town in September 2023 and offer the capacity for 89,000 tests when services are live
• North Lincolnshire CDC (Grimsby) – this facility will open in Grimsby in December 2023 and have the capacity to deliver 142,000 tests
• Hull and East Riding CDC – this will open in the city in December 2023 and have the capacity to deliver 199,000 tests

NHS national director of elective recovery, Sir James Mackey, said:

These ‘one-stop shops’ play a key role in the NHS’s elective recovery plan, and the new CDCs are a welcome addition to more than 100 existing community diagnostic centres, which have already delivered more than 4 million tests and checks.

Our elective recovery plan set out how the NHS will deliver 9 million more tests and checks per year by 2025, and the work of these diagnostic centres – some in convenient spots including shopping centres – are excellent examples of the innovative work being done across the health service to ensure patients get the tests and checks they need as quickly as possible.

Other steps are being taken to bust the backlogs and boost patient choice. Last month, the government announced that patients will be empowered to choose where they receive hospital care. Currently just 1 in 10 patients exercise their right to choose but research shows that giving patients choice can cut up to 3 months off their waiting time by selecting a different hospital in the same region.

The NHS successfully met the first target in its elective recovery plan to virtually eliminate waits of over 2 years and has cut 18 month waits by over 91% from the peak in September 2021.

There are already record numbers of people working in the NHS overall, and the NHS will shortly publish a long term workforce plan setting out plans to recruit and retain more staff. All of this is backed by up to £14.1 billion for health and social care over the next 2 years, on top of record funding.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 June 2023.

New HIV transmissions in England have fallen by almost a third since 2019, according to an update on the HIV Action Plan for England published today.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 June 2023.

Minister for Care, Helen Whately, held a reception at No 10 and announced a cross-government roundtable to meet the needs of carers in all aspects of their lives.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 June 2023.

The government is expanding the NHS Volunteer Responders programme into social care.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 1 June 2023.

Eligible workers on the Agenda for Change contract, which includes nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers, will receive the pay rise, backdated to April.

• More than one million NHS staff in England, including nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers, will receive a pay rise, backdated to April
• A newly qualified nurse will see their salary go up by more than £2,750 over 2 years
• Staff will also receive a one-off ‘NHS backlog bonus’ worth at least £1,250

From today (1 June 2023), more than one million NHS workers will start to receive a pay rise following an agreement between the government and unions.

As part of the deal, eligible workers on the Agenda for Change contract, which includes nurses, paramedics, 999 call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners, will receive the pay rise, backdated to April.

As a result of this package, a newly qualified nurse will see their salary go up by more than £2,750 over 2 years from 2021 to 2022 to 2023 to 2024. They will also receive over £1,890 in one-off payments this year.

In addition, they will receive a one-off ‘NHS backlog bonus’ which recognises the sustained pressure facing the NHS following the pandemic and the extraordinary effort staff have been making to meet the Prime Minister’s promise to cut waiting lists.

The backlog bonus will be worth at least £1,250 per person, but will be determined based on how much experience staff have and based on an individual’s pay band. The average nurse in pay band 5, for example, will receive £1,350.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

More than one million of our hard-working NHS staff will begin to receive more money in their pay packet from today, including a backlog bonus for all their efforts during the pandemic.

We’re giving nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other eligible staff a fair pay rise, which will see, for example, band 6 staff getting an extra £5,000 over 2 years.

We hugely value the work of NHS staff and the vital role they’re playing to cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s 5 priorities, and recognise the work they put in day in and day out.

Under the deal, eligible Agenda for Change staff will receive a non-consolidated award of 2% of an individual’s salary for 2022 to 2023. This is on top of the pay increase of at least £1,400 (pro-rated for staff working part-time) staff received for 2022 to 2023, as recommended by the independent pay review body process. This meant a newly qualified nurse received a 5.5% increase, and those on the lowest salaries received a pay rise of 9.3%.

For 2023 to 2024, the government has given Agenda for Change staff a 5% consolidated increase in pay, worth at least £1,065.

The deal will also provide a higher pay uplift for the lowest paid NHS staff, with all those in bands 1 and 2 having their pay raised to the same level.

The pay increase was reached following constructive talks with unions and organisations including UNISON, GMB, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the British Dietetic Association.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 1 June 2023.

Independent evaluation finds scheme helped improve wellbeing, relationships and life satisfaction of children affected by parental alcohol use and conflict.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 31 May 2023.

Government takes steps to crack down on rogue firms targeting children with free samples.

• Increased education and dedicated school police liaison officers to keep illegal vapes out of schools
• Rules around sale of nicotine-free vapes and fines for shops selling illicit vapes to be reviewed

A loophole that allows the vaping industry to give free samples of vapes to children in England is set to be closed under new plans announced by the Prime Minister today to clamp down on youth vaping.

This comes as recent NHS figures for 2021 showed that 9% of 11 to 15 year old children used e-cigarettes, up from 6% in 2018.

Selling vapes to under 18s is illegal, however it is clear from this recent rise in teenage usage of vapes and the recent surge in the use and promotion of cheap, colourful products that businesses are targeting children, which has prompted today’s action to crack down on this.

The government has also announced today that there will be a review into banning the vaping industry selling ‘nicotine-free’ vapes to under 18s. This will ensure our rules keep up with the way that vaping products are being used.

The news comes as the Prime Minister and Chief Medical Officer visited Kent Scientific Services in West Malling where e-cigarettes can be analysed for their content, to ensure manufacturers are complying with government regulations.

Manufacturers must notify the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before vape products are placed on the market, including disposables. The MHRA has recently taken steps to improve their notification processes and crack down on non-compliant vapes.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

I am deeply concerned about the sharp rise in kids vaping and shocked by reports of illicit vapes containing lead getting into the hands of school children.

Our new illicit vape enforcement squad – backed by £3 million – is on the case, but clearly there is more to do. That is why I am taking further action today to clamp down on rogue firms who unlawfully target our children with these products.

The marketing and the illegal sales of vapes to children is completely unacceptable and I will do everything in my power to end this practice for good.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said:

While vaping can be an effective quitting tool for smokers, it is important that non-smokers are not encouraged to start vaping. There has been a particularly worrying rise in the number of children using vapes, with companies clearly marketing these products at children using colours, flavours and cheap disposable options.

Closing the loophole that allows companies to give out free samples of vaping products to under 18s is a very welcome step in tackling some of the harms caused by the vaping industry.

We should continue to encourage smokers to swap to vaping as the lesser risk, while preventing the marketing and sale of vapes to children.

There will also be a review into the rules on issuing fines to shops selling vapes to under 18s illegally to allow local Trading Standards to issue on-the-spot fines and fixed penalty notices more easily. This will aim to complement existing fine and penalty procedures, and where possible cover both illegal and underage sales for vapes and tobacco. Where gaps are identified, we will take action to close them.

Health Minister Neil O’Brien said:

The shameful marketing of vaping products to children is leading to growing numbers trying e-cigarettes. Today we are therefore ramping up our efforts to stop kids getting hooked on vaping, including taking steps to crack down on companies handing out free vape samples to under 18s and adding lessons on the health risks of vaping within the curriculum for the first time.

We will also review the rules on issuing on-the-spot fines to shops that break the law by selling vapes to underage children, and look into banning the sale of nicotine-free vapes to under 18s – which we know can be a gateway to using nicotine products. Alongside this our new specialised ‘illicit vapes enforcement squad’ will also clamp down on online shops selling illicit vapes to under 18s.

This builds on action announced last month to protect our children’s health and tackle underage vaping, while exploiting the potential of vaping to help adult smokers quit.

Gillian Golden, CEO of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), said:

Selling products to under 18s has been illegal for some years now, as have proxy sales. Those who ignore the law bring reputable retailers who uphold strict age verification protocols into disrepute. We welcome the planned review on bringing nicotine-free products under existing rules and we look forward to continuing to support enforcement agencies in tackling illicit trade and illegal products.

The loophole allowing free samples to be distributed regardless of consumer age is a gap that no self-respecting business should ever have considered exploiting. The IBVTA applauds the announcement that such activity will soon be illegal.

While it’s concerning that access to vapes by young people is on the increase, it’s encouraging to see the government’s continued recognition of the important role that vaping plays in driving down adult smoking rates.

In a recent Action on Smoking and Health Smokefree GB Youth Survey 2023 of 11 to 17 year olds, 2 out of 5 young people said they smoke vapes “just to give it a try” and about 1 in 5 because “other people use them so I join in”.

That is why action will also be taken in schools, making sure that dedicated police school liaison officers across the country are using new resources to keep illegal vapes out of schools.

The health risks of vaping will be also included in Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) lessons, as part of the government’s ongoing review of RSHE, in order to further discourage children from taking up vaping.

Today’s new plans follow the announcement last month of £3 million of funding which has been provided to create a specialised ‘illicit vapes enforcement squad’ to implement the rules on vaping and tackle illicit vapes and underage sales. The squad – which will work with enforcement agencies and learn from the government’s work with Trading Standards on illicit tobacco – will also tackle online shops selling illicit vapes to under 18s.

A call for evidence on youth vaping launched last month will build on today’s action by looking at evidence into the appeal of vapes as well as the marketing and promotion of vapes, including on social media, to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products – and explore where government can go further. This will remain open for submissions until 6 June 2023.

Today’s measures for schools will build on new content published in October 2022 on the potential risks of vaping for young people on the FRANK and Better Health websites and we have provided input to educational resources produced by partners including the PSHE Association.

Our Office for Health Improvement foundand Disparities is also developing a new resource pack for schools on vaping, intended for children aged 11 to 13. The educational resource for young people will inform them about the addictiveness of nicotine and the evidence that young people’s developing brains may be more sensitive to its effects. It will also inform them about other potential health risks, while making clear the distinction between these risks and the known serious health harm associated with smoking tobacco. This will be made available via the Better Health School Zone website by July.

Schools can also access a Year 9 PSHE lesson on the consequences of vaping via the PSHE Association website.

While the rise in illegal youth vaping is a cause for concern, many addicted smokers have found using vapes helpful as a quitting tool. In April, we also launched announced a world-first national scheme, meaning almost 1 in 5 of all smokers in England will be offered a vape starter kit alongside behavioural support to help them quit the habit as part of a series of new measures to help the government meet its ambition of being smoke free by 2030 – reducing smoking rates from 13% to 5% or less.