21 APPG memberships (as of 6 Oct 2021)
Acquired Brain Injury, Alcohol Harm, Allergy, Australia and New Zealand, Bladder and Bowel Continence Care, Cancer, Carbon Monoxide, Child Contact Centres and Services, Commonwealth, Commonwealth Games, Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis, Coronavirus, Dementia, Dying Well, Health, Hospice and End of Life Care, Medical Research, Music Education, Parkinson's, Recovery from Addictions, Smoking and Health13 Former APPG memberships
Air Ambulances, Breast Cancer, Complex Needs, Continence Care, Cyber Security, Hospice and Palliative Care, Japan, Multiple Sclerosis, Obesity, Patient Safety, Skin, Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention, Treatment of Addictionvoted Aye
One of 21 Crossbench Aye votes vs 3 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 180 Noes - 130
My Lords, I declare all my roles in the register. My experience extends to caring for several thousand dying patients. …
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the use of Ronapreve has been restricted only to people who are currently hospitalised …
A bill to make provision for NHS service commissioners to ensure that persons for whom they have responsibility for commissioning …
Division Voting information
Debates during the 2019 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
(87 debate interactions)
(16 debate interactions)
(14 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(87 debate contributions)
(57 debate contributions)
(46 debate contributions)
(38 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(5,041 words contributed)
(3,446 words contributed)
(3,387 words contributed)
(3,357 words contributed)
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
3 Bills introduced by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff
A Bill to make provision for equitable access to palliative care services; for advancing education, training and research in palliative care; and for connected purposes
Tuesday 23rd February 2016
A bill to make provision for NHS service commissioners to ensure that persons for whom they have responsibility for commissioning physical and mental health services have access to specialist and generalist palliative care and support services; to enable hospices to access pharmaceutical services on the same basis as other services commissioned by a clinical commissioning group; and to make provision for treatment of children with a life-limiting illness
A Bill to make provision for equitable access to palliative care services; for advancing education, training and research in palliative care; and for connected purposes.
Thursday 9th June 2016
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
57 Written Questions in the current parliament
(View all written questions)1 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's BEIS questions)We are aware of the enormous pressures that the pandemic has had on researchers and doctoral student’s ability to conduct their research. The Government has made available £280 million of funding to sustain UKRI and National Academy grant-funded research and fellowships affected by COVID-19 through costed grant extensions and other measures.
UKRI has made over £62 million of financial support available to students most impacted by the pandemic. It is estimated that this funding is available for up to 12,000 students. This will go some way in ensuring students at the beginning of their academic career will obtain their doctorates in good time and stead.
Most research environments have now adapted to the pandemic, adjusting data-collection plans for their projects, and also operating in a covid-safe way for staff on site. We understand some researchers have been disrupted more than others, and we expect institutions and funders to work with them on a case-by-case basis.
We will continue to monitor the impacts of COVID-19 and UKRI continues to listen and respond carefully as the situation evolves.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
2 Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's DCMS questions)Gambling advertising and sponsorship, including around sport, must be socially responsible and must not be targeted at children. The government assessed the evidence on advertising in its Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, the full response to which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures.
Since then, in March this year, the charity GambleAware has published the final report of a major piece of research into the effect of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable people. That study found that exposure to advertising was associated with an openness to gamble in the future amongst children and young people aged 11-24 who did not currently gamble. It also found that there were other factors that correlated more closely with current gambling behaviour amongst those groups, including peer and parental gambling. It did not suggest a causal link between any of these and problem gambling in later life.
The government takes concerns raised about loot boxes in video games very seriously. On 23 September 2020 we launched an 8 week call for evidence which includes a focus on whether loot boxes cause harm and, if so, the nature of the harm. This will put us on the best footing to take any action that is necessary. We expect to publish a Government response to the call for evidence early next year.
Ministers and officials regularly engage with stakeholders on a wide range of issues. Ministers have not recently received representations from either the gambling or the sports sectors about gambling advertising or sponsorship of professional sports teams. The House of Lords Select Committee on the Economic and Social Impact of the Gambling Industry and Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group have made recommendations to Ministers in both these areas.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Gambling advertising and sponsorship, including around sport, must be socially responsible and must not be targeted at children. The government assessed the evidence on advertising in its Review of Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, the full response to which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-proposals-for-changes-to-gaming-machines-and-social-responsibility-measures.
Since then, in March this year, the charity GambleAware has published the final report of a major piece of research into the effect of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable people. That study found that exposure to advertising was associated with an openness to gamble in the future amongst children and young people aged 11-24 who did not currently gamble. It also found that there were other factors that correlated more closely with current gambling behaviour amongst those groups, including peer and parental gambling. It did not suggest a causal link between any of these and problem gambling in later life.
The government takes concerns raised about loot boxes in video games very seriously. On 23 September 2020 we launched an 8 week call for evidence which includes a focus on whether loot boxes cause harm and, if so, the nature of the harm. This will put us on the best footing to take any action that is necessary. We expect to publish a Government response to the call for evidence early next year.
Ministers and officials regularly engage with stakeholders on a wide range of issues. Ministers have not recently received representations from either the gambling or the sports sectors about gambling advertising or sponsorship of professional sports teams. The House of Lords Select Committee on the Economic and Social Impact of the Gambling Industry and Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group have made recommendations to Ministers in both these areas.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities have regular meetings with Welsh ministers, and ministers from all the devolved administrations, about higher education issues. These discussions have included the development of student number controls policy. The department’s officials also have regular meetings and discussions with their counterparts.
Student number controls are a direct response to the COVID-19 outbreak. They are designed to minimise the impact to the financial threat posed by COVID-19 and they form a key part of the package of measures to stabilise the university admissions system.
These controls are a temporary measure and will be in place for one academic year only. Student number controls for institutions in the devolved administrations only apply to the number of English-domiciled entrants who will be supported with their tuition fees through the Student Loans Company. They are set at a level which will allow every institution to take more first year English students than they took last year. The funding of English-domiciled students is not a devolved matter and it is right and fair that this policy should apply as consistently as possible wherever they are studying in the UK.
Ministers will continue to work closely with the devolved administrations on strengthening and stabilising the higher education system following the COVID-19 outbreak.
No representations have been made to Her Majesty’s Government in relation to the proposal by the Office for Students (OfS) to make savings to teaching grant funding, including for some pre-registration clinical courses.
The OfS consulted on their proposals, which include a proposal to make additional budget provision for providers in a small number of high-cost and high-priority areas, to reflect additional students on pre-registration courses in medicine, nursing, midwifery and allied health professions. Providers and other interested parties have therefore had an opportunity to make representations. The OfS will conclude the consultation in due course.
No representations have been made to Her Majesty’s Government in relation to the proposal by the Office for Students (OfS) to make savings to teaching grant funding, including for some pre-registration clinical courses.
The OfS consulted on their proposals, which include a proposal to make additional budget provision for providers in a small number of high-cost and high-priority areas, to reflect additional students on pre-registration courses in medicine, nursing, midwifery and allied health professions. Providers and other interested parties have therefore had an opportunity to make representations. The OfS will conclude the consultation in due course.
Workplace health and safety law requires employers to ensure an adequate supply of fresh air in the workplace and this has not changed during the pandemic. It is not the health and safety regulator’s role to identify the benefits of the procurement and deployment of any specific equipment. This should be considered as part of the risk assessment carried out for the workplace. To assist with these assessments, the Health and Safety Executive have issued guidance on ventilation during the pandemic at:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
43 Department of Health and Social Care Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's DHSC questions)The current supply of Ronapreve is limited globally and the clinical policy prioritises the most vulnerable patients for whom this treatment will have the largest beneficial impact. The use of Ronapreve is being monitored and the interim clinical policy will be updated if supported by the latest evidence.
The number of patients treated by Ronapreve will depend on the infection rate over the next year; the degree of vaccine protection; the availability of Ronapreve and other products; and on National Health Service clinical policy. To date, the evidence has most strongly supported treatment indications, but the evidence on prophylactic use will continue to be actively reviewed.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The forthcoming Spending Review will set out the Government’s spending plans for health and social care for future years. On 6 September, we announced an additional £5.4 billion to support the COVID-19 response over the next six months - a total of more than £34 billion this year. This includes £2 billion to tackle the elective backlog and reducing waiting times for patients, including disabled children.
We are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health and care services for disabled children, including access to therapies and equipment. In 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement made clear that the restoration of essential community services must be prioritised for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities aged up to 25 years old and who have an Education Health and Care Plan in place or are going through an assessment. We are supporting access to appropriate disability equipment via the NHS Supply Chain, which maintains a framework contract for the supply of rehabilitation and disabled services equipment, such as paediatric wheelchairs.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) National report on dermatology was completed in 2020 but has not yet been published, therefore we have not made this assessment. The report will be published later this year, once NHS England and NHS Improvement have reviewed the recommendations.
We have made no proposals in our public health reforms to make changes to the role of local environmental health professionals.
A system for deemed consent, known as ‘opt-out’, was introduced in England from May 2020, to make deceased organ donation the default position. NHS Blood and Transplant and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked together to implement the new United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy. NHS Blood and Transplant has launched communication campaigns and partnerships to address barriers, such as the ‘Leave Them Certain’ campaign and the Community Investment Scheme and promotes organ donation at events such as Organ Donation Week and the Transplant Games.
In addition, NHS Blood and Transplant has introduced prompts for organ donation when applying for a driving licence or taxing a car. Teaching resources have been provided in all state-funded secondary schools for blood, organ and stem cell donation.
The Northern Ireland Protocol has resulted in the European Union Medical Device Regulation (MDR) (2017/745) and the EU In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) (2017/746) taking direct effect in Northern Ireland on 26 May 2020 and 26 May 2022 respectively. In its guidance on the application of EU MDR and EU IVDR in Northern Ireland, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has included the definition of a ‘health institution’ as determined by the EU.
The UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (as amended) does not define ‘health institution’. As a result, the MHRA has provided its own interpretation, which was set out in MHRA guidance on in vitro diagnostic medical devices when it was first published in August 2013. The MHRA continues to rely on this interpretation of the definition for Great Britain and this has not been altered in subsequent updates. However, this issue will be considered during the review of medical devices regulation taking place later this year.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering a 12 hour measure in emergency departments as part of its clinically-led review of standards and have undertaken a public consultation. They will respond in due course. All emergency departments are collecting data.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering a 12 hour measure in emergency departments as part of its clinically-led review of standards and have undertaken a public consultation. They will respond in due course. All emergency departments are collecting data.
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s planning guidance 2021/22 priorities and operational planning guidance published on 25 March 2021 includes guidance to progress the work already underway through the same day emergency care (SDEC) programmes. This guidance includes that systems should:
- maximise the utilisation of direct referral from NHS 111 to other hospital services including SDEC and specialty hot clinics and implement referral pathways from NHS 111 to urgent community and mental health services; and
- adopt a consistent, expanded, model of SDEC provision, including associated acute frailty services, within all providers with a type 1 emergency department to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.
A copy of the planning guidance is attached.
We will continue to support the National Health Service in taking action to help reduce pressures on hospital bed capacity and increase patient flow through the emergency care pathway. This includes action within community services to help avoid unnecessary emergency admissions and the enhanced patient discharge arrangements which the NHS estimates has reduced long lengths of stay, increasing capacity to the equivalent of over 6,000 beds.
The NHS People Plan is a shared programme of work to increase the workforce, support new ways of working and develop a compassionate and inclusive workplace culture in order to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England (HEE) and with systems and employers to determine our workforce and people priorities beyond April 2021 to support the recovery of National Health Service staff and services.
HEE has also worked proactively with system partners to address service pressures in emergency department teams. We have almost doubled the number of core trainees and consultants in emergency medicine since 2010. HEE will continue to work with service providers, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and NHS England to understand and discuss the recommendations in this latest Royal College of Emergency Medicine briefing.
The current National Health Service infection prevention control principles are applicable to all healthcare staff in all healthcare settings.
These set out safe systems of working including administrative, environmental and engineering controls and interventions to reduce the risk of transmission of infection. This includes cleaning and decontamination of the environment and shared equipment, social/physical distancing, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment and ventilation.
We do not currently publish specific figures for domiciliary carers or hospice staff who provide care at home.
Throughout the pandemic, the safety of all staff, patients and visitors has been a priority for the National Health Service.
It is for individual hospital trusts to carry out continual risk assessments of their premises and to put appropriate measures in place such as distancing, sanitising stations and the use of face coverings and other protective equipment to help minimise the spread of the COVID-19 virus, in line with nationally published guidance. This includes busy areas like accident and emergency departments, corridors and patient areas such wards and clinics.
Throughout the pandemic, the safety of all staff, patients and visitors has been a priority for the National Health Service.
It is for individual hospital trusts to carry out continual risk assessments of their premises and to put appropriate measures in place such as distancing, sanitising stations and the use of face coverings and other protective equipment to help minimise the spread of the COVID-19 virus, in line with nationally published guidance. This includes busy areas like accident and emergency departments, corridors and patient areas such wards and clinics.
Public Health England’s Health Protection Teams (HPTs) undertake tier 1 contact tracing and have a key role in investigating workplace outbreaks; this includes in the funeral services industry.
In line with other essential services, COVID-19 cases working in the funeral sector are not automatically escalated to HPTs. If contact tracing results in staffing levels, due to high numbers of staff being asked to self-isolate, that jeopardise the continued functioning of their essential service then the employers are advised to discuss with the local HPT who can review the risk assessment in this light
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who provide advice to Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use, and which groups to prioritise. Whilst there is a desire for the whole UK population to be vaccinated, there may need to be an element of prioritisation - based on availability, evidence on safety and efficacy in different population groups and constraints in supply.
The committee – in their interim advice - have advised that for Phase 1, the vaccine first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors in the initial phase. We will consider the Committee’s advice carefully as further data emerges in preparation for Phase 2 including for critical workers in other essential sectors. Our vaccination programmes are led by the latest scientific evidence and we expect the Committee’s advice to develop as more evidence is gathered.
It is for local authorities to decide where to introduce testing in their areas and which cohorts testing will cover, including funeral workers. In addition to local authorities, NHS Test and Trace will also work closely with other Government departments to increase workplace testing for medium and large organisations within their sectors.
Our priority is to ensure that patients continue to have access to the medical products they need, including medical radioisotopes. We continue to work closely with industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to deliver the shared goal of continuity of safe patient care by mitigating any potential disruption to supply into the United Kingdom of medical products at the end of the transition period
As set out in a letter from the Department to industry of 3 August, we are implementing a multi-layered approach, that involves asking suppliers of medicines and medical products, including medical radioisotopes to the UK from or via the European Union to get trader ready, reroute their supply chains away from any potential disruption and stockpiling to a target level of six weeks on UK soil where this is possible.
We understand that a flexible approach to preparedness may be required for medicines that cannot be stockpiled, such as some medical radioisotopes. We have asked suppliers of those products to use airfreight, which some suppliers are already doing now.
The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, is working with trade bodies, product suppliers, and the health and care system to make detailed plans to help ensure continued supply of medicines, medical products and equipment to the whole of the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period.
The Government is committed to improving the safety of cosmetic procedures through better training for practitioners and clear information so that people can make informed decisions about their care.
Neither the Department nor its arm’s length bodies hold or collect data on non-surgical aesthetic treatments. Officials continue to work with stakeholders to explore the options for enhanced data collection and reporting mechanisms in this area. This could include the prevalence of cosmetic procedures, adverse reactions to procedures, and the incidence of consumers seeking treatment through NHS services for health complications following private cosmetic procedures.
The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 gives local authorities powers to regulate the hygiene and cleanliness of the practice of businesses providing special treatments. Local authorities also have general enforcement powers under health and safety at work legislation if they judge that there is a risk to customers’ health and safety.
Providers of aesthetic services should ensure they have taken the necessary steps to become COVID-19 secure in line with health and safety legislation and Government guidance on close contact services and working in other people’s homes. Where applicable, practitioners should also take into account any guidance issued by the healthcare regulators or a relevant professional body.
£150 million capital funding has just been awarded to expand and upgrade 25 more accident and emergency departments (A&Es), to reduce overcrowding and improve infection control ahead of winter. This is on top of the £300 million we announced recently, to upgrade A&Es across 117 trusts, bringing total funding to £450 million. This funding will expand waiting areas and increase the number of treatment cubicles, helping boost A&E capacity by providing additional space and reducing overcrowding.
In addition to this, the Prime Minister has announced £3 billion of extra National Health Service funding, which includes plans to maintain the use of the Nightingale hospitals, continue access to independent hospitals capacity and improve hospital discharge arrangements.
Plans are also in place for a significantly expanded influenza vaccination programme and the introduction of the NHS 111 First model which both should help prevent visits to A&E. Overall, these measures will help increase capacity in the NHS and prevent overcrowding.
The NHS Test and Trace app which is currently being trialled will require smartphones to be running Apple iOS 13.5 and above or Android Marshmallow 6.0 and above. Estimates show that 82% of Apple smartphones and 91% of Android smartphones in the United Kingdom run or are capable of running these versions.
The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) is a value between 0 and 1 which allows for a comparative analysis of different classification systems. In the context of a contact tracing app, it is the probability that the app is able to correctly discriminate between risky and non-risky encounters where an encounter is classed as being with a user that has tested positive for COVID-19.
AUC values are based on modelling assumptions and, due to practical experimental limitations, are subject to uncertainty. A value of greater than 0.8 is generally considered by the scientific community to be ‘good or excellent’.
The new NHS Test and Trace app is estimated to have an AUC which improves on that achieved for the original NHSX COVID-19 contact tracing app and, with the implementation of further enhancements to the risk calculation and the underlying technology provided by Google and Apple, will have an AUC that would be considered good or excellent.
Rigorous testing has been undertaken through the development of the app, including the Isle of Wight pilot and multiple field tests.
We continue to work with and learn from international partners across the world, especially countries which have launched apps using the Apple and Google Exposure Notification framework that Trinity College Dublin tested. We continue to collaborate closely with Apple and Google on refining their application programming interface.
The Government does not routinely publish details on the formulation and development of policy, which includes dates and minutes of meetings held.
We have prioritised security and privacy in all stages of the app’s development starting with the initial design and continuing throughout its implementation and testing. We have been working with experts from the National Cyber Security Centre, our independent Ethics Advisory Board, and security researchers and ethicists from industry.
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library
Medical staff continue to put themselves at risk every day to care for those affected by the virus. The Government has been clear that those on the frontline will get all the support they need. We will continue to give the National Health Service everything it needs to tackle this outbreak and have central stockpiles of a range of medical products to help ensure the supply to the NHS and care sector.
We continue to work closely with our industry partners, the health and care system and others in the supply chain to ensure these medical products are delivered to the frontline, maintaining confidence and helping minimise any risks to patients and staff.
The Government is acutely aware of the pressures that COVID-19 is exerting on the health and social care sector and will provide an update on the Liberty Protection Safeguards implementation timetable shortly. In the meantime, we are not asking the health and care sector to prioritise implementation work in light of the pandemic.
The Department does not have a remit for the oversight of gas services or domestic carbon monoxide alarms.
NHS England and NHS Improvement issued guidance to maternity services to pause carbon monoxide testing of pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic.
NHS 111, through the NHS Pathways system, uses information and symptoms given by the patient to assess what care they need. NHS Pathways does not diagnose but will recommend further action, including referrals, based upon their assessment. If anyone (including pregnant women) presents with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, they would be assessed using the appropriate algorithm based on their symptoms.
COVID-19 has affected every part of local health and care systems. To respond to the challenge, National Health Service organisations, local councils and others are working across traditional organisational and team boundaries.
The NHS is investigating ways to ‘lock in’ beneficial changes to patient care and experience which have been introduced during the COVID-19 outbreak. These include backing local initiative and flexibility; enhanced local system working; strong clinical leadership; flexible and remote working where appropriate; and rapid scaling of new technology-enabled service delivery options such as a digital-consultations.
Similarly, a full programme of NHS-led work, through Integrated Care Systems and sustainability and transformation partnerships, will aim to join up services and foster multidisciplinary team working, to make perioperative care more responsive and convenient for patients across the full pathway; before, during and after surgery.
We do not hold information on the number of National Health Service staff who have tested negative for COVID-19 and returned to work as a result of a negative test. If a member of staff tests negative, then they can return to work if they are well enough to do so and should discuss this with their employing organisation.
Essential and urgent cancer treatments are continuing. The NHS is adapting how it runs its cancer services to ensure the safety of both patients and staff – this includes establishing dedicated cancer hubs for urgent treatment and diagnosis.
As part of our concerted national efforts to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are doing everything we can to ensure patients continue to access safe and effective medicines. We are aware there is an increase in demand for a number of intensive care drugs including anaesthetic drugs and we are working with the pharmaceutical industry to make additional supplies available. We are also being ably supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement to ensure all supplies available are managed equitably across the United Kingdom.
In hospitals, schemes already exist to re-use medicines supplied and maintained under the control of the hospital. Those medicines are under the supervision of health care professionals, such that they can safely be re-supplied against the prescription or direction of an authorised prescriber for another patient where they are no longer needed for the original patient.
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for managing medicines in care homes recommends that care home providers must ensure that medicines prescribed for a resident are not used by another resident.
The quality, integrity and safety of medicines are paramount and the best way to assure this is for pharmacies to supply medicines obtained through the regulated supply chain, appropriately labelled for individual patients to be used only by those patients.
However, in the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, consideration is being given by the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement for the use of unwanted medicines in certain specified circumstances, for example, end of life care. It is currently not envisaged that legislative changes will be required to support such a change in practice.
In hospitals, schemes already exist to re-use medicines supplied and maintained under the control of the hospital. Those medicines are under the supervision of health care professionals, such that they can safely be re-supplied against the prescription or direction of an authorised prescriber for another patient where they are no longer needed for the original patient.
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for managing medicines in care homes recommends that care home providers must ensure that medicines prescribed for a resident are not used by another resident.
The quality, integrity and safety of medicines are paramount and the best way to assure this is for pharmacies to supply medicines obtained through the regulated supply chain, appropriately labelled for individual patients to be used only by those patients.
However, in the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, consideration is being given by the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement for the use of unwanted medicines in certain specified circumstances, for example, end of life care. It is currently not envisaged that legislative changes will be required to support such a change in practice.
In hospitals, schemes already exist to re-use medicines supplied and maintained under the control of the hospital. Those medicines are under the supervision of health care professionals, such that they can safely be re-supplied against the prescription or direction of an authorised prescriber for another patient where they are no longer needed for the original patient.
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for managing medicines in care homes recommends that care home providers must ensure that medicines prescribed for a resident are not used by another resident.
The quality, integrity and safety of medicines are paramount and the best way to assure this is for pharmacies to supply medicines obtained through the regulated supply chain, appropriately labelled for individual patients to be used only by those patients.
However, in the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, consideration is being given by the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement for the use of unwanted medicines in certain specified circumstances, for example, end of life care. It is currently not envisaged that legislative changes will be required to support such a change in practice.
The local employing organisation will decide if refugee doctors who are not registered with the General Medical Council are able to work in the National Health Service. All providers of Care Quality Commission-regulated activity have a duty to ensure that their staff have the skills, knowledge and experience for the work undertaken.
A temporary Medical Support Worker job description has been developed in collaboration with the Chief Medical Officer’s office, designed for doctors who are not registered with the General Medical Council. The NHS Job Evaluation Scheme, which helps to ensure staff receive equal pay for work of equal value, has evaluated this job as band 6, meaning a basic salary of £31,365 to £37,890. Enhancements may also be paid for working unsocial hours.
Indemnity for individuals employed or engaged to work for an NHS trust will be covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts and if they are engaged by a general practitioner (GP) practice providing NHS GP services, they will be covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice. To ensure there are no gaps in indemnity coverage for NHS staff, the Coronavirus Act 2020 provides additional powers to provide clinical negligence indemnity for NHS activities related to the COVID-19 outbreak, where there is no other indemnity arrangement in place. Information about death in service compensation is yet to be confirmed.
The General Medical Council (GMC) does not hold information on the total number of refugees or former refugees that are on the medical register.
The following figures are based on doctors who declared their refugee status to the GMC.
2017 | 23 |
2018 | 30 |
2019 | 48 |
1 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's FCDO questions)We are deeply concerned by the appalling violence inflicted on the people of Myanmar by the Security Forces, and the arbitrary detention of civilians, including healthcare workers. With our G7 partners on 5 May, we called on the military junta to respect the safety of medical facilities and staff and to release all those arbitrarily detained.
Myanmar nationals who are currently in the UK can access the UK's strong immigration package according to their personal circumstances. Where there are compelling compassionate factors, individuals can apply for Leave Outside the Immigration Rules. While asylum claims cannot be made from abroad, all asylum claims made in the UK are considered on a case-by-case basis on their individual merits.
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The CJRS has been available in Wales throughout the pandemic. Eligible employers in Wales would have been able to furlough their employees in October and furloughed employees will have received at least 80% of their wages. The CJRS, which was recently extended to the end of March 2021, has always been available UK-wide and all changes to the scheme apply UK-wide, as they have done throughout the pandemic.
To further support the whole UK, the Chancellor recently announced an increase of £2 billion to the upfront guaranteed funding for the devolved administrations. For Wales, this means an increase to £5 billion of support on top of their Spring Budget funding.
Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The Home Office does not collate this data in an accessible way or publish the information requested.
Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not record the number of those that have been granted asylum in the UK over the past three years that are known to be qualified
Doctors.
The Home Office publishes a range of data on asylum seekers and refugees in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of asylum grants for the last three years is within the table below and can be found in table ASY_02a of the published Immigration statistics
www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2019/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Total grants | 6,779 | 6,931 | 10,804 |
Asylum | 5,957 | 5,557 | 9,404 |
Humanitarian Protection | 146 | 582 | 642 |
Discretionary Leave | 84 | 104 | 71 |
UASC Leave | 417 | 344 | 181 |
Other Grants | 175 | 344 | 506 |
Minister of State (Home Office)
3 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's DLUHC questions)The Department convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group in December 2020 to help coordinate central government’s expectation of regulatory services teams in local government and propose short and long-term options to support the sector. The Group consists of senior officials from government departments and senior representatives from the Local Government Association and local authorities
The Group is now focussed on developing a suite of recommendations to address the immediate and systemic issues faced by regulatory services teams, which includes environmental health teams. These recommendations will address areas including the cross-government coordination of departments and the establishment of ongoing links with local authority experts.
Minister of State (Home Office)
As at June 2020 NAO reported that Homes England estimates that 274 homes bought under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were affected by ACM cladding, based on a comparison of Departmental building safety data and the Homes England Help to Buy loan accounts. Of these, 170 homes across 28 buildings have live loan accounts, with the remaining 104 homes having redeemed their loan.
The redemption value of all Help to Buy: Equity Loans is based on the current market value of the property. A RICS surveyor will assess the market value in accordance with terms set out in the loan agreement.
Homes England report that most of the buildings with live Help to Buy loans are well on the way to being fully remediated and therefore the progress made in building remediation means the consistent enforcement of the mortgage continues to be reasonable.
Minister of State (Home Office)
Government itself cannot impose fines but where building owners are failing to make acceptable progress in removing unsafe cladding then they should expect enforcement action by local authorities or Fire and Rescue Authorities. We have established a Joint Inspection Team to support local authorities in taking enforcement action where building owners are refusing to remediate high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding or are not making acceptable progress. Local authorities have a duty to take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004 if they find the most serious ‘category 1’ hazards on residential premises and failure to comply with this can result in a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court, which may result in a unlimited fine on conviction.
The Fire Safety Bill will also clarify that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the ‘Fire Safety Order’) applies to external wall systems and will put beyond doubt that Fire and Rescue Authorities can enforce against and where necessary, pursue prosecution if Responsible Persons or those otherwise responsible under the Fire Safety Order fail to take appropriate fire safety measures with regards to unsafe cladding in multi-occupied residential buildings. The highest financial penalty that can be imposed for non-compliance with the Fire Safety Order is an unlimited fine. It is for the Court to decide on a case-by-case basis what financial penalty should be allocated. Details of enforcement action taken or being taken by local authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities in regard to the buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding can be found on the Building Safety Programme Monthly Data Release which is available (attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding#acm-remediation-data .
Minister of State (Home Office)