Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the cross-government delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome will ensure collaborative work with patient advocates, philanthropy and industry partners to leverage additional funding for biomedical research.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to better care and support for people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists and researchers, representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the devolved administrations, ME/CFS charities, and organisations and patients with lived experience of ME/CFS.
We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, with three broad themes of boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of those living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish the final delivery plan by the end of March 2025.
Research is an important pillar of the delivery plan for ME/CFS. Future planned action to support research in this area will take a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, recognising the value of patient and public representatives in particular.
The Department funds research on ME/CFS through the NIHR and the MRC. The NIHR and the MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring the next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, through for example research fellowships, and, in the case of the NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. The NIHR welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners, including patient representative groups and industry, to stimulate further research in this area.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the cross-government delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome will reflect their commitment to embracing the opportunities of digitalisation for NHS services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to better care and support for people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists and researchers, representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the devolved administrations, ME/CFS charities, and organisations and patients with lived experience of ME/CFS.
We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, with three broad themes of boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of those living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish the final delivery plan by the end of March 2025.
Research is an important pillar of the delivery plan for ME/CFS. Future planned action to support research in this area will take a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, recognising the value of patient and public representatives in particular.
The Department funds research on ME/CFS through the NIHR and the MRC. The NIHR and the MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring the next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, through for example research fellowships, and, in the case of the NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. The NIHR welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners, including patient representative groups and industry, to stimulate further research in this area.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to data released by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities on 3 December showing that alcohol-specific deaths in England in 2023 rose to their highest level for the fourth year in a row, what plans they have to produce a new national alcohol strategy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that alcohol deaths are now at record high levels. Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS Trusts have the necessary funding and trained staff to deliver minimally invasive cancer therapies.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number and availability of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and the integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the NICE.
Where treatments are approved by the NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the NHS is required to fund and make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation.
We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time. The Government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it, including cancer patients.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to secure funding for and expand access to minimally invasive cancer therapies approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence across NHS Trusts.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Both NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Where treatments are approved by NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the National Health Service is required to fund and make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation. Service Development Funding (SDF) is available to support Cancer Alliances to deliver the priorities set out in the 2024/25 NHS Operational Planning Guidance; £266 million in SDF is being provided to Cancer Alliances in 2024/25. Funding comprises two allocations: place-based, provided to all Alliances on a fair shares basis; and, targeted, provided to a selection of Alliances for agreed targeted projects. Cancer SDF is provided to Cancer Alliances via their lead ICBs to enable them to deliver on NHS-wide priorities for cancer, in line with their local delivery plans which are included in their funding agreement.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have of unrelieved symptom distress in patients when care assistants are prohibited from administering prescribed medication at home; and how many errors have been recorded when care assistants have administered prescribed breakthrough medication in the patient's home.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Good practice for homecare is set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which can be found on the NICE’s website, in an online only format.
Services need to submit statutory notifications to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when a medicines incident reaches a specific threshold. This includes an allegation of abuse, the death of a person, an incident reported to or investigated by the police, or a serious injury.
Data on anything that does not constitute the CQC threshold is not held by the CQC, but may be held by individual providers as a recorded incident.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to meet their 2020 commitment to a consultation on alcohol calorie labelling.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has previously announced an intention to consult on whether to introduce mandatory calorie labelling on alcohol. We are currently considering the evidence base, and have commissioned a National Institute for Health and Care Research study on understanding the impact of alcohol calorie labelling on alcohol and calorie selection, purchasing, and consumption.
The Government is taking a wide-ranging approach to addressing alcohol-related harms. As part of the NHS Health Check, information on alcohol consumption is provided to support people to make healthier choices. The Department continues to promote the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines in England through online platforms. This provides the public with the most up-to-date scientific information, to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking, including the health harms of alcohol consumption.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of new data from the Office for National Statistics showing that alcohol-specific deaths are now 32.8 per cent higher than in 2019 and at an all-time high; and what steps they plan to take to tackle rising alcohol harm.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps all official health data related to alcohol consumption and alcohol related harms under regular review. The 2021 Public Health England publication, Monitoring alcohol consumption and harm during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that increases in alcohol consumption since the beginning of the pandemic tended to be among people who were already heavy drinkers before this period, which may be a factor in the increase.
The most effective way to prevent alcohol specific deaths, is drinking within the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines, namely under 14 units per week. The Government is supporting people who drink above low-risk levels to reduce their alcohol consumption. As part of the NHS Health Check, questions are asked about alcohol consumption, and appropriate advice given to support people to make healthier choices. Those identified to be drinking at higher-risk levels are referred for liver investigation. The Department is also supporting people with alcohol dependency through the Drug Strategy and NHS Long Term Plan, by facilitating more people in need of treatment into local authority commissioned alcohol treatment services.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the proposed amendments to the Part IX of the Drug Tariff, including any impact assessments on the future provision of medical technologies in the UK; how these proposals meet the ambitions of the Life Sciences Vision; and what steps they are taking to ensure that there is sufficient patient choice following the outcome of the consultation.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation response on the proposed amendments to Part IX and the final impact assessment is expected to be released in May 2024, and will outline the Government’s response.
The Department believes that it is currently difficult to identify which devices are broadly comparable, and whether more expensive devices provide added value. The proposed amendments that were consulted on intend to increase meaningful choice, not to decrease choice for clinicians and patients. Comparison between products can increase awareness of different brands amongst prescribers.
These proposals support the Life Sciences Vision, and are designed to increase innovation and alignment between partners in the health and care system. The enhanced assessment process will allow comparison between products based on their merits, increasing transparency and competition, and encouraging new products and small and medium sized businesses to enter the market. The proposed introduction of environmental attributes in social value scoring increases the vision to help the National Health Service meet Net Zero.
The Department is aware that there are some very good devices in use, relied upon by clinicians and patients. Part IX will remain a list of devices available to be prescribed in the community via the FP10 prescription route. Any amendments that are taken forward will happen gradually, with review points and engagement with stakeholders, including industry, patient representatives, clinicians, and NHS organisations. The Department will share a timeline of proposed changes taken forward, in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to formally engage with the wider health sector and industry partners on the next stages in the development of proposed changes to Part IX of the Drug Tariff, following the conclusion of the consultation on these proposals.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation response on the proposed amendments to Part IX and the final impact assessment is expected to be released in May 2024, and will outline the Government’s response.
The Department believes that it is currently difficult to identify which devices are broadly comparable, and whether more expensive devices provide added value. The proposed amendments that were consulted on intend to increase meaningful choice, not to decrease choice for clinicians and patients. Comparison between products can increase awareness of different brands amongst prescribers.
These proposals support the Life Sciences Vision, and are designed to increase innovation and alignment between partners in the health and care system. The enhanced assessment process will allow comparison between products based on their merits, increasing transparency and competition, and encouraging new products and small and medium sized businesses to enter the market. The proposed introduction of environmental attributes in social value scoring increases the vision to help the National Health Service meet Net Zero.
The Department is aware that there are some very good devices in use, relied upon by clinicians and patients. Part IX will remain a list of devices available to be prescribed in the community via the FP10 prescription route. Any amendments that are taken forward will happen gradually, with review points and engagement with stakeholders, including industry, patient representatives, clinicians, and NHS organisations. The Department will share a timeline of proposed changes taken forward, in due course.