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 enable (1) people with dementia to live independently, and (2) their families to care for them at home, for longer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026. The commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes, through practical changes like installing stair lifts or level access showers, to make them safe and suitable for their needs. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
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 many victims of contaminated blood in the UK were infected with hepatitis D in addition to hepatitis B; and how this has affected their prognosis.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The work undertaken so far to address the issues regarding contaminated blood in the United Kingdom has been related to the hepatitis C and HIV infections.
The Infected Blood Inquiry, in its Expert Report to the Infected Blood Inquiry: Statistics noted in relation to hepatitis B (HBV), that “due to the limitations in the data available, it is not possible to answer the questions set with any reasonable accuracy when compared to other infections we investigated. There was a lack of an integrated approach at the onset of donor screening in 1971/72 to identify donors who were infectious HBV carriers. Furthermore, people infected with HBV have never received financial support, and so funds are not a source of data.”
For these reasons, the Government has not made an assessment of the number of victims from contaminated blood that have been infected with HBV or hepatitis D in the United Kingdom, due to the lack of available data.
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 encourage earlier and more accurate diagnosis of dementia.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
Commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and funded by NHS England and the Welsh administration, the National Audit of Dementia Memory Service Spotlight reports include data on aspects of the diagnostic process, including waiting times and variation in service delivery in terms of diagnosis speed, neuroimaging use, and post-diagnostic support. The aim is to aid commissioners and providers in planning and targeting improvement where appropriate.
The Government is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, with further information available at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce the role of approved mental capacity professionals, and whether they plan to extend eligibility for this role to include speech and language therapists.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is currently reviewing options for the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards. The Liberty Protection Safeguards would include the introduction of approved mental capacity professionals. We will set out plans in due course, which will involve clarifying eligibility for this role.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their response to the consultation on the proposed changes to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice, and a revised timetable for the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is currently reviewing options for the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards. Introduction of the Liberty Protection Safeguards would include a revised Code of Practice. We will set out our plans 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 what steps they are taking to ensure that engagement with the alcohol industry by the Department for Health and Social Care is in line with the Principles for engaging with industry stakeholders.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
External engagement is a fundamental part of what United Kingdom ministerial Government departments do. We recognise the importance of promoting transparency through engagement and the need to take a balanced and proportionate approach. Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations, including engagement with the alcohol industry, are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of references to Year 1 Foundation Doctors in the impact assessment of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, whether new graduates will be expected to be involved in the assisted dying process.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill continues to be a matter for Parliament. The Government is neutral on the substantive policy questions relevant to how the law in this area could change, and on the principle of assisted dying.
The impact assessment considered different scenarios for illustrative purposes only, and does not indicate a Government position. If the bill progresses, detailed work on a delivery model would need to be developed.
As part of this work, the Government would consult with relevant stakeholders before bringing forward affirmative regulations on the training requirements for assessing doctors.
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, if any, they are taking to improve outcomes from screening and treatment for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in newborns; and what plans, if any, they have to support comparative effectiveness research into the routine clinical pathways for DDH overseen by the UK National Screening Committee.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) welcomes proposals to improve the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) programme, which offers screening for the development dysplasia of the hip. Proposals to modify the programme can be submitted to the UK NSC via its annual call for topics. To date the UK NSC has not received a request to review the current programme. The UK NSC is also aware that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has funded a research fellowship to explore screening for hip dysplasia, and looks forward to reading its published report 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 what measures are (1) currently in place and (2) planned in future, to protect staff and patients in hospitals, care homes and hospices from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998 require hospitals, care homes, and hospice owners to ensure gas appliances are installed and maintained properly by a competent gas safe registered engineer. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises that this is the most effective way to reduce the risk from carbon monoxide. We have no current plans to change the regulations in place for hospitals, care homes, and hospices, unless experts at HSE revise their advice.
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.