Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Dermatology GIRFT Programme National Specialty Report: Proposed Recommendations, published on 15 September 2020; and what steps they intend to take in response to the proposed recommendations.
Answered by Lord Bethell
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the role of environmental health professionals has been included in the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care's plans for reforming Public Health England and other public health related functions.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We have made no proposals in our public health reforms to make changes to the role of local environmental health professionals.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has to establish a Chief Environmental Health Officer role (1) to coordinate environmental health teams within local authorities, and (2) to provide advice and support to the Department.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the definition of a health institution as defined in the Guidance on the regulation of In Vitro Diagnostic medical devices in Great Britain, published in January, differs from that in the MHRA guidance on the health institution exemption (HIE) – IVDR and MDR (Northern Ireland), published on 1 January.
Answered by Lord Bethell
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the proposed timescale for the (1) publication of the consultation on mandatory calorie labelling for pre-packaged alcoholic drinks, and (2) implementation of the policy following the consultation.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We are committed to consult shortly on our intention to make companies provide calorie labelling on all pre-packaged alcohol they sell. The consultation will include further details about the proposed timescale for implementation of the policy.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to work with the NHS to change perceptions around organ donation to make it an expected part of care when a potential donor dies.
Answered by Lord Bethell
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Emergency Departments currently collect data on 12-hours from the time of arrival at the Department.
Answered by Lord Bethell
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the 12-hour waiting times from the time of arrival at an Emergency Department will be published.
Answered by Lord Bethell
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of early career researchers to continue in their research career.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand same-day emergency care to all emergency departments in England; and what the timescales are for any such plans.
Answered by Lord Bethell
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.