Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the variation between 2019 and 2023 in the time taken for new Clinical Trial Authorisation applications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to be assessed.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A combination of factors has resulted in extended timeframes in Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) assessment of clinical trial applications and amendments, in particular the loss of experienced staff and the need to recruit and train new staff. The MHRA understands the vital importance to patients and the public as well as researchers and developers of efficient clinical trials approvals, and over the summer it has taken urgent action to address delays to clinical trial approval.
Applicants will have seen increased rates of assessment in all key areas, as the MHRA focused considerable resources within the agency to deliver accelerated improvements to timescales for clinical trial assessments. The MHRA has made significant progress and most delayed applications have now been processed.
From 31 July to 1 September 2023, the MHRA assessed 1,185 applications for initial clinical trials and amendments. This demonstrates the significant effort that the MHRA has made to address backlogs and move back to assessment in statutory timescales. From 1 September 2023 all newly received fully compliant applications are being assessed within statutory timeframes.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the population in each of the 10 largest cities in England are in receipt of prescription medication for high blood pressure.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total NHS expenditure on outpatient paediatric ophthalmology services in 2021/22.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table below sets out the cost to the National Health Service in England in financial year 2021/22 of providing General Ophthalmic Services. These figures are derived from draft accounts and will not be finalised until they are published on the NHS England website.
| £ million | Proportion |
NHS Sight Tests | 307 | 56.6% |
NHS Optical Vouchers incl. Repairs & Replacements | 222 | 41% |
Other General Ophthalmic Services contract costs | 13 | 2.4% |
The table below shows the cost for secondary care organisations submitted via the National Cost Collection for outpatients within Treatment Function Code ‘Paediatric Ophthalmology’, for the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21, which is the latest available data.
| £ million |
2019/20 | 43.7 |
2020/21 | 50.5 |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total NHS expenditure on general ophthalmic services activity in 2021/22; and what proportion was on (1) NHS sight tests, and (2) NHS optical vouchers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table below sets out the cost to the National Health Service in England in financial year 2021/22 of providing General Ophthalmic Services. These figures are derived from draft accounts and will not be finalised until they are published on the NHS England website.
| £ million | Proportion |
NHS Sight Tests | 307 | 56.6% |
NHS Optical Vouchers incl. Repairs & Replacements | 222 | 41% |
Other General Ophthalmic Services contract costs | 13 | 2.4% |
The table below shows the cost for secondary care organisations submitted via the National Cost Collection for outpatients within Treatment Function Code ‘Paediatric Ophthalmology’, for the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21, which is the latest available data.
| £ million |
2019/20 | 43.7 |
2020/21 | 50.5 |
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 1 December (HL3634), whether there remains a NHS Long Term Plan commitment to invest to ensure that children with learning disabilities have their needs met by eyesight services.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan commitment remains in place. NHS England’s current evaluation of its proof-of-concept will inform decisions on the scope, funding and delivery of any future sight testing model.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 1 December (HL3582), whether the clarification by Lord Markham on 24 November (HL Deb col 1469) is the most up-to-date answer to this question.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The answer provided to the Noble Lord on 1 December is the most recent information.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 1 December (HL3634), whether they will deposit in the Library of the House the promotional literature for (1) day special schools, and (2) parents of children attending day special schools, which explained that the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service was a pilot due to end 31 March 2023.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A copy of the promotional literature provided to schools and parent and carers through the current proof of concept exercise is attached. However, this did not specify an end date to the pilot as this had not been confirmed at the date of issue.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's autumn statement on 17 November, whether they will provide a breakdown of the funding available for social care in England in the years (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025, and how much of this funding will be provided by (a) central government, and (b) local authorities from council tax.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Up to an additional £2.8 billion will be available for social care in 2023/24 and £4.7 billion in 2024/25. This is further to previous grant funding agreed at the Spending Review 2021. We are also providing £500 million in winter 2022/23 to support local areas to accelerate safe discharge from hospital. Funding available for social care in England beyond 2024/25 will be determined at a future Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to renew the NHS contract for the Special Schools Eye Care service; and what timetable has been laid out for a decision on the future of this service.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan committed to ensure that children and young people with a learning disability and/or autism in special residential schools have access to eyesight, hearing and dental checks. In 2021, NHS England commenced a proof of concept programme to pilot and evaluate a potential sight testing service model in residential schools. The pilot is currently being evaluated and we expect this to conclude early in 2023.
NHS England has confirmed that existing contracts in day schools will continue until 31 March 2023. The evaluation of the proof of concept pilot will also inform whether this service should continue.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 23 March (HL Deb col 958), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of existing vaccines available in the UK in (1) protecting against, or (2) reducing the impact of, Omicron (a) B4, and (b) B5; what assessment they have made of the likely availability of the improved vaccine undergoing experimentation at (i) St George's Hospital, and (ii) beyond; and on what date the fourth COVID-19 booster vaccine will be available for general use across the UK this autumn.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Vaccine effectiveness against emerging variants is continuously assessed. There is currently insufficient data for a robust assessment of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against mild or severe disease with the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. However, preliminary analyses indicate that the vaccination status of cases infected with BA.4 and BA.5 is not significantly different to that of cases infected with BA.2, suggesting that protection conferred by the vaccines likely remains comparable.
Moderna and Pfizer are conducting clinical trials for Omicron-specific variant vaccines, with the intention of making these available in the second half of 2022.
The Government continues to be guided by the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on COVID-19 vaccinations. On 15 July 2022, the JCVI issued advice on an autumn booster vaccination programme. This advice states that a booster dose should be offered to residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults; frontline health and social care workers; all adults aged 50 years old and over; persons aged five to 49 years old in a clinical risk group; persons aged five to 49 years old who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression; and persons aged 16 to 49 years old who are carers.