Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the growth in demand for health services caused by the increase in the population of the United Kingdom in the past five financial years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The effects of population increases and wider demographic change on the demand for services are analysed through the use of age cost curves and Office for National Statistics population statistics. Age cost curves estimate the demand for services for a person of a particular age and characteristics. The Department uses these along with bottom-up estimates to understand how population change will affect the National Health Service.
These show, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, that demographic change and population ageing are set to increase demand on an already stretched health service.
In the short term, to respond to these pressures, we have seen the recent Spending Review announce that annual NHS day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, which is the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period. The Spending Review also announced a £2.3 billion real terms increase, a £4 billion cash increase, in the Department’s annual capital budgets from 2023/24 to 2029/30. This will deliver the largest ever health capital budget, representing a more than 20% real terms increase by the end of the Spending Review period.
In the longer term, the 10-Year Health Plan also outlines that we must bend the demand curve, through a vision for a new model of care predicated on the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. This will help secure the financial sustainability of the NHS and make it fit for the future.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether asylum seekers who arrive in the United Kingdom through official channels or illegally are eligible to receive all NHS services; and if so, what is the level of uptake of these services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is a residency-based system, which means that people who do not live here on a lawful, settled basis must contribute to the cost of their care. However, some of the most vulnerable people arriving in the United Kingdom, including refugees and asylum seekers, do not pay for NHS treatment.
There are varying entitlements to secondary healthcare services across England and the devolved administrations. Specific examples can be found in the NHS entitlements: migrant health guide on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. We do not hold information on the level of uptake of these services.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of giving (1) children under five years old, and (2) adults under 50 years old, access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations. On 6 December 2022, the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer infant formulation (Comirnaty 3) for children aged six months to four years old. The JCVI’s advice will be published in due course on whether COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to any children in this age group now that a vaccine is available.
People who were five years old or older as of 31 August 2022 are currently eligible for primary vaccination and those aged 16 or over are also entitled to an initial booster. Those who are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 are eligible for a further seasonal booster under the current autumn campaign.
The autumn booster campaign will close in England on 12 February 2023, as will the offer of an initial booster for persons aged 16 to 49 years who are not in a clinical risk group. We encourage everyone currently eligible to come forward before these offers close.
In line with the JCVI’s advice, the primary course offer of COVID-19 vaccination will now move towards a more targeted offer limited to vaccination campaigns for those at higher risk of severe COVID-19. This means that the offer of primary vaccination will end for those aged under 50 who are not in an at-risk group. The Government is considering when during 2023 this recommendation should be implemented. The JCVI continues to review evidence and will provide further advice regarding the 2023 vaccination programmes in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reinstate the Veterans Mobility Fund.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government does not intend to reinstate the Veterans’ Mobility Fund, which was a time-limited fund established in 2015 to provide support for veterans with serious physical injury resulting from their time in service.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many planned discontinuation notices for the supply of medicines they have received as of 1 June 2021; and what steps they are taking to mitigate such notices.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We regularly receive notifications of discontinuations and possible discontinuations from suppliers, as well as information about shortages and potential shortages caused by a whole variety of reasons and numbers change daily. We are unable to provide this information as it is commercially sensitive.
The Department has well-established procedures to deal with medicines shortages and discontinuations and works with a range of stakeholders to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise. Not all notifications will lead to the discontinuation of a medicine or a shortage in the market.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on immigration to the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether tests undertaken as part of plans to introduce same day mass testing for COVID-19 in England will be free at the point of delivery.
Answered by Lord Bethell
All testing carried out by National Health Service Test and Trace is free at the point of delivery.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have held discussions with private sector providers about the delivery of plans for same day mass testing for COVID-19 in England; and, if so, who these providers are.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government is committed to rapid and accessible testing. We are working with private sector and are increasing our testing capacity, both through current swab testing and new, rapid lateral flow tests to cut the spread of COVID-19 nationwide. Where contracts with commercial partners have been finalised the Department publishes contract award notices online at GOV.UK Contract Finder service.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what initial estimate they have made of the cost of plans to introduce same day mass testing for COVID-19 in England.
Answered by Lord Bethell
An evaluation of testing the whole of Liverpool will inform the potential rollout of whole town or city testing to other areas, as part of the Government’s commitment to make mass testing available. Same day testing will involve several different types of technology including lateral flow devices.
A £500 million investment will accelerate the next generation of technologies to support our existing systems and better understand how mass testing could be used.
Our top priorities for testing, as they have been throughout the pandemic, are to allocate testing where it is needed most to save lives, protect the most vulnerable, and enable vital health and care services to operate safely.
In the future, in addition to our existing priorities, we will aim to use new testing technologies to test a higher proportion of the population over time, targeted at where it will have the most impact, and use testing to support the economy and wider society to return to a normal way of life.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Leader of the House what guidance or training is given to Ministers on the requirements to answer written questions from Members of the House comprehensively.
Answered by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
As Leader of the House I take very seriously the responsibility incumbent on all Ministers to provide full, timely and comprehensive answers to Questions for Written Answers (QWAs). My office works closely with all departmental Parliamentary teams to help provide advice on what is expected of them in providing such answers.
Ministers are also reminded regularly of the importance of their obligations to the House.