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Written Question
Coronavirus: Contact Tracing
Wednesday 6th January 2021

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns raised by local authorities, in particular those raised by Cumbria County Council, about the performance of private companies carrying out track and trace operations to address the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to divert the resources provided to those companies to local authorities to ensure that contact tracing is local by default.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We are working with local authorities and other community partners to minimise the risk of local outbreaks occurring to respond swiftly and effectively to stop the spread of COVID-19. As of 18 December, we have over 270 local contact tracing partnerships in place, with more in implementation. In the week 3 to 9 December, 96.6% of contacts where communication details were given were reached and told to self-isolate, an increase from 92.5% in the previous week.

To support these local responses, we have already made £700 million additional funding available for local authorities in England to develop robust, tailored outbreak control plans to identify and contain potential outbreaks.


Written Question
Vitamin D
Monday 2nd November 2020

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the review by the Royal Society Vitamin D and COVID-19, published on 18 June, which noted both the high levels of Vitamin D deficiency in the UK’s population and its important regulatory role in the human immune system, what steps they are taking to prevent vitamin D deficiency as a public health measure.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Between October and March, the United Kingdom population does not get enough vitamin D from sunlight. Vitamin D can be found in a small number of foods. However, since it is difficult for people to get enough vitamin D from food alone, Public Health England (PHE) recommends that all adults and children over four years old (including pregnant and breastfeeding women) should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D, especially during winter. This advice is on the National Health Service website online and comes from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s 2016 report Vitamin D and Health.

PHE re-issued this advice in April 2020 which reminded people to consider taking vitamin D supplements, especially if they were not going outdoors during lockdown. This advice emphasised the importance of vitamin D for bone and muscle health.

We continue to consider what additional communication messages might be needed to ensure this information remains accessible to the public and health professionals as we move into the winter months.


Written Question
Obesity: Children
Thursday 22nd October 2020

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to propose urgent action nationwide to combat childhood obesity.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We published Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives in July. The strategy demonstrates an overarching campaign to reduce obesity, takes forward actions from previous chapters of the childhood obesity plan, including our ambition to halve the number of children living with obesity by 2030, and sets our measures to get the nation fit and healthy, protect against COVID-19 and protect the National Health Service.

In addition, Public Health England launched the Better Health campaign, which calls on people to embrace a healthier lifestyle and to lose weight if they need to, supported by a range of evidence-based tools and apps providing advice on how to reduce the waistline.

A copy of Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives is attached.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vitamin D
Wednesday 14th October 2020

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of Vitamin D in promoting good health and resistance to COVID-19 and other infections.

Answered by Lord Bethell

In 2016, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a robust assessment of the evidence on vitamin D and a wide range of health outcomes. Current United Kingdom vitamin D advice is focused on musculoskeletal health and based on evidence from this report.

In 2020, Public Health England (PHE) commissioned SACN to examine new evidence on vitamin D supplementation and the risk of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections (ARTIs). SACN’s rapid review concluded that evidence currently does not support vitamin D supplementation to prevent ARTIs in the general UK population.

In 2020, PHE supported the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to review emerging evidence on vitamin D for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. NICE’s review concluded that there is currently no robust evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk or severity of COVID-19.


Written Question
Social Services: Coronavirus
Thursday 6th August 2020

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Social Workers Union about the results of its survey which estimates that one third of social workers are now considering leaving the profession as a result of the deterioration in working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what steps they are taking in response.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We are committed to providing ongoing support to social workers so that they are safe, supported, valued and able to continue the exceptional work they do. We continue to support local authorities and other social work employers to meet their duties regarding social work workforce planning and sharing best practice in recruiting, retaining and developing staff.

There are currently 98,000 registered social workers across the country, of whom 363 were surveyed by the Social Workers Union. The Chief Social Workers for Adults continue to have regular conversations with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, the British Association of Social Workers, Social Work England and Principal Social Workers across the country and have ensured concerns are responded to as soon as they arise.


Written Question
Visual Impairment: Social Distancing
Monday 29th June 2020

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how (1) access, and (2) other needs, of blind and partially sighted people will be guaranteed in the future operation of any restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular reference to the difficulties in distinguishing floor markings and judging distance.

Answered by Lord Bethell

The Government are committed to supporting blind and partially sighted people through every stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and are working across Government to ensure that all disabled people are able to get the support they need. The steps we are taking include working across Government on the accessibility of COVID-19 public health information guidance and other reasonable adjustments that may be needed for disabled people during the pandemic, including blind and partially sighted people.

We are working to make sure that local authorities consider the needs of disabled people, particularly in relation to implementing social distancing measures in their areas such as adapting the high street and adding floor markings.


Written Question
Coronavirus
Tuesday 5th May 2020

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor, together with the charitable sector and wider civil society, the adverse short- and long-term consequences of the (1) COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) Coronavirus Act 2020.

Answered by Lord Bethell

We are doing everything we can to tackle the pandemic and mitigate its impact. We are mobilising every element of Government to defend our people and our country.

On Wednesday 25 March, the Coronavirus Bill 2020 was given Royal Assent. An impact assessment and Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) assessment were conducted in relation to the provisions contained in the Coronavirus Act. The PSED requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities, including those with protected characteristics. We will continue to consider the impacts on people with protected characteristics when considering how to use powers contained in the Act.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is proactively engaging across the charity sector to maintain a complete picture of the impact of COVID-19 and is working to identify the additional support charities require through this time of financial instability. On 8 April 2020 the Government pledged £750 million to ensure charities can continue their vital work supporting the country during the COVID-19 outbreak.


Written Question
Disability: Children
Thursday 15th November 2018

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to analyse (1) those elements of health and social care which need to be strengthened, and (2) those aspects of entitlements for disabled children and their families and carers which need to be clarified; and what consequent action they are taking.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

The commissioning of health and social care services for children with disabilities is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups and local authorities respectively. Local commissioners are best placed to assess the needs of the local population and which areas may need strengthening. Clinical commissioning groups must ensure that they secure health services to meet the needs of disabled children to a reasonable extent.

Children’s social care is the responsibility of the Department for Education. All disabled children are regarded as children ‘in need’ under the Children Act 1989 and may receive social care from the local authority. The Children and Families Act 2014 placed a duty on local authorities to assess whether a parent carer in their area has needs for support.


Written Question
Mental Health: Children and Young People
Thursday 30th November 2017

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the YMCA and NHS campaign #IAMWHOLE; and what action, if any, they have taken in response to that campaign.

Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy

Campaigns such as #IAMWHOLE make an essential contribution to challenging the stigma that surrounds mental health, and Ministers have supported it. The Department has long funded, in partnership with charities, the Time to Change (TTC) campaign to challenge the stigma surrounding mental illness. TTC has campaigned on these issues for over ten years, and has reported to the Department that it estimates it has improved attitudes to mental health of over 4 million people in England.


Written Question
NHS
Monday 15th September 2014

Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement on the NHS Commissioning Board: Annual Assessment and Annual Report and Accounts by Earl Howe on 22 July (WS 124–5), what factors they considered when they decided on which date to make that statement; and what arrangements they have made for parliamentary scrutiny of the NHS mandate for 2015–16.

Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

We announced on 22 July 2014 in a Written Ministerial Statement on the NHS Commissioning Board: Annual Assessment and Annual Report and Accounts (WS 124-5) that the Government proposes to uphold all of the existing objectives in the current mandate and maintain a stable mandate for 2015-16. This announcement was made on 22 July so the annual assessment could be published before Parliamentary recess and alongside the annual report of the NHS Commissioning Board (known as NHS England). The timing of the publication of NHS England’s Annual Report and Accounts was determined by the annual reporting cycle of the Department and its arm’s-length bodies. The exact date of the Written Ministerial Statement was subject to other Government business.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 requires the Secretary of State to publish and lay before Parliament its mandate to NHS England. Before specifying any objectives or requirements in the mandate, the Secretary of State must consult NHS England, Healthwatch England and any other persons he considers appropriate.

We have been working closely with NHS England on the approach to the mandate and have been engaging with stakeholders over the summer, ahead of publishing and laying the final mandate before Parliament in the autumn. The mandate for 2015-16 will take effect from April 2015.