Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Merron on 11 December (HL Deb col 1760), what assessment they have made of the length of time taken to lay the Bread and Flour (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024; and what steps they intend to take in future to shorten the process for food supplements without compromising consumer and patient safety.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, the Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for nutrition legislation including food supplements, fortified foods, nutrition and health claims, foods for specific groups, and nutrition labelling.
The Government has been working closely across all four nations to implement the policy to fortify non-wholemeal flour with folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in babies. In England, this change has been implemented via amendments to The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 alongside other changes and will come into force in December 2026.
This is a complex policy, which has required careful consideration of the evidence, advice from scientific committees and involved much scientific debate. It has been taken forward as a measure across the United Kingdom and has involved two consultations and coordination across the four nations and across successive governments in each nation.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published responses to the second public consultation in January 2024. The Government has prioritised swift action to protect unborn babies and moved rapidly to reach agreement with the other nations and lay the legislation in England on 14 November 2024.
The length of time needed to develop policies varies depending on the complexity of the policy and other factors.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to assist care providers facing increased costs due to the increase in National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In response to the range of pressures facing local authorities, the Government will make available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish before 2025 an impact assessment of the effects of the rise in employer National Insurance contributions under the Autumn Budget on care homes, primary care providers and hospices.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they produced an impact assessment on the effects of the rise in employer National Insurance contributions on care homes, primary care providers and hospices prior to the Autumn Budget.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the report from the charity Breakthrough T1D, Access for all: The impact of technology on the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, published in October, which concluded that respondents from lower socio-economic groups, and those over the age of 65, were least likely to be aware of new technologies such as hybrid closed loop systems, what plans they have to raise awareness of the latest technologies available to type 1 diabetes patients of all ages and socio-economic groups across England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Diabetes Programme uses a range of communication channels, including mainstream and social media, to share information about the latest technologies that are available for people with Type 1 diabetes. NHS England works closely with its partners, including Breakthrough T1D, Diabetes UK and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists Technology Network to amplify key messages.
A new decision support tool has been designed to support people to understand what diabetes treatment technologies are available on the National Health Service, supporting discussions between someone living with type 1 diabetes and their healthcare professional about the technology they are eligible for and supports shared decision-making about the person’s care in managing type 1 diabetes.
Furthermore, nationally commissioned self-management resources have been put in place, including DigiBete, designed for children and young people aged between zero and 25 years old with type 1 diabetes in ten languages and MyType1 Diabetes, which is available to all adults living with type 1 diabetes.
As part of NHS England’s focus on improving equity of access to diabetes technology, diabetes care is one of the five clinical areas of focus for integrated care boards to achieve system change and improve care within the Core20Plus5 for children and young people . Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. The aim of this work is to increase access to real-time continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps for people in the most deprived 20% of the national population and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the follow-up report to the independent review by Professor Sir Mike Richards, Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal, published in November 2020; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to produce or publish a follow-up report to the independent review by Professor Sir Mike Richards, Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal. The Department will publish a ten-year plan for the National Health Service in spring 2025.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect whistleblowers in the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been clear that the Government will not tolerate National Health Service managers who silence whistleblowers. The Government recognises the importance of strong and accountable leadership in supporting whistleblowers and fostering a positive, compassionate culture within the NHS. That is why we have committed to introducing professional standards for and regulating NHS managers. We are currently considering the most appropriate and effective means of delivering this.
The Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, gives legal protection to those who speak up in the public interest. The legislation is intended to build openness and trust in workplaces by ensuring that workers who hold their employers to account are treated fairly. In 2018, enhanced legal protections were introduced that made it unlawful for NHS employers to discriminate against job applicants on the grounds that they have made a protected disclosure in the past. This complements the longstanding legal provisions within the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
There is a network of more than 1,200 local Freedom to Speak Up Guardians throughout healthcare in England, whose role is to help and support staff who want to speak up about their concerns. NHS England has also published a national Freedom to Speak Up policy, which provides the minimum standard for local Freedom to Speak Up policies across the NHS, which NHS organisations are required to adopt. Workers who wish to speak up can also receive advice and support from Speak Up Direct.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 29 October (HL1991), whether they intend to hold conversations with private insurance companies and the Association of British Insurers on the development of affordable private sector insurance policies to fund adult social care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are determined that alongside the 10-Year Health Plan, there will be a long-term plan for adult social care to build consensus on the reform needed to create a National Care Service. We have now launched the Change NHS website, where everyone can submit their ideas and experiences to help us build a health service fit for the future and inform the 10-Year Health Plan. We will listen to and co-design the plan with the public and health and care staff.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice, support and processes are available to third-party developers wishing to develop services for NHS Trusts holding data within the NHS Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is developing the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) Solution Exchange, a catalogue of products for trusts and integrated care boards to improve efficiency and patient care. This is in an early phase of release and will develop over the coming months to include opportunities for suppliers of innovative solutions.
For developers the solution exchange provides a safe and secure space to create and test new ideas to strict NHS FDP standards, using synthetic data. New innovations will be reviewed and tested for suitability before being made available in the NHS FDP Solution Exchange Product Catalogue.
During Autumn and Winter 2024-25, the programme will host a series of sessions to describe the opportunities this will provide for National Health Service organisations developing their own products and those jointly or independently developed by third party suppliers. This will include how products are prioritised and assessed for inclusion in the Solution Exchange.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what conversations they have held since the general election with private insurance companies and the Association of British Insurers on the development of affordable private sector insurance policies to fund adult social care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government, since taking office, has not held any such conversations.