Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many people in the UK have Lyme disease.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
It is not practical to eradicate Lyme disease in the United Kingdom through treatment of human cases, therefore no cost estimate has been made. The disease is endemic in much of the small mammal and bird population in the UK, and is spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks which have fed on these animals. The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbour ticks.
The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded. Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.
The Health Protection Research Unit of the University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) has funding from the National Institute of Health Research for research into Lyme disease, covering diagnostics and biomarkers and public awareness. PHE is working on clinically linked studies for diagnostics with the Czech Republic, as no single centre in the UK has sufficient patients for a suitable study; funding for this work is not yet in place. PHE undertakes limited studies on ticks and Lyme disease in the UK. The Research Councils fund some additional work on ticks and the environment.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how long it would take for research-led treatment to eradicate Lyme disease from the UK if resource provision were no issue.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
It is not practical to eradicate Lyme disease in the United Kingdom through treatment of human cases, therefore no cost estimate has been made. The disease is endemic in much of the small mammal and bird population in the UK, and is spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks which have fed on these animals. The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbour ticks.
The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded. Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.
The Health Protection Research Unit of the University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) has funding from the National Institute of Health Research for research into Lyme disease, covering diagnostics and biomarkers and public awareness. PHE is working on clinically linked studies for diagnostics with the Czech Republic, as no single centre in the UK has sufficient patients for a suitable study; funding for this work is not yet in place. PHE undertakes limited studies on ticks and Lyme disease in the UK. The Research Councils fund some additional work on ticks and the environment.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Jolly on 27 January, when they expect the annual cost of £2.5 billion for National Health Service agency staff appointments to be reduced to £1 billion per annum.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Department is not imposing a target nor a timescale for reducing the annual cost of National Health Service agency appointments, because to do so in an arbitrary manner might put patients at risk. However, the Government expects NHS organisations, who are responsible for the recruitment and retention of their staff, to have a firm grip on their workforce planning and management including how much they spend on agency staff. NHS organisations have access to a wide range of advice, guidance and best practice available to help them with this. One of the new conditions we have recently introduced for those trusts receiving financial help under section 42 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 is to reduce their use of and the amount they spend on agency staff.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each National Health Service hospital which declared a major incident in the period 1 December 2014 to 7 January 2015 inclusive, how many beds were occupied by patients whose treatment had been completed but who remained in hospital because alternative health care or treatment were not available for them outside hospital at the time that the major incident was brought into effect.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority have advised that this information is not held centrally.
In the context of hospitals currently declaring major incidents, this refers to an emergency situation where particular facilities or resources are under pressure and special arrangements are required to maintain the delivery of some services. It would be for the organisation that had declared the emergency to de-escalate it, in line with its incident response plan.
The use of major incidents has been part of the National Health Service planning process since 2005, and they have been declared in every year since then.
There is no central definition but a major incident in a hospital might be called in:
- times of severe pressure such as winter periods or an infectious disease outbreak; and
- a period of particular local pressure such as dealing with a road traffic accident.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each National Health Service hospital which declared a major incident in the period 1 December 2014 to 7 January 2015 inclusive, how much money was spent per year in the preceding two years on the fees and costs of agencies which were contracted to supply (1) doctors, (2) nurses, and (3) other National Health Service staff, to the hospital concerned.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority have advised that this information is not held centrally.
In the context of hospitals currently declaring major incidents, this refers to an emergency situation where particular facilities or resources are under pressure and special arrangements are required to maintain the delivery of some services. It would be for the organisation that had declared the emergency to de-escalate it, in line with its incident response plan.
The use of major incidents has been part of the National Health Service planning process since 2005, and they have been declared in every year since then.
There is no central definition but a major incident in a hospital might be called in:
- times of severe pressure such as winter periods or an infectious disease outbreak; and
- a period of particular local pressure such as dealing with a road traffic accident.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list the National Health Service hospitals which declared major incidents in the period 1 December 2014 to 7 January 2015 inclusive; and in each case how long the incidents lasted.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority have advised that this information is not held centrally.
In the context of hospitals currently declaring major incidents, this refers to an emergency situation where particular facilities or resources are under pressure and special arrangements are required to maintain the delivery of some services. It would be for the organisation that had declared the emergency to de-escalate it, in line with its incident response plan.
The use of major incidents has been part of the National Health Service planning process since 2005, and they have been declared in every year since then.
There is no central definition but a major incident in a hospital might be called in:
- times of severe pressure such as winter periods or an infectious disease outbreak; and
- a period of particular local pressure such as dealing with a road traffic accident.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 17 November (HL2579), in the light of their commitment to reducing obesity, why the partnership with supermarkets in relation to their provision of sugar-free or sugar-reduced products is voluntary and not mandatory.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The voluntary approach of working with industry is achieving real reductions in calories, including sugar. Examples include:
- the Co-operative Group taking out added sugar from its high juices, removing 1.5 billion kcals per year;
- Tesco removing two billion calories from its juices, following on from the one billion removed in 2012; and
- Sainsbury’s reducing sugar in its Own Brand chilled juices by 83.5 tonnes a year.
The eight supermarkets currently signed up to the calorie reduction pledge are:
- Aldi Stores;
- ASDA;
- the Co-operative Group;
- Marks and Spencer;
- Morrisons;
- Sainsbury’s;
- Tesco; and
- Waitrose.
Companies signed up to the calorie reduction pledge have committed to support and enable their customers to eat and drink fewer calories through a range of actions, including product/menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. The emphasis of the pledge is on overall calorie reduction; however, cutting sugar forms an important part of that strategy.
Companies report each year on their activities to reduce calories, including sugar, and these returns are published on the Responsibility Deal website along with their Delivery Plans. An independent evaluation of the Responsibility Deal is under way and due to report early 2016.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 17 November (HL2579), who is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the supermarkets’ action either to cut sugar or to provide sugar-free or sugar-reduced products.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The voluntary approach of working with industry is achieving real reductions in calories, including sugar. Examples include:
- the Co-operative Group taking out added sugar from its high juices, removing 1.5 billion kcals per year;
- Tesco removing two billion calories from its juices, following on from the one billion removed in 2012; and
- Sainsbury’s reducing sugar in its Own Brand chilled juices by 83.5 tonnes a year.
The eight supermarkets currently signed up to the calorie reduction pledge are:
- Aldi Stores;
- ASDA;
- the Co-operative Group;
- Marks and Spencer;
- Morrisons;
- Sainsbury’s;
- Tesco; and
- Waitrose.
Companies signed up to the calorie reduction pledge have committed to support and enable their customers to eat and drink fewer calories through a range of actions, including product/menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. The emphasis of the pledge is on overall calorie reduction; however, cutting sugar forms an important part of that strategy.
Companies report each year on their activities to reduce calories, including sugar, and these returns are published on the Responsibility Deal website along with their Delivery Plans. An independent evaluation of the Responsibility Deal is under way and due to report early 2016.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 17 November (HL2579), what is the calorie reduction pledge signed up to by eight supermarket chains; whether they have a sugar reduction goal in mind in reference to the pledge; and if so, what it is.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The voluntary approach of working with industry is achieving real reductions in calories, including sugar. Examples include:
- the Co-operative Group taking out added sugar from its high juices, removing 1.5 billion kcals per year;
- Tesco removing two billion calories from its juices, following on from the one billion removed in 2012; and
- Sainsbury’s reducing sugar in its Own Brand chilled juices by 83.5 tonnes a year.
The eight supermarkets currently signed up to the calorie reduction pledge are:
- Aldi Stores;
- ASDA;
- the Co-operative Group;
- Marks and Spencer;
- Morrisons;
- Sainsbury’s;
- Tesco; and
- Waitrose.
Companies signed up to the calorie reduction pledge have committed to support and enable their customers to eat and drink fewer calories through a range of actions, including product/menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. The emphasis of the pledge is on overall calorie reduction; however, cutting sugar forms an important part of that strategy.
Companies report each year on their activities to reduce calories, including sugar, and these returns are published on the Responsibility Deal website along with their Delivery Plans. An independent evaluation of the Responsibility Deal is under way and due to report early 2016.
Asked by: Lord Mawhinney (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 17 November (HL2579), which eight supermarkets are currently signed up to the calorie reduction pledge.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The voluntary approach of working with industry is achieving real reductions in calories, including sugar. Examples include:
- the Co-operative Group taking out added sugar from its high juices, removing 1.5 billion kcals per year;
- Tesco removing two billion calories from its juices, following on from the one billion removed in 2012; and
- Sainsbury’s reducing sugar in its Own Brand chilled juices by 83.5 tonnes a year.
The eight supermarkets currently signed up to the calorie reduction pledge are:
- Aldi Stores;
- ASDA;
- the Co-operative Group;
- Marks and Spencer;
- Morrisons;
- Sainsbury’s;
- Tesco; and
- Waitrose.
Companies signed up to the calorie reduction pledge have committed to support and enable their customers to eat and drink fewer calories through a range of actions, including product/menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. The emphasis of the pledge is on overall calorie reduction; however, cutting sugar forms an important part of that strategy.
Companies report each year on their activities to reduce calories, including sugar, and these returns are published on the Responsibility Deal website along with their Delivery Plans. An independent evaluation of the Responsibility Deal is under way and due to report early 2016.