Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that tropical viruses such as West Nile Virus have spread to Europe, what assessment they have made, if any, of the case for screening blood donations for tropical viruses.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
United Kingdom blood services test blood donations for West Nile virus (WNV), if it is indicated by the information provided in the individual’s donor safety questionnaire that they have travelled to an area where WNV is circulating. Other tests for malaria, cytomegalovirus, and the parasite trypanosoma cruzi may be conducted if the donor has a history of recent travel to an area where one or more of these conditions is common.
The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) advises the Government on the most appropriate ways to ensure the safety of blood, including screening. The SaBTO Virology Subcommittee is conducting a review into the approach of screening for WNV. A report with their recommendations will be published following completion of the review.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency planning, if any, they have conducted to anticipate the spread of tropical virus transmission to the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The outbreak of an emerging infectious disease is a categorised risk, in the 2023 National Risk Register. Working closely with the Department and NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has a programme of work in place to plan and respond to this risk.
The UKHSA continues to monitor the global epidemiology of infectious diseases, to inform the assessment of risk to the United Kingdom’s population. Routine surveillance is carried out for a range of viral infections that may be acquired overseas. Data on some of these infections is published in the annual Travel-associated infections reports. Information collated from these various sources are routinely reviewed and assessed through the relevant UKHSA Horizon Scanning Group, with appropriate public health actions proposed to mitigate any threats.
The Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory has a small serological study, partnering with NHS Blood and Transplant and at-risk groups, to look for evidence of exposure to Usutu, West Nile, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. The Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology group study vector distribution, and look for the presence of tropical and other viruses in relevant arthropod species in an ongoing surveillance programme. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has a programme of surveillance in wild birds and mammals. The Department of Health and Social Care, the UKHSA, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published a national contingency plan for invasive mosquitoes that may spread vector-borne diseases, such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement the recommendations of Bite Back’s report Fuel Us Don’t Fool Us, published on 22 February, concerning the sale and marketing of unhealthy food and drink to children and young people.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to working with businesses to ensure we create the conditions for a healthier nation. We welcome Bite Back’s report, Fuel Us Don’t Fool Us, and will consider its recommendations.
Plans to restrict the location of foods high in fat, salt or sugar came into force on 1 October 2022. These restrictions are the single most impactful obesity policy at reducing children’s calorie consumption and are expected to accrue health benefits of over £57 billion and provide savings to the National Health Service of over £4 billion, over the next 25 years. Calorie labelling in large restaurants, cafes and takeaways has also been in force since April 2022 to support consumers to make healthier choices when eating out or getting a takeaway.
On 1 October 2025, the volume price promotion restrictions will come into force restricting volume price promotions such as "3 for 2" offers on less healthy products. The Government will simultaneously introduce a United Kingdom-wide 9pm TV watershed for products high in fat, salt or sugar and a restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online, also on 1 October 2025.
The Government has held a consultation to gather evidence on the existing UK colour coded front of pack labelling scheme and will respond in due course. The Government laid legislation in Parliament on 20 February 2024 which will introduce improvement notices for breaches to compliance with nutrition and health claims which will come into force on 1 October 2024. This will enable improvement notices to be used as a more proportionate first step in the enforcement of the requirements around the use of nutrition and health claims on food and drinks in England.
The Government is working with industry on the Food Data Transparency Partnership in co-developing voluntary reporting requirements for food business to demonstrate the healthiness of their sales.
Decisions about the future development of taxes are made by the Chancellor, in line with the Government’s tax policy-making framework.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support consumers who need to use electric medical devices at home, such as monitors or ventilators, given the impact of rising energy prices.
Answered by Lord Kamall
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Zimbabwe about entering a partnership agreement concerning the recruitment of health care workers from that country.
Answered by Lord Kamall
We have made no specific assessment of the impact on the Zimbabwean healthcare system of recruitment by the National Health Service. We have had no discussions with the Government of Zimbabwe on entering a partnership agreement.
International recruitment is regulated through the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel. The Code includes a ‘red list’ of 47 countries identified by the World Health Organization as having the most pressing health and social care workforce challenge, from which active recruitment is prohibited. The Government monitors international recruitment activity and where there are significant workforce flows into the NHS, particularly from low and middle-income countries, we engage with partner Governments on how this recruitment could be managed.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect recruitment of Zimbabwean health care staff in the UK has on the health services in that country.
Answered by Lord Kamall
We have made no specific assessment of the impact on the Zimbabwean healthcare system of recruitment by the National Health Service. We have had no discussions with the Government of Zimbabwe on entering a partnership agreement.
International recruitment is regulated through the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel. The Code includes a ‘red list’ of 47 countries identified by the World Health Organization as having the most pressing health and social care workforce challenge, from which active recruitment is prohibited. The Government monitors international recruitment activity and where there are significant workforce flows into the NHS, particularly from low and middle-income countries, we engage with partner Governments on how this recruitment could be managed.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made by Lord Kamall on 29 November (HL Deb, col 1223), what discussions they have held to ensure that countries are not disincentivised from transparent reporting of variants to the World Health Organisation.
Answered by Lord Kamall
On 29 November 2021, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chaired a meeting of G7 Health Ministers to discuss the spread of the Omicron variant. G7 Health Ministers praised the exemplary work of South Africa in detecting the variant and alerting other countries. Health Ministers committed to working with other nations to share information and ensure transparent reporting of variants.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to review the COVID-19 travel red list; and what factors they will take into account when conducting that review.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Decisions on COVID-19 travel red list assignment are taken by Ministers. They are informed by evidence, including a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) risk assessment, alongside wider public health factors. The UKHSA risk assessments cover a range of information and take place every three weeks. The last UKHSA risk assessment of countries was carried out on 13 December 2021, with the next assessment made before 3 January 2022.
Risk assessments take into account the assessment of sequencing capability of countries, available surveillance, epidemiology in country, recent genome sequencing data, evidence of in-country community transmission of COVID-19 variants, evidence of exportation of new variants to the United Kingdom or other countries and travel connectivity with the UK and other countries.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of NHS beds are currently occupied with COVID-19 patients.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The proportion of National Health Service general and acute beds occupied with COVID-19 patients is 6.6% as at 22 October 2021.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people arriving from amber list countries subject to home quarantine and who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have tested positive for that virus.
Answered by Lord Bethell
This information is not collected centrally.