Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) environmental, and (2) health, impact of disposable vapes; and what plans they have, if any, to ban the sale of such products.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nicotine vaping in England: an evidence update including health risks and perceptions, 2022 report published in September 2022 found that in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, but that vaping is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked. A copy of the report is attached.
Whilst there are no immediate plans to introduce a ban on disposable vapes, the Government is concerned by the increasing use of disposable vaping products, particularly amongst children, and their impact on the environment when they become waste. We are exploring a range of measures to address these issues.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of disposable e-cigarettes that have been sold in the last three years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to reduce the disparity in survival rates for brain tumour patients compared to other higher funded cancers.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In May 2018, the Government announced a £40 million investment over five years for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Since then, the NIHR has received 69 applications for research funding in relation to brain tumours, with 10 applications funded and seven applications under consideration. All applications that are fundable have been funded.
We anticipate that the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid will increase which will benefit brain tumour patients. This is a brain cancer treatment used to assist surgeons to differentiate between tumour and normal brain tissue, increasing the amount of tumour resected during surgery.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve outcomes for brain tumour cancer patients.
Answered by Lord Kamall
In May 2018, the Government announced a £40 million investment over five years for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Since then, the NIHR has received 69 applications for research funding in relation to brain tumours, with 10 applications funded and seven applications under consideration. All applications that are fundable have been funded.
We anticipate that the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid will increase which will benefit brain tumour patients. This is a brain cancer treatment used to assist surgeons to differentiate between tumour and normal brain tissue, increasing the amount of tumour resected during surgery.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the outcomes for brain tumour cancer patients by establishing a targeted funding bespoke panel solely for brain tumour research.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) encourages the research community to submit high quality proposals. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, scientific quality and value for money.
The NIHR ensures that relevant experts are involved in the assessment of the research applications it receives. Assessment committees comprise individuals with a broad range of expertise due to the wide diversity of topics it reviews, which may include brain tumour experts. However, committees ensure that before an individual application is assessed, detailed written peer review reports from experts chosen for their specific expertise are considered.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to allow virtual civil partnership registrations during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
At present, only civil partnerships or marriages conducted under the special procedure, for those who are seriously ill and not expected to recover, are being conducted, and only where the Registrar General thinks it is safe to do so according to Public Health England guidelines. The Government has no plans to introduce virtual registration of civil partnerships.
We understand the frustration couples planning a civil partnership or a wedding must be feeling, and as with all coronavirus restrictions we will look to ease them as soon as it is safe to do so. As set out in our roadmap, those decisions will be based on scientific evidence.