Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 9 December 2022 (HL3870), when patients on home dialysis will receive information on funding to address the increased energy cost of powering such equipment.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Haemodialysis service specification makes provision for financial support to offset energy costs incurred by recipients of at-home dialysis. NHS England has uplifted tariff prices by 4.1% this year to account for inflationary costs and support National Health Service trusts in uplifting their local reimbursement tariffs for patients.
In addition to the above, the Government’s cost of living support package delivers £15 billion worth of support measures to assist the most vulnerable with rising energy costs. The Government remains committed to supporting vulnerable households and is closely monitoring the situation.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they (1) have taken, or (2) plan to take, to ensure that seriously ill children who depend on electrical equipment for their survival can access a secure supply of affordable electricity this winter.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s cost of living support contains specific measures aimed at the most vulnerable, including households with critically ill-children requiring electricity dependent medical equipment at home, with £15 billion made available to those with the greatest need.
Specific National Health Service specialised services also grant financial rebates to offset energy costs, including home oxygen concentrators and adult home dialysis. NHS England is working with regional teams and integrated care systems as the commissioners of services to identify funding to address increases in the costs associated with operating medical equipment in the home. Local authorities can also provide support.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have allocated to meet the financial implications of the Down Syndrome Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Kamall
No specific funding has been allocated. The Down Syndrome Act 2022 requires the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to issue guidance to relevant authorities on the appropriate actions to meet the needs of people with Down Syndrome in the exercise of the relevant functions. The guidance will be developed and published in due course. An assessment of any funding requirements will also be completed alongside the development of the guidance.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what investigations they have undertaken into the effect of COVID-19 vaccinations on boys between the ages of 10 and 15.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all United Kingdom-approved COVID-19 vaccines includes child and adolescent age groups. The MHRA reviews the Yellow Card reports received in males and females aged under 18 years old, with safety data from international medicines regulators. The experience reported in those under 18 years old, including in the different sex and age subgroups of 5 to 11, 12 to 15 and 16 to 17 year olds, is similar to that identified in the general population. A review of these reports does not raise any additional safety topics specific to any of the subgroups.
As has been observed in adults, there have been a small number of reports involving inflammation of the heart in individuals under 18 years old in the UK and internationally. Since this is a recognised potential risk with the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and the MHRA are monitoring these events. These appear to be more frequent in younger males compared to females but are very rare. The events reported are typically mild with individuals usually recovering within a short time with standard treatment and rest.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advise that Pfizer/BioNTech is currently the preferred COVID-19 vaccine for those under 18 years old in the UK vaccination programme. The current data does not indicate that there is an increased reporting rate of suspected myocarditis and pericarditis in this age group overall compared to young adults for this vaccine. The MHRA continues to monitor the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and the advice remains that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks in the majority of people.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what co-operation they have had with governments of EU member states in assessing the lessons relating to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The Government continues to engage with European Union Member States on cross border health threats, including COVID-19. Public health officials from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Germany have contributed to a workshop exploring the value of different models of health protection.
The UK also engages with Member States through multilateral forums established in the UK and EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, such as the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Health Security Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The UK also receives regular invitations to the EU Health Security Committee discussions on COVID-19, which assesses the on-going response to the pandemic. In addition, UK health ministers meet regularly with EU counterparts in other multilateral or plurilateral forums, including the G7, G20 and the World Health Organization.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help disabled children and their families to access (1) therapies, (2) assessments, (3) medical interventions and (4) specialist equipment, in circumstances where they cannot afford them and do not receive adequate support from community services.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The NHS Constitution states that access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay. These services, including those for disabled children, are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament.
NHS England and NHS Improvement published Community services prioritisation framework on 11 January 2022. This sets an expectation that community health services, including therapy services and the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people which have been delayed or paused as a result of COVID-19, should resume from 1 March 2022. A copy of the framework is attached. Additionally, 2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance, published in December 2021, includes a requirement for systems to develop and agree a plan for reducing community service waiting lists. A copy of the planning guidance is attached.
On 1 February 2022, we announced more than £45 million of continued targeted support for families and parents of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) over the next three years. This will focus on improving the delivery and monitoring of statutory SEND services by local authorities, health and care partners and improving access to high quality advice and support for parents, children, and young people.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average rate of pay of a qualified nurse with ten years experience in (1) 2010, and (2) 2020; and if adjusted for the purchasing value of the pound, what would be the percentage change in remuneration since 2010.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In June 2010, basic pay, not including any additional earnings, for a newly qualified nurse at the bottom of Band 5, on a full-time equivalent basis (FTE), was £21,176.
We can estimate that, for nurses still working in the Hospital and Community Health Sector (HCHS) in June 2020, average basic pay per FTE was £34,216. This is a nominal increase of 61.6% and reflects pay awards; progression up pay scales within pay bands, promotion to more senior roles in higher pay bands and the effects of the Agenda for Change multi-year pay and contract reform deal (2018/19-2020/21). After accounting for consumer price index inflation this is a real terms increase of 33.2%.
Nurses can also earn premium rates of pay for working during unsocial hours or through agreed overtime. The NHS reward package also includes a generous annual leave allowance and access to a much-valued pension scheme.
These estimates are derived from unvalidated data from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse. This is a monthly snapshot of the live ESR system, which is the HR and payroll system for the HCHS sector in England. It does not cover those working in general practice, social care or the independent sector and one NHS foundation trust that has chosen to not use the system.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposals by the Welsh Government to impose a ban on those travelling from areas in the UK with a high prevalence of COVID-19 to Wales.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In England, until 2 December, people must stay at home, except for specific purposes. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and we are working closely with the devolved administrations to provide clarity to citizens in all parts of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the health needs of people with no fixed abode (1) are considered, and (2) are facilitated, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Homeless people and people who experience rough sleeping are at increased vulnerability to severe illness from COVID-19. The Department, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working closely since the start of the pandemic to provide leadership and support to local authority public health teams and the National Health Service around homelessness and COVID-19 related priorities. This has included advice and guidance to the system on responding to the multiple health needs (substance misuse, mental and physical health) of the population during the ‘Everyone In’ phase, advice on testing of asymptomatic homeless people as part of their accommodation move on plans and access to the right care and support including registering with a general practitioner, access to mental health and substance misuse services. The Department, PHE and NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to prioritise a joined-up health response for this population.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they have made to their (1) policies, and (2) practice, relating to (a) sourcing personal protective equipment, and (b) the methodology used to assess need and stockpile reserves of such equipment, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We have significantly strengthened and diversified our supply chains for personal protective equipment (PPE) – looking to new suppliers abroad as well as boosting our domestic manufacturing capability. This has helped to build resilience into the future.
Thanks to the unprecedented domestic production of PPE, for items such gowns and FFP3 facemasks, by December, supply of PPE through United Kingdom manufacturers will provide 70% of the amount we expect to use from December to March, for all items except gloves. Before the pandemic, just 1% of PPE was produced in the UK.