Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with the Health and Safety Executive on monitoring public exposure to silica dust.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Responsibility for exposure to silica dust is led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who are supported by a number of other governmental organisations, to minimise risks from exposure to silica.
The Environment Agency, or equivalent regulators in devolved administrations such as Natural Resources Wales, regulates activities that have the potential to harm the environment and people. The regulator decides if relevant environmental permits and other consents and licences should be issued and, if so, what conditions should be applied. Local authorities also enforce nuisance legislation which includes the control of dust emissions.
The UK Health Security Agency would expect any activities that generate dust, including silica, to be well managed and regulated and have clear plans in place for proper management and monitoring, in order to minimise any impact to the public.
The HSE’s advice states that no cases of silicosis have been documented among members of the general public in Great Britain, indicating that environmental exposures to silica dust are not sufficiently high to cause this occupational disease. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/silica.htm
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the financial cost is to the National Health Service of a single abnormal cell change test when testing for human papillomavirus in England.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the average cost of a smear test for human papillomavirus.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the costs of the various clinical methods to test for human papillomavirus.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department has made a recent estimate of the cost of checking for human papillomavirus using (a) smear testing and (b) the human papillomavirus test.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
This information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Alzheimer's Society's Left to Cope Alone report published in June 2022, whether it is her Department's policy that every person diagnosed with dementia should have guaranteed access to a dementia support worker or similar service.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The provision of dedicated dementia support and community link workers is determined locally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for services and support for people with dementia. NHS England expects ICBs to commission services which take into account relevant guidance, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines and the Dementia Care Pathway, which sets out benchmarks to improve the delivery and quality of care and support.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure people living with dementia in rural communities can access a timely diagnosis.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England has commissioned the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network to investigate the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates in targeted areas in England. This will include social and economic deprivation; rurality; demographic characteristics including age, ethnicity and educational attainment; and general health and life expectancy.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the devolved administration in Wales and (b) English local authorities on dementia diagnosis rates.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There have been no recent discussions.