Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of reports of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault that have taken place in hospitals since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the appalling crimes of rape and sexual assault. NHS England has introduced a comprehensive package of measures to improve sexual safety across the NHS.
NHS providers have a mandatory duty to notify the Care Quality Commission of all incidents that affect the health, safety, and welfare of people who use services, including allegations of sexual abuse.
NHS England is investing in improving the collection and analysis of sexual violence data to support organisations to implement policies that reduce incidents of sexual misconduct in the NHS.
Data relating to rape and sexual assault would be held at NHS Trust level. There is no single national dataset in the NHS which captures information on rape and sexual assault for all combinations of staff, patients or visitors to NHS hospitals. Local police forces hold data where there has been a report to the police of rape or sexual assault.
For assaults on staff, the most recent NHS Staff Survey includes questions about staff experiences of sexual misconduct. Results from the 2024 staff survey are expected to be available after March 2025. Results are made available for each NHS Trust, and they are not broken down into hospital and non-hospital settings and do not include patient, carer, or visitor reports.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many alleged (a) rapes or (b) sexual assaults have taken place in hospitals since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the appalling crimes of rape and sexual assault. NHS England has introduced a comprehensive package of measures to improve sexual safety across the NHS.
NHS providers have a mandatory duty to notify the Care Quality Commission of all incidents that affect the health, safety, and welfare of people who use services, including allegations of sexual abuse.
NHS England is investing in improving the collection and analysis of sexual violence data to support organisations to implement policies that reduce incidents of sexual misconduct in the NHS.
Data relating to rape and sexual assault would be held at NHS Trust level. There is no single national dataset in the NHS which captures information on rape and sexual assault for all combinations of staff, patients or visitors to NHS hospitals. Local police forces hold data where there has been a report to the police of rape or sexual assault.
For assaults on staff, the most recent NHS Staff Survey includes questions about staff experiences of sexual misconduct. Results from the 2024 staff survey are expected to be available after March 2025. Results are made available for each NHS Trust, and they are not broken down into hospital and non-hospital settings and do not include patient, carer, or visitor reports.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support social care providers with changes announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. Overall, core local government spending power is increasing by 6% in cash terms. Local authorities have discretion over how to best use this funding, but it can be used to support care providers in meeting the increasing costs they face in delivering care services.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether social care providers will be allocated additional funding for measures announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. Overall, core local government spending power is increasing by 6% in cash terms. Local authorities have discretion over how to best use this funding, but it can be used to support care providers in meeting the increasing costs they face in delivering care services.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide additional (a) interventions and (b) support to areas with higher rates of asthma.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network published a new collaborative guideline for asthma in November 2024.
The guideline covers diagnosing, monitoring, and managing asthma in adults, young people, and children. It aims to improve the accuracy of diagnosis, help people to control their asthma, and reduce the risk of asthma attacks
The recommendations offer the opportunity to simplify the diagnostic processes and improve the treatment of people with asthma, and NHS England is working with specialist groups and partners to encourage a joined-up approach to implementation.
Through its national respiratory programme and focused work on children and young people with asthma, NHS England is already supporting systems to improve outcomes for people with asthma.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the new Neffy treatment for severe allergic reactions will be available on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is critical that medicines used in the United Kingdom are safe and effective. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) assesses all medicines before they can be used in the UK. Neffy (epinephrine nasal spray) has not been licenced by the MHRA. Should an application for it be received, the MHRA will consider the benefit-risk of the product accordingly in regards to its quality, safety and effectiveness. It is the responsibility of the company to apply to the MHRA for a marketing authorisation.
Local National Health Service organisations are expected to make decisions on the availability of medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence and taking into account any relevant national guidance.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of human metapneumovirus have been identified in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The UK Health Security Agency’s long-term surveillance of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in England, through systems covering general practice surgeries and hospital laboratories, indicates that hMPV levels in winter 2024-25 are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year.
Healthcare data for hMPV and other respiratory viruses comes from the sentinel surveillance system, a data collection method used to monitor trends. This means it is not a count of every person being treated for the respiratory virus in hospital. Total case numbers are therefore not held centrally.
Further information on data collection is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) his international counterparts and (b) the World Health Organisation on human metapneumovirus.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has had no recent communications from the World Health Organisation or other countries in relation to human metapneumovirus (hMPV).
UKHSA’s long-term surveillance of hMPV in England, through systems covering general practice surgeries and hospital laboratories, indicates that hMPV levels in winter 2024-25 are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year.
Healthcare data for hMPV and other respiratory viruses is routinely published on the UKHSA dashboard, which is available at the following link:
https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses/other-respiratory-viruses
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average maximum number of patients registered per GP practice in England is.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The median number of patients registered at a general practice in England in December 2024 was 8,799.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that care providers, including those in supportive living care settings, are consulted during (a) policy reviews and (b) before policy decisions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly engages with and consults stakeholders, including providers and people with lived experience of care and support services, to ensure that a wide range of views are taken into account through all stages of the policy life cycle. This includes holding regular meetings and provider forums, working with partners in the sector, and also running formal public consultations, as necessary.