Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of dental care provision in Scarborough and Whitby constituency; and whether he plans to take steps to help improve that provision.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Dental Statistics - England 2023-24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324

The data for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, which includes the Scarborough and Whitby constituency, shows that 42% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 24 months, compared to 40% in England; and 60% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months, compared to 56% in England.

This Government is committed to tackling the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment.

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 number and proportion of (a) adults and (b) children that do not have access to an NHS dentist in Scarborough and Whitby constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Scarborough and Whitby constituency, this would be the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB. According to the 2024 General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS), 25% of adults who tried to get a National Health Service dentist appointment in the last two years in the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB were unsuccessful, compared to 23% in England. This data is sourced from the GP Patient Survey Dental Statistics, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/2024/07/11/gp-patient-survey-dental-statistics-january-to-march-2024-england/

Data on the number of adults and children who do not have access to an NHS dentist is not available. However, the GPPS gives us an insight into how many people are unsuccessfully attempting to get a dentist appointment. The equivalent data for children is not available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure the adequacy of patient access to (a) Creon and (b) other pancreatic enzyme replacement medications; and whether he has had recent discussions with (i) NHS England and (ii) pharmaceutical companies on supplies of such medication.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with Creon, which is used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy medications. The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term. This includes asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production.

The supplier of Creon has advised that they expect to have regular supplies released each month going forward and are working to increase the quantities released. Serious Shortage Protocols are in place for Creon 10,000 and 25,000 capsules which pharmacists can use to restrict supply to one month at a time to ensure more patients have access to it whilst stock is limited.

We have worked closely with colleagues in NHS England to issue comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues and encourage sharing of local solutions. The guidance provides advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply and is being kept under review, with updates made as necessary.

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 number of dentistry practices in Scarborough and Whitby constituency accepting new (a) adult and (b) child NHS patients on the (i) most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) same date in 2010.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

While the data is not held for 2010, as of 9 October 2024, there were 15 open dentistry practices in the Scarborough and Whitby constituency, two of which were showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’ and four of which were showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’. This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website, and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with (a) NHS England and (b) pharmaceutical companies to ensure that patients have sufficient supplies of ADHD medication.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information is not collected on a local level.

The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.

We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We anticipate intermittent regional supply disruptions to continue, and we expect supply to improve in the UK from October 2024.

In parallel, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.

To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve service life for serving personnel and their families.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

I recognise the urgent need to transform the way we support our people and their families. The men and women of our Armed Forces and those who support them are at the heart of our Defence planning. Since July this Government has delivered the largest pay rise for the Armed Forces in over 20 years and have committed to strengthening the Armed Forces Covenant by bringing it into law.

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