Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that the Food Standards Agency is able to uphold food safety standards after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Department is committed to ensuring that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) maintains the high standards of food safety and consumer protection that we currently enjoy in this country. Leaving the European Union does not change the FSA’s top priority which is to ensure that food in the United Kingdom remains safe and is what it says it is.
One of FSA’s main priorities is to have a robust and effective regulatory regime which will mean business can continue as normal. All FSA’s exit plans are either complete or on schedule to deliver in time for day one of exit. As part of this, the Department has laid 18 EU Exit Statutory Instruments on behalf of the FSA to ensure that our high standards of food hygiene and safety will be maintained in a no deal scenario.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department is making on producing a public information campaign to educate the general public on the health impacts of air pollution, particularly in instances of moderate or high pollution episodes.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Public Health England and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are exploring whether social marketing can assist in awareness-raising about air pollution.
The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is planning a national-level campaign to support Clean Air Zones (CAZ) from summer 2019. This will raise awareness of the risks presented by high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and the implementation of charging CAZ. It will also promote long-term behaviour change by encouraging the public to change travel habits and reduce NO2 emissions.
The JAQU has also provided a CAZ communications toolkit to support local authorities in their local communications work. It contains key messages, frequently asked questions, useful statistics, infographics and other content to ensure a consistent approach is taken to raising awareness and to encourage drivers to consider alternative options in terms of travel and vehicle choice.
Defra is developing a communication strategy on domestic combustion for launch before the next winter burning season.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of adults with atopic dermatitis in (a) Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency, (b) England and (c) the UK.
Answered by Steve Brine
This data is not available, however, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that atopic dermatitis (atopic eczema) is a common skin condition that affects between 2–10% of adults.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
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 effectiveness of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme in encouraging pharmaceutical companies to launch promising and innovative medicines in the UK.
Answered by Steve Brine
The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy set out our vision of being a world-leader in developing and bringing to market innovative medicines to improve life-chances of United Kingdom patients. It highlighted the importance of evolving and simplifying the access system for new medicines by implementing, and building on, the findings of the Accelerated Access Review.
The Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) is an essential part of delivering on this ambition. It has been effective in encouraging companies to bring their products to the UK and market them. The figures below show increasing engagement from industry as the scheme has progressed.
Year | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 |
Number of Promising Innovative Medicines awarded | 8 | 6 | 17 | 20 |
Number of Scientific Opinions awarded | 1 | 8 | 3 | 7 |
The EAMS task group has been established to provide a forum for industry to engage with the Government, the devolved administrations and arm’s length bodies, driving further improvements to the scheme and making the UK a more attractive place to test and deliver new pharmaceuticals.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
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 ensure patients in England with (a) skin conditions and (b) atopic dermatitis are able to access to new innovative treatments.
Answered by Steve Brine
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides guidance on the prevention and treatment of ill health and the promotion of good health and social care. NICE has published a range of guidance products for the management of skin conditions, including technology appraisals, guidelines and quality standards, which can be accessed at the following link:
National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal guidance.
The Government takes the issue of ensuring rapid access to innovative therapies very seriously, which is why on 3 November 2017, we published our response to the Accelerated Access Review. We set out plans to give patients quicker access to life-changing treatments and make the United Kingdom the best place in the world for industry to invest and innovate.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
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 effectiveness of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme in ensuring that patients have access to promising and innovative medicines as early as possible.
Answered by Steve Brine
Since the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) was launched in 2014, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has awarded 50 promising innovative medicines designations and 21 positive scientific opinions as part of the scheme. NHS England records show that 1,100 patients in England have accessed treatment through EAMS.
Since the publication of the independent review of the EAMS the Government has made a number of improvements. Partners have worked together to provide updated guidance on the benefits and entry requirements for EAMS and are developing further guidance on collecting real world data in the National Health Service to further inform value assessment in a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraisal.
We have also established the EAMS task group to provide a forum for industry to engage and make suggestions to the Government, the devolved administrations and arm’s length bodies regarding EAMS as per the recommendations of the 2016 review.
We are also applying the learning from EAMs to the development of the Accelerated Access Pathway. Due to launch shortly, this will be a streamlined route to market which will help get the most innovative treatments to patients faster.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many horses and ponies were slaughtered in UK abattoirs (a) with no CCTV, (b) with no CCTV installed in stunning, killing or bleeding areas and (c) with CCTV in all areas in 2016.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Food Standards Agency has the following data on numbers of equines slaughtered in approved premises in England. There were no operating equine slaughter premises in Wales during the year 2016.
Type of CCTV in slaughterhouse | Number of horses slaughtered between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016 |
With no CCTV | 136 |
With no CCTV installed in stunning, killing or bleeding areas | 3,077 |
With CCTV in all areas | 115 |
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase psychology support for adults with muscle-wasting conditions in south Yorkshire.
Answered by David Mowat
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised neurological services, including services for patients with neuromuscular disorders. NHS England has published a service specification for neurological care that sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services.
The specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf
NHS providers, working with local area teams, may establish patient access to neuromuscular care advisers if they consider it would benefit service provision; such decisions are a local matter.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Public Health England will be responsible for drafting and publishing the obesity strategy.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, is being led by the Department with input from across Government, including Public Health England.
Asked by: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for the publication of the obesity strategy; and what role (a) Public Health England and (b) his Department is playing in the drafting of that strategy.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, is being led by the Department with input from across Government, including Public Health England.