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Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Friday 26th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people aged over 65 in (a) prisons and (b) immigration detention centres have been prioritised for covid-19 vaccination.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

If an individual in prison or an immigration detention centre is over 65 years old, they will be prioritised for vaccination in line with the rest of the population.


Written Question
Musculoskeletal Disorders: Remote Working
Wednesday 24th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has made of the number of musculoskeletal issues arising from home-working arrangements during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether his Department is taking steps to develop a strategy to tackle those issues.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

No such estimate has been made.

We will continue to monitor prevalence and treat musculoskeletal conditions, taking into account long standing best practice guidance in this area, including from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.


Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 18 Mar 2021
Social Care Reform

Speech Link

View all Apsana Begum (Lab - Poplar and Limehouse) contributions to the debate on: Social Care Reform

Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 18th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long on average patients registered with the GP At Hand service have had to wait between being (a) offered a covid-19 vaccine and (b) able to attend an appointment to receive that vaccine.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

As at 1st March 2021, there were 92,470 patients registered at the ‘GP at Hand’ practice.

Data on how many of those patients have been unable to access COVID-19 vaccines in their local area, how far they have had to travel, or the average wait between being offered a vaccine and attending to receive, is not collected centrally. Individuals eligible for vaccination have a choice on where they can book their COVID-19 vaccination. More than 98% of the country is now within 10 miles of a vaccination site.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 18th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how far on average patients registered with the GP At Hand service have had to travel to access their covid-19 vaccinations.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

As at 1st March 2021, there were 92,470 patients registered at the ‘GP at Hand’ practice.

Data on how many of those patients have been unable to access COVID-19 vaccines in their local area, how far they have had to travel, or the average wait between being offered a vaccine and attending to receive, is not collected centrally. Individuals eligible for vaccination have a choice on where they can book their COVID-19 vaccination. More than 98% of the country is now within 10 miles of a vaccination site.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Thursday 18th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients registered with the GP At Hand service who have been unable to access a covid-19 vaccine in their local areas.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

As at 1st March 2021, there were 92,470 patients registered at the ‘GP at Hand’ practice.

Data on how many of those patients have been unable to access COVID-19 vaccines in their local area, how far they have had to travel, or the average wait between being offered a vaccine and attending to receive, is not collected centrally. Individuals eligible for vaccination have a choice on where they can book their COVID-19 vaccination. More than 98% of the country is now within 10 miles of a vaccination site.


Written Question
GP At Hand
Thursday 18th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients are registered with the GP At Hand service.

Answered by Nadhim Zahawi

As at 1st March 2021, there were 92,470 patients registered at the ‘GP at Hand’ practice.

Data on how many of those patients have been unable to access COVID-19 vaccines in their local area, how far they have had to travel, or the average wait between being offered a vaccine and attending to receive, is not collected centrally. Individuals eligible for vaccination have a choice on where they can book their COVID-19 vaccination. More than 98% of the country is now within 10 miles of a vaccination site.


Written Question
NHS: Medical Records
Tuesday 16th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people there are without an NHS number who are (a) over 65 and (b) over 50 in England.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

NHS Digital does not have a mechanism for recording people who are not on National Health Service systems.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Mortality Rates
Monday 15th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

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 reasons for higher rates of covid-19 deaths among (a) BAME communities, (b) people affected by the benefits cap and (c) people living in overcrowded accommodation.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There has been significant effort to understand the causes of race disparities in COVID-19 infection and to bring the research into policy making to mitigate the disproportionate effects. The direct impacts of COVID-19 improved for ethnic minorities as a whole during the early second wave, suggesting that race disparities in COVID-19 outcomes are driven by risk of infection rather than ethnicity itself being a risk factor for severe illness or death.

Data shows deprivation to be a major driver of the disparities in COVID-19 infection rates for all ethnic groups. Whilst mortality rates in black African men and women have significantly decreased between the first and second waves, the findings that the impact has been greater in South Asian groups indicate the role of wider social determinants in the unequal impact of COVID-19. Tackling deprivation will be a particular focus of the Government work.

No assessment has been made for people affected by the benefits cap. There is no direct evidence concerning overcrowded accommodation, but there is some related evidence of a positive association between household size and composition and COVID-19 deaths. The evidence is summarised in a recent report by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on housing, household transmission and ethnicity, which is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/943178/S0923_housing_household_transmission_and_ethnicity.pdf


Written Question
Care Homes: Coronavirus
Friday 12th March 2021

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on rolling out the regular testing of care home residents’ families in (a) Poplar and Limehouse and (b) throughout England.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

All Care Quality Commission-registered adult care homes, including those in Poplar and Limehouse, are receiving lateral flow device (LFD) test kits to enable safe visits, where permitted.

From 8 March, care home residents will be able to be visited indoors by a single, named individual who will be required to have a test beforehand, wear personal protective equipment during the visit and avoid close contact. All visitors will receive a lateral flow test and be required to follow all infection prevention and control measures.