Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 ensure patients that rely on medicines for (a) epilepsy, (b) ADHD and (c) Parkinson's are not impacted by supply shortages.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, some issues, including with some carbamazepine, lamotrigine, and oxcarbazepine presentations, have been resolved.
We are aware of an ongoing supply issue with all strengths of topiramate tablets, with the resupply date to be confirmed. Other manufacturers of topiramate tablets can meet the increased demand during this time.
The Department is aware of supply constraints with one supplier of amantadine 100 milligram capsules used in the management of Parkinson’s Disease, however stocks remain available from alternative suppliers to cover demand. The Department have also been notified of a discontinuation of apomorphine (APO-go PFS) 50 milligram/10 milligram pre-filled syringes from April 2025, used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease patients. Alternative formulations of apomorphine remain available for patients, and management guidance has been issued to the National Health Service.
The Department has also been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve the 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 the remaining issues 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. To improve supply and resilience, we are working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK’s supplier base.
In collaboration with NHS England’s national ADHD data improvement plan, we plan to combine modelling for future growth forecasts, which will be shared with industry to improve demand forecasting for ADHD medicines.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS England on the introduction of (a) gene therapy and (b) other new treatments for patients with thalassaemia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department regularly discusses a range of issues with colleagues in NHS England related to patient access to new medicines. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether all new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NICE’s appraisal of the gene therapy, exagamglogene autotemcel, for treating transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia is currently paused, to allow the company and NHS England to enter into commercial and managed access discussions.
In November 2023, NHS England published a clinical commissioning policy that recommends that allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for adult transfusion dependent thalassaemia should be routinely commissioned.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce children’s exposure to measles.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is working closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners at the national, regional and local levels to ensure the health system is prepared and can respond to outbreaks. Briefing notes and letters have been sent to the National Health Service and health professional organisations to remind them of existing guidance and ask them to seek assurance of their preparedness to manage measles cases and prevent outbreaks in their settings. National Measles guidance has been updated, and a range of resources have been published including posters and training resources, which are all available at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-measles-guidelines
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-information-and-poster-for-health-professionals
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/measles-guidance-data-and-analysis
In January 2024, a national multi-agency exercise is planned to assess the system-wide preparedness to respond to a large measles outbreak at a regional and national level.
UKHSA, NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners are also working to raise public awareness of the risks and increase measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination coverage, including through national and regional call-recall exercises, communication campaigns and targeted outreach for underserved communities. NHS England has agreed with general practices to focus their annual campaign on local call recall for MMR to ensure that consistent efforts are made to contact those eligible who have not taken up a vaccine offer between November 2023 and March 2024. A national call recall for individuals aged six years old up to and including 25 years old who are not up to date with their MMR vaccine is planned for 2024.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of children’s access to vaccination services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government is committed to improving vaccination uptake rates to fully protect the public from vaccine preventable diseases. The Department works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to improve children’s access to vaccination services through diverse delivery methods, making getting vaccinated easier for all, including those in traditionally under-served groups. NHS England has rolled out additional programmes such as NHS England London’s new drive to increase measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake last summer to improve immunisation coverage for children and catch-up missed vaccinations due to the pandemic.
The Department is working with NHS England and UKHSA to encourage high uptake of all childhood vaccinations, including the polio vaccine, with NHS England London launching the next phase of their polio campaign, delivering a school-based catch-up for children aged between one and 11 years old. This will also provide opportunities to catch up children for other important childhood vaccines, including MMR.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 April 2023 on Achieving Smokefree 2030: cutting smoking and stopping kids vaping, HCWS710, whether his Department has made an assessment of modelling on the potential effectiveness of each of the proposed steps in helping reduce smoking rates to 5% or less by 2030.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
Annex 1 of ‘Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation’ sets out the modelling used to forecast changes in smoking prevalence over time based on legislating for a smokefree generation. This modelling is preliminary and will continue to be further refined ahead of publication of a full impact assessment.
Annex 1 is available at the following link:
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many crisis houses are managed by the NHS as of June 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
There are currently around 600 different types of crisis alternatives services operating across the country, including around 70 crisis houses, providing an alternative to accident and emergency or psychiatric admission. This number will continue to grow with further investment over the remaining NHS Long Term Plan period to March 2024. NHS England has advised that the number of crisis houses which are National Health Service commissioned but not managed by NHS staff is not held centrally.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many crisis houses are commissioned by the NHS but not managed by its staff.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
There are currently around 600 different types of crisis alternatives services operating across the country, including around 70 crisis houses, providing an alternative to accident and emergency or psychiatric admission. This number will continue to grow with further investment over the remaining NHS Long Term Plan period to March 2024. NHS England has advised that the number of crisis houses which are National Health Service commissioned but not managed by NHS staff is not held centrally.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the impact on public health of second-hand vapour from e-cigarettes in public spaces.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, previously Public Health England (PHE), has published detailed evidence updates on vapes (e-cigarettes) since 2014.
The last report, published in 2022, assesses the impact on public health of second-hand vapour from e-cigarettes in public spaces. This can be seen in Chapter 7 ‘Biomarkers of Secondhand exposure’. The full report is available at the following link:
In summary, there is limited published evidence of harm to bystanders from exposure to e-cigarette vapour and the available evidence indicates that any risk of harm is extremely low, especially when compared with tobacco smoke. PHE also published advice on the use of vapes in public places and workplaces in 2016 which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/use-of-e-cigarettes-in-public-places-and-workplaces
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 prevalence of trans fats in food in the UK.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
No estimate has been made. The most recent data from the United Kingdom National Diet and Nutrition Survey, collected between 2016 and 2019, show that average trans fat intakes in the UK are 0.5-0.6% of total energy intake for adults, and 0.5% for children. This is well within the UK recommended maximum of no more than 2% of total energy.
Trans fat intakes in the UK have declined substantially since the 1980s and 1990s due to the voluntary removal of artificial trans fats from processed foods by the food industry, with some additional work to reduce levels of trans fats in food being undertaken between 2011 and 2013.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 that adequate mental health care is available for children with autism and those awaiting autism diagnoses.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The transformation of Children and Young People’s Mental Health services is a priority for the National Health Service. We are increasing access to support for those that need it, including autistic children and children with a learning disability with mental health needs. The NHS Long Term Plan, includes a commitment that an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0 to 25 years old will have access to NHS-funded mental health support, including in new Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges, by 2024.
For people and families who are waiting to have an autism assessment, we know that this is a challenge. NHS England is currently developing a national framework to support partners in local areas to commission and deliver autism assessment services for children, young people and adults. The aim of this work is to improve access to and the quality of these assessment processes and to reduce the time that people wait for an assessment. The framework will be published in due course.