Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase funding allocated to research into (a) endometriosis and (b) polycystic ovary syndrome.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has invested £8.4 million into endometriosis research and £3.9 million into polycystic ovary syndrome research. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. While it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, the NIHR’s funding is available through open competition and we encourage researchers to submit applications in these areas.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a UK resident is allowed to quarantine in their motor home on return to the UK from Spain.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
If someone has not been in a red-list country they must quarantine at home and book and take mandatory COVID-19 tests on day two and day eight of their quarantine. They must complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) two days before they travel with details of where they will quarantine when they arrive. Individuals must provide a registered United Kingdom address on the PLF. For someone quarantining in a motor home, this would mean they need to remain parked in the same location for the duration of the 10 days quarantine.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
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 tackle misinformation on vaccines online, and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We take the issue of vaccine misinformation extremely seriously and are working across Government to tackle this.
We continue to work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, media, social media and technology companies to limit misinformation and promote positive messages about vaccination.
The Department works closely with Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement to promote vaccinations and raise awareness of their benefits and the diseases they prevent.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his recent meeting with Facebook’s Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications, whether Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act 1996 was discussed at that meeting; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care held a wide-ranging discussion on the role that social media companies, including Facebook, can play to tackle the spread of vaccine misinformation online.
We continue to work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, media, social media and technology companies, including Facebook, to limit the impact and spread of misinformation and promote positive messages about vaccination.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his recent meeting with Facebook’s Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications, what the outcomes of that meeting were; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s recent meeting with Facebook’s Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications included discussion on the actions that Facebook is taking to minimise the reach and influence of vaccine misinformation online and promote positive messages about vaccination.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of the provision of video telephoning facilities for patients in hospital that cannot have visitors during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Ensuring patients can contact their family and friends during their stay in hospital is critical to their wellbeing and morale at all times. National Health Service providers are locally responsible for providing this, though its provision will depend on the clinical treatment being received and the facilities being utilised. In many cases this will involve utilisation of the patient’s own technology such as a smartphone, but consideration needs to be given by NHS trusts to alternative methods to ensure patients have the services they need.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
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 introduce mental health support in schools in relation to the effect of social media.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
We are aware of the potential health harms of screen use and social media, on both the mental and physical health of young people and are undertaking several actions relevant to this area.
In line with the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, on 20 December the Government announced the first wave of 25 trailblazer sites that will test the plans set out in ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, published in December 2017.
These new plans will significantly increase the availability of mental health support to children and young people, including creating new Mental Health Support Teams working in and near schools and colleges to support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions. Mental Health Support Teams will provide brand new services and are intended to offer earlier help and intervention with issues such as online harms and the adverse effects of social media.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2018 to Question 164527 on Buildings: Insulation, what estimate he has made of the number of hospitals in England and Wales of any height that have combustible (a) cladding and (b) insulation.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This summer, the Government consulted on the use of combustible cladding on buildings. Following this consultation, we confirmed on 1 October that we will take forward this ban on all high-rise buildings that contains flats, as well as hospitals, residential care premises and student accommodation, above 18 metres. This ban will be delivered through changes to building regulations guidance and will limit materials available to products achieving a European classification of Class A1 or A2. This ban will apply to all new buildings and refurbishment.
Data is not held centrally on hospitals or other National Health Service buildings that have combustible cladding. NHS trusts are locally responsible for their fire safety within existing legislation, and the NHS fire safety guidance, Firecode, is provided to support them in doing this. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, NHS organisations must, as far as is reasonably practical, make sure that everyone on the premises, or nearby, can escape safely if there is a fire. They will therefore consider the ban on combustible cladding as part of the regular fire risk assessments they carry out on their existing estate.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2018 to Question 164527 on Buildings: insulation, how many hospitals above 18 metres have rainscreen cladding.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, National Health Service organisations must, as far as is reasonably practical, ensure that everyone on the premises are safe in a fire situation. Therefore, they must consider the ban on combustible cladding as part of the regular fire risk assessments they carry out on their estate when they have new developments or refurbishment. This will include whether it applies to all walls irrespective of height.
As part of the NHS response to the Grenfell tragedy a review of cladding used on NHS properties was undertaken and 10 were identified with buildings that used Aluminium Composite Material. Mitigation actions were immediately implemented, with the agreement of the Fire and Rescue Services, with plans being put in place for its removal and replacement. The Department is funding this work.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2018 to Question 164527, how many non-high-rise hospitals that are below 18 metres have rainscreen cladding.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, National Health Service organisations must, as far as is reasonably practical, ensure that everyone on the premises are safe in a fire situation. Therefore, they must consider the ban on combustible cladding as part of the regular fire risk assessments they carry out on their estate when they have new developments or refurbishment. This will include whether it applies to all walls irrespective of height.
As part of the NHS response to the Grenfell tragedy a review of cladding used on NHS properties was undertaken and 10 were identified with buildings that used Aluminium Composite Material. Mitigation actions were immediately implemented, with the agreement of the Fire and Rescue Services, with plans being put in place for its removal and replacement. The Department is funding this work.