Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
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 accelerate the registration process for overseas-trained dentists to help extend the provision of NHS dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have asked the General Dental Council (GDC) to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the GDC’s Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) waiting list, and I will be regularly meeting with them to monitor progress.
I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place, as well as their ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. I will continue to discuss the new arrangements with the GDC, with a focus on understanding how they will further increase the availability of the ORE exam in the short and longer term.
The Department not be proceeding with providing the GDC with any additional legislative powers for international registration at this time. Having considered options for a provisional registration scheme, the Government’s view is that other, more cost-effective and efficient routes to registration should be the immediate priority.
Meanwhile, we expect the GDC to make full use of the flexibility afforded by the international registration reforms introduced in 2023 to ensure that those who have the right skills and experience are able to join its registers as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
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 that people with diabetes are not impacted by the shortage of Ozempic.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has worked intensively with pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and others in the supply chain to largely resolve the supply issues with GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), including Ozempic (semaglutide). Currently all strengths and presentations of Ozempic are available. We continue to monitor the supply of GLP-1 RA’s closely to ensure these medicines remain available for patients. Any patient concerned about their condition, or access to these medications, should speak to their prescriber in the first instance.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) regulate care home fees.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes commissioning a diverse range of care and support services that enable people to access quality care.
Section 4.31 of the Care and Support Statutory (CASS) guidance states that when commissioning services, local authorities should assure themselves and have evidence that the contract terms, conditions, and fee levels for care and support services are appropriate to provide the delivery of the agreed care packages with the agreed quality of care. Further information on the CASS guidance can be found at the following link:
Fee rates are set by providers of adult social care, the majority of which are in the independent sector. The Department does not have powers to set or recommend the level of fees that care homes charge.
As part of our monitoring of the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund grant conditions, and to understand fee rates more generally, local authorities are required to provide an annual return to the Department which includes data on the fee rates they pay care providers. The Government publishes this data annually, with the latest being available at the following link:
Please note this does not include data on fee rates for those that pay for their own care, known as self-funders.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has any plans to introduce legislation requiring alcoholic beverages to display (a) full ingredient lists and (b) nutritional information in line with the labelling requirements for other food and drink products.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is mandatory for alcohol labels to state the product’s strength, namely alcohol by volume, and whether the product contains any of the 14 main allergens. There is also voluntary guidance on communicating the UK Chief Medical Officers' low risk drinking guidelines. There are no current plans to change mandatory labelling requirements on alcoholic products.
A National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded study on alcohol calorie labelling is underway to assess the impact of alcohol calorie labelling on product selection, purchasing, and consumption, which will report in 2026.