Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason a covid-19 test for travel to France costs £219 each way when that travel is for a permitted reason, such as a family funeral.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
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 potential merits of covid-19 vaccine prioritisation for people who are visually impaired and unable to manage social distancing in all circumstances.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Visual impairment is not a risk factor for clinically more serious outcomes from COVID-19. Therefore, those with a visual impairment are not prioritised on the basis of this condition. However, some visually impaired individuals who are aged 50 years old and above or who meet the criteria for one of the nine priority groups will have been prioritised in phase one, in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure equal access to covid-19 rapid testing for (a) people who are visually impaired and (b) other people who are unable to administer the tests themselves.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Test and Trace has worked with a number of charities, including RNIB, the Macular Society, Thomas Pocklington Trust and Visionary.
NHS Test and Trace has undertaken trials with RNIB and volunteers with differing levels of vision quality. New tools are being introduced for those ordering home test kits who are visually impaired, including improved boxes which are easier to assemble for the returning of tests; instructions in braille, audio and large print; and an RNIB information line hear a recorded version of the instructions.
On 1 April, we launched the ‘Be My Eyes’ app which offers live video assistance from trained NHS Test and Trace staff. To support those who are unable to administer a test themselves, there are now more than 50 static regional test sites across the United Kingdom which offer assisted testing.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to include staff working in (a) nursery schools and (b) other early year providers in the same priority category as primary and secondary school teachers for the covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Staff working in nursery schools or in other early years roles, like teachers in primary and secondary schools, will be offered their vaccinations alongside other adults of the same age, or earlier if they have underlying health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. They are not currently being prioritised because of their occupation alone.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent body made up of scientific and clinical experts who advise Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
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 authorise GPs to issue prescriptions for Fampridine for multiple sclerosis patients at the standard NHS prescription charge.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is for the prescribing clinician to decide on the most appropriate course of treatment for their patient. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) current recommendation is that fampridine is not a cost-effective treatment for lack of mobility in people with multiple sclerosis. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s commissioning policy concluded in 2016 that there is not enough evidence to make the treatment available at that time. However, NICE is currently updating its guideline on multiple sclerosis, including to take account of new evidence on the effectiveness of fampridine for treating mobility in people with multiple sclerosis. NICE currently expects to publish final updated guidance in July 2022.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials in (a) his private office and (b) the wider Department have been allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is show in the following table. All members of staff shown work in the wider Department.
Year | Number of staff |
2018-19 | 3 |
2019-20 | 6 |
2020-21 | 10 |
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
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 when people with asthma should be prioritised to receive a covid-19 vaccination; and whether he has directed the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to make an assessment of when people with asthma should be prioritised for that vaccine.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent body of scientific and clinical experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has concluded that only a subset of those with asthma are at clinically high risk from COVID-19. This group are defined as adults with asthma who require continuous or repeated use of systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission and will be vaccinated as part of priority group six.
An individual with a more severe case of asthma may have been included in the clinically extremely vulnerable group, in which case they will be vaccinated as part of priority group four. Those in priority group four should already have been offered the vaccine.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding by Mencap that 80 per cent of deaths of people with a learning disability in the week ending 22 January 2021 were related to covid-19, if he will include people with mild to moderate learning disabilities in the first phase of covid-19 vaccinations; and whether he (a) has directed or (b) plans to direct the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to make an assessment of the potential effects of (i) including and (ii) excluding people with mild to moderate learning disabilities from the first vaccination phase.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) reviewed data on mortality from COVID-19 in coming to its recommendation, which included the available data on those with learning disabilities. As a result, individuals with severe and profound learning disabilities and younger adults with learning disabilities living in residential and care homes are prioritised for a vaccination in group six. Adults with Down’s syndrome were included in the clinically extremely vulnerable cohort and have therefore been included within priority group four.
Everyone on their general practitioner’s Learning Disability Register will be vaccinated as part of priority group six in phase one.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials in their Department were dedicated to their Department's responsibilities associated with the delivery of the Industrial Strategy in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019, (d) 2020 and (e) 2021.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Industrial Strategy is a cross-government policy which comprises and drives a significant number of initiatives. These span a wide array of policy areas across 20 Government departments and arm’s length bodies.
This information is not held centrally as work on the strategy is embedded in a number of roles across the Department.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward proposals to enable families with disabled children over the age of five to form support bubbles during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
People can form a support bubble if they fulfill the eligibility criteria, including if their household includes a child with a disability who requires continuous care and is under the age of five years old. The eligibility criteria are limited to ensure we strike the right balance between providing support to those most in need and controlling transmission risks.
Whilst a household with a disabled child over five years old may not be able to form a support bubble, there are exemptions from gathering and ‘stay at home’ restrictions for the purposes of providing care to a vulnerable person and respite care. The Government keeps support bubbles eligibility under continual review and will make changes if the data and science support it.