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 is taking to increase biomedical research on the causes and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis in the UK.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2020, the NIHR and the Medical Research Council, through UK Research and Innovation, came together to fund the world’s largest genome-wide association study of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), sometimes referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). This £3.2 million study, ‘DecodeME’, will analyse samples from 20,000 people with ME/CFS to search for genetic differences that may indicate underlying causes or an increased risk of developing the condition. DecodeME is a partnership between biomedical scientists at the University of Edinburgh and ME/CFS charities and people with lived experience of ME/CFS. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study will aid the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
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 work with the Welsh Government to bring forward specific travel guidance for researchers and students at Welsh universities who are resident in England and require laboratory access to complete their qualifications.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We continue to work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations including in the Welsh Government on the implications of guidance about travel during national restrictions.
In England until 2 December, people should avoid travel outside their local area, unless for permitted reasons. These reasons include work and education, therefore enabling researchers and students to access the laboratory when necessary and complete their qualification. If this would include travelling to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, they should refer to the specific rules in place there.
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 he has made of the potential merits of including soft tissue therapy in those medical practices permitted to continue operating during covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No specific assessment has been made.
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 increase funding for bariatric surgery in the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning complex obesity services for adults, which include all bariatric surgical procedures and the associated care. We are already providing all National Health Service organisations with significant funding commitments including the Chancellor’s funding for the healthcare response to COVID-19, with £31.9 billion of support for health services announced at the summer Economic Statement and a further £16.4 billion as part of the Winter Economy Plan. This is in addition to the funding increase by £33.9 billion by 2023-24.
Through ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ we are delivering a range of measures on weight management. Further details about these measures will be available later in the year.
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 NICE has to review recent research on the (a) use of and (b) eligibility for Spinraza for treatment of type three spinal muscular atrophy.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has committed to reviewing new evidence that becomes available for non-ambulant spinal muscular atrophy type 3 patients during the five-year course of the existing managed access agreement (MAA). This review will assess whether any new evidence has become available to support a change in the MAA treatment eligibility criteria.
NICE expects to commence the review later this year.
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, when the Government plans to issue revised guidance for managing a funeral during the covid-19 outbreak; and what changes the Government plans to make to that guidance.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) is keeping all guidance related to COVID-19 under review, including ‘Managing a funeral during the coronavirus pandemic’. PHE updates guidance as new evidence emerges and legislation is updated.
Updated guidance will be published shortly.
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 allow GP practices to administer flu vaccines to their own staff members.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
General practitioners are able to administer the flu vaccine to their own staff as part of their occupational health responsibilities to staff working in their practice. Advice is available at the following links:
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 he has taken to encourage locum doctors to work more hours during the covid-19 oubreak; and whether he has reviewed death in service benefits for locum doctors since the start of that outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Health Service has mobilised a large number of clinical and non-clinical staff, both retired and who normally work in the private sector, to ensure sufficient supply of medical staff to manage the challenges that this pandemic has created for the NHS.
In addition, the NHS has a robust temporary staffing supply chain to ensure it can bring in the right people at the right time to deal with fluctuations in demand.
In general practice, general practitioner (GP) locums as well as returners and substantive GPs wishing to increase their hours are providing additional patient care within the NHS 111 COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Services.
The NHS Pension Scheme provides good quality death in service benefits to all members. The Secretary of State recently announced a new life assurance scheme for frontline health and social care staff who contract COVID-19 during the course of their work. The scheme is non-contributory and pays a £60,000 lump sum where staff die as a result of COVID-19 and had been recently working in frontline roles and locations where personal care is provided to individuals who have contracted COVID-19.
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 Security, if he will take steps to ensure that UK ports publish regularly updated health information on covid-19 from each docking ship's Maritime Declaration of Health.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the point at which a ship's declaration would be received, any report could only be treated as a suspected case, as laboratory testing takes place later in the care pathway. For this reason, the United Kingdom ports do not routinely publish this information on COVID-19.
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 he has made of the effect of climate change on the work of his Department; and what steps he is taking in response to that effect.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has made assessments of the effect of climate change on the work of the Department in developing our commitments for the health and social care system within the National Adaptation Programme available at the following link:
It has also developed a Departmental Sustainable Development Plan, which sets the ambition for the Department to embed sustainability in all policy development and includes our commitment to the ‘Greening Government Commitments’. This is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greening-government-commitments
This Department works closely across Government to ensure that climate change policies also deliver associated benefits to public health where appropriate.