Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Incineration Overcapacity in England, published by the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network in November 2022, what steps her Department is taking to tackle overcapacity of incinerators in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government does not support overcapacity of Energy from Waste treatment in England. We will publish an assessment of our further residual waste treatment capacity needs in due course.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what horizon scanning for vaccines against infectious diseases is conducted by (a) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, (b) the UK Health Security Agency, (c) the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, (d) his Department and (e) NHS England; and whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of current approaches for supporting immunisation policy development and implementation.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Horizon scanning at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) aims to future-proof the agency by identifying emerging opportunities and challenges, to ensure it remains an enabling regulator capable of supporting safe innovation with respect to healthcare products.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with national and international partners to assess the risks posed by infectious diseases. Horizon scanning for vaccines is conducted against disease threats identified by the National Security Risk Assessment. Other criteria covered in UKHSA’s horizon scanning for vaccines include the risk of an outbreak occurring, burden of disease and feasibility of vaccine development.
UKHSA also works closely with global vaccine developers and manufacturers and with vaccine funders to ensure knowledge is constantly provided to support policy decisions on vaccine procurement and deployment.
The Joint Committee for Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) identifies gaps relating to immunisations or immunisation programmes where further research and/or surveillance should be considered.
NHS England works closely with JCVI, the Department and UKHSA to operationalise decisions made by Government on vaccinations and immunisation programmes across England.
The Department provides investment through the National Institute of Health and Care Research Innovation Observatory in health innovation futures scanning. This provides awareness and access to intelligence to support national decision making around health care innovation, in particular supporting National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Accelerated Access Collaborative within the National Health Service.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department plans to take to commemorate Armistice Day.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Commemorations will take place across the UK to mark Armistice Day. This will include a ceremony at the Cenotaph, as well as memorials across the UK and around the world.
The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance will take at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 11 November and will be supported by over 500 members of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 the role of pharmacists in increasing access to routine vaccinations.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department continues to work with NHS England and UK Health Security Agency to explore ways to increase uptake of the national immunisation programmes, including how pharmacies can contribute further to vaccination delivery, alongside other providers.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 reduce variations in the level of the uptake of routine vaccination programmes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to improve immunisation coverage for all, including those from under-vaccinated communities, through a range of initiatives. This includes data to better identify under-served individuals and populations, training for healthcare professionals and communication with the public, offering alternative delivery routes and local outreach efforts to connect with communities with historically lower uptake are informed of the benefits of vaccines. It also includes ensuring everyone can access through provision of immunisation leaflets available in over 15 languages as well as being available in braille, BSL, large print and audio versions.
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled; for themselves, their families, and wider society. Anyone unsure about their eligibility or vaccination status should contact their GP for advice.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 improve (a) data collection and (b) reporting for routine immunisation programmes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for the published official and national statistics on vaccination coverage and adapts its data collection and reporting to incorporate new vaccines and changes to the immunisation programmes.
UKHSA monitors vaccination coverage of all the routine immunisation programmes in England. Data for preschool immunisations is monitored through the COVER programme (Cover of Vaccinations Evaluated Rapidly). Data is collected and collated quarterly and annually measuring coverage at ages one, two and five years. The latest quarterly reports covers the period January to March 2023:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2022-to-2023-quarterly-data/quarterly-vaccination-coverage-statistics-for-children-aged-up-to-5-years-in-the-uk-cover-programme-january-to-march-2023
UKHSA also monitors and publishes data for England on the coverage of vaccinations offered to adolescents, adults, and the selective programmes, including shingles, PPV, pertussis for pregnant women, human papillomavirus (HPV), Td/IPV adolescent vaccine, MenACWY vaccine, influenza, BCG. Vaccination Uptake data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-programme.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding young people's access to occupational health services on their mental health.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government recognises that expert-led impartial advice, and interventions such as Occupational Health (OH), can provide appropriate and timely work-based support, including for young people, to manage mental health conditions in the workplace. OH as advisory support has a broad remit, including assessments of fitness for work, advice about reasonable adjustments, workability, or return to work plans and can signpost to treatment for specific mental health conditions.
In addition to this, the DWP Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young adults aged 16 to 24 who are in the Universal Credit Intensive Work Search group. Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisors work with local partners to signpost young adults to appropriate support. Youth Hubs work with partners to address barriers to young adults moving into employment, including other risk factors that could be associated with mental ill health. The type of support provided in hubs aims to meet the needs of young adults in their local community. We have recommended that all new Youth Hubs consider the barriers young people are facing (including access to mental health support) when determining the support services and partners available from a hub.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for pharmacies.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No recent discussions have been held. However, in May, as part of the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we announced a further investment of up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies.
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to the sector. Previously, in September 2022, we announced an additional one-off £100 million investment across this and last financial year to support the expansion of services delivered by community pharmacies.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact on public health of changes in the levels of closures of pharmacies between 2015 and 2023.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No assessment has been made of the impact on public health of pharmacy closures.
The Department closely monitors the market to ensure that people in England have good access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services, including services focused on health promotion and prevention of ill-health. Despite the increase in pharmacy closures seen in recent years, there is a similar number of pharmacies to ten years ago, and about 80% of the population live within 20 minutes’ walking distance of a pharmacy. Every three years, local authorities’ Health and Wellbeing Boards in England undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas to ensure that provision continues to meet their populations’ needs.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to introduce (a) travel bans and (b) sanctions on politicians promoting the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 in Uganda; what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on coordinating potential sanctions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I issued a statement on 29 May strongly condemning the Government of Uganda's decision to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law. The UK does not speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so would reduce their impact. We will continue to stand up for human rights and freedoms in Uganda and around the world.