Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to section 4.2 of NHS key statistics: England, HC 07281, published on 25 October 2024, (a) what assessment he has made of the causes of the increase in life threatening ambulance calls since Spring 2021 and (b) what percentage of the calls each month were cardiac related.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rise in category 1 incidents reflects an increase in the proportion of patients’ ambulance services that have been determined to require an immediate face-to-face response. This may reflect a long-term trend of rising pressures on the health services from an increasing aging population, and complexity that comes with more patients with multiple comorbidities. Information on increases in ambulance service demand is published by NHS England. The total number of cardiac arrests that ambulance services responded to is published by month, however this information does not include other cardiac incidents, for example heart attack or angina, and the information is not disaggregated by incident category. The following table shows the total number of cardiac arrests each month from March 2021 to June 2024:
Month | Total cardiac arrests |
March 2021 | 7,473 |
April 2021 | 6,982 |
May 2021 | 7,085 |
June 2021 | 6,944 |
July 2021 | 7,592 |
August 2021 | 7,135 |
September 2021 | 7,442 |
October 2021 | 8,307 |
November 2021 | 8,483 |
December 2021 | 9,227 |
January 2021 | 8,936 |
February 2021 | 7,466 |
March 2021 | 8,216 |
April 2022 | 8,043 |
May 2022 | 7,781 |
June 2022 | 7,407 |
July 2022 | 7,959 |
August 2022 | 7,408 |
September 2022 | 7,349 |
October 2022 | 8,118 |
November 2022 | 8,440 |
December 2022 | 11,988 |
January 2022 | 9,832 |
February 2022 | 7,682 |
March 2022 | 8,599 |
April 2023 | 8,049 |
May 2023 | 7,298 |
June 2023 | 6,921 |
July 2023 | 6,611 |
August 2023 | 6,753 |
September 2023 | 6,668 |
October 2023 | 7,941 |
November 2023 | 8,259 |
December 2023 | 9,554 |
January 2024 | 9,471 |
February 2024 | 8,045 |
March 2024 | 8,309 |
May 2024 | 7,544 |
June 2024 | 7,344 |
Source: The data is published by NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 1 November 2024 to Question 9445 on Department of Health and Social Care: Public Appointments, what interests Alan Milburn has declared since being appointed as a Lead Non-Executive Board Member.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The usual process of declarations of interest and agreement of appropriate mitigations for non-executive board member (NEBM) appointments was carried out, overseen by the Permanent Secretary. He is content that the process has been carried out, that appropriate declarations have been made, and that appropriate mitigations for any conflicts arising have been put in place. NEBMs are contracted to work for two to three days a month and therefore it is not unusual for them to hold multiple other positions and interests. Their declarations of interest are published each year in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and will also be published on GOV.UK website as per the new guidance on NEBM declarations of interest, that will be published soon. These declarations will be published at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what businesses have made representations to her about the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ahead of the Autumn Budget, the Treasury received 633 written representations from stakeholders. Ministers and officials also met with a broad range of businesses and representative bodies. This includes meetings that the Chancellor and Financial Secretary had with Heads of the Federation of Small Businesses, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, British Chambers of Commerce and Make UK.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent on (a) reviewing applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme and (b) reviewing cases where a patient has challenged a decision in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in November 2021. We cannot provide any costings for the scheme during the period in which it was operated by the Department for Work and Pensions. Since the NHSBSA took over operation of the scheme, the following costs have been incurred for the medical assessments of the claims:
These are annual totals since we do not separate the budgets for initial assessments and mandatory reversals, the review of claims already assessed.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 13 September 2024 to Question 4203 on Primodos: Research, when he expects the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to complete that review; and what steps he is taking to (a) manage potential conflicts of interest and (b) ensure transparency during the review process.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), together with the wider Government, are committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence since the conclusions of the 2017 independent Expert Working Group, convened by the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM).
As per the commitment to reviewing any new scientific evidence, the MHRA has reviewed the publication by Danielsson et al. For full transparency, the MHRA will present their review at the November 2024 CHM meeting. The meeting will have a number of invited experts, including the papers authors, who are invited to give a presentation on their paper and address any questions from the CHM. Mrs Marie Lyon has also been invited to participate as an expert patient, as a representative of the Association For Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests. The CHM will give their opinion, and the MHRA will then act upon the CHM’s advice if required. Both the MHRA and the CHM have codes of conduct in order to manage potential conflicts of interest.
The MHRA have a Dealing with Staff Conflicts of Interest Policy, where staff must declare all relevant interests on appointment, when they arise and annually, so that they can be discussed, mitigated, or disposed of, or both, as required. Staff cannot hold direct financial interests in the pharmaceutical industry or healthcare, specifically medical device, industries.
The CHM has a Code of Practice on conflicts of interest which applies to chairs, members, co-opted members, and invited observers and experts. The annual declaration of interests made by all chairs and members are published on GOV.UK website. Declarations from members for the day, invited experts, and patient experts are published in the same way as permanent members of the CHM, on the GOV.UK website, and in the committee minutes for transparency reasons. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
The minutes and outcome of the November CHM discussion will be communicated and made publicly available through the GOV.UK website, at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what dates Alan Milburn has attended Departmental meetings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Central Government Corporate Transparency Commitments require Government Departments to publish details of Ministers and Senior Officials meetings with external individuals or organisations on a quarterly basis. We will be publishing the meetings that Alan Milburn attended, in accordance with the transparency guidelines.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 31 October 2024 to Question 11248 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what discussions the MHRA has had with industry safety regulators on the potential implications of the Pfizer study abstract entitled Post Conditional Approval Active Surveillance Study Among Individuals in Europe Receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccine dated 12 March 2024 on an assessment of individuals’ medical fitness to operate safety critical systems.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The study abstract has been reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as part of its continuous post approval safety monitoring procedures for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (Comirnaty). The abstract is available at the following link:
The MHRA does not consider that any regulatory action is warranted at this time, therefore has not discussed this study abstract with industry safety regulators. The MHRA will review the final study report, when it is made available by Pfizer, as part of safety monitoring procedures.
The MHRA continues to closely monitor the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines and will take any regulatory action necessary should any new safety concerns be identified.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on allowing people with financial interests in the private healthcare sector to be (a) employed in and (b) non executive directors at his Department.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All Department employees are subject to the Department’s policy on the Declaration and Management of Outside Interests. The policy is in alignment with the model Cabinet Office guidance in this area for Civil Servants, published on the GOV.UK website, which sets out how staff can identify when a perceived, potential, or actual conflict of interest arises, and what action must be taken in those circumstances. This includes a discussion between the employee and manager to determine whether there is a conflict of interest in the first instance, or perceived conflict of interest, such that the employee should be excluded from the activity, or that the employee may continue with the activity but must implement actions to mitigate any risk. Further information is available at the following link:
Prior to appointment and throughout their term of office, non-executive board members are required to declare all relevant interests, and for any areas where a potential conflict of interest could be seen to arise, mitigations are required to be put in place and approved by the Department. Declarations of interest are published each year in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 14 October 2024 to Question 6194 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has made an assessment of the potential implications for future medical decisions of the Pfizer study abstract entitled, Post Conditional Approval Active Surveillance Study Among Individuals in Europe Receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccine, dated 12 March 2024; and when he plans to publish the full study.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The study abstract has been reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as part of its continuous post approval safety monitoring procedures for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (Comirnaty). The abstract is available at the following link:
The MHRA does not consider that any regulatory action is warranted at this time and will review the final study report, when it’s made available by Pfizer, as part of safety monitoring procedures.
The MHRA does not publish study reports for company studies, and further publications of results are the responsibility of Pfizer-BioNTech. The MHRA continues to closely monitor the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines and will take any regulatory action necessary should any new safety concerns be identified.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to invest in tidal power.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK possesses tremendous tidal resource and could play a role in balancing the intermittency of wind and solar generation as we transition towards a carbon-neutral power sector.
The UK remains the world leader in tidal stream generation technologies, with around half of the world's operational deployment of this situated in UK waters. On 3rd September 2024, the Government announced that six tidal stream contracts were secured with a joint capacity of 28MW in Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 6. The UK is on track to have over 130 MW of tidal stream capacity deployed by 2029.
The Government is also open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy in the bays and estuaries around our coastlines, including barrage schemes and other alternatives.