Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to health boards on the prescription of Ritlecitinib to treat alopecia.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on the use of new medicines, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
The NICE issued guidance in March 2024 that recommends ritlecitinib, within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating severe alopecia areata in people 12 years old and over. Whilst severity is not specifically defined in the guidance, the evidence submission by the medicine’s manufacturer defined ‘severe’ as a Severity of Alopecia Tool score of more than 50 out of 100. The guidance also acknowledges that living with severe alopecia areata can have a profound impact on psychosocial health. At the present time, there are no plans to update this guidance.
As health is a devolved issue, information relating to guidance on the use of ritlecitinib in Scotland would be held by the Scottish health authorities.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what age of patient health boards are advised to use Ritlecitinib to treat alopecia.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on the use of new medicines, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
The NICE issued guidance in March 2024 that recommends ritlecitinib, within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating severe alopecia areata in people 12 years old and over. Whilst severity is not specifically defined in the guidance, the evidence submission by the medicine’s manufacturer defined ‘severe’ as a Severity of Alopecia Tool score of more than 50 out of 100. The guidance also acknowledges that living with severe alopecia areata can have a profound impact on psychosocial health. At the present time, there are no plans to update this guidance.
As health is a devolved issue, information relating to guidance on the use of ritlecitinib in Scotland would be held by the Scottish health authorities.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to update guidance on the use of Ritlecitinib to treat alopecia.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on the use of new medicines, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
The NICE issued guidance in March 2024 that recommends ritlecitinib, within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating severe alopecia areata in people 12 years old and over. Whilst severity is not specifically defined in the guidance, the evidence submission by the medicine’s manufacturer defined ‘severe’ as a Severity of Alopecia Tool score of more than 50 out of 100. The guidance also acknowledges that living with severe alopecia areata can have a profound impact on psychosocial health. At the present time, there are no plans to update this guidance.
As health is a devolved issue, information relating to guidance on the use of ritlecitinib in Scotland would be held by the Scottish health authorities.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the British Association of Dermatologists on the suitability of Severity of Alopecia Tool scores to determine treatment for alopecia.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no discussions between the current health ministers in England and the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) on the suitability of the Severity of Alopecia Tool’s (SALT) scores to determine treatment for alopecia areata.
However, we understand that BAD has acknowledged that whilst SALT is a helpful tool, it does not fully capture the overall impact of alopecia areata on an individual's life, including psychological distress and hair loss in other areas. Its 2024 living guideline for managing people with alopecia areata considers factors beyond scalp hair loss, such as other body hair loss, to assess the severity of alopecia areata.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many health boards have used Ritlecitinib to treat alopecia in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority and NHS England only hold prescribing data for ritlecitinib in England. As health is a devolved issue, information relating to the use of ritlecitinib by Scottish health boards would be held by the Scottish health authorities.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on the number of UK citizens by occupation who reached the end of their 90-day limit for staying in the EU (a) since the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force and (b) in the last 12 months.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold the statistical information requested.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reform spousal visa regulations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform of the family route and a wide range of other areas.
In September 2024, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, until the MAC review is complete. We will then consider their report and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations.
Information on statistics relating to family visas is available from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons. Family Partner visa grants is available from Table Vis_D02. The 'family' route covers visas where an individual is applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of all STEM roles from the immigration salary list on (a) the advanced manufacturing industry and (b) their ability to attract global talent.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Immigration White Paper has set out that we will replace the Immigration Salary List with a new Temporary Shortage List. The Migration Advisory Committee will recommend the occupations that will be for the Temporary Shortage List by drawing on evidence from the wider Labour Market Evidence Group.
The government will be taking an evidence-based approach to skilled migration, ensuring temporary access for shortage skills while drawing on evidence from the LME Group to ensure there are workforce strategies detailing the steps that will be taken to boost the skills, training and engagement of the UK labour force.
The Government will set out further details in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many spousal visas were issued in each of the past four years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform of the family route and a wide range of other areas.
In September 2024, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, until the MAC review is complete. We will then consider their report and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations.
Information on statistics relating to family visas is available from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons. Family Partner visa grants is available from Table Vis_D02. The 'family' route covers visas where an individual is applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the income requirements for awarding a spousal visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform of the family route and a wide range of other areas.
In September 2024, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, until the MAC review is complete. We will then consider their report and decide whether to implement any of the recommendations.
Information on statistics relating to family visas is available from the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication. Data on family visas can be found in the Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
The statistics relate to applications and outcomes (grants, refusals, lapsed and withdrawn) of entry clearance visas granted for family reasons. Family Partner visa grants is available from Table Vis_D02. The 'family' route covers visas where an individual is applying for a visa on the basis of their relationship to a person settled in the UK or a British citizen.