Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 ensure that the (a) NHS is training a cancer workforce that can meet the rising burden of cancer in years to come and (b) year-on-year spend is there to support that workforce.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In 2021/22, Health Education England has invested £52 million in the cancer and diagnostics workforce. Between 2016 and 2021, the annual growth rate of the overall cancer workforce has remained between 3% to 4%. Spending plans for individual budgets for 2022/23 and beyond are subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and will be finalised in due course. This includes the education and training of the cancer workforce. The forthcoming 10 Year Cancer Plan will also ensure that the appropriate workforce is in place to deliver services.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 tackle regional variation in the early diagnosis of cancer.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement are delivering projects to tackle identified inequalities in cancer care, including the stage of diagnosis. The Targeted Lung Health Check programme offers lung health checks to current and former smokers aged between 55 and 74 years old.
Cancer Alliances also target patient groups within the local system where early diagnosis rates are lower. Through Cancer Alliances, the National Health Service is funding local awareness campaigns with specific community and patient groups and tailored approaches aimed at identifying those who may not have consulted their general practitioner regarding possible symptoms. Local systems are expected to support general practice capacity where most patients will present. In 2022/23, Primary Care Networks are required to implement actions to improve the referral practice for suspected cancers, particularly among people from disadvantaged areas where early diagnosis rates are lower.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the establishment of dedicated neuro-oncology consultant posts within the fields of neurosurgery, neurology, neuropathology, paediatrics and medical and clinical oncology, as recommended by the Task and Finish Group on Brain Tumour Research.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to designate centres of excellence in the management of brain tumours. Nine centres have achieved designation in its first phase. The Mission has a workstream on training to expand the brain tumour treatment workforce in collaboration between National Health Service bodies, Royal Colleges and charities.
All NHS services for brain tumours should be provided according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence improving outcomes guidance which makes recommendations on workforce specialisations. NHS England and NHS Improvement expect the services commissioned to adhere to these guidelines.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 fiscal impact of proposed restrictions on advertising and product offers for high fat, sugar and salt products in shops.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The impact assessments for further advertising restrictions and restricting promotions for products high in fat, salt or sugar show a positive net present value for each policy, meaning the health benefits outweigh the costs to business and the Government.
The health benefits for advertising restrictions accrued when appraised over 100 years are estimated at approximately £2 billion. Additionally, the policy will provide savings for the National Health Service of £50 million, £40 million in social care and reduced premature mortality is expected to deliver an additional £119 million of economic output. Over the 25 year appraisal period, the location restrictions on promotions are expected to accrue health benefits of £57,600 million and provide savings to the NHS of £4,364 million. The volume price promotions restrictions are expected to accrue health benefits of £2,390 million and provide NHS savings of £180 million.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether products which are a source of protein will be subject to the upcoming restrictions on products that are high in fat, sugar and salt; and how the Government will define which products are a source of protein within the Obesity Strategy.
Answered by Maggie Throup
For restrictions on advertising and promotions of high fat, salt or sugar products, there will be a two-stage process to define what products are captured by the restrictions. This two-stage process ensures the restrictions apply to the products of most concern to childhood obesity whilst allowing the healthier products within categories to be excluded.
As part of this process, the Government is using the 2004/05 Nutrient Profiling Model, as it is based on scientific evidence and provides an overall assessment of the nutritional content of products considered by balancing beneficial nutrients including fruit, vegetables and nuts, fibre and protein content against components of food that children should eat less of, such as saturated fat, sugar, salt, and calories.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on taking forward the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group on Brain Tumour Research to improve access for researchers to brain tumour tissue and blood samples with accompanying clinical data; and what plans his Department has to tackle that issue.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission reports that over 70% of United Kingdom neuro-oncology centres now have biobanking infrastructure in place to collect samples and tissue for research. These centres are collaborating to improve tissue collection opportunities through the Tessa Jowell Academy.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Office for Product Safety and Standards is taking against producers, importers or distributors who sell unsafe or non-compliant e-cigarette and refill container products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department of Health and Social Care is the responsible department for the regulation of e-cigarettes. The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, through the Office for Product Safety and Standards, does not have a role in compliance or enforcement of e-cigarettes
The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 introduced e-cigarette product and safety standards, with a duty to notify the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of any product which is to be placed on the United Kingdom market. Non-compliant products are subject to local trading standards enforcement measures. The Department works with the MHRA, Trading Standards and other regulatory enforcement agencies to ensure that products sold in the UK comply with regulations for all e-cigarette products and that non-compliant products are removed from the market.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with representatives of the food and drink industry to discuss the potential for loss of revenue as a result of introducing restrictions on the promotion and placement of products that are high in fat, salt and sugar.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including the food and drink industry, on proposals for restrictions on the promotion of high fat, salt and sugar products. We have been careful to consider the views of industry through two consultations and extensive engagement throughout the development of the regulations. The final impact assessments on the proposals to restrict the promotion of foods high in fat, salt and sugar by location and by volume are available at the following link:
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 (a) restore dementia diagnosis to pre-covid-19 levels and (b) improve the diagnosis rate to above those levels.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We continue to closely monitor the dementia diagnosis rate on a monthly basis. The Government has made £17 million available this financial year to NHS England and NHS Improvement to reduce dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to deliver targeted efforts to support recovery of referrals, diagnosis, and where appropriate, support access to post-diagnostic support.
We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in due course, including improving diagnosis rates.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 improve patient access to (a) FDG-PET and (b) CSF tests for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in line with NICE guidelines.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for health and care, including on assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers. NICE’s guideline NG97 states that FDG-PET and CSF tests should be considered when the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is uncertain.
Clinical commissioning groups are expected to commission appropriate services, including such testing, in line with their local population health needs.