Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 (a) diagnostics and (b) treatment pathways for people with long covid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no diagnostic tests for long COVID currently approved for use in the United Kingdom, and clinicians must rule out other conditions which present with similar symptoms to diagnose long COVID. Researchers are also working to identify blood-based biomarkers as the basis for diagnostic tests and targets for treatments.
Over the last five years, the Government, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council, has invested over £57 million in long COVID research, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID.
This includes clinical trials to test and compare different treatments, and to improve our understanding of long COVID and how health professionals can accurately diagnose the condition. This research has improved the evidence base for clinicians in testing for and treating long COVID.
To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice and to support people affected by long COVID. Further information about the society is available at the following link:
https://www.clinicalpcs.org.uk
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to help increase dementia diagnosis rates to pre-Covid-19 levels in Leigh and Atherton constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%, which in England, at the end of February 2025, was 65.4%.
To support recovery of the DDR and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a dashboard to provide appropriate data and enable targeted support where needed.
To reduce variation in diagnosis rates, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network has developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools will be able to refer demand for breakfast clubs to existing out-of-school clubs.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to delivering free breakfast clubs across England. Schools can work with private, voluntary and independent providers such as existing out-of-school club providers to deliver this commitment.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to establish full clinical guidelines for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of people with Tourette's syndrome.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has established a prioritisation board that takes decisions on which topics should be prioritised for the development of a clinical guideline, in line with the routing criteria set out in the NICE’s published prioritisation framework, and through engagement with experts and other interested parties. The prioritisation board is currently considering Tourette’s and tic disorders as a possible topic for guideline development, however no final prioritisation decisions have been made yet.
The NICE has produced guidance on suspected neurological conditions, which includes recommendations on treatment for tics and involuntary movements in adults and children. The guidance can be found at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng127/
The NICE is also developing an Early Value Assessment on digital therapy for chronic tic disorders and Tourette syndrome, and currently expects to publish final guidance in May 2025.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support independent cinemas to access funding for (a) infrastructure and (b) urgent works.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises the importance of cinemas as part of the UK’s film industry and as community assets, and we continue to work closely with the British Film Institute (BFI) and the cinema sector. The Government’s tax incentives, including the new Independent Film Tax Credit, are bolstering the slate of films available to be shown in British cinemas.
The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK which provides support to cinemas on a local level. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support that connect cinemas, festivals and creative practitioners. Further information on BFI FAN can be found at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing electronic prescriptions for medicinal cannabis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cannabis-based products for medicinal use are Schedule 2 controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Electronic prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs in National Health Service primary care settings has been operational since 2019.
Electronic prescriptions for controlled drugs in Schedules 2 and 3 must be sent using an advanced electronic signature and sent via the NHS Electronic Prescribing Service as part of enhanced security measures. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to enable similar systems in private healthcare to prescribe Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of technical solutions put forward by AI developers to allow individual rightsholders in the creative industries to effectively and efficiently opt-out their work from AI training, without placing additional burdens on rightsholders.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s consultation on Copyright and AI closed on 25th February.
It sought views from both AI developers and rights holders on creating an effective rights reservation system. We will not move forward with any option until we are confident that it will be effective, proportionate, and accessible to both individual creators and larger rights holders.
The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, gathering the evidence to inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively before setting out proposals in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that visual artists and creators (a) nationally and (b) in Leigh and Atherton can access licensing deals with AI developers.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.
This consultation sought views on creating an effective rights reservation system. This would provide rights holders across the UK, including those in Leigh and Atherton, with the ability to prevent AI developers from using their copyright works in AI training, and/or negotiate licences for their use.
The consultation closed on 25 February. The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, gathering the evidence to inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively before setting out proposals in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 30791 on Employment: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Long Covid, whether the proposed reforms will (a) ensure appropriate assessment of the work capability of individuals with fluctuating conditions and (b) provide adequate support for people with ME who are unable to work due to their illness.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today. The system must also work to support disabled people and those with health to live independently.
We are therefore working to develop proposals for health and disability reform and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement. This will launch a consultation on the proposals, with a conclusion to be set out in a white paper later this year.
This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, where appropriate, with disabled people and representative organisations.
Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits. We look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 supporting people with Long Covid in the context of the closure of Long Covid clinics.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Across the National Health Service in England there are services supporting people with post-COVID syndrome, also known as long COVID. These services offer physical, cognitive, and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation. Further information can be found on NHS England’s website, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/post-covid-syndrome-long-covid/
The commissioning of post-COVID services transitioned from the long COVID national programme to local integrated care boards (ICBs) at the end of March 2024. Funding for post-COVID services in 2024/25 was expected to be allocated based on the previous distribution for 2023/24, to minimise disruption to funding flows and maintain services.
NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services which sets out the commissioning and service requirements and the oversight of post-COVID services by the ICBs in England for adults, and children and young people (CYP). It outlines the elements that post-COVID services should comprise of and the principles of care for long COVID, and is available at the following link:
There is specific advice for general practitioners to manage long COVID. Patients should be managed according to current clinical guidance, such as that published and updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the Royal College of General Practitioners, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG188
Primary care plays a key role in the long COVID clinical pathway, in considering and excluding potential other causes of symptoms and in determining the appropriate management of symptoms and the timing of onward referral to post-COVID services, if appropriate. A post-COVID-19 syndrome diagnostic pathway, the criteria for referral to post-COVID services, and separate adult and CYP pathways are outlined in the commissioning guidance to help provide consistency of delivery and to improve patient experience.
Not all people who report long COVID symptoms will require assessment in a post-COVID assessment service. For example, some of the most common symptoms may still not warrant a specialist assessment as people can benefit from self-management advice, including from the NHS website. Some people may be seen in other disease-specific pathways, depending on their individual circumstances.
NHS England has recently completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stocktake, which aimed to provide a nationwide overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. The findings confirmed widely recognised challenges, specifically significant variation in care delivery across England, and a lack of comprehensive activity data.
Executive NHS England board members were updated on the current provision of long COVID and ME/CFS services, noting those challenges. Discussions considered service prioritisation and potential COVID Inquiry recommendations. It was agreed that long COVID and ME/CFS services are rightly commissioned by ICBs, which have responsibility for ensuring coverage for their population.
Furthermore, to support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice, to support people affected by long COVID. Further information about the society is available at the following link:
https://www.clinicalpcs.org.uk