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Written Question
Mental Health: Children and Young People
Tuesday 24th October 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

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 implications for his policies of the debate on the report entitled Mental health and well-being of children and young adults, which was held at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 13 October 2023.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

We have made no such assessment.


Written Question
Public Health: International Cooperation
Monday 3rd July 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

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 implications for his policies of the debate on Public Health emergency: the need for a holistic approach to multilateralism and health care at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 20 June 2023.

Answered by Will Quince

No assessment has been made on this debate at this point, but we continue to work closely with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office on global health issues and governance raised in the relevant debate discussed including negotiations on the targeted amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the new Pandemic Instrument at the World Health Organization and in preparation for the High Level Meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The United Kingdom continues to negotiate the text of the Pandemic Instrument and the amendments to the IHR to ensure they delivers on our priorities and provide the tools to achieve improvements globally in key areas of health emergency preparedness, prevention, and response. The Department of Health and Social Care also works closely with the Department for Business and Trade on health related issues linked to the World Trade Organization.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Contact Tracing
Thursday 2nd February 2023

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

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 implications for his policies of the debate entitled Contact tracing applications, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 25 January 2023.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Government will consider the conclusions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe alongside lessons learnt and relevant findings more generally, including in due course from the COVID-19 public inquiry, in looking at the best options for using technology to respond to any future pandemic.

The National Health Service COVID-19 app is currently available to those aged 16 or over in England and Wales and is an effective and anonymous contact tracing tool. It has been downloaded over 31.5 million times since its launch on 24 September 2020. As of December 2022, the app had 7.7 million users. It also enables users to check their symptoms and enter positive NHS-provided or private test results, as well as signposting to public health and policy advice. The App, which incorporates proportionate and appropriate data protection mechanisms, has been shown to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.


Written Question
Vaccination
Thursday 3rd November 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

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 implications for his policies of the debate entitled Preventing vaccine discrimination, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 14 October 2022.

Answered by Neil O'Brien

The vaccination programme has been designed to be fair to individuals and communities by removing barriers to access, while respecting and not discriminating against those who choose not to be vaccinated.

Due to the vaccination programme and ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’, the Government has removed domestic restrictions, while encouraging safer behaviours through public health advice, in common with longstanding ways of managing most other respiratory illnesses. COVID-19 status certification, including the NHS COVID travel pass, remains an important tool to allow individuals to demonstrate their COVID-19 vaccination status when travelling outside the United Kingdom.


Written Question
Vaccination: Disinformation
Tuesday 5th July 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

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 implications for his policies of the debate which took place at the Council of Europe on 24 June 2022 entitled Fighting vaccine-preventable diseases through quality services and anti-vaccine myth-busting.

Answered by Maggie Throup

While no formal assessment has been made, the cross-Whitehall Counter Disinformation Unit works with social media platforms to understand and counter the extent of misinformation and promote accurate information from trusted sources.


Written Question
Disability
Wednesday 18th May 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the debate entitled Deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities, which took place at the Council of Europe on 26 April 2022.

Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education

We welcome this debate, as the NHS Long Term Plan committed to achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by March 2024.

The proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act 1983 aim to end inappropriate detentions of people with a learning disability and autistic people. We are also developing the ‘Building the right support’ action plan to reduce reliance on mental health inpatient care through the provision of services in the community.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Public Health
Tuesday 8th February 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

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 implications for his policies of the debate that took place at the Council of Europe 24-28 January 2022 on Beating Covid-19 with public health measures.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government has no plans to make such an assessment at this stage. The Government discusses the appropriate response to COVID-19 with a wide range of partners, such as the World Health Organization, G7 and G20 bilaterally, which enables it to draw lessons on the most appropriate policies. The Government will be publishing its plans for living with COVID-19 in due course.

The Government recognises the crucial work of the Council of Europe and in particular the Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe and notes that recommendations will go to the Committee of Ministers in due course for appropriate review.


Written Question
NHS Test and Trace: Telephone Services
Monday 10th January 2022

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is aware of problems with the 119 helpline to resolve covid-19 vaccine data inaccuracies; and what steps he is taking to help people whose data is incorrect.

Answered by Maggie Throup

We are not aware of any specific issues. If an individual believes that their COVID-19 vaccine data is inaccurate, this can be resolved with the Vaccination Data Resolution Service (VDRS) via 119. The VDRS will contact the individual within 21 days. Where vaccine data does not appear on records in England, this will not prevent people from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals affected can attend a walk-in site for either their booster or primary course of vaccination.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Monday 20th December 2021

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the covid-19 restrictions on certification announced on 8 December 2021, what advice he plans to give to people who were vaccinated against covid-19 in Scotland and cannot display their vaccine status on the NHS England App.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Interoperable digital and non-digital solutions are now available in each nation of the United Kingdom. The service an individual accesses depends on where their general practitioner (GP) is registered.

Before an NHS COVID Pass can be issued, both vaccine doses must be recorded. NHS Digital has established live bi-directional data flows between England and Scotland which updates the GP record and NHS COVID Pass status. Therefore, those vaccinated in England, but registered with a GP in Scotland, can access the certification services provided in Scotland and vice versa, as well as being able to demonstrate their vaccination status anywhere in the UK.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Vaccination
Wednesday 15th December 2021

Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the covid-19 restrictions on certification announced on 8 December 2021, what advice his Department is giving to people who have taken part in covid-19 vaccine trials and cannot have their data accurately reflected on the NHS App.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Clinical trial participants have had access to a domestic COVID Pass to demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated since 9 September. Therefore they will not be disadvantaged by the restrictions announced on 8 December.