Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the (a) application process and (b) delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no immediate plans to review the application process or delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government Departments more widely on relevant issues.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the use of covid vaccines on levels of (a) hospitalisations and (b) disability caused by long covid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.
To inform JCVI considerations, the last assessment of the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on hospitalisations was conducted by the UK Health Security Agency using data from the 2023 spring and autumn COVID-19 vaccination programmes. The next evaluation is planned to occur in the next few months.
Long term health consequences following COVID-19, including post-COVID syndromes such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 expedite decisions on access to new treatments for secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS is legally required to fund NICE recommended medicines, normally within three months of final guidance, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation.
NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing to ensure that patients are able to benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost effective new medicines. The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the measures we are taking that will mean that patients are able to access medicines three to six months faster, including improved alignment between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s decisions and NICE’s guidance publication. The Life Sciences Sector Plan is published and available at the following link:
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 reduce waiting times for NHS-provided wheelchairs for adults with degenerative neurological conditions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services.
NHS England is taking a number of steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving intervention and equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
The Government is committed to improving care for people with neurological conditions and ensuring that they receive the support they need. There are several initiatives at a national level supporting service improvement and better care for people with neurological conditions. These include the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, within which timely access to specialist and personalised equipment, such as wheelchairs, is a key area of focus.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend shingles vaccine eligibility to all immunocompetent people aged over 65.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2019, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that the shingles vaccination programme should switch to using a two-dose vaccine called Shingrix, to better protect individuals from the effects of shingles, provide better clinical outcomes, and reduce pressures on the health system. The committee also advised that the vaccine should be given to everyone at the age of 60 years old, rather than 70 years old.
Based on this advice, the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England decided to phase the expansion of the shingles programme. During the first phase, which commenced in September 2023, those who reach the ages of 65 or 70 years old will be called in for vaccination on or after their 65th or 70th birthday. During the second phase, from September 2028, individuals will be called in for vaccination on or after their 60th or 65th birthday. From 1 September 2033 onwards, vaccination will be routinely offered to those turning 60 years of age on or after their 60th birthday.
Phasing the roll-out of the shingles vaccination over time to everyone aged 60 years old maximises cost-effectiveness and population benefit, ensures consistent messaging over time to maximise coverage, and takes account of National Health Service capacity, all while being consistent with the approach taken by all four nations in the United Kingdom.
This is a newly expanded programme and anyone who is unsure if they are eligible for the shingles vaccination should check online, on the NHS.UK website, or should speak to their general practice.
In November 2024, the JCVI provided further advice to the Department on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme. This included advice that the Government should consider expanding the shingles vaccination offer to include older adult cohorts aged 80 years old and over. The Government will consider this latest advice when setting the policy on who should be offered shingles vaccinations, and will update in due course.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for self-employed carers to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has understood that the term ‘self-employed carer’ refers to self-employed personal assistants. There are no current plans to introduce a requirement for self-employed carers to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Currently, a person, or a related third party on their behalf, can make their own arrangement for personal care where an individual works directly for that person and under their control, without involving an agency or employer in managing or directing the care provided. In this case, the individual engaged does not need to register with the CQC for the regulated activity of personal care.