Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent modern slavery in the care sector.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government believes that everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work and rewarded for their contribution to the economy. We are aware of issues being raised in the adult care sector, including concerns about unethical employment practices by some sponsors of the 'Health and Care Worker' visa.

The Home Office has zero tolerance of sponsors who seek to exploit workers they sponsor and will take action against any found to be doing so. However, while the UKVI actively monitors the compliance of sponsors with their duties, they are not a labour market regulator, and their powers to redress concerns are limited to revoking a sponsor's licence. Furthermore, UKVI have no legal powers to police the recruitment chains used by sponsors and such recruitment often takes place outside of UK legal jurisdiction. The Home Office does, however, expect sponsors to recruit staff lawfully.

The Home Office also funds the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), which has specially trained officers with police-style powers to prevent, detect and investigate serious labour exploitation across the entire economy in England and Wales. The GLAA have a number of live investigations within the care sector currently.

The Home Office will continue to work closely with DHSC and other relevant departments to address these issues, including exploring further regulation through the Fair Work Agency, the forthcoming single enforcement body.

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 review the adequacy of levels of access to ADHD medication; and if a Minister will meet with the hon. Member for York Outer to discuss ADHD medication shortages in that constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.

We continue to work to resolve remaining supply issues for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing all current suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. To further improve supply and resiliency, we are also working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK supplier base.

However, we anticipate that supply for certain strengths of methylphenidate will remain limited until March 2025. We are actively working with all suppliers to resolve the remaining issues as quickly as possible.

To minimise the impact of the shortages on patients, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets generically or available alternative ADHD medicines. To support ADHD patients throughout the NHS, we would expect all ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance. To aid healthcare professionals further we have widely disseminated our communications and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients.

We are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD including timely access to services and support.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within individual pharmacies is not held centrally.

I am very sorry that I cannot meet at this time but I hope the information I have provided in this answer helps to address the issues raised and assures the hon. Member of the Department’s focused work in this area.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on intermittent shortages of (a) Olanzapine and (b) other anti-psychosis medicines in the UK.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Department officials regularly meet with manufacturers and suppliers to discuss shortages of olanzapine and other anti-psychosis medicines, and how to manage them.

We have been notified of some issues for olanzapine tablets and orodispersible tablets, however we understand there is sufficient stock available for all olanzapine strengths to meet market demand.

We are aware of intermittent disruptions in the supply of olanzapine (Zypadhera) 210 milligram prolonged-release suspension for injections. This is due to a global manufacturing capacity constraint faced by the supplier. We are actively working with the supplier to address these manufacturing issues as quickly as possible, to ensure that patients in the United Kingdom have access to this medication, and have issued communications to healthcare professionals.

Olanzapine (Zypadhera) 300 milligram and 405 milligram prolonged-release suspension for injections remain available.

Found: Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Nesil Caliskan (Labour; Barking) Mr Luke Charters

Found: Cotswolds) (Chair) Mr Clive Betts (Labour; Sheffield South East) Nesil Caliskan (Labour; Barking) Mr Luke Charters

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Mr Luke Charters

Found: Energy: Housing, UIN 10966 Asked by: Luke Charters (Lab) To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security

Found: Energy: Housing, UIN 10966 Asked by: Luke Charters (Lab) To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security