Oral Answers to Questions
Maggie Throup Excerpts(1 year, 11 months ago)
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Maria Caulfield
As the hon. Gentleman knows, I cannot comment on what is happening in Northern Ireland, because health is a devolved matter. I can only update him on what is happening in England. We are not waiting for a cancer plan to start on the backlogs: that is why this Government are investing £8 billion over three years to clear the elective backlog. We are seeing record numbers of patients. Cancer treatments continued throughout the pandemic, but we are seeing a higher number coming through than usual. Despite the increase of more than 129% in patients getting urgent GP referrals since September 2019, 91% of patients in England are receiving their treatment within 31 days of the decision to treat, compared with just 87% of patients in Northern Ireland in June. We are very committed to reducing cancer waiting times. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman may wish to speak to the Minister in Northern Ireland as well.
Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)
Diagnostic activity, whether in vivo or in vitro, forms part of more than 85% of clinical pathways. Will my hon. Friend confirm that it will receive due recognition in the 10-year cancer strategy?
Maria Caulfield
May I thank my hon. Friend for all her hard work during her time as a Health Minister? We are going through the responses to the call for evidence right now; as I have indicated, we will update the House shortly. I will very much take her points on board.
Smokefree 2030
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years ago)
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Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham). Like him, I could tear up my speech after listening to that of my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman). I congratulate my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) on securing this important debate, which I have been eagerly awaiting for some time. I wish the hon. Member for City of Durham a speedy recovery.
I thank the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health, which is so excellently chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East, for all its work on this important area. It has undoubtedly been instrumental in changing the Government’s policy on smoking and their perception of the issue. I am sure that its work has contributed to saving many lives. I thank my hon. Friend for his invitation to become a member of the APPG; I am delighted to accept.
The reasons why we need to tackle smoking and become smoke free by 2030 have been well rehearsed in previous debates in Westminster Hall and this Chamber and repeated today, but I make no apology for highlighting the key reasons again. Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death. Surely we have a duty to do everything in our power to prevent ill health and death. Shockingly, cigarettes are the only legal consumer product that will kill most users: two out of three smokers will die from smoking unless they quit. More than 60,000 people are killed by smoking each year, which is approximately twice the number of people who died from covid-19 between March 2021 and March 2022, yet it does not make headline news. In 2019, a quarter of deaths from all cancers were connected to smoking.
The annual cost of smoking to society has been estimated at £17 billion, with a cost of approximately £2.4 billion to the NHS alone and with more than £13 billion lost through the productivity costs of tobacco-related lost earnings, unemployment and premature death. That dwarfs the estimated £10 billion income from taxes on tobacco products. People often tell me that we cannot afford for people to stop smoking because of the revenue generated by the sale of tobacco, but I argue that as a society, and for the good of our nation’s health, we cannot afford for people to smoke.
Achieving smoke-free status by 2030 will not only save the NHS money but, more importantly, save lives. If we are determined to bring down the NHS backlog, we need to prevent people from getting ill in the first place. If we want to achieve our goal of improving productivity, we need a healthy workforce. It takes a brave and bold Government to implement policies whose rewards will mainly be reaped by the next generation, but that is the right thing to do.
I want to focus on just one of the well-researched and well-received recommendations in the Khan review: the age of sale. The fact that retailers use the Challenge 21 and Challenge 25 schemes indicates just how hard it is to determine a young person’s age. Age of sale policies are partly about preventing young people from gaining access to age-restricted products such as cigarettes and alcohol. More importantly, as Dr Khan states, they are about stopping the start. Dr Khan recommends
“increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no one can buy a tobacco product in this country… This will create a smokefree generation.”
That may seem pretty drastic, but so are the consequences of smoking. If we ask smokers when they started, the majority will say that it was when they were in their teens. The longer we delay the ability to legally take up smoking, the fewer people will take it up, and the fewer will therefore become addicted. Let’s face it: never starting to smoke is much easier than trying to quit.
We have already proved in the UK that raising the age of sale leads to a reduction in smoking prevalence. Increasing the age of sale from 16 to 18 in 2007 led to a 30% reduction in smoking prevalence for 16 and 17-year-olds in England. Other hon. Members have mentioned the change in America. I would argue that increasing the age of sale by one year every year is more acceptable than raising it in one go from 18 to 21, for example, or even to 25.
Dr Khan has also called for additional investment in the stop smoking services currently provided by local authorities. However, I am a great believer in making every contact count—every contact that someone makes with a GP, as an out-patient, as an in-patient or on a visit to a pharmacy. Every time a smoker sees a healthcare professional, it should be seen as part of the healthcare professional’s duty to better the health of their patient.
I was honoured to share the stage with Dr Javed Khan at the launch of his review in June, and I was pleasantly surprised by the virtually universal welcome that his recommendations received. Indeed, polling carried out by YouGov backs that up: 76% of respondents support Government activities to limit smoking, or think that the Government should do even more; just 6% say that they were doing too much; 76% support a requirement for tobacco manufacturers to pay a levy or fee, to finance measures to help smokers quit and prevent young people from smoking; 63% support an increase in the age of sale; and, for the benefit of those on the Government side of the Chamber, 73% of those who voted Conservative in 2019 support the Government’s smoke free 2030 ambition.
In our 2019 manifesto we committed ourselves to levelling up, and that commitment has been reiterated by our new Prime Minister. Levelling up is not just about infrastructure; it is also about levelling up our health and life chances. That is particularly important for my constituents, because 16.6% of adults in Erewash are currently smokers, which is above the national average. With average annual spending on cigarettes estimated to be around £2,000, it is not just the health of smokers that is being affected, but their pockets as well. Becoming smoke free by 2030 would lift about 2.6 million adults and 1 million children out of poverty, and so would aid our levelling-up agenda.
Before I end my speech, I want to raise the issue of e-cigarettes, or vaping. The Khan review contains a specific recommendation on this, and I want to explain why it is so important. As with cigarettes, the age of sale is 18, but time after time I see young people at the end of the school day using vapes—and that is outside schools without sixth forms. It is illegal for a retailer, whether online or on the high street, to sell vaping products to anyone under the age of 18, so I am not sure how under- age users are obtaining the devices. The manufacturers are obviously aiming some of their marketing at this age range through the use of cartoon characters, a rainbow of colours, and flavours to match. The function of e-cigarettes should be solely as an aid to quit smoking, and not, as I fear, as a fashion accessory and, potentially, the first step towards taking up smoking.
The proliferation of vape shops in our high streets and online proves that vapes have become an industry in their own right, and are now being used by tobacco companies to maintain their profits as restrictions on tobacco increase. I therefore ask the Minister to work with his colleagues in the Home Office, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Education to see what more can be done to clamp down on the illegal supply of vapes to those under the age of 18. I also ask him for an update on progress in getting a vaping device authorised through the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency—a step that would send the strong message that vapes are an aid to quitting smoking and not an alternative to smoking.
Finally, let me ask a question that has already been asked by other Members today: will the Minister provide a date on which we can expect the tobacco control plan to be published?
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)
I call the shadow Minister, Andrew Gwynne.
Oral Answers to Questions
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years ago)
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Steve Barclay
That fits within the wider issue of how we work with and support our NHS workforce and what packages we can look at in discussion with Treasury colleagues. Of course, the approach to the NHS is also in line with other Government Departments, but the hon. Gentleman raises an important point and it is obviously one that Ministers discuss.
Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)
With flu cases on the rise, what action is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that all parents are aware that they can access the free nasal vaccine at their GP surgery for all pre-school children?
Neil O’Brien
My hon. Friend’s question gives me an opportunity to thank her for her fantastic work on vaccinations and our world-leading roll-out of vaccines across the country. She has also provided an opportunity to remind everyone of the opportunity to get those life-saving vaccines this winter and to get boosted.
Healthy Start Scheme
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Ms Rees, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) for securing the debate. I know that she is passionate about the Healthy Start scheme and the wider issue of children and young people. I also thank the other hon. Members who contributed this morning.
The Government welcome the opportunity to discuss the Healthy Start scheme and how it is benefiting hundreds of thousands of families across the country. Eating a healthy and balanced diet in line with the “Eatwell Guide” can help prevent diet-related disease, ensuring that we get the energy and nutrients needed for good health and for maintaining a healthy weight throughout life. As the hon. Lady outlined, the Healthy Start scheme is one of the ways that the Government continue to target nutritional support at the families most in need, which is increasingly important in view of current pressures on the cost of living. The scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and children under four from low-income households. It offers support to buy fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried or tinned pulses, plain cow’s milk, and infant formula. Beneficiaries are also eligible for free Healthy Start vitamins.
Healthy Start is a passported benefit, with eligibility based on the receipt of welfare benefits and tax credits under certain earnings thresholds. Women who are at least 10 weeks pregnant and families with a child under four years of age are eligible for the scheme if they claim income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, child tax credit with an annual family income of £16,190 or less, universal credit with family take-home pay of £408 or less per month, or pension credit. Pregnant women on income-related employment and support allowance are also eligible for the scheme. In addition, anyone aged under 18 who is pregnant is eligible for Healthy Start, regardless of whether they receive benefits. Once they have given birth, they must meet the benefit criteria to continue receiving Healthy Start. Pregnant women and children aged over one and under four each receive £4.25 every week, and children aged under one receive £8.50 every week, as well as free Healthy Start vitamins.
Our commitment to the Healthy Start scheme is demonstrated in both the voucher value increase of over 37% in April 2021, and the strategic move from a paper-based service to a digital one. I am extremely pleased that there have been over 400,000 successful applications to the Healthy Start digital service since its launch. Of those, 37% are households brand new to the scheme. The figures show that by providing a modern and efficient digital Healthy Start service, we have addressed the barriers created by the legacy paper-based service and have encouraged more eligible families to join.
Following user research and testing, we have replaced the paper application form with an online application that provides an instant decision for many families. We have also swapped paper vouchers, which beneficiaries told us could be lost, damaged, inconvenient or stigmatised to use, with a prepaid card. I take on board the hon. Lady’s point that cards can be stigmatising when they go wrong, but a prepaid card that is loaded with Healthy Start benefit payments is an improvement. I am aware that there have been teething issues, which is to be expected when transitioning from a legacy service to a new digital service. However, we have been working to address those issues with the NHS Business Services Authority that operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department.
Kate Green
I am grateful for the tone of the Minister’s response. In relation to addressing the teething problems with NHS digital and business services, I understand that work with local steering groups has now ceased and there are no longer regional co-ordinators to feed back problems. Will the Minister look at ensuring that those on the frontline are able to continue to feed intelligence to the NHS, and receive intelligence back about improvements that are being made?
Maggie Throup
Yes, we always need to make sure that we know what is happening on the frontline so that we can keep improving services.
Since 1 April this year, over 1.5 million calls have been made to the automated Healthy Start helpline. The helpline supports beneficiaries to self-serve on topics such as activating their cards, reporting lost or stolen cards, and checking their balance without needing to speak to an agent. The NHS BSA analysed the issues that applicants and beneficiaries may experience when applying for and using the Healthy Start scheme, and it has acted on the findings. In particular, it has invested more resources so that agents are handling calls and resolving them first time—an issue that was brought up early in the scheme. Currently, the average call wait time is down to just 31 seconds, which is a vast improvement. I am grateful to the NHS BSA for its work on harnessing the power of social media by engaging with over 15,000 messages since April this year. I also extend my thanks to Iceland—the supermarket, not the country—which continues to find novel ways to support and promote the scheme. The hon. Lady mentioned other supermarkets that we would be delighted to engage with.
At a time when families are increasingly aware of the cost of living and the need to provide their children with a healthy diet, the Government are committed to helping the most vulnerable. I will try to get through a few of the other questions in the time that we have. The hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Ian Byrne) wanted to make sure that no one was missed in the transition. Since September 2021, the NHS BSA has directly contacted all households receiving Healthy Start vouchers to invite them to apply for a prepaid card, including three invite letters, two leaflets, emails and text messages. The Government continue to look at ways to support households to ensure that they are aware they can take up the offer, and the NHS BSA recently provided training to staff at the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of the Healthy Start scheme. The hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston mentioned DWP and I think it is important that everybody is working together on these issues.
Healthy Start eligibility is kept under continuous review and aligns closely with other passported benefits across Government. There are no current plans to expand eligibility for the scheme with regard to the onus threshold or the qualifying age range but, as I said, we always keep such schemes under review. We have talked about the current cost of living and food inflation, and the Healthy Start scheme is kept under review from this point of view as well. The voucher value rose from £3.10 to £4.25 in April 2021—an increase of 37%. We have no current plans to increase the value of the Healthy Start scheme.
The hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston raised the cost of calls to the helpline. In line with national and other Government agencies, the NHS BSA transferred from 0845 numbers to 0300 or 01 or 02 numbers as part of the fair telecoms campaign. Telephone companies include calls to 0300 numbers in the free minutes of some call plans. Any call charges outside of a plan are charged at a local rate, which is set by the caller’s provider, so calls to the NHS Healthy Start telephone helpline are charged at a local rate if they are not part of an inclusive package. We now have a separate automated telephone helpline that is available 24 hours a day, which will help people with a lost or damaged card or to check their balance—as the hon. Lady said, issues that are not complex but much easier to resolve through an automated system.
Of course, people can apply via email and through the NHS Healthy Start Facebook and Twitter social media channels, so there are ways to access the service without paying for the phone call. We recognised some of the teething problems that were seen on the telephone lines, and hopefully the hon. Lady will see that we have now made vast improvements.
The hon. Lady talked about automatic enrolment through universal credit or local authorities. However, the Healthy Start card is a financial services product, which means that the person using it has to take on certain responsibilities. There therefore needs to be that acceptance of authorisation. The hon. Lady is looking confused—I will write to her with more details, rather than try to explain it in the short time I have left.
The hon. Lady also talked about cost of living pressures potentially increasing existing disparities. The Government are committed to levelling up health across the country and will continue to work to close the gap in health outcomes between different places and communities so that people’s backgrounds do not dictate their prospects for a healthy life. I know that that is very close to the hon. Lady’s heart; it is very close to mine as well.
I have hopefully covered many of the issues that have been raised by the hon. Members for Stretford and Urmston and for Liverpool, West Derby. As I say, I will write to the hon. Lady about the financial services product. If there are any other outstanding issues, I am happy to have further correspondence with her. I close by thanking the hon. Lady for raising this important issue and other hon. Members for their contributions. As always, we will keep the Healthy Start scheme under review to ensure it provides support for those families who need it the most.
Question put and agreed to.
Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Covid-19
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) for securing the debate, and I thank other hon. Members for their participation. It has been a measured and important debate. I offer my sympathies to my right hon. and learned Friend’s constituent, whom I welcome to the Public Gallery today. While my right hon. and learned Friend will understand that I cannot comment on the case itself, my thoughts are with his constituent and his family.
After clean water, vaccination is the most effective public health intervention in the world for saving lives and promoting good health. Globally, we have one of the best and most innovative immunisation programmes, with vaccine confidence and uptake among the highest in the world. That has allowed us to get covid-19 and many other vaccine-preventable diseases under control. The UK became the first country in the world to deploy an approved covid-19 vaccine, saving countless lives and helping to prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. This week, the NHS will become the first healthcare system in the world to use next-generation bivalent covid vaccines.
All vaccines must go through a rigorous testing and development process before authorisation to ensure that they meet the strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set by the independent medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. We are also guided by the latest clinical and scientific evidence and advice on vaccine safety and efficacy from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Unfortunately, in some rare instances, some individuals may sadly experience harm because of vaccination. The vaccine damage payment scheme, or VDPS, provides a one-off, tax-free payment to those individuals who have been found, on the balance of probabilities, to have been harmed by a vaccine. The NHS Business Services Authority, which has a proven track record of delivering services that support the NHS, manages the operational side of the VDPS on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, following its transfer from the Department for Work and Pensions in November 2021. VDPS assessments are performed on a case-by- case basis by experienced, independent medical assessors who have undertaken specialist training in vaccine damage and disablement assessments.
Covid-19 vaccines were included in the VDPS from the very start of the vaccine roll-out in December 2020. This approach is in line with most comparable countries, with similar existing schemes in the US and other G7 countries extended to cover covid-19. It allowed those whose severe disability was found, on the balance of probabilities, to be linked to a covid-19 vaccine to receive timely support through this established, tried and tested system.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam mentioned the COVAX programme, which was set up as a result of the covid-19 vaccine and provides a no-fault lump-sum compensation payment in full and final settlement of any claims. The VDPS is different: while it provides a one-off lump sum, it is not compensation and is not given in full and final settlement, leaving it open to individuals to make a claim for damages through the courts. The COVAX programme is also time-limited to 30 June 2023, which is just next year.
In June 2022, the first outcomes of covid-19-related VDPS claims began to be communicated to claimants. Given the novelty of the covid-19 vaccines, the processing of claims had to wait for scientific evidence to reach a more settled position to better understand the potential relationship between the vaccines and certain adverse events.
Sir Jeremy Wright
Before my hon. Friend moves off international comparisons, can I ask her about the Canadian and Australian schemes that I mentioned? I take her point about COVAX providing full and final settlement, but, as I explained, that is not the case for the Australian model or the Canadian one, neither of which has either a 60% disablement requirement or a maximum sum in compensation. If my hon. Friend is able to comment on that now, I invite her to do so. If she cannot, would she write to me to explain why the Government think those are not appropriate models to follow?
Maggie Throup
My right hon. and learned Friend makes a good point. What I was trying to relay is that those countries that had established schemes in place extended those to the covid-19 vaccine, and where countries did not have established systems in place, they set up new ones. I will write to my right hon. and learned Friend with further details, but that is a broad outline of where we are with that.
While evidence of a causal mechanism between vaccines and injuries reported has yet to be fully established, careful monitoring by regulators and scientists around the world has enabled certain adverse events to be identified as being linked to the covid-19 vaccines. The NHSBSA works closely with the MHRA and UKHSA to ensure that concluded outcomes reflect the most up-to- date evidence on causation and the covid-19 vaccines.
My right hon. and learned Friend raised concerns that the payment of £120,000 is not sufficient to meet the needs of individuals. It is important to note that that amount is a one-off lump-sum payment, and is not designed to cover lifetime costs for those impacted. It is in addition to the Government’s support package for those with a disability or long-term health condition, which includes statutory sick pay, universal credit, employment and support allowance, attendance allowance and personal independence payment.
Sir Jeremy Wright
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her forbearance. On the point she has just made, it is true, of course, that people have access to the benefits system. However, as I said earlier, at the moment, at least, if someone is in receipt of a payment under the VDPS, that will count against their entitlement for benefits. It is possible to deal with that if the claimant is still alive; if they are not, it is not possible. Will the Government look at how that might be remedied, as it is in relation to other types of payment under other schemes?
Maggie Throup
Yes, we will definitely look into that on my right hon. and learned Friend’s behalf.
The VDPS payment amount has significantly increased since the original VDPS payment of £10,000 set in 1979. It has been revised several times and, as the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) said, the current level was set in 2007. This will be kept under review as part of business-as-usual policy work. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam is aware, a successful claim to VDPS does not preclude an individual from bringing a claim for damages through the courts.
Maggie Throup
I am getting a bit short of time. Lots of points have been raised and I want to make sure that I cover them all, so I will continue.
In line with the pre-action protocol should a claim be brought, where the Government are party to any claim, they will consider whether alternative dispute resolution might enable the settlement of the claim without the need to commence proceedings. The form of any ADR would depend on the details of claims that are made.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam also raised concerns about the 60% disability threshold. That threshold was lowered from the initial 80% to 60% in 2002, and it remains aligned with the definition of severe disablement set out under the DWP’s industrial injuries disablement benefit, a widely accepted test of disability. There is no evidence at present that the current level is a significant barrier; in 2019 and 2020, just one claim out of 70 was rejected due to the disability threshold not being met. We will review the latest data as covid cases are processed, but at present, evidence does not support lowering the threshold.
Working alongside NHSBSA, our focus is now on improving the service offered by VDPS by scaling up operations and improving the underlying processes. Since taking over operational responsibility in November 2021, NHSBSA has transformed the administration of the VDPS, which was previously a paper-based system. It has significantly increased its capacity to meet the demands placed on the scheme, expanding from four to 40 caseworkers and additional support staff, with further recruitment under way. This means claims can be processed more quickly, with personalised engagement with applicants through the allocation of named caseworkers.
NHSBSA awarded a new contract to an independent third-party supplier in March 2022 to provide additional medical assessment capacity to process covid-19-related claims. That has allowed for the conclusion of the first of those claims. NHSBSA is working to digitise applications and medical records, streamlining the process. A wider modernisation project is also being taken forward to digitise the application form, to create a simpler and swifter process and allow caseworkers to manage claims more efficiently. To allow more rapid assessments and processing, NHSBSA is setting time limits for the provision of medical records, with a call-back process in place. Further approaches are being looked at to secure relevant medical documents faster, as this has been a key limiting factor in processing rates.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam raised concerns about the rate of progress of VDPS. I am sure that he will appreciate, from what I have just indicated, that there have been vast improvements over recent months. As an update, NHSBSA has 2,458 live cases, of which 1,203 claims are awaiting returns on requested medical records, 181 claims are with medical assessors, and 261 claims are awaiting requests for medical records. The average claim takes around six months to investigate and process from the date NHSBSA requests the claimant’s medical records. The timeframe varies from case to case. NHSBSA has scaled up a dedicated team of caseworkers, as I have indicated, to move claims forward and update claimants on the progress of their claims.
My right hon. and learned Friend raised an interesting question about establishing a bespoke compensation scheme for covid-19 vaccines. Establishing a dedicated, stand-alone compensation scheme would risk favouring those potentially damaged by covid-19 vaccines over those damaged by other vaccines. That could create an inequality between vaccines, which could be detrimental to other vaccination programmes.
I thank my right hon. and learned Friend again for securing this important debate. Everyone has made really sensible contributions, and we will take everything that has been said into consideration. I am pleased that a number of covid-19 VDPS claims have now been concluded, offering outcomes to claimants, with further cases being progressed. Now is not the right time to review the VDPS: our focus must be on improving and scaling up its operations and continuing to process claims. We will continue to further improve the service so that outcomes can be provided sooner, giving additional support to those who qualify.
Covid-19 Vaccination Programme
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The covid-19 vaccination programme continues to protect the UK against the virus. As of 30 August 2022, over 126 million doses have been provided, including 45.2 million first doses, 42.6 million second doses and 33.5 million third primary and booster doses in the UK. This represents uptake of 93.5% for the first dose, and 88.1 % for the second dose.
Vaccines remain the best protection against covid-19. Given that winter is expected to present another severe challenge from covid-19, we continue to urge everyone to play their part by taking up the covid-19 vaccine and, where eligible, the autumn booster offer without delay.
If eligible, the NHS will invite you to come forward for your vaccine via SMS, emails and letters. If you are unvaccinated and eligible for covid-19 vaccinations, you can still come forward and book an appointment.
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has published further advice on the covid-19 vaccination programme. Her Majesty’s Government have accepted this advice and I am informed that all four parts of the UK intend to follow the JCVI’s advice.
Autumn vaccination programme:
The JCVI advises that for the 2022 autumn booster programme, the following groups should be offered a covid-19 booster vaccine:
Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
Frontline health and social care workers
All adults aged 50 years and over
Persons aged five to 49 years in a clinical risk group
Persons aged five to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
Persons aged 16 to 49 years who are carers
For the 2022 autumn booster programme, the primary objective is to augment immunity in those at higher risk from covid-19 and thereby optimise protection against severe covid-19, specifically hospitalisation and death, over winter 2022-23.
Following appropriate data to demonstrate quality, safety and efficacy, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised Moderna’s BA1/wild-type bivalent vaccine for administration as a covid-19 booster vaccination on 12 August 2022 and Pfizer’s BA1/wild-type bivalent vaccine on 3 September 2022. Covid-19 bivalent vaccines target two different variants of covid-19, which broadens immunity and therefore potentially improves protection against variants of covid-19.
The UK, following the JCVI’s advice, now intends to deploy authorised bivalent vaccines throughout the autumn programme for those eligible.
The JCVI published advice stating that the autumn booster vaccine dose should be offered at least three months after the previous dose.
Eligible persons aged 18 years and over may be offered booster vaccinations: 50mcg Moderna mRNA bivalent Omicron BA.1/wild-type vaccine; 50mcg Moderna mRNA wild-type vaccine (Spikevax); 30mcg Pfizer BioNTech mRNA wild-type vaccine (Comirnaty) or 30mcg Pfizer BioNTech mRNA bivalent vaccine (Comirnaty).
Eligible persons aged 12 to 17 years may be offered booster vaccinations with: 30 meg Pfizer BioNTech mRNA wild-type vaccine (Comirnaty) or 30mcg Pfizer BioNTech mRNA bivalent vaccine (Comirnaty).
Eligible persons aged 5-11 years may be offered booster vaccinations 10 meg Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA wild-type vaccine (Comirnaty) paediatric formulation.
In exceptional circumstances the Novavax Matrix-M adjuvanted wild-type vaccine (Nuvaxovid) is approved for primary course vaccination in adults aged 18 years and above and may be used when no alternative clinically suitable UK-approved covid-19 vaccine is available. Deployment is expected to start at the beginning of September 2022.
Nuvaxovid
On 3 February 2022, the Novavax covid-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, was authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, authorising the deployment of the vaccine after it has generated appropriate data to demonstrate quality, safety and efficacy. The JCVI has provided deployment advice on Nuvaxovid and it is expected to be deployed at the end of September 2022. Nuvaxovid may be used “off-label” as a booster dose for persons aged 18 years and above when no alternative clinically suitable UK-approved covid-19 vaccine is available.
The agreement to provide an indemnity as part of the contract between HMG and Novavax creates a contingent liability on the covid-19 vaccination programme. Putting in place appropriate indemnities to be given to vaccine suppliers has helped to secure access to vaccines much sooner than may have been the case otherwise.
With the vaccine offer expanded for autumn for the groups as listed above and the deployment of Nuvaxovid in exceptional circumstances, I am now updating the House on the liabilities HMG has taken on in relation to further vaccine supply via this statement and the departmental minutes laid in Parliament containing a description of the liability undertaken. The agreement to provide indemnity with deployment of further doses increases the statutory contingent liability of the covid-19 vaccination programme.
Deployment of effective vaccines to eligible groups has been and remains a key part of the Government’s strategy to manage covid-19. Willingness to accept the need for appropriate indemnities to be given to vaccine suppliers has helped to secure access to vaccines, with the expected benefits to public health and the economy alike, much sooner than may have been the case otherwise.
Given the exceptional circumstances we are in, and the terms on which developers have been willing to supply a covid-19 vaccine, we, along with other nations, have taken a broad approach to indemnification proportionate to the situation we are in.
Even though the covid-19 vaccines have been developed at pace, at no point and at no stage of development has safety been bypassed. These vaccines have satisfied, in full, all the necessary requirements for safety, effectiveness and quality.
We are providing indemnities in the very unexpected event of any adverse reactions that could not have been foreseen through the robust checks and procedures that have been put in place.
I will update the House in a similar manner as and when other covid-19 vaccines or additional doses of vaccines already in use in the UK are deployed.
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Covid-19 Vaccine Supply
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 4 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
This statement is a retrospective notification to the House of Commons following accounting advice that the initial phase of this transaction should be classified as a gift. It is normal practice that when a Department proposes to make a gift of a value exceeding £300,000, a minute is presented to the House of Commons setting out particulars of the gift.
In September 2021, the UK Government announced initiatives to share 4 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses with Australia and 1 million doses with the Republic of Korea. This arrangement was mutually beneficial and ensured these Pfizer/BioNTech doses—which were not immediately required in the UK—were used to support international vaccination efforts. The same volume of doses were returned later in the year. Sharing doses meant those countries had immediate access to vaccines they could put to use in their domestic campaigns and enabled the UK to better align timings of our own supply with our requirements.
The vaccine taskforce has worked to optimise supply for UK domestic need through its close work with vaccine developers, as well as supporting the global distribution of vaccines with our international partners. The reciprocal dose sharing arrangements with Australia and South Korea is an example where we have worked with other countries in a mutually beneficial way to achieve this.
HM Treasury has approved the decision.
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NHS Covid Travel Pass for Children
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 4 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
As part of our continued commitment to support travel for the school holidays, on 21 July the Government are launching an NHS covid pass service for parents or guardians of children aged 5 to 15 years old to request a digital travel pass on behalf of their child. This will include a record of all covid-19 vaccinations received and proof of prior infection (recovery status). Children aged 5 to 11 can currently only access an NHS covid pass letter. Children aged 12 to 15 can currently only access a digital NHS covid pass using their own NHS login; this new service means that parents can also request a pass on their behalf.
Launching this new service, and thereby extending a digital solution to children aged 5 to 11, alongside giving the parents of children aged 12 to 15 the ability to request a pass on their child's behalf, will make it quicker, simpler and save families the cost of testing in countries where this is required for foreign travel. The UK has no covid certification requirements, this is to support outbound travel to a variety of countries that still have requirements.
A parent or guardian will be able to request a PDF version of the travel NHS covid pass via the NHS website. The digital pass will only be sent if they enter a mobile number which matches the number on the child’s GP record and if they correctly enter a one-time password sent to this number, or if they enter an email address that matches the email address on the child’s GP record.
This service will be available for children aged 5 to 15 resident in England or the Isle of Man. For those registered with a GP in Wales, parents or guardians should check the gov.wales “Get your NHS covid pass” website for information on their service. In Scotland, under 16s can request a copy by phoning the covid status helpline on 0808 196 8565. In Northern Ireland, parents or guardians of children aged 5 to 11 years can request a digital or printed covid certificate on behalf of a dependent. Those under 16 can upload the certificate—requested on their behalf—to display on the COVIDCert NI app.
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Oral Answers to Questions
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 4 months ago)
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Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The Government recognise that the code is intended to promote breastfeeding. Existing legislation in the UK implements its general principles, giving effect to its aim of covering marketing, accounting, information and the responsibilities of health authorities. As well as restricting advertising to scientific and specialist babycare publications, it sets requirements for labelling, presentation and advertising so as not to discourage breastfeeding. Guidance on working within the code is available to service commissioners, providers and practitioners.
Alison Thewliss
As the World Health Organisation’s recent status report on implementation of the code gives the UK a mark of only 40 out of a possible 100, the UK could clearly be doing a great deal more to implement a code that was intended to protect breastfeeding, and to protect those who are bottle-feeding from marketing influence. Will the Minister meet me and the all-party parliamentary group on infant feeding and inequalities to discuss the issue further?
Maggie Throup
I commend the hon. Lady for the work that she does through her all-party parliamentary group. The Government recognise the importance of these issues, which is why we recently committed £50 million to improve breastfeeding support in 75 local authorities. I should be delighted to meet the hon. Lady and the APPG.
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)
Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
Vaccines continue to be the best line of defence against covid-19, and about 94% of those aged over 12 in England have come forward for their first dose. We are continuing to make vaccinations as accessible and convenient as possible, with thousands of sites operational, including targeted mobile vaccination clinics. Throughout the roll-out, we have monitored data and shared it with local NHS systems to support tailored interventions and outreach. That includes providing bespoke messages from the trusted community and faith leaders who know their communities best.
Dame Meg Hillier
As the Public Accounts Committee reported last week, there are still 3 million people who have not been vaccinated, and we hope that the Government will give as much support as they can to increase the take-up among that group. However, I am particularly concerned about people with black, black British and Pakistani backgrounds, who are far less likely to have had their first booster. There is a real inequality issue here. Can the Minister give us any further indication of how she will ensure that, on her watch, we do not see that inequality embed itself?
Maggie Throup
I have read the hon. Lady’s Committee’s report with interest and I recognise the points she has raised. We know that vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority groups has reduced over the course of the covid-19 vaccination programme, but we will not rest on our laurels. We continue to work closely with our valued communities and community leaders to provide advice and information at every opportunity, and we have materials translated into 28 different languages. There have been many ways in which we have reached out to those communities. For example, we have had vaccination sites in mosques—I visited one in Small Heath in Birmingham—and the Bangladeshi community have come together and encouraged people to get a “jab with your jalfrezi”. We are looking at every different way of reaching out to ensure that we reach all those communities.
Mr Speaker
We now come to the Scottish National party spokesperson, Martyn Day.
Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)
Vaccination remains one of the most important ways to protect ourselves and others against covid-19, so I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement that he has accepted the independent advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the autumn covid-19 booster programme, but what additional steps does the Minister feel need to be taken to encourage vaccine uptake among those with a hesitancy for the additional boosters?
Maggie Throup
The hon. Gentleman is right and, as I said to the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier), we know that there is more work to be done and we cannot rest on our laurels. We know that covid-19 vaccinations are our best line of defence and that the more people who come forward and take up their first jab, the more people are protected. That evergreen offer is still there, so if anyone has not had their first jab or has not come forward for their second or their booster, I encourage them to come forward now. It is never too late.
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)
Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)
Maggie Throup
The hon. Lady continues to be a loud voice for those who are immunosuppressed, and I commend her for that. As she is aware, Evusheld was awarded conditional marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which outlined some remaining questions, including about the amount of protection and the dose needed. My Department has been conducting an assessment of Evusheld, looking at the data available and the options for the NHS. We have asked clinicians to look at what we can do for future patient cohorts; we are considering their advice and will update the House shortly.
Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con)
One of the great privileges of the three years that I spent at the Department of Health and Social Care was seeing at first hand the amazing work of our NHS workforce; I put on record once again my gratitude to them. Growing that workforce is vital to meeting the future health needs of our population, so will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, whom I welcome to his post, reconfirm the Government’s commitment to the target of 50,000 more nurses, and update the House on progress towards that target?
Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)
I welcome the confirmation of the cohorts to be vaccinated against covid-19 and flu this autumn. Will my hon. Friend advise the House and my constituents whether the two vaccines will be co-administered?
Maggie Throup
My hon. Friend asks a really important question. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that covid and flu vaccines can be given at the same time where that is operationally possible, and we will seek to maximise opportunities to co-promote and co-administer the flu and covid vaccines where it is possible and clinically advised, especially where this improves patient experience and vaccine uptake. Regardless of whether co-administration is offered, it is important that eligible people come forward as soon as they are called by the NHS for their jab, whether for flu or covid.
Beth Winter (Cynon Valley) (Lab)
Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Lab)
Maggie Throup
I have heard the hon. Gentleman speak passionately about the impact alcohol has had on his family, and I commend him for his continued campaigning on the matter. It is not just about plans; it is about action. Through the drugs strategy, we are making the largest ever single increase in drug treatment and recovery funding, with £532 million being invested to rebuild local authority-commissioned treatment services. That will benefit people seeking support for alcohol addiction, as alcohol and drugs services are often commissioned together. In addition, £27 million has been invested in an ambitious programme to establish alcohol care teams in the 25% of hospitals that are most affected by alcohol dependency.
Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)
Last week, I chaired a joint meeting of the all-party parliamentary groups on maternity and on baby loss, where we heard from bereaved parents, maternity staff, and the fabulous and dedicated Donna Ockenden. Given that the women’s health strategy is about to be published, can the Minister or the Secretary of State reassure everybody in the sector that it will address maternity safety and the maternity staff numbers we so badly need?
Vaccination Update
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 4 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The covid-19 vaccination programme continues to protect the nation against the virus. As of 13 July 2022, over 149 million doses have been administered in the UK, including over 53.6 million first doses, over 50.2 million second doses and over 40 million third primary or booster doses in the UK. This represents uptake of 93.3% for the first dose, 87.4% for the second dose and 69.6% for the third primary and booster doses in the UK. During the spring campaign, data to 10 July shows that over 4 million over-75s received a further dose in England. Up to 10 July, over 85% of those eligible by the end of May had received a spring booster, ensuring that the most vulnerable in our society have recent protection.
On 15 July, Her Majesty’s Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding the covid-19 vaccination campaign for autumn 2022. The JCVI’s advice is that a covid-19 booster vaccine should be offered to:
Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults.
Frontline health and social care workers.
All adults aged 50 years and over.
Persons aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group including pregnant women, as set out in the UK Health Security Agency’s Green Book Chapter 14a—Tables 3 and 4.
Persons aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression.
Persons aged 16 to 49 years who are carers, as set out in the UKHSA’s Green Book Chapter 14a—Table 3.
The final eligible groups are broader than those announced in the JCVI’s interim advice in May. The committee considered the recent epidemiology of the BA.4 and BA.5 waves, as well as the benefits of aligning the covid-19 programme with the flu vaccine rollout, concluding that expanding the offer would provide necessary protection to those at higher risk of severe illness and keep greater numbers of people out of hospital.
All eligible groups are encouraged to take up the vaccine when the time comes, even if they have had a spring booster, to give themselves the best possible protection against severe outcomes of covid-19 this winter.
In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care will once again be offering the free flu vaccine to additional groups. These groups will only be eligible once the most vulnerable, including previously announced pre-school and primary school children, those aged 65 years and over and those in clinical risk groups, have been offered the jab.
The additional groups set to be offered the free flu vaccine in England will be:
All adults aged 50 to 64 years.
Secondary school children in years 7, 8 and 9, who will be offered the vaccine in order of school year—starting with the youngest first.
The National Health Service will announce in due course when and how eligible groups will be able to book an appointment for their covid-19 autumn booster, and when people aged 50 to 64 years old who are not in a clinical risk group will be able to get their free flu jab.
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