Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
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 impact of an Respiratory Syncytial Virus immunisation programme on NHS capacity in winter 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Policy options based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice on a potentially expanded vaccination programme for respiratory syncytial virus are currently being developed by the Department, working with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
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 economic impact of influenza.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the approach to the immunisation programmes in England. Their decision is informed by the cost effectiveness of different vaccines and different vaccine policies, which evaluate the health impacts of vaccines versus the costs. However, they do not consider the impact on the economy. The Department will continue to be guided by JCVI advice, which is based on a cost-effectiveness approach to appraising vaccines.
The Department’s objective is to improve the health of the population. Influenza has a significant impact in terms of morbidity and mortality. It will also have an economic impact, as do most other health conditions. Vaccines are the best defence we have against respiratory infections such as flu. They provide good protection against hospitalisation and death. They also reduce the risk of long-term symptoms.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ringfence budgets to promote vaccine uptake for (a) flu and (b) covid-19 for the 2023/24 winter season.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled; for themselves, their families and wider society. The Department continues to use the best available evidence to demonstrate the health benefits of vaccinations at both a personal and population level, and highlights these messages through regular media, stakeholder and social media engagement. The Department also works closely with both NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to develop vaccination guides and patient facing consent resources to demonstrate the benefits of vaccinations for all, as well as ensuring that reputable sources such as NHS.UK or GOV.UK are prominent and readily signposted.
A paid for campaign to promote uptake of seasonal flu and COVID-19 booster vaccinations for this season is in development, due to launch in early November 2023.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
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 publish data on the uptake of the shingles national immunisation programme for immunocompromised individuals; and what steps he plans to take to monitor the uptake of shingles vaccinations among immunocompromised people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency collects data on shingles vaccine uptake including immunocompromised individuals. This data collection has been in place since the start of the programme in September 2021. Data will be published subject to quality validation processes.
A plan is in place to collect data to monitor the uptake in new cohorts who will be eligible for Shingrix from 1 September 2023, with the intention to publish this data in February 2024.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
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 impact of changing eligible age cohorts for annual flu vaccination on the uptake of (a) influenza and (b) covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Vaccine uptake rates are considered in the planning for future vaccination programmes. However, no assessment has been made of the potential impacts of changes to the eligibility criteria for flu and COVID-19 vaccines on vaccine uptake rates. This is because the primary aim of the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme continues to be the prevention of severe disease (hospitalisation and mortality) and vaccination is therefore offered to those at greatest risk of serious disease.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people in the 50 to 64 age cohort will o be included for vaccination in the 2023/24 winter season.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the approach to the immunisation programmes in England. Details about the flu vaccination programme for 2023/24, including which groups will be eligible for a free vaccine and the vaccines that will be reimbursable to National Health Service providers, were published on 25 May 2023. The groups eligible for a free flu vaccine for the 2023 to 2024 season include those aged 65 years and over and those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, eligibility for the influenza programme was temporarily extended to include all adults aged between 50 and 64 years of age to protect the population from the potential threat of cocirculation of COVID-19 and influenza and alleviate pressure on the NHS. In the JCVI’s advice for the 2023/24 programme published in November 2022, it stated that whilst there would be a health benefit in vaccinating low risk 50–64-year-olds, it is uncertain whether this would be cost effective and that the overall priority should be to extend the childhood programme in secondary schools as this would be more cost effective and likely to have a greater impact on morbidity and mortality compared with vaccinating 50-64 year olds. An expansion of the flu programme to include secondary school-aged children was announced on 4 July 2023.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to make a recommendation on a future Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immunisation Programme.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Policy options based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice on a potentially expanded vaccination programme for respiratory syncytial virus are currently being developed by the Department, working with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England. The Government will then announce its plans once complete.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on reducing the number and frequency of roadworks.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Ministers regularly discuss a range of issues with their counterparts in other Government departments. Utility companies have a right of access to the highway to install and repair the apparatus on which we all rely. Highway authorities have duties to coordinate works on their networks and to secure the expeditious movement of traffic. The Government has introduced a number of initiatives, such as the development of Street Manager, and regulatory changes all designed to improve the efficiency of how works are carried out.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance budget on UK antimicrobial resistance research projects carried out (a) by the One Health Poultry Hub and (b) overseas.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government has committed £1.5bn in additional resources to support people fleeing oppression in Ukraine and Afghanistan. Recognising these significant and unanticipated costs, the UK remains committed to the use of ODA to fund research that can provide new solutions to critical challenges in development, and. We have robust mechanisms in place to assess the impact and value-for-money of our ODA-funded research programmes, which along with the priorities established by UK International Development Strategy, such as global health, are used to inform spending decisions on projects such as those linked to Antimicrobial Resistance.
Asked by: Maggie Throup (Conservative - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of withdrawing £1.6 billion for research for antimicrobial resistance on the UK’s ability to lead the world in that area.
Answered by George Freeman
The £1.6bn returned to HM Treasury, was part of funding put aside in the Spending Review for association to Horizon Europe. As we have been unable to associate in the financial year 2022/23, the departmental underspend was returned to the Exchequer. Any funding required for association in future years will be made available once there is clarity on UK association to EU programmes.
Regardless of whether we reach an agreement with the EU on association, or launch our proposed alternative, the Government will ensure that UK researchers and businesses continue to benefit from world-leading collaboration opportunities in Europe and beyond.