Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people with cancer aged between 13 and 24 are enrolled in clinical trials.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government published ‘Saving and Improving Lives: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’ in March 2021. The phase 2 implementation plan for the vision, published in June 2021, aims to make it easier for all patients, including cancer patients, to access relevant research.
Clinical trials are funded by a range of public, charity and commercial organisations, including by the Department via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2022/23, the NIHR Clinical Research Network recruited 35,737 participants to cancer studies. Information on the age of participants enrolled in NIHR-funded clinical trials is not currently collated centrally by NIHR and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many physician associates are employed in the NHS; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation of physician associates.
Answered by Will Quince
Latest data published by NHS England shows that, as of March 2023, there are 1,490 full time equivalent (FTE) physician associates (PAs) working across National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards. In addition, in June 2023 there were a total of 1,805 FTE physician associates working in primary care settings.
The Faculty of Physician Associates at the Royal College of Physicians currently provides professional support to PAs across the United Kingdom. This includes setting standards for education and training. The Faculty also oversees a voluntary register of qualified PAs who have been declared fit to practise in the UK.
Work is ongoing to bring PAs into statutory regulation under the General Medical Council (GMC). We plan to lay legislation before Parliament at the end of 2023, which will allow the GMC to commence regulation by the end of 2024. Regulation by the GMC will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for the clinical practice and professional conduct of PAs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 help ensure that (a) all food provided through the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is sourced at the highest quality and (b) healthy eating is promoted more widely in schools.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Suppliers of fruit and vegetables to the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme are required to adhere to all elements of law in the United Kingdom. They are required to supply produce which meets Government fresh fruit and vegetable marketing standards, and the standards set for the Red Tractor food assurance scheme for UK-sourced foods, or Globalgap, the international equivalent for fruit and vegetables sourced from outside the UK. Schools are encouraged to use the scheme as an opportunity to educate children about fruit and vegetables and to encourage the consumption of a healthy, balanced diet.
The standards for school food are set out in the requirement for School Food Regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. The Government encourages all schools to promote healthy eating and provide healthy, tasty, and nutritious food and drink. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies, and free schools.
The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day, including, for example, breakfast clubs, tuck shops, mid-morning break, vending and after school clubs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 ensure patients can access timely NHS dental treatment.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Our plan for dentistry, to be published shortly, will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value. Our plan will include addressing how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make National Health Service work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.
It is now a legal requirement for dentists to update their information on the NHS website to improve information available to patients. The regulations came into effect in November 2022. Patients who are struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. These include a 40% increase to dentistry undergraduate training places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to review the (a) effectiveness and (b) timeliness of the funding system accessed by GPs for fitting intrauterine systems; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no plans to review the effectiveness and timeliness of the funding system accessed by general practices (GPs) for fitting intrauterine systems.
Integrated care boards may commission GPs to offer long-acting reversible contraception as an enhanced service to their local population, in addition to the contraception service provided through the GP contract.
It is for integrated care boards to decide on commissioning arrangements for their area based on an assessment of local need.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to improve the provision of long-acting reversible contraception in Nottingham.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government provides funding for contraception, both as an essential service which general practices (GPs) must either provide or arrange for the provision of to their patients through the GP Contract, and through the public health grant to local authorities.
Local authorities in England are responsible for commissioning comprehensive, open access sexual and reproductive health services, including the provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), to meet local demand. Integrated care boards may also commission GPs to offer LARC as an enhanced service to their local population, in addition to the service provided through the GP contract.
It is for Nottingham City Council and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board to decide on commissioning arrangements in Nottingham based on an assessment of local need.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 adequacy of the (a) the number of universities offering and (b) number of places available on Overseas Pharmacists' Assessment Programme courses.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Overseas pharmacy professionals must meet the same standards as United Kingdom pharmacy professionals. Pharmacists that do not hold eligible qualifications, or who are non-EEA pharmacists, must complete the Overseas Pharmacists’ Assessment Programme (OSPAP), which is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), before they can register and practise in the UK.
The OSPAP is currently oversubscribed, and the GPhC has written to accredited educational providers to highlight the demand for places. Ultimately, this is a decision for providers and a limited number of additional places have been created.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Department is taking steps to ensure that interim support is provided for children awaiting an assessment for autism.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England has recently published a national framework and Operational Guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. The guidance aims to support integrated care systems to make the best of their resources by setting out how pathways can best be delivered and is supplementary to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on autism. This guidance provides information on facilitating appropriate pre-assessment support while people are waiting for an assessment, including specific factors which may be relevant for children. This will help improve the experience of people, including children, who are awaiting an autism assessment.
This year, 2023/2024, £4.2 million of funding is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services and pre- and post-diagnostic support, and the continuation of the ‘Autism in Schools’ programme.
The ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years’ is clear that meeting the needs of a child with Special Educational Needs does not require a diagnostic label or test. The Department for Education has invested £600,000 in a pilot in schools which looked to improve early identification of autism and other neurodiverse conditions. This has led to the development of an electronic neurodiversity profiling tool which helps schools identify children with autism and other neurodiverse conditions early, so that they can put proven support mechanisms in place. This tool is now being used in the Bradford area.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 children requiring an assessment for autism in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We expect integrated care boards (ICBs), including Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism when commissioning services for children and young people requiring an autism assessment. On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. These documents will help the National Health Service to improve their autism assessment services and improve the experience for children who are referred to an autism assessment service.
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB has been working closely with commissioned providers to increase their capacity and reduce the waiting times for assessments, whilst it reviews the wider children and young people neurodevelopmental pathway. This will identify areas of improvement and the necessary actions required to ensure Nottinghamshire has the right provision, with the right levels of commissioned capacity in place, that best meets the needs of its children and young people in a timely manner.
Relevant work has included reviews of pre-assessment services to reduce inherited waiting lists and the length of waiting times, with a focus on the referrals process, triage assessment and parenting support, additional non-recurrent funding to increase capacity to reduce backlogs, appointing additional Specialist Practitioners, and to increase the capacity of Community Paediatric teams and recurrent funding for additional Consultant Psychologists.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the merits of licensing melatonin for over 18s in the UK who are diagnosed with autism and related sleep disorders.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance for the use of melatonin in the United Kingdom which is available at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/insomnia/prescribing-information/melatonin/
Currently, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has made no specific assessment of licensing melatonin for over 18s in the UK who are diagnosed with autism and related sleep disorders. Clinicians make prescribing decisions for patients, taking into account best prescribing practice, appropriate guidance and the local commissioning decisions of integrated care boards. The clinician works with the patient to decide on the course of treatment, with the provision of the most clinically appropriate care being the primary consideration.