Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The following table shows the Advisory Committee for Clinical Impact Awards’ (previously the Clinical Excellence Awards) expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each of the last five years.
2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 |
£247,500 | £40,900 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he is taking to (a) reduce approval times for clinical trials and (b) enable innovative research to be carried out more quickly; and what discussions he has had for the purposes of informing policy and practice with representatives of (i) the National Health Systems of the UK, (ii) the Devolved administrations, (iii) academia, (iv) medical royal colleges, (v) patient advocacy groups, (vi) research institutes and (vii) health care professional bodies.
Answered by James Morris
‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’ published in March 2021 set out the ambition to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally enabled clinical research environment. ‘The Future of Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ published on 30 June 2022 summarises the progress made and the actions required in the next three years to achieve these ambitions by 2031.
The National Health Service and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are investing in data and digital platforms to increase the identification of people who meet the eligibility criteria for specific studies and to deliver virtual and decentralised studies to increase participation of patients within clinical trials. NHS England and the devolved administrations are developing plans to embed responsibility and accountability for research in healthcare delivery and introduce new measures to increase recognition for undertaking and supporting clinical research. This will include the implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022 with enhanced duties on research for NHS England and integrated care boards.
A single, simplified approval service for clinical trials in the United Kingdom will be developed, including the implementation of a fast-track ethics review in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) and the Health Research Authority’s combined process. NHS England is implementing the National Contract Value Review to expedite the costing elements of the contracting process in NHS trusts to prevent delays. Following public consultation on proposals for legislative changes for clinical research, the MHRA is preparing the Government’s response and secondary legislation. The NIHR is expanding its support through its Clinical Research Network to assist researchers with the design of studies.
These measures will be delivered through the Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme involving representatives from NHS, the devolved administrations, academia, Royal Colleges, patients and the public, research institutes, health care professional bodies and research charities, funders and industry.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he is taking to (a) increase the participation of patients within clinical trials, (b) integrate clinical research within health and social care practice and (c) further embed clinical research within the NHS.
Answered by James Morris
‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery’ published in March 2021 set out the ambition to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally enabled clinical research environment. ‘The Future of Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ published on 30 June 2022 summarises the progress made and the actions required in the next three years to achieve these ambitions by 2031.
The National Health Service and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are investing in data and digital platforms to increase the identification of people who meet the eligibility criteria for specific studies and to deliver virtual and decentralised studies to increase participation of patients within clinical trials. NHS England and the devolved administrations are developing plans to embed responsibility and accountability for research in healthcare delivery and introduce new measures to increase recognition for undertaking and supporting clinical research. This will include the implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022 with enhanced duties on research for NHS England and integrated care boards.
A single, simplified approval service for clinical trials in the United Kingdom will be developed, including the implementation of a fast-track ethics review in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) and the Health Research Authority’s combined process. NHS England is implementing the National Contract Value Review to expedite the costing elements of the contracting process in NHS trusts to prevent delays. Following public consultation on proposals for legislative changes for clinical research, the MHRA is preparing the Government’s response and secondary legislation. The NIHR is expanding its support through its Clinical Research Network to assist researchers with the design of studies.
These measures will be delivered through the Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme involving representatives from NHS, the devolved administrations, academia, Royal Colleges, patients and the public, research institutes, health care professional bodies and research charities, funders and industry.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps he is taking to promote the UK as a global life sciences superpower.
Answered by James Morris
The Department’s forthcoming Medtech Strategy will set out further actions to promote competition, transparency and innovation and the United Kingdom’s life sciences sector.
It will align with the Life Science Vision, which prioritised building capability in research and development, supporting the role of the National Health Service in innovation and creating a business environment which encourages investment in life sciences.
In addition, the Department and the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency will implement regulatory reforms to enable the early adoption of innovative medical devices and treatments and enhance the attractiveness of the UK as a place to do business.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with his counterparts in the Devolved nations to discuss the role of clinical research in (a) driving better patient outcomes ad (b) fostering better innovative treatments for patients.
Answered by James Morris
We continue to meet regularly with the devolved administrations to discuss clinical research in the United Kingdom. ‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ has been developed by the UK Government and the devolved administrations in collaboration with the clinical research community and delivery partners through the UK Clinical Research Recovery Resilience and Growth programme.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) representatives of the National Health Systems of the UK and (b) devolved Administrations on developing the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery 2022 to 2025 implementation plan; and what future discussions he plans to take place to (i) monitor and (ii) evaluate progress made in delivering the agreed actions within the implementation plan.
Answered by James Morris
‘The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan’ has been developed by the United Kingdom Government and the devolved administrations in collaboration with the clinical research community and delivery partners through the UK Clinical Research Recovery Resilience and Growth (RRG) programme.
The RRG Oversight Group meets regularly to provide oversight and strategic co-ordination of clinical research delivery in the UK. Members include the UK health departments, Digital Health and Care Wales, National Research Scotland, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland. The implementation plan was published on 30 June 2022 and progress will be monitored and evaluated by the RRG Programme Board and Oversight Group.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) representatives of the National Health Systems of the UK and (b) the devolved Administrations on the development of a UK-wide professional accreditation scheme for clinical research practitioners to help increase the size of the clinical research workforce.
Answered by James Morris
United Kingdom-wide accredited registration of clinical research practitioners (CRPs) was approved by the UK Professional Standards Authority in April 2020 as part of the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) Accredited Register for practitioners. The AHCS is a joint initiative of the UK health departments and professional bodies in healthcare science. The Standards of Proficiency for registration were developed following consultation with CRPs, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and senior leaders in nursing and management of clinical research operations. This is overseen by a board which includes representation from the devolved administrations to inform the strategic development of the profession. The NIHR and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges also offer UK-wide clinician researcher development qualifications.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total outstanding amount owed in managed quarantine service charges for (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.
Answered by Maggie Throup
As of 1 March 2022, the Department was owed £3 million from 2020/21 and £71 million from 2021/22 from unpaid stays in the managed quarantine service or for tests purchased from Corporate Travel Management. This includes amounts owed by individuals on repayment plans due to financial hardship. All appropriate debts have been passed to the Department’s debt recovery partner for collection.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effectiveness of creating a market for covid-19 travel testing in helping to ensure a domestic testing capacity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No specific assessment has been made. Due to the separate domestic and international travel markets, testing in the international travel market would not affect domestic testing capacity.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Competition and Markets Authority report entitled, CMA Rapid Review of PCR testing for travel, published in August 2021, on what date his Department responded to that Report's recommendations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Due to the evolving nature of this policy, the Department did not issue a written response to the Competitions and Markets Authority’s (CMA) report. However, officials met with the CMA on 27 September 2021 to discuss the Department’s response to the CMA’s recommendations and the proposed changes to international travel testing from polymerase chain reaction testing to lateral flow device testing (LFD). On 23 December 2021, officials met with the CMA in light of the transition to LFD testing and the emerging Omicron variant. A further meeting was held in spring 2022.