Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
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 improve access to NHS dentistry in Devon.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked National Health Service dental practices in England to deliver at least 95% of contracted units of dental activity between April and June 2022 to improve access for patients safely. Patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance in finding a local dental practice or NHS 111 if seeking urgent dental care.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with Health Education England and Bristol and Peninsula Dental schools as part of the South West Dental Reform programme to address the challenges facing NHS dentistry in the region. We are also currently developing further proposals for dental system reform with the aim of improving access for patients.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What plans he has for the future role of community hospitals.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Community hospitals are a hugely valuable and valued part of our health and care system. As we have seen during the pandemic, they have played a vital role in providing intermediate care for patients not yet well enough to return home and play a much broader role year-in year-out to the communities they serve. While it is for local communities to make decisions on specific local services, we are clear that our community hospitals should continue to play a central role in healthcare provision for many years to come.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports of mis-stunning before slaughter he has received for each category of animal in each year since 2008.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) can provide recorded data from 2010 onwards detailing the number of instances of inaccurate/ineffective stunning which have occurred in the main categories of animals, in FSA approved slaughter premises in England and Wales. Each instance relates to an event that has been categorised as a serious or critical non-compliance on the welfare reporting systems used at that time. These figures do not reflect the number of animals involved.
Number of inaccurate/ineffective stuns recorded as serious/critical in England and Wales 2010-19
Year | Period | Poultry | Cattle | Pigs | Sheep and Goats | Total |
2010 | April 2010 to March 2011 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 39 |
2011 | April 2011 to March 2012 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 23 |
2012 | April 2012 to March 2013 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25 |
2013 | April 2013 to March 2014 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 24 |
2014 | April 2014 to March 2015 | 11 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 38 |
2015 | April 2015 to March 2016 | 4 | 81 | 0 | 3 | 88 |
2016 | April 2016 to March 2017 | 2 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 30 |
2017 | April 2017 to March 2018 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 30 |
2018 | April 2018 to March 2019 | 2 | 34 | 4 | 6 | 46 |
2019 | April 2019 to December 2019 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 21 |
Grand Total | 61 | 232 | 21 | 50 | 364 | |
The figures in the table above for poultry only reflect the data associated with electrical stunning methods as the predominant method used in larger poultry premises is controlled atmosphere stunning (gas) method which is designed to kill rather than stun.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports of mis-cutting he received for each category of animal in each year since 2008.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) can provide the recorded data from 2010 onwards detailing the number of instances of mis-cutting which have occurred in the main categories of animals, in FSA approved slaughter premises in England and Wales. Each instance relates to an event that has been categorised as a serious or critical non-compliance on the welfare reporting systems used at that time. These figures do not reflect the number of animals involved.
Year | Period | Poultry | Cattle | Pigs | Sheep and Goats | Total |
2010 | April 2010 to March 2011 | 181 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 181 |
2011 | April 2011 to March 2012 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154 |
2012 | April 2012 to March 2013 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 |
2013 | April 2013 to March 2014 | 88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 |
2014 | April 2014 to March 2015 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 |
2015 | April 2015 to March 2016 | 96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 |
2016 | April 2016 to March 2017 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 |
2017 | April 2017 to March 2018 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 |
2018 | April 2018 to March 2019 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
2019 | April 2019 to December 2019 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 |
| Grand Total | 933 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 936 |
As is evident in the data contained in the table the issue is almost exclusively related to poultry processing with an improving trend in recent years. This is due to improvements in business operator practices, technology and enforcement action being taken against operators who do not comply with the legal requirements.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) trade and levy organisations and (b) other members of health, voluntary sector and industry were invited to be part of the external reference group for the formation of the new Eat Well guide.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Public Health England convened an external reference group in July 2014 to inform the refresh of the Eatwell Guide. Members from health, voluntary sector and industry were invited, including trade and levy organisations. Government departments and agencies were observers.
The following organisations were invited and formed the reference group; The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, The Association of Directors of Public Health, The Association for Nutrition (chair), The Association of Convenience Stores, The British Dietetic Association, The British Nutrition Foundation, The British Retail Consortium, The Food and Drink Federation, Health Education England, Institute of Grocery Distribution, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, The Royal College of Nursing and UK Health Forum.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the rationale was for the reduction in the dairy food group from 15 to eight per cent in the revised Eatwell Guide; and on what scientific evidence the new recommendations on dairy consumption are based.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government has adopted the refreshed Eatwell Guide which reflects updated government dietary recommendations based upon conclusions from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, robust modelling and consumer research. It shows the proportions of the different types of foods and drinks we should consume to have a healthy, balanced diet.
An external reference group was convened to inform the development of the Eatwell Guide. Members from health, voluntary sector and industry were invited, including trade and levy organisations.
Linear programming, the approach considered the most objective and robust by the reference group to inform the sizes of the food group segments, ensured all government dietary recommendations were met, including that for calcium. This analysis resulted in a new image with a reduced ‘dairy and alternatives’ segment, which will support consumers to reduce saturated fat and salt consumption, while still meeting calcium recommendations.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Government is making in implementing the recommendations in his Department's Innovative Medicines Review.
Answered by George Freeman
The Accelerated Access review into innovative medicines and medical technologies was launched on 20 November 2014. On 11 March, the Government published the review’s terms of reference and announced that Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair of Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust, will chair the review. The review will produce an interim report before the autumn.
Work on the review is underway. Background work to map the current development pathways for medicines, devices and diagnostics is ongoing, as is initial work on international comparators. The review has also started to engage with stakeholders from across the landscape, and this dialogue will continue as the review progresses.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to publish a new dementia strategy.
Answered by Norman Lamb
On 21 February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his new Challenge on Dementia 2020, which builds on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015, the successor to the National Dementia Strategy 2009-2014. It sets out aspirations for dementia care, support, awareness and research to be transformed by 2020.
What happens from 2015/16 to 2020 will be determined by the next Government in the context of the Spending Review, however the expectation, subject to the outcome of the Spending Review, is to work with key stakeholders on the implementation on the vision to ensure that real and sustainable improvements are delivered for people with dementia, their carers and families.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Food Standards Agency on implementing the recommendations in the efficiency review carried out by the National Audit Office in 2013.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a non-ministerial department and asked the National Audit Office to undertake an efficiency review in order to identify whether it was delivering the official controls required for the United Kingdom meat industry under European and UK legislation as efficiently as possible. The review took place early in 2013 and encompassed both frontline operational and support functions. Findings were presented to the FSA Board in July 2013, and an action plan developed in response.