Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 potential merits of adding nuclear medicine technologists to the list of professions registered with the Health and Care Professional Council.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no plans to extend statutory regulation to nuclear medicine technologists. Therefore, an assessment of the potential merits of bringing nuclear medicine technologists into statutory regulation has not been undertaken.
The statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that face coverings sold privately for use by the general public are of a high standard and effective.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the United Kingdom, face coverings are being sold by a large number of retailers online and in store. Details of a product’s conformance to any standards can be found under the product details section online, or on the packaging or label of the covering itself.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards has produced guidance for manufacturers and sellers of face coverings, which is available online.
In June 2020, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) approved a Workshop Agreement with performance requirements, methods of testing and uses of community face coverings.
The British Retail Consortium has released a specification for Textile Barrier Face Coverings designed for both disposable and reusable coverings. The specification sets out the design, performance and chemical requirements of coverings, as well as labelling instructions.
The British Standards Institution will not be creating a separate standard and intend to adopt the CEN Workshop Agreement. Copies of both the CEN and AFNOR documents are freely available for the public to download.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a response to EDM 521 on the UK law on disability-selective abortion.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Abortion is a sensitive area, Where there are strongly held moral and ethical views.
Parliament decided the circumstances under which abortion can legally be undertaken. It would be for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.