Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
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 ensure local authorities are using the Better Care Fund to provide respite for carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
In 2022/23, £291.7 million from the Better Care Fund is earmarked to provide short breaks and respite services for carers and additional advice and support. Local partnerships will also be required to demonstrate how funding is being used to support unpaid carers in Better Care Fund plans. This will provide insight into areas of best practice and which areas would benefit from further support.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allow children eligible for the covid-19 vaccine to use walk-in and mass vaccination centres.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Children aged 12 to 15 years old are receiving COVID-19 vaccination in schools through the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) and in wider community settings. The National Health Service is supporting the in-school offer to increase the scale and pace of delivery, including targeting communications to parents, young people to improve uptake.
An increasing number of ‘out of school’ sites have been offering vaccinations for those aged 12 to 15 years old, including general practitioner practices and community pharmacies. Letters have been sent to parents and guardians of children aged 12 to 15 years old, offering the option to book the vaccine online or by calling 119. Appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 12 to 15 years old are also available via the National Booking Service.
On 13 December 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to local health systems on offering 12 to 15 year olds a second dose of the vaccine. This included preparations for the winter break in ‘out of school’ settings and a spring term offer from 10 January 2022.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
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 accelerate the covid-19 vaccination programme in schools.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Children aged 12 to 15 years old are receiving COVID-19 vaccination in schools through the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) and in wider community settings. The National Health Service is supporting the in-school offer to increase the scale and pace of delivery, including targeting communications to parents, young people to improve uptake.
An increasing number of ‘out of school’ sites have been offering vaccinations for those aged 12 to 15 years old, including general practitioner practices and community pharmacies. Letters have been sent to parents and guardians of children aged 12 to 15 years old, offering the option to book the vaccine online or by calling 119. Appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 12 to 15 years old are also available via the National Booking Service.
On 13 December 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to local health systems on offering 12 to 15 year olds a second dose of the vaccine. This included preparations for the winter break in ‘out of school’ settings and a spring term offer from 10 January 2022.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will update the NHS App to enable children between the ages of 12 and 15 years old to provide evidence of their vaccination status for the purposes of international travel.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We are looking at ways to provide fully vaccinated 12 to 15 year olds with a travel NHS COVID Pass, which will be available shortly. Further information will be made available in due course, including details of the existing digital or non-digital NHS COVID Pass routes that will initially be available to this group.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
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 new covid-19 infections identified since 1 September 2021 did NHS Test and Trace attribute to a school setting as being the most likely location of transmission.
Answered by Maggie Throup
This information is not held in the format requested as it is not possible to identify where infection occurs in individual positive cases.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
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 support people who are immunosuppressed after the easing of covid-19 restrictions on 19 July 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals was published on 12 July and outlines support for all clinically extremely vulnerable people, including those who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, which is available at the following link:
In addition, immunosuppressed individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments such as monoclonal antibody therapies, novel antivirals and repurposed compounds. Their general practitioner practice or specialist can also provide personalised support and advice on any additional precautions.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of (a) the number of referrals received by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and (b) childhood obesity rates in each London borough.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The information requested is attached.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
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 assess the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines for those with compromised immune systems.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Public Health England is working with a range of partners to monitor the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations in clinical risk groups, including those with immunosuppression.
Public Health England recently published data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness for clinical risk groups. It showed that for those who are immunosuppressed, vaccine effectiveness after a second COVID-19 vaccine dose is 74%, with similar protection to those who are not in a risk group. This rises from 4% after a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts to help ensure that UK citizens who received an Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine will be able to participate in travel arrangements with the EU.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government continues to engage with the European Union on certification to ensure that travel between the United Kingdom and the EU is supported by a common approach.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures both Vaxzevria and Covishield, branded vaccines which are the same as the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. All SII-made doses approved by the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and administered in the UK were branded as the ’COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca’ which is now known commercially as ‘Vaxzevria’. The MHRA has not approved doses branded as ‘Covishield’ and none have been administered in the UK. All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised the Vaxzevria vaccine and it is therefore recognised by the EU.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cumulative number is of covid-19 vaccine doses found not suitable for use, by (a) vaccine type and (b) NHS Region of residence, since January 2021.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The data is not held centrally in the format requested.