Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to (a) review take up levels of vaccinations and (b) raise awareness of the potential benefits of vaccinations (i) in childhood and (ii) for tackling (A) flu and (B) covid-19.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors and reviews vaccination coverage, including the assessment of barriers that reduce the uptake of vaccination, for all routine immunisation programmes in England.
To raise awareness of vaccination benefits, the Government provides information in multiple languages and accessible formats, runs e-learning programmes, provides training for healthcare professionals, and carries out national marketing campaigns.
Working with the Department and NHS England, the UKHSA runs national marketing campaigns to encourage greater uptake of childhood immunisations. The next campaign will start at the end of August 2024, and will run for six weeks.
During autumn and winter, a national communication campaign for winter vaccines, including flu and COVID-19, will target those in eligible cohorts, to ensure that they are aware of the benefit of having their vaccines.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 recent trends in the number of pancreatic cancer diagnoses; and what steps he plans to take to help support research into less treatable cancers.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s latest available data shows that the number of pancreatic cancer cases diagnosed in 2021 was 9,728, compared to 9,263 in 2019, showing a gradual increase. Delivering more research is key to understanding and assessing the challenges around cancers with lower survival rates. The Department invests £1.3 billion per year into health research, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including all cancers. As with other Government funding of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas, including less survivable cancers. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.
The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned 10 clinical cancer audits, which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. This includes an audit on pancreatic cancer. NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) programme has appointed a team of 5 specialist clinicians to lead a national review into services for pancreatic cancer patients in England. As part of their review, the GIRFT clinicians are visiting 23 networks. Early evidence shows that tracking patients throughout their pathway, both geographically and chronologically, supports an optimal service, making good use of Clinical Nurse Specialists. The final report will be completed in 2024/25.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure water companies assess the levels of lead in domestic drinking water supplies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are required to risk assess drinking water supplies from source to tap. Where there is a risk of lead in the water exceeding 10mg/l, water companies will treat the water with orthophosphate which reduces lead leaching significantly. In 2023, only 0.35% of these breached the standard for lead. In these instances, water companies will provide public health advice to consumers impacted and, where necessary, will look to replace the pipework owned by them.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate has provided advice for consumers to better understand if they have lead pipe in their home and how to reduce the risk, for example by running water to remove standing water in the pipes before use (https://www.dwi.gov.uk/lead-in-drinking-water/). If consumers think there is a risk to their supply, they can request a lead test from their water company.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 prevent delayed discharges from hospital to (a) residential care and (b) homes with domiciliary care provision.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that hospital departments are no longer blocked due to delayed discharges. By developing local partnership working between the National Health Service and social care, we will ensure that people are not stuck in hospital beds when they are well enough to go home.
The Government’s commitment to supporting providers to deliver better pay, conditions and training will help fill vacancies, so care providers can better support hospitals to reduce delayed discharges.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 help ensure adequate funding for community pharmacy services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies, and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. We are currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to reduce waiting times for dentists to take qualifying dental exams.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Dental Council (GDC) is responsible for setting requirements for entry to the dentists register and administers the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE), which assesses the knowledge and skills of dentists holding qualifications not otherwise recognised for registration. The Royal College of Surgeons operates the Licence in Dental Surgery, which is an alternative examination for such dentists.
The GDC tripled the capacity of sittings for part 1 of the ORE from August 2023 through all of 2024, and is running an additional sitting of part 2 of the ORE in 2024. Together, these steps have created more than 1,300 additional places across the two parts. The GDC has opened tendering for provision of parts 1 and 2 of the ORE for the next five years, looking to improve the flexibility and availability of the ORE. Department officials continue to meet regularly with the GDC to discuss this important issue.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of capacity in secure and forensic mental health facilities; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential merits of increasing the number of prisoners moved into such facilities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 that hospices receive adequate funding.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We understand that financially times are difficult for many voluntary and charitable organisations, including hospices, due to the increased cost of living. We want a society where these costs are manageable for both voluntary organisations, like hospices, and the people whom they serve.
The Government is going to shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community, and we recognise that hospices will play a vital role. We will consider the next steps on palliative and end of life care more widely in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of instructing water companies to test all households in receipt of water if it is determined that lead is present in their water source.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are responsible for drinking water quality to the boundary of a consumer’s property. The domestic plumbing system is the responsibility of the home/building owner and therefore there may be limitations, such as access constraints, which limit the ability to sample at every customer tap. Though, water companies are required to risk assess drinking water supplies from source to tap and will, where appropriate required, treat water.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate has provided advice for consumers to better understand if they have lead pipe in their home and how to reduce the risk, for example by running water to remove standing water in the pipes before use (https://www.dwi.gov.uk/lead-in-drinking-water/). If consumers think there is a risk to their supply, they can request a lead test from their water company.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with water companies on the replacement of water pipes to households in which lead has been found in the household water supply in York constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has already met CEOs of all 16 water companies, including Yorkshire Water, setting out his expectations from the Government going forward. The Secretary of State and the Minister for Water and Flooding will have further conversations with water company chief executives in due course, including with Yorkshire Water, on a range of issues.
On 11th July 2024, Ofwat published its Draft Determinations for 2025-2030 outlining that Yorkshire Water will spend just over £7 billion to deliver significant improvements in performance. This includes £77 million to be spent on improving water quality, which includes replacing lead pipes in the company's network.