Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the consultation on the secondary regulations relating to the advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill.
Answered by Maggie Throup
A post-implementation review will be undertaken within five years of the introduction of restrictions on the advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar on TV and paid for advertising online. The impact assessment published in June 2021 outlined variables that may be monitored in this review and is available at the following link:
We will shortly conduct a consultation, focusing on the clarity of definitions proposed in secondary legislation. We continue to work with regulators to prepare the relevant guidance and put in place the enforcement structures needed for industry to understand the new advertising restrictions ahead of implementation. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what metrics he plans to use to measure the effectiveness of the advertising restrictions contained in the Health and Care Bill on reducing levels of childhood obesity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
A post-implementation review will be undertaken within five years of the introduction of restrictions on the advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar on TV and paid for advertising online. The impact assessment published in June 2021 outlined variables that may be monitored in this review and is available at the following link:
We will shortly conduct a consultation, focusing on the clarity of definitions proposed in secondary legislation. We continue to work with regulators to prepare the relevant guidance and put in place the enforcement structures needed for industry to understand the new advertising restrictions ahead of implementation. We expect this guidance to be made available for consultation later this year. The exact timing is a matter for regulators.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 provision of NHS dental services in North East Bedfordshire constituency; what steps his Department is taking to help increase the provision of NHS dental services; and what discussions he has had with Health Education England on the provision of (a) NHS dentists and (b) dental training places.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent formal assessment has been made. The provision of National Health Service dental services has been limited since 8 June 2020. Dental practices are currently focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups, including children, followed by overdue appointments. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to increase activity levels as quickly as possible based on evidence on the levels of care that can be provided safely whilst protecting staff and patients from the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Health Education England has recently published their recommendations for improving training, education and recruitment of dental professionals in their Advancing Dental Care Review and are working with system partners to deliver those recommendations. The Department adjusted the number of dental school places for the 2021 academic year and we will ensure that numbers of dental school places are in line with England’s workforce requirements.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2021 on Coronavirus: Drugs, whether his Department plans to make Ronapreve available for the treatment and prevention of covid-19 in immunocompromised patients; what the timeline is for Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's consideration of ADZ7442; and whether his Department plans to seek prioritisation of that appraisal.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 17 September, Ronapreve was made available to hospitalised patients through an interim NHS clinical policy. On 4 November 2021, the clinical policy was expanded. The clinical policy includes seronegative patients that are hospitalised for the management of acute COVID-19 infection and patients with hospital-onset COVID-19, if they are deemed to be at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19 or at risk of destabilising their condition or recovery from their procedure. This may include immunocompromised patients.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency needs to ensure that products such as AZD7442 are of acceptable quality, safety and efficacy. This is an independent process and approval can only be determined when the full data has been provided by the manufacturer.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 effect of including community pharmacies in IT systems that fully integrate health and care records on supporting effective transfers of care and improving health outcomes for patients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework sets out the shared vision for community pharmacy to play an increased role in the delivery of primary care. There is consensus that community pharmacists having the ability to view and contribute to the medical records of patients, in whose direct care they are involved, is required to achieve this.
NHSX is developing interoperable National Health Service IT systems to integrate health and care records while considering issues such as patient consent and data security. This will allow clinicians across the NHS to access patients’ records, make informed clinical decisions and populate those records, ensuring transfers of care are safe and effective and improve health outcomes.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to the public on the status of the covid-19 vaccination branded Covishield; and whether there are any limitations on international travel for those in receipt of the Covishield vaccine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No specific guidance has been issued. No AstraZeneca doses branded as Covishield have been administered in the United Kingdom. All AstraZeneca vaccines in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as ‘Vaxzevria’, which has been permitted for international travel since May 2021.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made in fulfilling the aims of the document entitled Long COVID: the NHS plan for 2021/22, published in June 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
An additional £70 million has been allocated to expand ‘long’ COVID-19 services delivered through Post-COVID Assessment Clinics and integrated care systems have submitted their service expansion plans. £30 million has also been allocated for an enhanced service for general practice, with a specification published in June 2021 and a draft self-assessment template published in August.
Fourteen paediatric hubs have been established across England to provide advice and help coordinate care for children and young people up to the age of 18 years old. The online Your Covid Recovery service is also being improved to enhance its accessibility and promote its use.
The first monthly data publication on referrals and specialist assessments in post-COVID-19 services was published on 9 September and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-post-covid-assessment-service/
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2021 to Question 31551, when UK residents vaccinated against covid-19 while overseas with a (a) Pfizer, (b) Oxford-AstraZeneca and (c) Moderna vaccine are able to be certified as vaccinated by the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Work is underway to determine which non-Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency authorised vaccines we will recognise with confidence to enable United Kingdom residents vaccinated abroad to demonstrate their vaccination status. A solution will be rolled out in England as a pilot from the end of September.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) efficacy of providing monthly covid-19 antibody tests to care homes.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made on the feasibility and efficacy of providing monthly COVID-19 antibody tests to care homes. However, social care workers in England have been eligible for a free antibody test at National Health Service test sites through and the at-home testing service since Summer 2020 for adult social care staff to access antibody tests if they wish to do so.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the medical needs of recipients of solid organ donations within the covid 19 booster programme; what priority will be given to such recipients in that booster programme; and when the Cov-Boost study, led by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust will be published; and what the planned timescale is for the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations to publish its decision on the plans for that booster programme.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June 2021, which is available at the following link:
As stated in the interim advice, adults who are severely immunosuppressed, such as those who have had solid organ transplants, may not respond as well to COVID-19 vaccines. The advice states that those adults who are severely immunosuppressed should be offered COVID-19 booster revaccination at the start of the booster programme. It should be noted that this advice may be subject to change before being finalised.
Final decisions on the timing and scope of the vaccine booster programme will be made later in the year, informed by further independent advice from the JCVI. The JCVI will review the emerging scientific evidence to inform the Government in our final decision-making process, which includes further data on the durability of protection from vaccines, data supplied by manufacturers and clinical trial data from the Cov-Boost trial on immune responses following a third vaccination. It is anticipated that primary data from the initial stages of this trial will be reported to the JCVI by the end of summer 2021.