Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with infrastructure providers about the compatibility of fibre-to-the-premises broadband and telecare products.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Yes, the Government engages regularly with communication providers and network operators to ensure that the industry-led transition from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely.
I have written to all telecare suppliers with Stephen Kinnock MP (Minister for Care, DHSC) urging them to stop selling analogue telecare devices that are reliant on the PSTN and do not function over fibre-to-the-premises broadband. On November 18th I hosted a roundtable specifically to discuss the protection of telecare users during the PSTN migration. At this meeting major communication providers agreed to extra safeguards to protect telecare users ahead of restarting non-voluntary migrations.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 24 October 2024 to Question 9576 on Methylphenidate: Shortages, what recent progress her Department has made on improving the supply of methylphenidate in (a) Norfolk and (b) the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues, where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support the continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We currently expect supply to improve in the United Kingdom throughout the rest of 2024. However, we anticipate supply to be limited for some strengths, and we continue to work with all suppliers to ensure the remaining issues are resolved as soon as possible.
The Department has also worked with specialists to develop advice for National Health Service clinicians on prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets, whilst supplies are limited. If this is not possible, advice has also been provided for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) specialists to offer other clinically appropriate and available options, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, in line with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidance, in order to avoid potentially disruptive breaks in treatment. To improve supply chain resiliency, we are also working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK supplier base.
We are supporting an ADHD taskforce that NHS England is establishing to examine ADHD service provision. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand. In collaboration with NHS England’s national ADHD data improvement plan, we plan to combine modelling for future growth forecasts, which will be shared with industry to improve demand forecasting for ADHD medicines. The Department continually updates a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website. This helps ensure those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. This list is available at the following link:
www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to support those asked to pay large interest payments on pension contributions as a result of the McCloud judgement.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The purpose of the McCloud remedy is to ensure affected public service pension scheme members are put back into the same position they would have been if the discrimination identified by the Court of Appeal in 2018 had not occurred. It is therefore necessary to apply interest to payments to members or the scheme that would otherwise have been made at an earlier time. Members who need to pay a contribution adjustment can choose whether to make payment after receiving their Remediable Saving Statement or to defer until their retirement. Scheme managers also have scope to support members, for example by allowing payments to be spread over time.