Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
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 impact of rises in the cost of living on public health.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have made no specific assessment of the impact on public health. However, through the energy price guarantee and direct help for vulnerable households, the Government is providing help to households worth £3,300 on average one of the largest support packages in Europe. The total amount being provided to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living is over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
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 potential impact of increases in the cost of living on public health.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Through the energy price guarantee and direct help for vulnerable households, government is providing help to households worth £3,300 on average – one of the most generous support packages in Europe.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
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 the Devolved Administrations on ending the free provision of covid-19 lateral flow tests..
Answered by Maggie Throup
Discussions with the devolved administrations took place in advance of the publication of ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’. In addition, officials are in regular contact understand the approach taken by each nation and any implementation issues.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the data collected by the ZOE COVID Symptom Study which found that runny nose, headache, sneezing and sore throat are the most common symptoms of covid-19 in fully vaccinated people and children, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the list of symptoms which trigger the need for a covid-19 test.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Experts continue to keep the symptoms under review as our understanding of the virus develops. We assess the data from the COVID Symptom Study in addition to other surveillance studies and will update our guidance if necessary.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the HMICFRS report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System report, published on 15 July 2021, what steps are being taken to implement the use of screening tools for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to enable screening for adults upon entering prison.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working closely with the Ministry of Justice to gather more evidence on the use of screening tools, including screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults within the criminal justice system in England. An action plan in response to the recommendations of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, is due to be published in October 2021 and will address this recommendation.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps he is taking to help prevent a second wave of covid-19 infections after the easing of lockdown measures.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We have set out five tests that will need to be satisfied before any lockdown measures are eased which are as follows:
To offset the risk for a second peak, a certain degree of social distancing measures will need to remain. We have rapidly and very significantly expanded our testing capability and are developing a test and trace programme to support the next phase of our Covid-19 response.