Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure children with severe epilepsy can access effective cannabis-based medications through the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines, that have been proved effective in clinical trials and judged cost-effective by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are routinely available on the National Health Service, including for certain types of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from NICE demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all school-aged girls have access to a range of team sports within the PE curriculum.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to supporting all boys and girls to access sports and physical activities at school. Schools can organise and deliver a diverse and challenging PE and school sport offer which best suits the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing that decision include the spaces available for sports, along with available equipment.
On 8 March 2023, the department announced over £600 million in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years for the primary PE and sport premium, and £57 million up to March 2025 for the Opening School Facilities programme. Schools can use this funding to increase their sport provision, raise overall quality of PE, and improve the opportunities for all boys and girls to access team sports.
In July 2023, the department published the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which set out the expectation for schools to provide girls and boys with the same access and opportunity to play sports in PE and wider school sport. To encourage this, the government has overseen a change to the School Games Mark, which is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. From September 2023, schools must demonstrate how they are overcoming gender barriers faced by girls and boys in PE and wider school sport as part of their planning and delivery.
To tackle the specific barriers faced by girls in accessing PE and sport, the department has invested almost £980,000 in the 'Your Time' programme. The programme has provided girls with opportunities to access competitive team sports during PE and extracurricular time.
Additionally, the department plans to publish non-statutory guidance to exemplify how schools already offer equal access to PE and wider school sport. Departmental officials are currently working closely with a wide range of stakeholders, such as subject associations and other sporting bodies like the Football Association (FA) and Women in Sport, to finalise this non-statutory guidance for publication in early 2024.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve animal welfare transparency on labelling of food products.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra ran a Call for Evidence in 2021 to gather data on the impacts of different types of animal welfare labelling reforms. Based on the information gathered, we will continue to work with stakeholders to explore how we can harness the market to improve food information for consumers. We will continue to gather evidence on the impacts of a wide range of market interventions, as well as how they could align with wider labelling proposals such as eco-labelling.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the import of hunting trophies.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are disappointed that the Hunting Trophies Bill failed to progress in the House of Lords in the previous session, despite overwhelming support from hon. Members for our proposals. We are committed to delivering on our manifesto pledge to ban the import of hunting trophies and will continue to explore ways to bring this forward.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to provide funding for the additional sports that will be included at the Olympics in 2028.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We welcome the additional sports that have been approved for the LA28 Olympic Programme.
UK Sport’s investment process for Los Angeles is underway with currently funded sports, in line with their strategic plan. UK Sport will consider new sports that have been added to the programme. Should they make a case for investment, it would be considered alongside the currently funded sports in UK Sport’s evaluation process.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to end the use of cages on farm animals.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and to delivering continued improvements, in the course of this Parliament and beyond. We do not consider the time is right to consult on cage reforms, being mindful of the challenges the sectors are facing.
The market is already driving the move away from using cages for laying hens with over 60% of eggs coming from free range production. The UK also has a significant outdoor pig sector with 40% of the national sow breeding herd farrowing freely on outdoor units with no option for confinement.
We continue to work with the farming industry to maintain and enhance our high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, part of our new domestic agricultural policy, supports farmers to produce healthier, higher welfare animals. The Government’s welfare priorities for the Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to make the abduction of cats a criminal offence.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We would be supportive of legislation on pet abduction when parliamentary time allows. We have listened carefully to views expressed on the pet abduction measures during the passage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill including adding cats. We will take this feedback into consideration when delivering any measure.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timeframe is for concluding the evidence gathering process that will inform proposals to ban the import and sale of fur.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published a formal call for evidence on the fur trade in Great Britain, which has now closed. A summary of responses, setting out the results and any next steps in this policy space, will be published soon.
We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. This includes commissioning the Animal Welfare Committee to explore current responsible sourcing practices in the fur industry.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 impact of (a) the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access and (b) the introduction of the severity modifier on decisions of companies to launch medicines in the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of cancer medicines it appraises and its approval rate for cancer medicines has consistently been around 90%. NICE concluded a comprehensive review of its methods in January 2022 and has introduced a number of changes that will make its processes fairer and faster, and ensure they provide more equitable access for those with severe diseases. This includes a broader severity modifier to replace the end of life modifier. Analysis carried out by NICE in the development of the modifier indicates that the vast majority of cancer medicines that would be eligible for the end of life modifier would also be eligible for a weighting under the severity modifier. NICE recently reviewed the topics appraised using its new methods and found that of the seven pieces of final guidance published up until December 2022, all seven make positive recommendations. NICE also found that the severity modifier supported a positive recommendation where it was accepted, and plans to further review the implementation of its methods towards the end of 2023.
New innovative medicines do not pay the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) rebate rate for the first three years after marketing authorisation. The National Health Service is a unique proposition for global life sciences companies. With a single commercial deal, a company can have access to a market of over 55 million people. A recent report from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America found that between 2012 and 2021, the United Kingdom was consistently in the top three G20 countries for availability and speed of access to new medicines.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will monitor the impact of the severity modifier on access to new end of life cancer medicines.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of cancer medicines it appraises and its approval rate for cancer medicines has consistently been around 90%. NICE concluded a comprehensive review of its methods in January 2022 and has introduced a number of changes that will make its processes fairer and faster, and ensure they provide more equitable access for those with severe diseases. This includes a broader severity modifier to replace the end of life modifier. Analysis carried out by NICE in the development of the modifier indicates that the vast majority of cancer medicines that would be eligible for the end of life modifier would also be eligible for a weighting under the severity modifier. NICE recently reviewed the topics appraised using its new methods and found that of the seven pieces of final guidance published up until December 2022, all seven make positive recommendations. NICE also found that the severity modifier supported a positive recommendation where it was accepted, and plans to further review the implementation of its methods towards the end of 2023.
New innovative medicines do not pay the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) rebate rate for the first three years after marketing authorisation. The National Health Service is a unique proposition for global life sciences companies. With a single commercial deal, a company can have access to a market of over 55 million people. A recent report from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America found that between 2012 and 2021, the United Kingdom was consistently in the top three G20 countries for availability and speed of access to new medicines.