Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue the work of the Rare Disease Action Plan 2024.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. The 2025 England Rare Diseases Action Plan was published on 28 February 2025 and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-rare-diseases-action-plan-2025
This action plan includes details of how we have continued to progress actions introduced in the 2024 action plan.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
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 implications for his policies of shortages of ADHD medication.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As a result of intensive work, some issues with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines have resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, atomoxetine oral solution and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.
However, whilst supply of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets has improved, issues persist. We are continuing to work to resolve these remaining issues by engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets 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 build further capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. The Department is also working with new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to improve supply and resiliency for the United Kingdom market.
We are supporting an ADHD taskforce established by NHS England to examine ADHD service provision. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, 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 has worked with NHS specialists to develop advice on prescribing alternative ADHD medications. We expect that ADHD service providers should follow this guidance and offer rapid responses for urgent advice, especially for high-risk patients. To aid decision-making at the point of prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medicines, we continue to update a list of available ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
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 adequacy of the eligibility requirements for the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the United Kingdom’s expert committee that advises the Government on immunisations programmes.
In June 2023, JCVI advised on introducing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation programmes to protect older adults and infants at greatest risk of harm from RSV infection.
Following a competitive tender and in line with JCVI advice, the new RSV vaccination programmes began in England on 1 September 2024 for pregnant women and adults aged between 75 and 79 years old. Both programmes use Pfizer’s Abrysvo® vaccine, which is approved only for use in pregnant women from 28 weeks, for infant protection, and older adults, following clinical trials in these groups.
When advising the introduction of an RSV vaccination programme for adults aged between 75 and 79 years old, the JCVI considered that there was less certainty about how well the vaccine works in people aged 80 years old and over, as there were not enough people of this age in the clinical trials to be able to see if the vaccines are protective in this age band.
The structure of an immunisation programme is dynamic and the JCVI will continue to keep evidence under review. The Department will consider any further JCVI advice on who should be offered an RSV immunisation in due course.