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 implications for his policies of the report published in November 2020 by the all-party Parliamentary group on Respiratory Health entitled Improving Asthma Outcomes in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have considered the report, which sets out a balanced appraisal of asthma outcomes in the United Kingdom, including recommendations to achieve improvements.

In line with the report, the Academic Health Science Networks in England, in partnership with the Patient Safety Collaboratives, have been commissioned to work with provider organisations to improve the uptake of all elements as appropriate of the British Thoracic Society’s asthma care bundle for patients admitted to hospital due to asthma in England.

An update to the General Practitioner (GP) Contract for 2020-21 to 2023-24 includes an improved Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) asthma domain. This incorporates aspects of care positively associated with better patient outcomes and asthma control. Including, as advised in the report, an assessment of inhaler technique. The QOF also ensures that all GP practices establish and maintain a register of patients with an asthma diagnosis in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance. It includes improved respiratory indicators, as implemented from April 2021.