Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received data from Astra Zeneca on the potential serious adverse effects of its covid-19 vaccine for a small number of recipients.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has not directly received data from AstraZeneca regarding potential adverse effects of their COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria, as it is not the appropriate body to receive this information. It instead relies on the expert advice of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
All vaccine manufacturers have a legal responsibility to mitigate risk and monitor the safety and performance of vaccines throughout the product lifecycle. This includes a legal responsibility to transmit reports of suspected adverse reactions received directly to the MHRA. Following the MHRA’s receipt of the first Yellow Card reports of suspected thrombosis and associated thrombocytopaenia associated with the Vaxzevria vaccine in February 2021, AstraZeneca provided the Commission on Human Medicines’ Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group an analysis of the age stratified risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. This was assessed by the Commission on Human Medicines, with the Patient Information updated to state the risks of these events.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the transparency of the Chinese government on their handling of the covid-19 outbreak and (b) implications for his policies of the protest by Zhang Yongzhen.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the protest made by Zhang Yongzhen. Clearly there are questions that still need to be answered about the origin and spread of COVID-19, not least so we can ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics. We are not going to rule anything out until a robust, transparent and science-led review has taken place. The UK continues to support the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its expert study of the origins of Covid-19. It is important that China and other countries cooperate fully with the researchers.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish a list of medical professionals (a) warned, (b) suspended and (c) with attempted suspensions for raising concerns over (i) covid-19 treatments and (ii) the pandemic response.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It sets and enforces the standards all doctors must adhere to. The GMC is independent of Government, and directly accountable to Parliament. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) operates separately from the investigatory role of the GMC, and makes independent decisions about whether doctors are fit to practise medicine. The hearings and decisions of the MPTS are published and available to access online.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the provision of covid-19 booster vaccinations to community pharmacies.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Community pharmacies have been taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme since January 2021. NHS England has recently changed the model for procuring COVID-19 vaccination services to an opt-in model. All community pharmacies who applied, and met the minimum requirements, received a contract to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations. This enabled more pharmacies to support the autumn 2023/24 booster campaign, administering COVID-19 vaccinations alongside flu vaccinations, which are also increasingly being administered in these settings.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 merits of including carers in the eligibility criteria for the Spring 2024 Covid Vaccination Programme.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government remains committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). On 7 February 2024, the JCVI published further advice on the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The JCVI advice is that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in spring 2024 to those at greatest risk of serious disease, and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination. Those eligible are: adults aged 75 years old and over; residents in a care home for older adults; and individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in chapter 14a of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book. The JCVI’s advice for spring 2024, including the approach to eligibility, is available via the following link:
The Government has accepted this advice, and the spring 2024 COVID-19 vaccination programme is now in progress. The spring programme is targeted to those at highest risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. Whilst carers as a group are therefore not recommended for vaccination in this programme, any carer who falls within one of the above cohorts will be eligible. Everyone who is eligible is encouraged to take up the offer of spring COVID-19 vaccination.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many claims related to Covid-19 vaccinations have been made through the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As of 26 April 2024, there have been 11,427 COVID-19 related claims made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11269 on Electric Scooters: Hire Services, whether he plans to announce a decision on extending e-scooter rental trials before the Summer recess.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
E-scooter trials have been extended to 31 May 2026. Extending the trials beyond May 2024 will enable us to build on current learning across areas including usage, safety, and environmental impacts, and to explore changing travel patterns since the coronavirus pandemic and as e-scooters become more embedded in public life.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her timetable is for the rollout of Endo Barriers on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The implantation of a duodenal–jejunal bypass liner, also known as an endo barrier, for managing type 2 diabetes, is not recommended by the NICE, and therefore not available on the National Health Service. Current evidence on the safety and efficacy of the device for managing type 2 diabetes is limited in quality and quantity. For this reason, the NICE recommends that the procedure should only be done as part of a research study. Further information on the NICE guidelines is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg518/chapter/1-Recommendations
The NICE may update the guidance, upon publication of further evidence. The NICE recommends that people with type 2 diabetes receive eight care processes at least annually, to support them to achieve three treatment targets to prevent diabetes related complications. The care processes include checks on blood glucose and body mass index, to support weight management. Delivery of all eight care processes is associated with reduced emergency admissions, amputations, and retinopathy. NHS England commissions two national lifestyle services to support adults with type 2 diabetes to manage their weight and improve their health and wellbeing. These are the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme and the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme. The NICE guidance for the care and management for adults with type 2 diabetes is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of classifying covid-19 as an occupational disease for healthcare workers; and whether his Department has had discussions with relevant professional bodies on that matter.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) can be paid.
The Council considered the available scientific and epidemiological evidence around COVID-19 infection and published a Command Paper entitled, ‘COVID-19 and occupational impacts’ in November 2022 found here.
The Command Paper recommends that the list of prescribed occupational diseases for which IIDB can be paid should be expanded to include health and social care workers with five serious pathological complications following COVID-19 infection.
The Department is currently carrying out a detailed assessment of the report’s recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) coronavirus extension concession and (b) exceptional assurance concession on the average length of decision periods for applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On 4 April 2024 a change was made to the Immigration Rules to provide that:
(a) Time spent in the UK during the Coronavirus extension concession grace period (1 August and 31 August 2020) would be considered as lawful presence where an applicant’s permission expired immediately before the grace period; and
(b) Overstaying in the UK when a person held an exceptional assurance concession would be disregarded during the period of grant of exceptional assurance.
Following this Immigration Rules change, decisions on applications for settlement where the person spent time in the UK for a period covered by these concessions are now being prioritised.
Where cases fall outside service standards, the Home Office write to the applicant to inform them of this.