Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support research on the efficacy of covid-19 vaccines for people with low immunity.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Public Health England are leading the surveillance strategy for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, which will continue to monitor how effective each vaccine is at protecting against a range of outcomes including infection, symptomatic disease, hospitalisations, mortality and onwards transmission. The strategy includes further research on how effectiveness varies by subgroup, including different clinical risk groups. Evidence on these outcomes will be generated through routine data sources, including routine testing data and general practitioner electronic health records, as well as through enhanced surveillance and building upon established research studies in specific populations.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been (a) allocated and (b) budgeted for trials collecting Internet Connection Records.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The acquisition and retention of Internet Connection Records (ICRs) is provided for in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. ICRs are subject to restrictions set out in the Act and can only be acquired for the specific investigative purposes set out in Section 62.
Acquisition of ICRs in the vast majority of cases is subject to independent authorisation by the Office for Communications Data Authorisations. The use of communications data is subject to the oversight of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC).
It is longstanding government policy not to disclose the specific communications data (CD) acquired by public authorities or retained by telecommunications operators under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) and its predecessors. This would include details of any data to be acquired or retained and the details of any Telecommunications Operators involved in any trial.
It would be operationally and commercially sensitive to disclose the funding allocations for a trial or any other use of investigatory powers.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data has been (a) collected and (b) stored as part of the two trials collecting Internet Connection Records.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The acquisition and retention of Internet Connection Records (ICRs) is provided for in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. ICRs are subject to restrictions set out in the Act and can only be acquired for the specific investigative purposes set out in Section 62.
Acquisition of ICRs in the vast majority of cases is subject to independent authorisation by the Office for Communications Data Authorisations. The use of communications data is subject to the oversight of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC).
It is longstanding government policy not to disclose the specific communications data (CD) acquired by public authorities or retained by telecommunications operators under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) and its predecessors. This would include details of any data to be acquired or retained and the details of any Telecommunications Operators involved in any trial.
It would be operationally and commercially sensitive to disclose the funding allocations for a trial or any other use of investigatory powers.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the legal basis is for the trials recording the Internet Connection Records of their customers, including any relevant sections of applicable legislation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The acquisition and retention of Internet Connection Records (ICRs) is provided for in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. ICRs are subject to restrictions set out in the Act and can only be acquired for the specific investigative purposes set out in Section 62.
Acquisition of ICRs in the vast majority of cases is subject to independent authorisation by the Office for Communications Data Authorisations. The use of communications data is subject to the oversight of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC).
It is longstanding government policy not to disclose the specific communications data (CD) acquired by public authorities or retained by telecommunications operators under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) and its predecessors. This would include details of any data to be acquired or retained and the details of any Telecommunications Operators involved in any trial.
It would be operationally and commercially sensitive to disclose the funding allocations for a trial or any other use of investigatory powers.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish details of the two internet service providers that are reported to be conducting trials with her Department and National Crime Agency with the intention to collect Internet Connection Records.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The acquisition and retention of Internet Connection Records (ICRs) is provided for in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. ICRs are subject to restrictions set out in the Act and can only be acquired for the specific investigative purposes set out in Section 62.
Acquisition of ICRs in the vast majority of cases is subject to independent authorisation by the Office for Communications Data Authorisations. The use of communications data is subject to the oversight of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC).
It is longstanding government policy not to disclose the specific communications data (CD) acquired by public authorities or retained by telecommunications operators under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) and its predecessors. This would include details of any data to be acquired or retained and the details of any Telecommunications Operators involved in any trial.
It would be operationally and commercially sensitive to disclose the funding allocations for a trial or any other use of investigatory powers.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department has issued to employers on the appropriate use of information accumulated from surveillance technology; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Whittingdale
All organisations in the UK that process personal information must comply with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and is responsible for providing advice and guidance on compliance with the UK’s data protection laws.
The ICO has published specific guidance for employers on the rules in relation to monitoring of employees. Section 3 of its Employment Practices Code deals with the monitoring of electronic communication, video and audio recordings: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1064/the_employment_practices_code.pdf.
Employees who have concerns about the way employers are using their data can contact the ICO’s helpline on 0303 123 1113 or their livechat at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/live-chat/ for further advice.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will publish information on the effectiveness of each type of covid-19 vaccine on (a) immuno-suppressed and (b) other clinically vulnerable people to encourage people in those groups to take up those vaccines.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Public Health England is monitoring the effectiveness and impact of COVID-19 vaccines on a broad range of outcomes including symptomatic disease, infection and hospitalisations as set out in the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance strategy which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-surveillance-strategy
Vaccine effectiveness assessments are reported regularly to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to inform vaccine policy recommendations. This will include assessment of vaccine effectiveness in immunocompromised individuals and the clinically vulnerable using general practice electronic health record data. Vaccine effectiveness data will be published in due course.
Once sufficient evidence becomes available, the JCVI will consider options for a protection strategy for immunosuppressed individuals, including whether any specific vaccine is preferred in this population.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to research on the effectiveness of the (a) Pfizer/Biontech vaccine and (b) AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine for immuno-suppressed people; and which organisations have received funding to conduct that research.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
UK Research and Innovation is providing around £2 million towards the Immunity programme, as part of the National Core Studies, to support research on vaccine responses in groups of immune-supressed individuals, including those with inflammatory disorders, high risk cancer patient groups, and patients with severe kidney and liver disease.
Public Health England will be monitoring vaccine effectiveness to examine how it varies by subgroup such as by age or clinical risk groups including immunosuppression. Evidence will be generated through routine data sources, including routine testing data and GP electronic health records, as well as through enhanced surveillance.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what demographic information is being collated by the Government on (a) new covid-19 infections, (b) deaths where covid-19 is a determinable factor as defined by the Government, (c) people who have received the first dose of the covid-19 vaccine and (d) people who have received both doses of the covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) collects data on new positive COVID-19 cases including age, sex, place of residence and ethnicity. PHE publishes the number of deaths among persons with a laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 test who died within 28 days of the first positive specimen date by age and ethnicity in the weekly National Flu and COVID-19 Surveillance report.
The Office for National Statistics publishes deaths involving COVID-19, based on death registrations, by individual occupations for those aged 20-64 years old and also those aged 65 years old and over.
Demographic data including age, sex, ethnicity, general practice (GP) data and employee data for national health service staff, feeds into the national immunisation management service (NIMS) to identify COVID-19 vaccine eligible groups. This data is used to invite eligible people for vaccination and individual vaccination data feeds back into the NIMS. Data from the NIMS also feeds into GP systems to update the individual's electronic health record with their vaccination history.
NHS England collects data and publish weekly data including the count of vaccinations by age band, defined as over 80 years old and under 80 years old, by ethnicity, by National Health Service region and by dose.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on monitoring the effectiveness of the (a) Pfizer/BioNTech and (b) Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccines on people who are immunocompromised.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Public Health England is monitoring the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on a broad range of outcomes including symptomatic disease, infection and hospitalisations as set out in the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance strategy
Vaccine effectiveness assessments are reported regularly to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to inform vaccine policy recommendations. This will include assessment of vaccine effectiveness in immunocompromised individuals using general practice’s electronic health record data. Once sufficient evidence becomes available the JCVI will consider options for a protection strategy for immunosuppressed individuals, including whether any specific vaccine is preferred in this population.