Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s First Report of Session 2019, on Drugs policy, HC 1178, what scientific and medical analysis showed the Class A, Schedule 1 drug psilocybin to be harmful to human health; on what dates that analysis was (a) commissioned and (b) published; and who conducted that analysis.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government has not commissioned or published any recent analysis of the harms of psilocybin. Psilocybin, as an “ester of psilocin”, is controlled as a Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and is placed in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Psilocin is also subject to the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, to which the United Kingdom is signatory.
We have no plans to move responsibility for drugs from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care. Both departments have an important role to play in tackling the current issues around drug misuse.
This Government takes a balanced approach which brings together policing, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with a drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around.
We have recently announced a £148million package aimed at dismantling the organised criminal gangs who encourage this terrible trade, helping those in drug treatment and recovery to stop drug-related crime, and dealing with the significant health-related harms drugs pose.
We know there is more to do which is why the Government commissioned a major independent review, led by Dame Carol Black, to inform the Government’s thinking on what more can be done to tackle the harm that drugs cause. Part One of Dame Carol Black’s review of drugs was published on 27 February 2020 at the Government’s UK Drugs Summit in Glasgow. It provides a detailed analysis of the challenges posed by drug supply and demand, including the ways in which drugs fuel serious violence. It is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-drugs-phase-one-report.
Part Two of Dame Carol Black’s Review of Drugs was announced at the Drugs Summit and is focusing on prevention, treatment services and recovery. The final report will be made available to Ministers later this year. The Review findings will feed into wider Government work to tackle the serious harms caused by substance misuse.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2021 to Question 175736, on Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review, whether he has had discussions with the Prime Minister on implementing the recommendations made in the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with all Cabinet colleagues to discuss Departmental priorities, including the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2021 to Question 171542, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on implementing the recommendations made by Baroness Cumberlege in First Do No Harm - The report of the IMMDS Review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Boris Johnson
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 January 2021 (HCWS692) made by my Hon Friend the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health. The Government will respond in full to the report later this year.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his Department on implementing the recommendations made by the Cumberlege report, First Do No Harm: the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
I refer the hon. Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 11 January 2021 (HCWS692).
The Government will respond in full to the report later this year.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 implement the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report, First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
My Written Ministerial Statement of 11 January 2021 (HCWS692) updated hon. Members on current progress on each of the nine recommendations. The Government will respond in full to the report later this year.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on implementing each of recommendations 1-9 inclusive of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report entitled First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
My Written Ministerial Statement of 11 January 2021 (HCWS692) updated hon. Members on current progress on each of the nine recommendations. The Government will respond in full to the report later this year.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria were used to award the contract for running the Patient Reference Group established following the publication of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report First Do No Harm in July 2020.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department awarded the contract through an open and competitive tender process. The criteria for award were as follows:
- Excellent communication skills, including a proven ability to work and communicate with a diverse range of stakeholders and maintain good working relationships;
- Excellent knowledge of the English healthcare system;
- Strong facilitation skills in order to empower the group to effectively feed in strategic views to Departmental stakeholders;
- Previous experience (minimum of five years) of working at the interface between patient engagement and high profile and high priority national policy relating to the health service;
- A clear understanding of the context surrounding the Review and the content of the report;
- Experience of working on highly sensitive issues, some of which are of a distressing and emotive in nature; and
- Awareness of any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in accepting a contract, and where necessary a plan for managing these.
The Most Economically Advantageous Tender criteria was also applied to award the contract with a quality/price weighting set at 80:20.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report First Do No Harm, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing redress separately to the Patient Reference Group to support people harmed by Valproate.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Government is currently making a thorough assessment of recommendation 4 of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS Review), which relates to individual redress schemes, for sodium valproate, primodos and vaginal mesh. We will be responding in full later in 2021.
The purpose of the Patient Reference Group, which was part of recommendation 9 of the Review, is to ensure that patient voices are heard as we move towards the full response. It will look at implementation of the IMMDS Review as a whole.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the July 2020 Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report entitled First Do No Harm, what plans he has to create a new independent redress agency for people harmed by medicines and medical devices.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Government has no current plans to do so.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report entitled First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Government welcomes the report and we are considering Baroness Cumberlege’s recommendations carefully. We will update Parliament before the end of the year.