Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken recent steps to ensure that there is increased security for medicines within community pharmacies.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data related to crime, including assault and theft, in community pharmacies is not held by the Department but could be obtained from individual police departments through Freedom of Information requests. These are matters for the police and criminal justice system. Community pharmacy staff are considered emergency workers under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 which provides for increased sentencing powers.
Community pharmacies are private businesses that are commissioned to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services and are legally responsible for the health and safety of their staff.
Pharmacies are by law required to keep controlled drugs, those most likely to be abused or that pose a risk of diversion from a legal supply route, in a locked safe, cabinet or room which is constructed to prevent unauthorised access to the drugs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many incidences of assault have been committed against community pharmacy staff in the last year.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data related to crime, including assault and theft, in community pharmacies is not held by the Department but could be obtained from individual police departments through Freedom of Information requests. These are matters for the police and criminal justice system. Community pharmacy staff are considered emergency workers under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 which provides for increased sentencing powers.
Community pharmacies are private businesses that are commissioned to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services and are legally responsible for the health and safety of their staff.
Pharmacies are by law required to keep controlled drugs, those most likely to be abused or that pose a risk of diversion from a legal supply route, in a locked safe, cabinet or room which is constructed to prevent unauthorised access to the drugs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 monitor the safety of community pharmacies.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data related to crime, including assault and theft, in community pharmacies is not held by the Department but could be obtained from individual police departments through Freedom of Information requests. These are matters for the police and criminal justice system. Community pharmacy staff are considered emergency workers under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 which provides for increased sentencing powers.
Community pharmacies are private businesses that are commissioned to provide National Health Service pharmaceutical services and are legally responsible for the health and safety of their staff.
Pharmacies are by law required to keep controlled drugs, those most likely to be abused or that pose a risk of diversion from a legal supply route, in a locked safe, cabinet or room which is constructed to prevent unauthorised access to the drugs.
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, how many Yellow Cards for covid-19 vaccinations were (a) identified by the MHRA as being of special interest and (b) followed up by the MHRA in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Adverse events of special interest (AESI) are medical events or conditions that have been identified as possible vaccine safety concerns, based mainly on previous experience with other vaccines and immune-mediated events which theoretically may occur, as vaccines stimulate an immune response. AESIs for COVID-19 vaccines were subject to enhanced surveillance by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and many other regulators from the start of the United Kingdom’s immunisation programme.
Specifically in relation to AESIs, the MHRA has received 22880 UK spontaneous suspected adverse reaction (ADR) reports across all COVID-19 vaccines. Over 157 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been given in the UK. It is important to note that Yellow Card reports are not proof of a side effect occurring, and the incidence of a reaction occurring cannot be determined by these reports. The MHRA considers that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks for the majority of people.
The MHRA acknowledges receipt of every Yellow Card report received, and a team of safety experts follow up for additional information as necessary, including consideration of reports with a fatal outcome, based on the completeness, severity, and clinical details provided in the report. Responses to follow-up requests for ADR reports are recorded and stored with the original report on our ADR database. The information is then passed downstream for use in signal detection and the identification of safety concerns.
The data is available for its core purpose of assessment and signal detection, however, the systems were not designed to quantify follow-up metrics requested in this parliamentary question. As such it is not possible to automatically generate metrics on the proportion of follow-up requests sent. The MHRA has provided information on follow up rates under Freedom of Information, within the 20 day statutory timeframes based on manual review of reports, and is committed to publishing high level data on its website.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) Egypt, and (2) Israel, about allowing free access to Gaza for all foreign media through the Rafah Crossing.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the valuable work of journalists operating on the ground in Gaza, providing important coverage of the conflict in incredibly challenging circumstances. On 5 December, the UK supported a joint statement of the Media Freedom Coalition expressing concern over the repercussions for the safety of journalists and access to information due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. As the statement highlights, access to reliable, independent and diverse information sources and access to the internet are essential in times of conflict. We call on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and protect civilians, including guaranteeing the protection of journalists and media workers.
We continue to engage closely with the Israeli Government to discuss a range of issues relating to access to Gaza, and we continue to reiterate the need for Israel to open more crossing points into Gaza. We are working with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to support any remaining eligible people still in Gaza.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's Freedom of Information response of 29 January to the Rt Hon Member for Islington South and Finsbury of 29 January 2024 (reference number FOI2023/08394), how many freeports were recorded as having an amount of capital expenditure resulting from verified foreign direct investment of (a) £0, (b) £1 to £500,000, (c) £500,001 to £10,000,000, (d) £10,000,001 to £100,000,000, (e) £100,000,001 to £400,000,000, (f) £400,000,001 to £640,000,000 and (g) more than £640,000,000 between 1 December 2021 and 29 February 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
There is an expectation that FDI performance of UK Freeports will be assessed in the upcoming annual report on the programme that DLUHC will be releasing in Summer. The data used in the FOI remain the most recent in the public domain.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's Freedom of Information response of 29 January 2024 to the Rt Hon Member for Islington South and Finsbury of 29 January (reference number FOI2023/08394), how many freeports were recorded as having a number of jobs created as a result of verified foreign direct investment of (a) zero, (b) 1 to 50, (c) 51 to 150, (d) 151 to 250, (e) 251 to 400, (f) 401 to 710 and (g) more than 710 between 1 December 2021 and 29 February 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
There is an expectation that FDI performance of UK Freeports will be assessed in the upcoming annual report on the programme that DLUHC will be releasing in Summer. The data used in the FOI remain the most recent in the public domain.
Asked by: Baroness Chakrabarti (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance, if any, they provide to ensure that the work of the National Security Online Information Team is compliant with protection of the rights to freedom of expression and privacy; and whether they will publish that guidance.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government firmly believes that people must be able to debate and discuss issues freely. Preserving individuals’ right to freedom of expression is therefore a key principle which underpin National Security and Online Information Team’s (NSOIT’s) work.
The NSOIT tackles online attempts to manipulate the information environment while respecting the right to free speech and privacy, by only monitoring themes and trends - not individuals. The team is focused on threats posed by foreign states as well as risks to election integrity.
NSOIT has policies and procedures in place, in accordance with all applicable legislation, to ensure that individuals are not monitored and their rights are respected. NSOIT has a privacy notice which sets out how data will be processed and this is regularly reviewed and updated. A copy will also be published on gov.uk shortly. However, the Government does not plan to publish its detailed compliance policy, as to do so would give malign actors, including hostile states, insights into NSOIT capabilities and specific areas of focus.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps he has taken to ensure the protection of journalists in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We recognise the valuable role of journalists operating on the ground in Gaza, providing important coverage of the conflict in incredibly challenging circumstances. On 5 December, the UK supported a joint statement of the Media Freedom Coalition expressing concern over the repercussions for the safety of journalists and access to information due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and protect civilians, including guaranteeing the protection of journalists and media workers.
There must be a reduction in civilian casualties and Israel must take greater care to limit its operations to military targets. These are points that the Prime Minister has consistently made and reinforced with Prime Minster Netanyahu when they spoke on 15 February.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of freedom of information requests to her Department were replied to within the 20 working day response target in the last 12 months for which information is available.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Data on the timeliness of the Department’s responses to Freedom of Information requests is published quarterly at gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.