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: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 impact of the covid-19 pandemic on (a) waiting times for mental health care services and (b) the quality of mental health care provision in each of the last three years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have made no specific assessments. The COVID-19 pandemic inevitably caused service disruption and increased pressure on mental health services contributing to rising need, demand and complexity of presentations.
Despite these significant challenges, mental health services in the National Health Service have continued to deliver progress against some of the key ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan throughout this period. This includes meeting the early intervention in psychosis waiting time standard, delivering the commitment for mental health support teams to cover 20-25% of pupils in schools and colleges in England a year ahead of schedule and the roll out of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, urgent mental health helplines nationwide when the pandemic hit.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the total cost of (a) fraud and (b) error arising from (i) purchases of personal protective equipment, (ii) NHS Test and Trace, (iii) Government business support schemes, (iv) the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (v) the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and (vi) other aspects of the Government's response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), established in August 2022, works with government departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of fraud against the public sector.
Accounting Officers have primary responsibility for managing the risk of fraud in their department. They are accountable for understanding and managing the risk of fraud within the schemes and services they are responsible for delivering. As such, the latest estimates for potential fraud and error loss in the government’s Covid-19 support schemes can be found in departments’ Annual Reports and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments.
The latest information on post-event assurance for Test and Trace and PPE Procurement can be found within the Department for Health and Social Care's Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 (paragraphs 761 – 774);
Detail of The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s central estimate for estimated levels of fraud and error loss in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme can be found within their Annual Report and Accounts; and
The latest information on error and fraud from HM Revenue & Customs can be found within HMRC’s Error and Fraud in Covid-19 Schemes publication.
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of integrated care system and public health grant funding in the context of strengthening population health; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of combining those funding streams.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
At the Spending Review 2021, we considered the need for local authority public funding and confirmed that the public health grant will increase over the settlement period. In 2022/23, the grant increased by 2.81% to £3.417 billion. This is in addition to targeted investment through local Government to improve the start for life offer and drug and alcohol treatment services.
The spending review provided a record settlement for the National Health Service to £165.9 billion in 2024/25, up from £123.7 billion in 2019/20 and the Government is investing additional £3.3 billion in each 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support our health and care system to manage the effects of Coronavirus.
Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006 allows for pooling funds between NHS and local authorities. We are undertaking a review of section 75 which will include consideration of public health functions.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that housebound patients receive a (a) covid-19 booster and (b) influenza vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Housebound individuals were prioritised from the very start of the current COVID-19 booster campaign, alongside care home residents and staff, with home visits for autumn boosters starting from 5 September. Opportunities to co-administer COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines have been offered where feasible, but not to unduly delay the administration of either jab.
Local arrangements are in operation to vaccinate those who are housebound, with general practitioners, community pharmacies and National Health Service community teams visiting those who are housebound and are eligible for their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines.
Nationally, to ensure eligible housebound individuals have access to a home visit for vaccinations, NHS regions and integrated care systems (ICS) together with primary care networks and Community Pharmacy-led and local vaccination services are working jointly to monitor progress and identify whether further interventions are required to help support and increase uptake.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been provided to Regions, ICSs and local health teams to support their efforts in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to housebound people, including capacity planning. This SOP can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1432-Standard-Operating-Procedure-Roving-and-mobile-models-v2.pdf
We continue to focus on offering housebound individuals their seasonal vaccinations and increasing uptake of both COVID and flu vaccinations for all eligible groups this winter.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help housebound patients receive a (a) Covid-19 booster and (b) influenza vaccination; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Housebound individuals were prioritised from the very start of the current COVID-19 booster campaign, alongside care home residents and staff, with home visits for autumn boosters starting from 5 September. Opportunities to co-administer COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines have been offered where feasible, but not to unduly delay the administration of either jab.
Local arrangements are in operation to vaccinate those who are housebound, with general practitioners, community pharmacies and National Health Service community teams visiting those who are housebound and are eligible for their COVID-19 booster and flu vaccines.
Nationally, to ensure eligible housebound individuals have access to a home visit for vaccinations, NHS regions and integrated care systems (ICS) together with primary care networks and Community Pharmacy-led and local vaccination services are working jointly to monitor progress and identify whether further interventions are required to help support and increase uptake.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been provided to Regions, ICSs and local health teams to support their efforts in providing COVID-19 vaccinations to housebound people, including capacity planning. This SOP can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1432-Standard-Operating-Procedure-Roving-and-mobile-models-v2.pdf
We continue to focus on offering housebound individuals their seasonal vaccinations and increasing uptake of both COVID and flu vaccinations for all eligible groups this winter.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November to Question 88799 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus, for how many of the 755 claims which had been awaiting the provision of medical records for at least one month at 8 November 2022 records had not been provided by 9 January 2023; and how many subject access requests to healthcare providers in respect of such records have been made.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Of the 755 claims which were awaiting the provision of medical records for at least one month as of 8 November, 377 were awaiting the provision of medical records by 9 January 2023. NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) are working with all affected claimants to receive consent to allow Subject Access Requests (SARs) to be made. 5 SARs have been made so far, following receipt of consent, from the 377 claims awaiting medical records.
Since the end of November 2022, to expedite this process, consent to request SARs has been included in the initial Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme claims process from all new claimants. Going forward, if healthcare providers do not engage with NHSBSA within 28 days of issuing a request for medical records, NHSBSA will automatically submit an SAR on a claimant’s behalf.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide a timeline for the Pregnancy Loss Review; whether he expects the review to reflect the recommendations from Miscarriage Matters, The Lancet Journals series published in April 2021; and whether he expects the review to recommend that (a) every miscarriage should be acknowledged and recorded and the figures published and (b) consistent miscarriage care should be available 24 hours a day in every area of the country.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Pregnancy Loss Review: Care and Support when Baby Loss Occurs Before 24 Weeks Gestation was commissioned to consider the registration and certification of pregnancy loss occurring before 24 weeks gestation and on the quality of National Health Service care. The Review will make recommendations on improving the care and support women and families receive when experiencing a pre-24-week gestation baby loss. We know that the Review has been delayed and part of this delay is due to the coronavirus pandemic. We are working with the independent review leads to get it published as soon as possible.
There are currently no official statistics reported for miscarriages. It is hard to accurately report miscarriage figures in England due to a significant number of miscarriages not being reported to a healthcare provider, especially those that take place at an early gestation. However, while this is complex this is an area that the Government is considering more closely. The Government is committed to considering the Lancet Series’ recommendation to record every miscarriage.
We cannot commit to the recommendation of miscarriage support 24 hours a day in every area of the country at this stage, but we remain committed to providing all women with safe care and we encourage services to provide care in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline on Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, published April 2019.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to retain The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Testing Requirements and Standards) (England) Regulations 2020.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no current plans to repeal these regulations.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Testing Requirements and Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 ensures all private providers offering COVID-19 testing services on a commercial basis in England, provide services that are of a sufficiently high safety or clinical standard.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November to Question 73787 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus, how many requests for medical records relating to claimants for vaccine damage payments have been outstanding for more than (a) one month and (b) six months; and if he will make it his policy that such requests be complied with as if they were subject access requests.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As of 8 November 2022, there were 755 claims awaiting the provision of medical records for at least one month. Of these, 157 claims were awaiting records for over six months. The NHS Business Services Authority can submit subject access requests to healthcare providers after a specific period, unless there has been an agreement for a timeline for the provision of records.