Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the impact that long covid has had on the NHS workforce.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of collecting data on the prevalence of long COVID. On 25 April 2024, the Office for National Statistics will be publishing additional analysis from the fortnightly Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, including data on trends in ongoing symptoms of COVID-19. This article will expand on the existing analysis published in the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study’s data tables, to look more in depth at trends in self-reported symptoms of COVID-19, including ongoing symptoms and associated risk factors. No assessment has been made of the impact that long COVID has had on the National Health Service workforce.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist the hospitality industry in the UK, following both the coronavirus pandemic and cost of living crisis; and what consideration they have given to reducing VAT to 10 per cent for the hospitality industry.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since the start of the pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
The Government announced a package of business rates support at Autumn Statement 2022 which means businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, including pubs, will receive a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-24. The UK also has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD, which keeps most businesses out of the VAT system altogether.
VAT is the UK's third largest tax forecast to raise £161 billion in 2023/24, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS, education and defence. The previous VAT relief for tourism and hospitality cost over £8 billion and reintroducing it would come at a significant further cost.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the impact of covid-19 infection rates among health and social care staff on the delivery of frontline health and social care services.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Sickness absence rates, including COVID-19 absence, among National Health Service staff are currently collected and published by NHS England. Data is published monthly in their COVID-19 data release and also weekly, for a subset of providers within the Urgent and Emergency Care Situation Reports for 2023/24. The monthly and weekly data sets, respectively, are available at the following links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-hospital-activity/
Similarly for adult social care settings, data on staff absences due to COVID-19 related reasons are collected by the Department and published monthly, and are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/monthly-statistics-for-adult-social-care-england
However, whilst rates are collected and monitored both centrally and locally, there has been no specific recent assessment of the impact of COVID-19 infection rates among health and social care staff on the delivery of frontline health and social care services.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2023 to Question 395 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what steps she is taking to implement the advice of the JCVI on the rollout of the autumn 2023 booster programme to people who are immunocompromised.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the autumn 2023 COVID-19 vaccination programme includes all those aged between six months and 64 years old in a clinical risk group, as defined in tables 3 and 4 of the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book. This includes those with immunosuppression.
We continue to work with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to improve immunosuppressed uptake nationally, by understanding drivers of hesitancy, improving the quality of our published data, ensuring it is easy and convenient book and access vaccinations, and by continuing a variety of campaign activities throughout the winter including UKHSA’s ‘get winter strong’ campaign. This was launched on 1 November 2023 and encourages those eligible, specifically the clinically most vulnerable, who have not yet come forward for the flu and COVID-19 vaccines to do so.
NHS England has produced and shared a range of targeted communications materials encouraging people who are immunosuppressed to take up their offer of a COVID-19 booster vaccine, including posters, display screen visuals and social media cards. There are also materials to raise awareness that those who are a household contact of an immunosuppressed person are also eligible for vaccination. These materials have been translated into 28 languages to reach people from a wide range of communities through their native languages and have helped general practices, vaccination centres, pharmacies, and other sites to promote COVID-19 and flu vaccination this autumn/winter.
The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, also wrote to the main charities representing the clinically most vulnerable patient cohorts, to publicise this autumn’s campaign, and to enable them to signpost the offer to their patient communities.
The autumn campaign remains open and all those who are eligible but who have not yet come forward are encouraged to take up their vaccination.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2022 to Question 22411 on Coronavirus: Schools, whether she has provided guidance to schools on the findings of the Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study; if she will place a copy of the findings of that study in the Library; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Rapid Covid-19 Air Disinfection Study, which has been renamed the Bradford classroom air cleaning technology (class-ACT) trial, is a project looking at the implications and potential benefits of fitting schools with air cleaning technology.
This trial was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and managed through the UK Health Security Agency. The study is run from the Centre for Applied Education Research which is based at the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the UK. Officials from the Department for Education sat on the working group of the trial. The trial has concluded and the academic leads intend to make the results available by publishing in a peer reviewed journal in due course. As the results have not yet been published, no guidance has been provided.
The Department recognises that good ventilation can reduce the spread of respiratory infections and has provided CO2 monitors to all eligible state funded settings in England. These monitors enable staff to identify areas where ventilation needs to be improved and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working. This helps balance the need for good ventilation and keeping classrooms warm. The Department has also provided over 9,000 air cleaning units (ACUs) to over 1,300 settings that had sustained high CO2 readings of above 1500ppm. These ACUs work through high efficiency particulate air filter technology.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of unused equipment at the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in Leamington Spa was repurposed for other uses in the NHS.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The United Kingdom’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing network for coronavirus (COVID-19) was scaled down in response to reduced demand and to ensure value for money for taxpayers. From 17 January 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) laboratory network reduced from three labs to two, with the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory ceasing to process PCR tests. The laboratory has been mothballed rather than closed down; hence no closing down costs have been incurred.
For as long as the laboratory is mothballed, the equipment is being left in situ to minimise the time required to restart operations if needed. As such, none of the laboratory’s equipment has been repurposed for use by the National Health Service at this stage
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support NHS staff affected by covid-19 following the withdrawal of additional sick pay benefits for that purpose.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department introduced temporary, non-contractual COVID-19 sickness guidance at the start of the pandemic to ensure National Health Service staff received full pay should they be advised to self-isolate or become ill with COVID-19. As we learn to live with COVID-19, this guidance has been withdrawn, and staff have been moved back to normal terms and conditions. As part of this, NHS staff have generous sick pay which can be up to six months of full pay and six months of half pay (depending on length of service).
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of ending the covid-19 (a) special leave and (b) sick pay provisions for NHS staff on 1 September 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department introduced temporary non-contractual COVID-19 sickness guidance at the start of the pandemic, to ensure National Health Service staff received full pay should they be advised to self-isolate or become ill with COVID-19. As we learn to live with COVID-19, we have withdrawn this guidance. Staff who were on COVID-19 sickness pay have moved back to the normal terms and conditions (T&Cs) sickness arrangements. The NHS T&Cs pay up to six months full pay and six months half pay depending on length of service.
We have completed an equalities assessment which concluded that the withdrawal of the guidance is considered to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim to equalise treatment of all staff with longer-term sickness absence.
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: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to recent letters sent from the NHS to individuals deemed to be at higher risk from coronavirus, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that individuals in this group who report a positive test receive advice about treatment within the specific 24-hour time frame.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England is responsible for delivery COVID-19 treatments to eligible patients who have been identified as those who are at the highest risk from COVID-19.
Patients who are clinically eligible for COVID-19 treatments have been identified digitally, where possible, and should have been notified of their eligibility to receive these treatments. The Government will also send patients in this cohort free lateral flow tests.
In the event of a positive lateral flow result, a local COVID Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU) will contact the majority of patients directly to confirm their eligibility and arrange treatment if appropriate. In the event a patient is not contacted directly by the National Health Service within 24 hours of a positive lateral flow result, they are encouraged to phone their general practitioner practice or 111 for an urgent referral to a CMDU.