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967478

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2018
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Benzodiazepines: Misuse
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish a public inquiry into the harmful effects of prescribed benzodiazepine drug dependence over the last 50 years.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
	uin	HL9971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2018 answer text <p>The Parliamentary under Secretary of State (Steve Brine MP) commissioned Public Health England (PHE) to review the evidence for dependence on, and withdrawal from, prescribed medicines. The review was launched in January 2018 and is due to report in spring 2019 and we await its findings. It is the responsibility of local authorities to commission services, such as the provision of withdrawal centres for addiction to prescribed medicines, to meet assessed local need. The Government currently has no plans to increase the number of these centres.</p><p>The Government has no plans to introduce a separate national helpline to support people affected by prescribed drug dependence. Help and advice on prescribed drug dependence is already available from the 111 helpline or NHS Choices. People who feel that they might be dependent on either prescribed or over the counter medicines should seek help from a health professional in the first instance (such as a general practitioner or pharmacist).</p><p>PHE’s review includes prescribed benzodiazepine drug dependence but will not consider evidence further back than 10 years ago. There are no plans to establish a public inquiry into prescribed benzodiazepine drug dependence.</p> answering member printed Lord O'Shaughnessy grouped question UIN HL9967 HL9968 HL9969 question first answered 17/09/2018 14:06:06 answering member 4545 label Biography information for Lord O'Shaughnessy
	tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

1248550

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an employer’s decision not to certify an application to the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme concerning a deceased employee can be challenged; and if so, how.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Sherlock
	uin	HL9952
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>A claim can be made without employer involvement. The NHS Business Services Authority, as the scheme administrator, can assist the next of kin with the claims process. So far, no claims have been received without input from employers.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is the decision maker for the scheme. Any complaint regarding a decision would fall within the remit of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell grouped question UIN HL9953 question first answered 24/11/2020 16:41:53 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock

1248551

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any decision by an employer not to certify an application to the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme concerning a deceased employee falls within the remit of (1) the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, (2) the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, or (3) any other ombudsman or regulator.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Sherlock
	uin	HL9953
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>A claim can be made without employer involvement. The NHS Business Services Authority, as the scheme administrator, can assist the next of kin with the claims process. So far, no claims have been received without input from employers.</p><p>The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is the decision maker for the scheme. Any complaint regarding a decision would fall within the remit of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell grouped question UIN HL9952 question first answered 24/11/2020 16:41:53 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock

1248548

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many payments have been made by the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme; and what was the total value of those payments.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Sherlock
	uin	HL9950
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>As of 4 November, the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme (England) has received 236 claims. Payment has been made for 96 of those claims. A further 109 have been accepted for payment pending proof of probate from the claimant, and the remainder are going through the stages of being processed and assessed. The total value of accepted claims is £12,300,000.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell grouped question UIN HL9951 question first answered 24/11/2020 16:47:11 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock

1248549

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications have been (1) made to, and (2) accepted by, the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Sherlock
	uin	HL9951
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>As of 4 November, the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme (England) has received 236 claims. Payment has been made for 96 of those claims. A further 109 have been accepted for payment pending proof of probate from the claimant, and the remainder are going through the stages of being processed and assessed. The total value of accepted claims is £12,300,000.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell grouped question UIN HL9950 question first answered 24/11/2020 16:47:11 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock

967440

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2018
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Community Nurses
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the number of district nurses in England in community service organisations, such as NHS Community Healthcare Trusts, has reduced since 2010; and, if so, what measures they are taking to address any problems caused by such a reduction.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
	uin	HL9937
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>Community health care services are a crucial part of the health and social care system that allows patients to be cared for at the right time in the right place.</p><p>NHS Digital data shows a reduction in the number of full time equivalent district nurses in England from 7,546 in September 2010 to 4,587 in May 2018. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The number of district nurses in independent healthcare providers increased by 273, from September 2010 to September 2017. As a result of changes made in 2009 to the ways in which community services are provided – i.e. from a range of different types of provider – this does not represent the full picture and there will be a number of district nurses providing National Health Service services in organisations that do not provide a return to the Electronic Staff Records.</p><p>The training of new district nurses is important in maintaining a workforce that can deliver the needs of the population in the community. Health Education England has commissioned and funded the District Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification at a steady state over the last six years. These are based upon the requirements that local providers have informed Health Education England. However, year on year these commissions are not fully taken up and therefore Health Education England is working to better understand the reasons this may be.</p><p>Health Education England is now exploring the capacity and capability required of our community workforce to best meet the future needs of the population. Health Education England is evaluating the skills and knowledge required within the wider community workforce including district nurses. This has involved extensive engagement across England to understand how best to meet to needs of the local population, as well as develop a role that has a more desirable career pathway for prospective healthcare professionals. The Government is also supporting incentives for postgraduates who go on to work in community nursing roles, including ‘golden hellos’.</p><p>Patient safety remains a key priority for the Department and in 2017 we restated our commitment to the NHS being the “safest healthcare system in the world”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) assesses all registered providers that deliver regulated activities against the Fundamental Standards, below which the standard of care must not fall. Staffing is one of the Standards, and the CQC inspections check that sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff are deployed within service providers. To this effect we would expect providers to continue to ensure patient safety in the community.</p> answering member printed Lord O'Shaughnessy grouped question UIN HL9938 question first answered 18/09/2018 11:36:58 answering member 4545 label Biography information for Lord O'Shaughnessy
	tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

967441

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2018
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Community Nurses
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure patient safety and wellbeing in the light of the expected reduction in funding for district nurse training in England from September 2019.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
	uin	HL9938
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>Community health care services are a crucial part of the health and social care system that allows patients to be cared for at the right time in the right place.</p><p>NHS Digital data shows a reduction in the number of full time equivalent district nurses in England from 7,546 in September 2010 to 4,587 in May 2018. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The number of district nurses in independent healthcare providers increased by 273, from September 2010 to September 2017. As a result of changes made in 2009 to the ways in which community services are provided – i.e. from a range of different types of provider – this does not represent the full picture and there will be a number of district nurses providing National Health Service services in organisations that do not provide a return to the Electronic Staff Records.</p><p>The training of new district nurses is important in maintaining a workforce that can deliver the needs of the population in the community. Health Education England has commissioned and funded the District Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification at a steady state over the last six years. These are based upon the requirements that local providers have informed Health Education England. However, year on year these commissions are not fully taken up and therefore Health Education England is working to better understand the reasons this may be.</p><p>Health Education England is now exploring the capacity and capability required of our community workforce to best meet the future needs of the population. Health Education England is evaluating the skills and knowledge required within the wider community workforce including district nurses. This has involved extensive engagement across England to understand how best to meet to needs of the local population, as well as develop a role that has a more desirable career pathway for prospective healthcare professionals. The Government is also supporting incentives for postgraduates who go on to work in community nursing roles, including ‘golden hellos’.</p><p>Patient safety remains a key priority for the Department and in 2017 we restated our commitment to the NHS being the “safest healthcare system in the world”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) assesses all registered providers that deliver regulated activities against the Fundamental Standards, below which the standard of care must not fall. Staffing is one of the Standards, and the CQC inspections check that sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff are deployed within service providers. To this effect we would expect providers to continue to ensure patient safety in the community.</p> answering member printed Lord O'Shaughnessy grouped question UIN HL9937 question first answered 18/09/2018 11:36:58 answering member 4545 label Biography information for Lord O'Shaughnessy
	tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1149806

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the Prevention green paper in July, what steps they plan to take to address and prevent alcohol harm.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
	uin	HL98
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling health harms from alcohol and to support the most vulnerable at risk from alcohol misuse. The Prevention Green Paper <em>Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s</em> outlines how we will help people moderate their drinking by working with industry to deliver a significant increase in the availability of alcohol-free and low-alcohol products by 2025. The Government will engage with industry and other stakeholders around delivering this objective.</p><p>Lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher mortality for alcohol-attributable causes, despite lower socioeconomic groups often reporting lower levels of consumption. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, we are establishing specialist Alcohol Care Teams in hospitals with the highest rates of alcohol harm. It is estimated that this will prevent 50,000 admissions over five years. Local authorities will also receive over £3 billion in 2019/20 to be used exclusively on public health including alcohol treatment services. Public Health England is supporting NHS England’s tobacco and alcohol commissioning for quality and innovation scheme, which encourages hospitals to screen all inpatients about their alcohol use and offer appropriate interventions.</p><p>The UK Chief Medical Officers issued Low Risk Drinking Guidelines in 2016 so that people could make informed choices about their own drinking and the Government has worked with industry to ensure information on the health harms of alcohol are printed clearly on the labelling of alcoholic drinks.</p><p>The Government has also made funding of £6 million available to support children who live with an alcohol dependent parent which will address the inequalities facing this vulnerable group.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford grouped question UIN HL101 HL99 question first answered 29/10/2019 15:50:45 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
	tabling member	4159 label Biography information for Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

1248023

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Coronavirus: Disease Control
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate of the proportion of COVID-19 cases that are asymptomatic they applied to the forecasting models that were used to inform their decision to place England under national restrictions undtil 2 December; and what was the evidence base used for this estimate.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Goss Moor
	uin	HL9879
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2020 answer text <p>The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency’s (SAGE) subgroup, Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational, do not have a single estimate for asymptomatic case proportions, infection hospitalisation rates, case hospitalisation rates, infection fatality rates, or case fatality rates. Individual modelling groups use their own estimates of these metrics, which are based on a wide range of data sources, including testing data, hospital admission, intensive care unit admissions, and deaths. Their models are regularly updated to fit to the observed transmission of the disease and further details are publicly available.</p><p>The Office for National Statistics COVID-19 Infection Study has estimated that approximately 55% of those individuals who test positive do not record evidence of symptoms at or around the time of the test. This does not mean these individuals will not go on to develop symptoms or had symptoms previously.</p><p>Other SAGE evidence has shown that there is wide variation in the estimated proportion of infections that are truly asymptomatic across different studies with the rapid review providing a pooled estimate, based on 22 studies, of 28% but with very wide confidence intervals.</p><p>NHS England use data from their daily COVID-19 situation report collection from individual hospital trusts to estimate current average length of stay and the proportion who require mechanical ventilation. In the run up to the national restrictions this gave an average length of stay of 7.7 days, of which 5.5% of those would be with mechanical ventilation.</p><p>The decision to re-introduce greater restrictions from 5 November until 2 December 2020 was based on a wide range of data, not just modelling estimates. These included analysis from the National Health Service on hospital capacity, the rapidly rising hospital admissions, and deaths, and the similar second waves seen across Europe.</p><p>SAGE papers from its meetings are published in an online only format on GOV.UK.</p><p><strong><br> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Bethell grouped question UIN HL9880 HL9882 HL9958 question first answered 11/12/2020 14:36:46 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	228 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Goss Moor

1248556

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Coronavirus: Disease Control
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate of the percentage of COVID-19 fatalities they applied to the forecasting models that were used to inform the decision to place England under further national restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic; and what was the evidence base used for this estimate.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Goss Moor
	uin	HL9958
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2020 answer text <p>The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency’s (SAGE) subgroup, Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational, do not have a single estimate for asymptomatic case proportions, infection hospitalisation rates, case hospitalisation rates, infection fatality rates, or case fatality rates. Individual modelling groups use their own estimates of these metrics, which are based on a wide range of data sources, including testing data, hospital admission, intensive care unit admissions, and deaths. Their models are regularly updated to fit to the observed transmission of the disease and further details are publicly available.</p><p>The Office for National Statistics COVID-19 Infection Study has estimated that approximately 55% of those individuals who test positive do not record evidence of symptoms at or around the time of the test. This does not mean these individuals will not go on to develop symptoms or had symptoms previously.</p><p>Other SAGE evidence has shown that there is wide variation in the estimated proportion of infections that are truly asymptomatic across different studies with the rapid review providing a pooled estimate, based on 22 studies, of 28% but with very wide confidence intervals.</p><p>NHS England use data from their daily COVID-19 situation report collection from individual hospital trusts to estimate current average length of stay and the proportion who require mechanical ventilation. In the run up to the national restrictions this gave an average length of stay of 7.7 days, of which 5.5% of those would be with mechanical ventilation.</p><p>The decision to re-introduce greater restrictions from 5 November until 2 December 2020 was based on a wide range of data, not just modelling estimates. These included analysis from the National Health Service on hospital capacity, the rapidly rising hospital admissions, and deaths, and the similar second waves seen across Europe.</p><p>SAGE papers from its meetings are published in an online only format on GOV.UK.</p><p><strong><br> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Bethell grouped question UIN HL9879 HL9880 HL9882 question first answered 11/12/2020 14:36:46 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
	tabling member	228 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Goss Moor