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1715925

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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	General Practitioners: Unemployment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of GPs now seeking and unable to obtain employment.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL4372
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>There is no centrally held data on the number of general practice vacancies.</p><p>The Government remains committed to growing the number of doctors working in general practice. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment schemes, including the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme and the Return to Practice Programme.</p><p>The headcount of doctors working in general practice in March 2024 was 4,282 more, including 2,709 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors, than in March 2019.</p><p>The latest available data, as of March 2024, shows that the headcount of doctors in general practice in England was 47,173, including 37,235 FTE doctors, of whom 37,399 (27,574 FTE) were fully qualified general practioners.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL4019 question first answered 21/05/2024 11:16:59 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1715926

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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	Health Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government which profession has primary responsibility for providing initial point of contact care for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems, and whether physician associates are the appropriate profession for this work.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL4373
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>While general practice (GP) remains at the heart of primary care, a wide range of clinicians are well suited to supporting patients in GP, as part of multi-disciplinary teams. This includes Physician Associates (PAs), who work alongside GPs and the wider practice teams, to provide care. PAs are not substitutes for GPs or doctors in training, rather they are specifically trained to work collaboratively with doctors and others. PAs work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence. NHS England has provided recent guidance on the use of PAs in GP teams.</p><p>As set out in the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service, where their named GP supervisor is satisfied that adequate supervision, supporting governance and systems are in place, PAs can provide first point of contact care for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems. Underpinning this is the supervising GP’s confidence in the PA’s competence, based on the knowledge and skills gained through their training and development.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 20/05/2024 10:36:03 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1715948

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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	Obesity: Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to undertake a review into levels of childhood obesity and the role that the promotion of meals, snacks and drinks in early years settings can play in combatting this trend.
tabling member printed	Baroness Goudie
uin	HL4398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet, for the learning, development, and care of children from birth to five years old. The EYFS requires that where children are provided with meals, snacks, and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced, and nutritious. The EYFS also refers to example menus and guidance, which support parents, carers, and anyone working with children, to provide healthy food options. The Department for Education has also very recently published a range of tools and advice to support childminders, nursery leaders, and pre-school practitioners to improve the food offered in early years settings on the Help for early years providers platform.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 17/05/2024 11:51:56 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	3575 label Biography information for Baroness Goudie

1715969

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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	Radiotherapy: Waiting Lists
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of cancer patients currently waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL4423
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.</p><p>We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.</p><p>The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.</p><p>The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.</p><p>We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL4424 HL4425 question first answered 13/05/2024 11:23:46 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1715970

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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	Cancer: North East
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of findings from the Royal College of Radiologists, published in May, showing a regional disparity in wait times for cancer treatment in 2023, with 11 per cent of patients in England waiting more than 31 days for treatment after the decision to treat had been confirmed, compared to 19 per cent of patients in the North East and Yorkshire.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL4424
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.</p><p>We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.</p><p>The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.</p><p>The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.</p><p>We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL4423 HL4425 question first answered 13/05/2024 11:23:46 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1715971

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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	Radiotherapy: Staff
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 15 per cent shortfall in clinical oncologists, as estimated in the Royal College of Radiologists workforce census, does not impact the operational performance of radiotherapy services.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL4425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.</p><p>We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.</p><p>The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.</p><p>The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.</p><p>We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL4423 HL4424 question first answered 13/05/2024 11:23:46 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1715974

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
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: Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the World Health Organization report A focus on adolescent substance use in Europe, central Asia and Canada, published on 25 April, what plans they have to address the high levels of child alcohol consumption in England.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL4428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>Guidance from England’s Chief Medical Officer for healthcare professionals is clear that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option. The Department promotes this through online platforms such as the NHS.UK website, the Talk to FRANK online resource, and the GOV.UK website. Local authorities promote these guidelines as part of their public health duties. As part of the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, the Department has an ambition to support 5,000 more children and young people in receiving treatment than at the start of the strategy in March 2022.</p><p>The Department for Education’s statutory guidance, <em>Relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education</em>, became mandatory in September 2020. Through this, education on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco became compulsory at state-funded primary and secondary schools, teaching children and young people how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. To deter individuals selling alcohol to a person aged under 18 years old, the maximum fine for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children was increased from £10,000 to £20,000, under section 147A(8) of the 2003 Licensing Act.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 17/05/2024 11:50:11 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1715717

registered interest
date	02/05/2024
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	Health Services: Private Sector
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what clinical regulation measures are in place to ensure that care and treatments provided by private medical insurers are the most appropriate for a specific patient.
tabling member printed	Baroness Merron
uin	HL4346
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Private medical insurers do not provide care or treatment. However, they do purchase services from independent sector providers who are responsible for delivering healthcare. All providers of healthcare undertaking regulated activities, as defined in Schedule 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, are regulated by the Care Quality Commission, and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality, while the health and care regulators are responsible for regulating health and care professionals.</p><p>Regulations 9 and 12 of the 2014 regulations set out the importance of person-centred care, and safe care and treatment. These regulations have the intention of ensuring that people using a service have care or treatment that is personalised specifically for them, preventing people from receiving unsafe care and treatment, and thereby precluding avoidable harm or risk of harm.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 09/05/2024 16:40:38 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	347 label Biography information for Baroness Merron

1715417

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Smoking: Trading Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether additional new burdens funding will be committed to local authorities who will require additional enforcement capacity within trading standards teams to enforce the policies included in the 2023 Department For Health and Social Care policy paper Stopping the Start.
tabling member printed	Baroness Eaton
uin	HL4272
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department published the command paper, Stopping the Start, in October 2023, which sets out our plans to create the first Smokefree Generation, to tackle youth vaping, and to strengthen tobacco and vape enforcement. These measures amount to the most significant public health intervention in a generation.</p><p>The policies announced in the command paper are being introduced through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is currently undertaking its passage through Parliament. The bill changes the age of sale of tobacco so that those born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be legally sold tobacco. It also prohibits the sale of non-nicotine vapes to under 18-year-olds, and the free distribution of vapes to under 18-year-olds, and introduces fixed penalty notices for breaches of the age of sale legislation.</p><p>To help tackle the rise in youth vaping, the bill provides powers to restrict vape flavours, point of sale displays, and packaging, and the Government has also confirmed that under environmental legislation, we will ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes. Any new burdens on local trading standards to enforce these new measures will be assessed ahead of any future regulations.</p><p>We are strengthening our enforcement activity through £30 million of new funding per year for enforcement agencies, including for trading standards, to boost the enforcement of underage tobacco and vape sales. In addition, fixed penalty notices introduced in the bill will support trading standards to take quicker action against irresponsible retailers, through using on-the-spot fines rather than going through lengthy magistrate’s court processes. Local authorities will keep the proceeds, to invest back into their enforcement activity.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 16/05/2024 16:45:38 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4184 label Biography information for Baroness Eaton

1715424

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Rare Diseases: Drugs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to have any discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence about employing additional flexibility for rare condition medicines to take into consideration the implications of having a small population and potentially more expensive medicines.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
uin	HL4280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department regularly meets with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to discuss a range of issues including access to and availability of medicines. NICE’s methods and processes for health technology evaluation have been proven to be suitable for medicines for rare diseases where companies price their products responsibly, and NICE introduced a number of changes to its methods and processes in 2022 that ensure that its processes are appropriate to the evaluation of emerging new technologies.</p><p>NICE also operates a highly specialised technologies programme for the evaluation of a small number of medicines for the treatment of very rare diseases. As of 31 March 2024, NICE has recommended 88% of medicines licensed for the treatment of rare diseases for some or all of the eligible patient population, which is comparable to NICE’s approval rate for all medicines.</p><p>The Innovative Medicines Fund, building on the success of the Cancer Drugs Fund, provides a mechanism for consistent and transparent managed access process for companies offering promising non-cancer medicines at a responsible price. The Fund has already provided early access for National Health Service patients to several innovative new treatments, including for patients with rare diseases such as graft-versus-host disease and Wolman disease.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL4223 question first answered 08/05/2024 15:04:32 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath