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1723822

registered interest
date	26/07/2024
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	Food: Nutrition
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve access to healthy food for families on low household incomes.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	1939
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/08/2024 answer text <p>Through our Health Mission, the Government has set a bold new ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history. Tackling the childhood obesity crisis is central to that commitment, and the King’s Speech set out the immediate steps we will take in the first parliamentary session to ban the advertising of junk food to children. We are also considering ways in which the planning system can do more to support better access to healthy food for families, for instance through more consistent approaches to controlling hot food takeaways near schools.</p><p>For families on low household incomes, Healthy Start, introduced in 2006, supports pregnant women and children up to four years old with the cost of healthy foods, as well as providing access to free Healthy Start vitamins. The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for promoting uptake of the scheme.</p><p>In addition, the Government is committed to making quick progress to deliver on its commitment to offer breakfast clubs in every primary school. Breakfast clubs will remove barriers to opportunity by ensuring every child, no matter their circumstances, is well prepared for school and set-up to achieve, by providing a supportive start to the day.</p><p>Approximately 2.1 million disadvantaged school-age pupils are eligible for, and claiming, a free school meal, on the basis of low income. This has increased by almost 1 million since 2015/16. Transitional protections are currently in place, ensuring pupils retain this entitlement even if their family’s household income increases. An additional 1.3 million infants enjoy a free lunchtime meal under universal infant provision, with approximately 87% taking this up. We encourage all schools to promote healthy eating and provide healthy, tasty, and nutritious food and drink. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies, and free schools.</p> answering member constituency Gorton and Denton answering member printed Andrew Gwynne question first answered 01/08/2024 09:55:58 answering member 1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1723828

registered interest
date	26/07/2024
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	Processed Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will stake steps to work with food producers to reduce (a) fat, (b) sugar and (c) salt in processed foods.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	1943
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/08/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling obesity and creating the healthiest generation of children in our history, as a core part of our Health Mission. This means taking action to ensure healthy choices are the easy choice, reducing the consumption of the least healthy foods, making everyday food healthier, and promoting healthier eating.</p><p>As suppliers of what we eat and drink, the food industry has a key role to play in supporting the health of the nation. Some action has already been taken under the voluntary reduction and reformulation programme which requires businesses in all sectors, including retailers, manufacturers, and the eating out of home sector, to reduce the level of salt, sugar, and calories in the everyday foods we buy. The broad remit of the programme ensures that many of the processed foods we eat are in scope, including cakes, biscuits, confectionary, pizzas, crisps, sandwiches, and ready meals.</p><p>Reports that demonstrate the progress made by businesses are published on GOV.UK website. These reports show that salt reductions of up to 20% have been made in some products, and that levels of sugar have gone down in all products included in the programme, with the largest reductions of approximately 15% and 13% seen in breakfast cereals, and yogurts and fromage frais, respectively. For calorie reduction, the first progress report showed generally little change in calorie levels across all sectors and categories. It is clear that more needs to be done, and further action to tackle childhood obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.</p> answering member constituency Gorton and Denton answering member printed Andrew Gwynne question first answered 01/08/2024 09:21:34 answering member 1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1723567

registered interest
date	25/07/2024
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	Dental Services: Coastal Areas and Rural Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to end the proposed use of NHS Dental Vans.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	1695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2024 answer text <p>The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and to recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. We will announce further plans in due course.</p> answering member constituency Aberafan Maesteg answering member printed Stephen Kinnock question first answered 30/07/2024 11:00:10 answering member 4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1723347

registered interest
date	24/07/2024
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	Speech and Language Therapy: Prisoners
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve access to speech and language therapy services in prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Bradley
uin	HL292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/08/2024 answer text <p>NHS England’s Regional Health and Justice teams directly commission the primary healthcare services within prisons, and oversee the healthcare delivery based on the primary care service specifications for prisons. In line with the specifications, healthcare providers should provide healthcare which includes supporting people’s mental health, as well as communication, speech, and language needs.</p><p>Healthcare services in the children and young people secure estate are commissioned locally by Regional Health and Justice commissioners using core outcome-based specifications, which are benchmarked by the Healthcare Standards for Children and Young People in Secure Settings. These include several individual standards that reference speech, language, and communication needs, as part of the overall complex needs that are common in children held in these settings.</p><p>NHS England recently held an event for regional Health and Justice neurodiversity leads and commissioners on neurodiversity specialist recruitment, to support with recruitment and training in specialist areas such as speech and language therapists. This included a presentation from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist’s prisons lead. In addition, NHS England has allocated additional funding to Health and Justice regions which has been ring-fenced for use on their adult prison custodial neurodiversity pathways.</p> answering member printed Baroness Merron question first answered 01/08/2024 15:52:10 answering member 347 label Biography information for Baroness Merron
tabling member	452 label Biography information for Lord Bradley

1722802

registered interest
date	23/07/2024
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	Covid-19 Inquiry
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Prime Minister's Written Statement of 18 July 2024 on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 1 Report, HCWS11, whether the Prime Minister's personal commitment to each and every family who lost loved ones includes those who lost loved ones as a result of a Covid-19 vaccine.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	1179
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2024 answer text <p>In the Prime Minister’s written ministerial statement to Parliament, he said that ensuring that the United Kingdom is prepared for a future pandemic is a “top priority” for his government and that the Government is determined to learn the lessons from this Inquiry.</p><p>Further to this, on the 19 July, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made an oral statement in the House of Commons in response to the Module 1 report where he said “this government’s first responsibility is to keep the public safe. We cannot rebuild our national resilience overnight. But we will learn the lessons from this Inquiry – from this Module and every Module that follows”.</p><p>The issue of Covid-19 vaccines will be discussed in Module 4 of the Covid-19 Inquiry, where the hearings are planned to start from 14 January 2025 to 30 January 2025.</p> answering member constituency Gorton and Denton answering member printed Andrew Gwynne question first answered 02/08/2024 15:10:57 answering member 1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne previous answer version 1114 answering member constituency Gorton and Denton answering member printed Andrew Gwynne answering member 1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1722978

registered interest
date	23/07/2024
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	Social Services: Career Development
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national career framework for social care staff that is integrated with the job-evaluated Agenda for Change pay and conditions framework in the NHS.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	1303
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2024 answer text <p>Those working in social care have been ignored for too long, and so will be at the heart of our initial reforms. We will start by engaging with care workers and trade unions to deliver a long over-due new deal, which will include establishing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals. The details of this will be agreed as part of this process.</p> answering member constituency Aberafan Maesteg answering member printed Stephen Kinnock question first answered 30/07/2024 11:21:50 answering member 4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1722979

registered interest
date	23/07/2024
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	Social Services: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to introduce standardised training for staff working in social care.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	1304
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2024 answer text <p>Enhancing skills for staff working in social care is of critical importance, and we want care to be both personalised and of outstanding quality. We are currently reviewing our approach and will work with the sector and other interested organisations, such as the recently announced Skills England, to agree on the right approach.</p> answering member constituency Aberafan Maesteg answering member printed Stephen Kinnock question first answered 30/07/2024 11:18:12 answering member 4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1723011

registered interest
date	23/07/2024
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	Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) awareness of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in the NHS.
tabling member constituency	Dudley
tabling member printed	Sonia Kumar
uin	1395
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2024 answer text <p>The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), provides funding for research projects which aim to understand the underlying causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and find new treatments for the condition. For example, the NIHR, together with the Medical Research Council, have funded the world’s largest genome-wide association study of ME/CFS. This £3.2 million study, termed DecodeME, will analyse samples from 25,000 people with ME/CFS to search for genetic differences that may indicate underlying causes or an increased risk of developing the condition. By helping us to understand ME/CFS better, this research has the potential to lead to new treatments for the condition.</p><p>Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist ME/CFS services that meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021.</p><p>It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the NICE. Whilst guidelines are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take them fully into account when designing services to meet the needs of their local population. The NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media.</p><p>In October 2023, the British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS published the ME/CFS National Services Survey. This report provides insight into the services being delivered for adults, children, and young people with ME/CFS.</p><p>The Department has been working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, to support staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. This has involved feedback and input from patients. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. A decision on next steps on ME/CFS at the national level will be taken in the coming weeks.</p> answering member constituency Gorton and Denton answering member printed Andrew Gwynne question first answered 25/07/2024 16:24:15 answering member 1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne
tabling member	5274

1723038

registered interest
date	23/07/2024
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	Dental Services: Norwich North
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of open dentistry practices that accept new adult NHS patients in Norwich North constituency on the (a) most recent date for which figures are available and (b) same date in 2010.
tabling member constituency	Norwich North
tabling member printed	Alice Macdonald
uin	1422
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2024 answer text <p>While data for 2010 is not held centrally, as of 10 July 2024, there were nine open dentistry practices in the Norwich North constituency, none of which were showing as accepting new adult patients. This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website, and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist" target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist</a></p> answering member constituency Aberafan Maesteg answering member printed Stephen Kinnock question first answered 30/07/2024 11:13:12 answering member 4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock
tabling member	5133

1723041

registered interest
date	23/07/2024
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle childhood obesity in Dudley.
tabling member constituency	Dudley
tabling member printed	Sonia Kumar
uin	1425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises that prevention will always be better, and cheaper, than a cure. We will take action to prevent and tackle the obesity crisis head on, creating the healthiest generation of children ever.</p><p>As set out in the King’s Speech, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink. A 9:00pm television watershed and 24-hour ban on paid-for advertising of less healthy food and drink products are due to come into force on 1 October 2025. The Government is also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16-year-olds. We will also stop the targeting of school children by fast food outlets by empowering councils to block the development of new fast food shops outside schools.</p><p>Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Midlands Region work closely with local partners, including local authorities and the National Health Service, to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and tackle obesity.</p> answering member constituency Gorton and Denton answering member printed Andrew Gwynne question first answered 29/07/2024 09:04:39 answering member 1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne
tabling member	5274