public health – Page 6 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about decline in uptake of childhood immunisations

The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on government plans to address the decline in uptake of childhood immunisations on 8th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address the decline in uptake of childhood immunisations.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): NHS England’s 2023 vaccination strategy set a range of ambitions, including to improve uptake of children’s vaccines across the board. On mumps, measles and rubella in particular, between January and March the NHS and partners administered around four times as many MMR vaccinations to those aged five to 25 as last year and focused on engaging groups with historically lower vaccination rates. We intend to build on these experiences to further improve uptake.

Bishop of St Albans asks about policies to encourage breastfeeding

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to put in place policies that encourage breastfeeding, including supportive work environments where women are able to breastfeed or express milk.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): The Government’s vision, set out in the policy paper, The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, is that every parent and carer has access to high quality infant feeding services in their local area. A copy of the paper is attached.

Bishop of St Albans asks about links between alcohol consumption and breast cancer

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between women’s increasing consumption of alcohol and incidences of breast cancer.

Bishop of St Albans asks about pharmacy provision in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of rural pharmacy closures on access to primary care.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): It is the statutory duty of every local authority in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas including those that are rural in nature, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.

Bishop of St Albans asks about possible surge in cases of prostate cancer

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

further to recent research conducted by the Lancet Commission, what steps they plan to take to address the projected surge in prostate cancer cases.
what plans they have to expand public awareness campaigns for prostate cancer, following the prediction by the Lancet Commission of a surge in cases.
what assessment they have made of the Lancet Commission on prostate cancer, published 4 April 2024.
what plans they have to use artificial intelligence systems to support the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as recommended by the Lancet Commission in research published on 4 April.

Bishop of St Albans asks about variation of the prevalence of prostate cancer among different ethnic groups

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to prioritise research into variation of the prevalence of prostate cancer among different ethnic groups.

Bishop of Leeds asks about pandemic preparedness

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on whether the government has established a communications plan in the event of another pandemic, during a discussion on pandemic preparedness on 15th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, do the Government have a pre-prepared communications plan for the eventuality of another pandemic—which could be next week, next year or whatever—so that it is not made up on the hoof? We remember that, in 2016, there was a big exercise in London which was forgotten about when we got to the actual pandemic. Are those provisions being put in now and preparations being made?

Bishop of St Albans asks about effect of period poverty on the economy

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 15th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of value lost to the economy through period inequity, as set out in the report, The State of Period Equity in the UK, published by In Kind Direct on 29 February.

Bishop of St Albans asks about plastic surgery consultation

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 15th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish feedback to the Licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures consultation, which ran from 2 September to 28 October 2023.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): We are currently analysing the feedback received during the consultation, and intend to publish the Government’s response later in the spring.

Hansard

Bishop of Bristol asks about early detection methods for osteoporosis

The Bishop of Bristol asked a question on progress in early detection of osteoporosis on 5th February 2024, during a debate on plans to invest in NHS Fracture Liaison Services in England:

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Black, for his dedicated work in bringing this important topic to the attention of the House. Around this time a year ago, the noble Lord asked another Question on the early detection of osteoporosis, which is the leading cause of fractures in those aged over 50, particularly women. In his answer, the Minister, who is answering the Question again today, noted that

“a fractured femur is the second biggest reason for intake into hospitals, in terms of beds”—[Official Report, 19/1/23; col. 1926]

and that he would be happy to report on progress on this to the House. Will he tell us whether any progress has been made since he gave that answer one year ago?

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