Tag: public health

Bishop of London asks about possibility of collaboration with EU on cancer research

The Bishop of London asked a question on UK efforts to collaborate with the EU in cancer research on 29th January 2024, during a discussion on a projected £1 billion gap in cancer research funding:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, will know, Cancer Research reported in its 2023 researcher survey that while 98% of respondents said that collaboration with EU-based scientists is important, 79% said that since Brexit it had been harder to begin new collaborations with EU-based researchers and scientists. What steps are the Government taking to prioritise collaboration between the EU and the UK in this area, especially with compatibility with the EU clinical trials regulatory framework?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about economic costs of obesity in the UK

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 10th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the economic costs of obesity in the UK, following the report Unhealthy Numbers: The Rising Cost of Obesity in the UK by Frontier Economics published on 21 November.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about rates of infant mortality in the UK

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 10th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards their target, announced in November 2014, of reducing the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies by 50 per cent by 2025.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care):  The Government’s National Maternity Safety Ambition is to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies occurring during or soon after birth by 2025. The ambition also includes reducing the rate of pre-term births from 8% to 6% by 2025.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about use of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 10th January 2024:

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

  • what assessment they have made of the prevalence of the use of (1) oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches and (2) oral tobacco pouches, in England, especially among children and teenagers.
  • what assessment they have made the long-term medical effects of using oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
  •  what plans they have to regulate the use of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches in England.
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Bishop of St Albans asks about risk of vector borne diseases becoming prevalent in the UK

The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on the risk of vector borne diseases such as dengue fever and West Nile virus becoming prevalent and established in the UK on 14th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk of vector-borne diseases, including dengue fever and West Nile virus, becoming established in the United Kingdom, as outlined in the report Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK published by the UK Health Security Agency on 11 December.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about proliferation of infectious diseases resulting from climate emergencies

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 12th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked  His Majesty’s Government what precautions they have taken against the spread of infectious diseases resulting from future climate emergencies.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) established a Centre for Climate and Health Security to address the challenges posed by climate change to public health. UKHSA was commissioned by the National Adaptation Programme to update the evidence on the health impacts of climate change through a United Kingdom-focused report entitled Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK. This report is due to be published in mid-December.

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Bishop of Durham asks about delivering health services in disadvantaged communities

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 22nd November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to use schools and nurseries as hubs for delivering health services to support families and meet the health needs of children and young people, especially within disadvantaged communities.

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Bishop of Sheffield asks about employment support for people with long term health conditions

The Bishop of Sheffield asked a question about support for programmes allowing people with health conditions to find and remain in paid employment on 18th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, one such initiative that supports people with a health condition to find and remain in paid employment is called Working Win. It has been piloted in South Yorkshire, and I am assured that both the DWP and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority consider the pilot to have been a success. What plans do the Government have to roll out this health-led employment programme more widely?

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Bishop of Durham asks about healthcare provision for migrants in detention

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on healthcare provision at Ministry of Defence sites housing migrants and asylum seekers on 20th September 2023, during a debate on the outbreak of illness among migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, the barge is only one solution to the growing numbers who need to be accommodated. What provision of healthcare is being considered at MoD sites such as Wethersfield and, potentially, Scampton? Will GPs be on site and what all-round healthcare will there be to ensure that those resident there are kept safe?

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Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on health and wellbeing

On 4th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the fifth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in the debate, in support of an amendment in the name of the Bishop of London and other peers which would introduce a duty to reduce health inequalities and improve well-being into the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I also rise to speak to Amendment 198 in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Willis of Summertown, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, whom it is an honour to follow this evening, the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London, who sends her apologies that she cannot be here to take part in this debate.

The urgent need to address declining health in the United Kingdom, as well as the widening health inequalities associated with this, cannot be overstated. We have heard many times about the staggering difference in healthy life expectancy, which was already up to 19 years before the pandemic. We must not become numb to such statistics or the reality that underlies them. Amendment 198 is about using the opportunity that this Bill provides to reform the planning system and thereby enable practical action by local authorities to tackle these disparities.

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