The Department has issued three Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP) in the last month. These were for Estraderm MX 50 microgram patches and Estraderm MX 75 microgram patches which were issued on 15 November. The SSP for Estraderm MX 50 microgram patches was withdrawn on 23 November. A further SSP was issued for Atorvastatin (Lipitor) 20 milligram chewable tablets on 23 November.

NHS England Clinical Commissioning Policy Statement covers proton beam therapy for adult medulloblastoma for craniospinal irradiation. Implementation of the therapy service at the University College London Hospital proton centre is at a stage where there is capacity within the national service for this complex treatment. The use of protons will be determined in line with the assessment of clinical risk and benefit.

The Government is delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 non-repayable grant to support all families with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. In addition, families with disabled children are entitled to a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment.

The Government is currently reviewing the EPG. The consultation will explore the best ways to ensure that vulnerable high energy users, such as those with medical requirements, are not put at risk of having to pay more.

The Government is delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 non-repayable grant to support all families with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. In addition, families with disabled children are entitled to a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. The Government is currently reviewing the EPG. The consultation will explore the best ways to ensure that vulnerable high energy users, such as those with medical requirements, are not put at risk of having to pay more.

Electricity network operators are obliged to maintain a Priority Services Register to ensure support is given to the most vulnerable customers during power disruptions. Customers who would be vulnerable during a power cut, such as children who are medically dependent on electricity, should be signed up for the Priority Services Register directly with their Energy Supplier or Distribution Network Operator. Those who require a continuous supply of electricity for medical reasons and would need medical support during a power cut, should seek advice from their medical equipment provider and local health service provider.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is supporting an increase in approved body capacity to ensure the United Kingdom can transition all medical devices to the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking system. The MHRA also works with international regulators and organisations to enhance the reputation of the UKCA mark and prevent disruption to the UK’s supply of medical device products. The MHRA is working with the already designated approved bodies, those organisations applying for this status and industry to assess whether this will deliver the required capacity.

We are engaging with industry partners to understand capacity issues within the European Union notified body system, which may impact the supply of devices to the UK market and assess what further action may be required to maintain supply of medical devices.

The Government is providing extensive support to disabled people, and those with a health condition, to help them live independent lives. In 2022/23, we will spend around £66bn on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain, of which over £29bn will be on the extra costs benefits payable in England and Wales.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, including disabled people, and has taken further, decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs in addition to other cost of living support announced earlier this year, which includes:

• the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme;
• a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people in recognition of the extra costs they face, including with energy costs;
• up to £650 in Cost of Living Payments for the eight million households in receipt of a means-tested benefit;
• a one-off payment of £300 through, and as an addition to, the Winter Fuel Payment from November to pensioner households.

To ensure ongoing stability and certainty for households, in the Autumn Statement, we announced further support for next year, designed to target the most vulnerable households. This cost of living support is worth £26 billion in 2023-24, in addition to uprating benefits for working age households and disabled people, as well as the basic and new State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the benefit cap will also be increased by 10.1%. Alongside further Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable, including for disabled people, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England, this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

There are no specific plans to do so. However, the Government accepted in principle the recommendation of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review to introduce mandatory reporting for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries of payments made to doctors, teaching hospitals and research institutions. Since then, we have legislated through the Health and Care Act 2022 to enable regulations requiring businesses to declare such payments. Following stakeholder engagement with industry, professional regulators and healthcare professionals, we are developing plans on how to deliver on the objectives of the recommendation.

The Elective Recovery Taskforce aims to reduce waiting lists and ensure patients can access elective services as soon as possible. The Taskforce will consider the deployment of technical interventions, such as virtual appointments, to reduce waiting times for elective care. While the Taskforce does not have a clinical remit, it may hear evidence of specific technological interventions.

No specific assessment has been made. NHS England has recently made provision within the tariff paid to trusts for additional energy costs of some services, such as home haemodialysis, to be reimbursed to patients via the local hospital trust. NHS England has increased tariff prices by 4.1% this year to reflect costs and support trusts in increasing local repayment tariffs for patients.

The Government recognises that patients reliant on electrical medical equipment may have extra energy costs. Supportive cost of living measures by the government specifically aimed at the most vulnerable have made £15 billion worth of support available to those with the greatest need.  In addition, certain specialised NHS services do make provision for financial rebates to ease energy costs faced by patients using medical equipment at home. Local support may also be available.

The Directorate aims to ensure that the health and care system has a resilient supply chain for safe and high quality products, provides value for money, embeds sustainability, has access to and adoption of innovative products and a managed transition for medical technology issues following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Directorate has engaged with industry on the Medtech strategy, which is due to be published shortly and is establishing a governing board to oversee the strategy’s implementation. Further information on the implementation of the strategy will be available early in the new year.

We welcome the commitment made in the 2 November peace agreement by both the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front to unfettered humanitarian access to all parts of Tigray.

In the last nineteen months the UK has provided nearly £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by crises. This support has provided emergency health supplies for 1 million people across Ethiopia. Through the recently announced package of £14 million humanitarian support, funding is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services across Ethiopia including Tigray.

No specific estimate or assessment has been made.

However, the Government’s cost of living support includes £15 billion available for the most vulnerable. Specific National Health Services specialised services also grant financial rebates for energy costs, including home oxygen concentrators and home dialysis machines. NHS England is working with regional teams and integrated care systems to identify funding to address increases in the costs associated with operating medical equipment in the home. Local authorities can also provide support.

No specific estimate or assessment has been made.

However, the Government’s cost of living support includes £15 billion available for the most vulnerable. Specific National Health Services specialised services also grant financial rebates for energy costs, including home oxygen concentrators and home dialysis machines. NHS England is working with regional teams and integrated care systems to identify funding to address increases in the costs associated with operating medical equipment in the home. Local authorities can also provide support.

No specific estimate or assessment has been made.

However, the Government’s cost of living support includes £15 billion available for the most vulnerable. Specific National Health Services specialised services also grant financial rebates for energy costs, including home oxygen concentrators and home dialysis machines. NHS England is working with regional teams and integrated care systems to identify funding to address increases in the costs associated with operating medical equipment in the home. Local authorities can also provide support.

There are no current plans to include radiotherapy services within community diagnostic hubs, as radiotherapy is used in the treatment of cancer rather than as a diagnostic test.

The department does not provide financial support for specific items to assist people with a health condition or disability as part of their daily living needs. Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment provide a contribution towards the extra costs faced by people with a long-term health condition or disability. These benefits are assessed on the needs arising from a condition, rather than the condition itself. Claimants in receipt of one of these benefits are free to choose how to use it according to their own priorities and needs.

The Government understands the pressures people, including disabled people, are facing with the cost of living this winter, and has taken further action to support people with their energy bills. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee, running from October 2022 to March 2023, will save a typical British household around £900 this winter. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year, which includes:

• the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme;
• a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people in recognition of the extra costs they face, including with energy costs;
• up to £650 in Cost of Living Payments for the eight million households in receipt of eligible means-tested benefits;
• a one-off payment of £300 through, and as an addition to, the Winter Fuel Payment from November to pensioner households.

We have also announced further support for 2023-24 to support the most vulnerable households, including £26bn of new cost of living support and the uprating by 10.1% of benefits for working age households and disabled people, as well as the basic and new State Pensions.

In the last eighteen months the UK has provided nearly £90 million of life-saving aid to communities across Ethiopia affected by crises. This support has provided emergency health supplies for 1 million people. Through the recently announced package of £14 million humanitarian support, funding is expected to reach up to 150,000 people with comprehensive health, water sanitation, hygiene and nutrition services across Ethiopia.

The Government’s cost of living support contains specific measures aimed at the most vulnerable, including households with critically ill-children requiring electricity dependent medical equipment at home, with £15 billion made available to those with the greatest need.

Specific National Health Service specialised services also grant financial rebates to offset energy costs, including home oxygen concentrators and adult home dialysis. NHS England is working with regional teams and integrated care systems as the commissioners of services to identify funding to address increases in the costs associated with operating medical equipment in the home. Local authorities can also provide support.