The department is committed to ensuring claimants receive high quality assessments. We set our assessment providers challenging targets and monitor performance closely against a range of measures including through independent audit to improve accuracy and decision making. Contractual remedies are in place if assessment providers fail to deliver against the service standards.

Contractual remedies for underperformance against a range of service levels are recovered through service credit mechanisms and through deductions of payments (a ‘No Pay’ mechanism). The extent of underperformance and application of related mechanisms varies significantly and the regularity of such remedies should not be seen as a measure of overall performance.

In relation to the HDAS contract covering Work Capability Assessments, service credits (the contractual remedy for SC1 – Quality) have been applied in 12 out of the 14 months from June 2018 to July 2019 (the date of the most recent statistical information available).

In relation to the Personal Independence Payment contracts, “No Pay” (the contractual remedy for SC1 – Quality) has been applied in one or more Lots in each month from June 18 to June 19 (the date of the most recent statistical information available).

Below is the breakdown of the totals by Lot:

Lot 1 – No pay was applied to SC1 in 8 of those months

Lot 2 – No pay was applied to SC1 in 5 of those months

Lot 3 – No pay was applied to SC1 in 11 of those months.

Anti-malarial drugs are prescribed to Service personnel with the UK product information leaflet. For mefloquine, this reflects the recommendations of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency.

All anti-malarial drugs have contraindications and a side effect profile which can be found in the British National Formulary or online at the Electronic Medicines Compendium. It is Ministry of Defence policy that healthcare professionals undertake a health risk assessment and to warn patients of the possible side effects of any anti-malarial drug.

A meeting was held by the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) on 5 to 6 June 2019. However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is not aware of any formal review of human papillomavirus vaccine safety published by GACVS in 2019.

The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has considered the evidence on the potential effects of chlorinated and non-chlorinated phosphate flame retardants from all exposure sources, in general. The Committee is preparing a statement on phosphate-based flame retardants and the potential for neurodevelopmental toxicity. It is expected that the statement will be published in summer 2019.

Chlorinated organophosphorous flame retardants are regulated under the European Union REACH (Restriction, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regime. The United Kingdom has been proactive in supporting the regulation of flame retardants through REACH. The European Chemicals Agency has announced an intention to restrict a number of chlorinated flame retardants. It is expected that the restriction proposal will be submitted in July 2019, followed by a public consultation.

Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) is also known by its regulatory process name, tris (2-chloro-1-methylethyl) phosphate (TCCP).

The Environment Agency worked with chemical authorities in the Republic of Ireland to initially assess the risks of TCPP in 2008. The potential environmental and human health risks of TCPP in products and other objects are currently being considered by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and European Union member state scientists. Subsequently, building on a greater body of evidence, the ECHA, supported by Danish and German work are evaluating the properties of this substance and considering a legal restriction on it.

Further information on this is expected soon and will help identify the chemical properties and environmental risks from TCPP in products like furniture.

At its meeting in February 2014, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency recommended that the product information for mefloquine (Lariam) be amended to state that neuropsychiatric adverse reactions may persist for months, or longer, even after discontinuation of the drug. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) accepted the recommendations and implemented the advice of the PRAC, which is reflected in the United Kingdom product information for mefloquine. In addition, the MHRA has since taken further action to ensure that these risks are adequately conveyed to UK prescribers and patients in the form of improved checklists for healthcare professionals and a patient alert card.

Adverse events are reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) using the Yellow card scheme and can be undertaken by a healthcare professional or the individual experiencing the adverse effect. The demographics required by the Yellow card scheme do not include the occupation of the subject, so military personnel are not uniquely identified.

The aims of the "713/MoDREC/15" study do not include assessing whether individuals or their healthcare professional reported side effects to the MHRA or to follow-up whether any person experiencing side effects required any form of treatment, including an assessment of whether suitable treatment was available. Data collated in the study is self-reported by individuals and any symptoms reported may not necessarily be related to the anti-malarial taken.

The appointment is subject to the approval process which governs the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. An announcement will be made once that process has concluded.

The Department funds research via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR does not itself classify any organisation in terms of charitable status or lobby group. The NIHR regards a charity as a specific type of voluntary organisation which must conform to the regulations set out in charity law particularly the Charities Act 2011. Charity is a legal status for an organisation, not a legal form or organisational structure.

Any organisation which considers that it can carry out high-quality clinical, applied health or social care research is likely to be eligible for Departmental, NIHR-funded research programmes, either directly or with a partner. There are specific guidance documents setting out eligibility criteria for the NIHR’s programmes which include information on partnership working, funding mechanism and contractual obligations including reporting and disclosure of conflicts of interest.

DecaBDE refers to Decabromodiphenyl Ether, a substance which falls under a wider group of chemicals known as Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs). DecaBDE has not been produced in the UK since the late 1990s. DecaPBDE is not a term that is generally used to describe this or any other substance and no such substance is produced in the UK.

No effective medicine or vaccine is entirely risk free. A medicine or vaccine will get a licence only if its benefits outweigh its risk of side-effects, taking into consideration the seriousness of the medical condition being treated or vaccinated against. Chemical safety is assessed using established approaches to toxicology and risk assessment. Every substance can be toxic, depending on dose, exposure route and frequency of exposure.

The Government does not hold information on the volumes of DecaBDE in existing upholstered furniture. The Government is working with stakeholders and experts to assess the best routes for disposal of waste containing DecaBDE to protect the environment and human health.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are being reviewed to ensure they reflect changed fire safety risks, innovation, manufacturing processes and environmental and health concerns of chemical flame retardants whilst maintaining product safety protections.

The Department will publish its response to the 2016 consultation in due course. This will take into account of the responses received, the views of experts from across government including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and the Fire Services, as well as a range of evidence from external sources such as academic papers.

Ministers have not had meetings with Professor Richard Hull or Bob Birtles. Details of ministerial meetings with external bodies are published on the Gov.uk website.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are being reviewed to ensure they reflect changed fire safety risks, innovation, manufacturing processes and environmental and health concerns of chemical flame retardants whilst maintaining product safety protections.

The Department will publish its response to the 2016 consultation in due course. This will take into account of the responses received, the views of experts from across government including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Public Health England, the Food Standards Agency and the Fire Services, as well as a range of evidence from external sources such as academic papers.

Ministers have not had meetings with Professor Richard Hull or Bob Birtles. Details of ministerial meetings with external bodies are published on the Gov.uk website.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards allocated £500k in 2018/19 for local authority trading standards to fund the testing of products that were manufactured or imported into their local authority area.

Test reports are currently being collated and the data analysed to establish the total numbers of samples tested, the product safety legislation that has been tested to and the level of non-compliance. The results of this analysis are expected in the summer and will be published in due course.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards allocated £500k in 2018/19 for local authority trading standards to fund the testing of products that were manufactured or imported into their local authority area.

Test reports are currently being collated and the data analysed to establish the total numbers of samples tested, the product safety legislation that has been tested to and the level of non-compliance. The results of this analysis are expected in the summer and will be published in due course.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 apply to upholstered furniture which is ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) is primarily for businesses and other non-domestic premises including communal areas of multi-occupied residential premises – where the communal areas are effectively workplaces and not primarily domestic premises. For care homes where the main use is the provision of residential care, the FSO applies to the entire premises as they are a workplace. It does not apply to people’s private homes.

The Lightning Process (LP) is not offered as a part of the chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) standard treatments on the National Health Service. Subject to the nature of the safeguarding concerns, issues should be directed to the relevant professional regulator, should the practitioner be a member of a registered profession; the local authority (trading standards office or children’s service), if false claims are being made about the effectiveness of the treatment or welfare of a child is a concern; or the police, if a crime is involved.

The LP involves a course of three half-days of training aiming to teach participants how to use their brain to improve their body's health.

A randomised controlled trial with 100 adolescents aged 12-18 was undertaken by researchers in Bristol. Participants were randomised into two groups: those who received standard CFS/ME treatment and those who received the standard treatment plus the LP.

Researchers found those who received the LP had better physical function, were less tired and less anxious after six months. At 12 months, they had further improvement in physical function, and improved depression scores and school attendance. This research trial had several limitations as set out in the peer reviewed journal article. This was a very small trial and so it would need to be repeated in a much larger group to demonstrate more generalisable findings. Participants were not blinded so their self-reported outcomes might have been biased, for example participants may have been more likely to report positive outcomes because they knew they were getting additional therapy in the LP group. Of all those eligible to participate in the trial, fewer than 30% agreed to take part. Participants in the trial did not have any serious adverse events attributable to either LP or usual care. LP therapy was given in addition to the usual CFS/ME care as a no-treatment control group was not deemed ethical, therefore it cannot be suggested as a replacement for current specialised medical care.

Independent ethical review ensures that participant safety is at the centre of all research. In the United Kingdom, review by an ethics committee is one of a series of safeguards intended to protect the people taking part in the research. The operating procedure for trials in the UK has inbuilt safeguards designed to protect patients from harm in the event an intervention is ineffective or potentially harmful. Participants are free to withdraw from a study at any time.

The Government has been reviewing the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The 2016 consultation on updating the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations sought views on proposals for clarifying and amending the scope of the regulations. The Department will publish its response to the 2016 consultation in due course.

Chemicals, including brominated and organophosphate flame retardants used in UK furniture, are regulated under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). REACH aims to provide a high level of protection for health and the environment from the use of chemicals including those used in products.

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) is a group of chemicals consisting of brominated hydrocarbons, of which decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE) is one. When the term DecaPBDE is used in literature it usually refers to DecaBDE.

The UK ceased production of DecaBDE in 1996 and its use has declined sharply since then. It has been banned under the UN Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants since December 2018 and this will be reflected in the revision to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on Persistent Organic Pollutants and also under the European chemical regulation regime, REACH, since March 2019.