FOI REF: FOI-2023-1366
You asked
I would like to request the following information: 1. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly production of medical waste in tons for the UK and daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly production of medical waste in tons for the West Midlands.
Percentage of medical waste that constitutes sharps waste in the UK and the percentage of medical waste that constitutes sharps waste in the West Midlands.
Total number of medical, clinical, and sharps waste businesses in the UK and the turnover of the medical, clinical, and sharps waste sector in the UK.
Employee rate within the UK medical, clinical, and sharps waste sector.
Overview of the typical disposal methods for UK medical, clinical, and sharps waste (please list the variable methods).
Information on whether UK medical, clinical, and sharps waste undergoes treatment and figures or percentages for each method of waste treatment.
Percentage of medical, clinical, and sharps waste that ends up in landfill.
Number of medical, clinical, and sharps treatment centres that incinerate waste in the UK.
Industry Turnover (January 2022 - January 2023): - Turnover of the medical, clinical, and sharps waste industry in the UK for the specified period (or the latest available full 12 months).
Procurement Details: - Information on how NHS & Private medical, clinical, and sharps waste has been procured (tender, framework, etc.). - Name of the framework if applicable. - Actual contract values, sub-lots, start date, duration, and extension clause details. - Status of extension or renewal decisions.
Procurement Contacts: - Contact details of the procurement officer responsible for the NHS contract. - Contact details of the senior officer responsible for the NHS contract.
Current Supplier: - Name of the current supplier for NHS medical, clinical, and sharps waste services. - If applicable, information about any subcontractors serving the organisation.
LGBTQIA+ Population: - The latest records of the LGBTQIA+ population in the UK, including Northern Ireland. - The latest records of the LGBTQIA+ population in the UK, including Northern Ireland that self- administer medication via various injection methods (IV, IM, SC, ID) from home or outside of a medical care facility. Where possible please separate according to method of injection and where it is administered. - The latest records of the LGBTQIA+ population in the UK, including Northern Ireland of who specifically are diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and has to regularly inject insulin.
Diabetes Statistics: - Number of people diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in the UK, including Northern Ireland. - Highlight or provide figures of the areas most affected by diabetes within the UK.
Self-Administered Injections: - Number of people in the UK self-administering medication via various injection methods (IV, IM, SC, ID). - Indicate the number of people self-administering injections at home or outside a medical care facility.
Additional Health-care Waste Statistics: - Any other relevant health-care waste statistics for the years 2020-2023.
Homeless Population: - Highlight/provide figures of the homeless population within each county of the UK. - Number of people on record living homeless or sleeping rough in the UK. - Number of people on record among the homeless with drug use or addiction. - Number of people on record among the homeless with health conditions requiring injected medication or self-administered injections.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Qs 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16
Unfortunately, we do not hold information in scope of these questions.
NHS digital may be better placed to assist with these questions. Their FOI team can be contacted at england.contactus@nhs.net
Qs 3, 4, 8 and 9
We compile our data within the framework of Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC 2007) and there is no category within the classification for the disposal of medical waste. We therefore, unfortunately, do not hold the information requested.
Q7
We do not hold data pertaining to the percentage of medical, clinical, and sharps waste that ends up in landfill.
The Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) may be better placed to assist. Their FOI team can be contacted at defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk.
You may find the following report of interest UK statistics on waste - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Q13
The following report contains our most up to date statistics in scope of your question: Sexual orientation, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
For information pertaining to Northern Ireland and Scotland you would need to contact Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and National Records of Scotland (NRS) respectively.
We do not hold any information with regards to addiction, drug use, or health conditions requiring injected medication in the LGBTQIA+ population.
NHS digital may be better placed to advise. Their FOI team can be contacted at england.contactus@nhs.net.
Q17
Unfortunately, we do not produce regular statistics on the number of people who are homeless or rough sleepers in the UK.
Homelessness is a devolved policy area which has led to the four countries of the UK producing their own policies, data collections, and official statistics on this topic:
- The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communitie*s* (DLUHC) produce the statistics for England.
- Scottish Government produce the statistics for Scotland.
- Welsh Government produce the statistics for Wales.
- The Department for Communities and Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) produce the statistics for Northern Ireland.
In March we published "Hidden" homelessness in the UK: evidence review summarising the existing data on different types of homelessness in relation to "hidden" homelessness across the UK. The publication provides information on the challenges and complexities of the different data sources and definitions of homelessness and sets out the main data gaps. It also includes some analysis of a number of available datasets along with commentary.
In addition, we have previously published UK homelessness: 2005 to 2018 and Rough sleeping in the UK: 2002 to 2021 – pulling together some of the published statistics on homelessness and rough sleeping from these sources, at those times – although these articles were published in 2019 and 2021 respectively, and are not produced regularly. The rough sleeping article does not contain county-level statistics.
We are currently producing an article looking at what Census 2021 data can tell us about homelessness in England and Wales.
Information about the latest UK homelessness and rough sleeping statistics is best sought from their respective owners:
- DLUHC: HomelessnessStats@levellingup.gov.uk; roughsleepingstatistics@levellingup.gov.uk
- Welsh Government: housing.collections@gov.wales; stats.housing@gov.wales
- Scottish Government: homelessness_statistics_inbox@gov.scot
- Department for Communities: psu@communities-ni.gov.uk
- NIHE: research@nihe.gov.uk
You may also be interested in our GSS interactive tools. Our searchable GSS Housing interactive tool summarises the available homelessness data across the UK, meanwhile our GSS Homelessness interactive tool comments on the comparability of homelessness concepts and statistics between the UK countries.
We do not hold any information regarding addiction, drug use, or health conditions requiring injected medication in the homeless population.
NHS digital may be better placed to advise on this element of your enquiry. Their FOI team can be contacted at england.contactus@nhs.net.