Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Drefelin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what governance arrangements have been established to oversee implementation of rare and less common cancer commitments within the national cancer plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest reported survival outcomes for each of the 14 less common cancers referenced in the National Cancer Plan are currently available in the CONCORD-3 study with more up to date data being released in the CONCORD-4 study, which is due to be published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shortly. The Department will continue to use National Disease Registration Service published survival data to monitor progress on cancer survival in England and will ensure that we are improving outcomes across all tumour types.
We are committed to improving all outcomes, including for the 14 less common cancers referenced, as we continue to implement the commitments set out in the plan. Cancer waiting time performance and early diagnosis data provide good indications on where we are making progress and help to identify low-performing tumour types. Both of these datasets are available publicly.
The reformed National Cancer Board is the senior advisory body and governance structure responsible for tracking the progress of the commitments within the plan. The board will maintain momentum, provide challenge and scrutiny to areas of slow progress, and ensure that implementation translates into meaningful improvements for patients, including rare cancer patients. Dr Robert Metcalf has been appointed as the National Clinical Lead for Rare Cancers and will be responsible for providing independent challenge and supporting the delivery of the rare cancer commitments within the plan.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Drefelin (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the initial priorities are for the role of the new national clinical lead for rare cancers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest reported survival outcomes for each of the 14 less common cancers referenced in the National Cancer Plan are currently available in the CONCORD-3 study with more up to date data being released in the CONCORD-4 study, which is due to be published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shortly. The Department will continue to use National Disease Registration Service published survival data to monitor progress on cancer survival in England and will ensure that we are improving outcomes across all tumour types.
We are committed to improving all outcomes, including for the 14 less common cancers referenced, as we continue to implement the commitments set out in the plan. Cancer waiting time performance and early diagnosis data provide good indications on where we are making progress and help to identify low-performing tumour types. Both of these datasets are available publicly.
The reformed National Cancer Board is the senior advisory body and governance structure responsible for tracking the progress of the commitments within the plan. The board will maintain momentum, provide challenge and scrutiny to areas of slow progress, and ensure that implementation translates into meaningful improvements for patients, including rare cancer patients. Dr Robert Metcalf has been appointed as the National Clinical Lead for Rare Cancers and will be responsible for providing independent challenge and supporting the delivery of the rare cancer commitments within the plan.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of (a) the potential impact of proposed changes to the Nutrient Profiling Model on manufacturers’ investment in product reformulation and innovation and (b) of the adequacy of the proposed 12-month implementation period for the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model, including the time required by manufacturers for reformulation, product testing and associated investment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Initial assessments of the impact of the existing restrictions on the advertising and promotion of less healthy food and drink products were included in the consultation published in March. The consultation exercise also invited stakeholders to contribute their own views and evidence on the impact of the existing restrictions to help inform any decision to apply the new Nutrient Profiling Model to them. The Government is carefully considering the responses to that consultation prior to taking any decisions on next steps.
Asked by: Katrina Murray (Labour - Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to evaluate the effect of the online advertising restrictions introduced in January 2026 before extending the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model to those restrictions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Initial assessments of the impact of the existing restrictions on the advertising and promotion of less healthy food and drink products were included in the consultation published in March. The consultation exercise also invited stakeholders to contribute their own views and evidence on the impact of the existing restrictions to help inform any decision to apply the new Nutrient Profiling Model to them. The Government is carefully considering the responses to that consultation prior to taking any decisions on next steps.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her department has made of the potential merits of revising the funding methodology for the gambling harm prevention grant.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment is considered necessary at present, but the Government will always keep these matters under review.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has identified gaps in escalation pathways between GP services operating under Jess’s Rule and urgent or emergency paediatric services where no equivalent trigger exists for repeated presentations.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Jess’s Rule is a primary care patient safety initiative. It asks general practice teams to reflect, review, and rethink when a patient presents three times with the same or escalating symptoms or concerns, particularly where symptoms remain unexplained or an existing treatment plan is not working.
Accident and emergency, NHS 111, and child assessment units operate in secondary care under their own clinical governance, assessment, and escalation arrangements, including access to paediatric services, where appropriate.
Martha’s Rule provides a separate escalation route in secondary care where a patient’s condition is deteriorating, and concerns are not being responded to. There are therefore no current plans to extend Jess’s Rule to any secondary care service, including accident and emergency departments or child assessment units.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on delivering the commitment in the 10-year health plan to launch a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 15 September in response to Question HL2959.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of offering free flu jabs to teachers, especially those who work with children and adults with health vulnerabilities.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Eligibility for the seasonal flu vaccination programme is based on the independent and expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is kept under regular review. More details on the role of the JCVI are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will review the policy whereby drug-resistant epilepsy does not qualify within free NHS flu vaccinations.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Eligibility for the seasonal flu vaccination programme is based on the independent and expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is kept under regular review. More details on the role of the JCVI are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated to support the announced expansion of the Healthy Babies programme; and when local authorities participating in the expansion will be informed of the funding available to them to deliver the programme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to funding the expansion of Healthy Babies to all local authorities in England from April 2027. Funding arrangements and individual local authority allocations are being finalised, and further details will be shared in due course. This expansion will build on the £900 million already being invested in Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies between 2026/27 and 2028/29.