Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in (a) Bournemouth and (b) South West England for each of the past five years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the number of HIV diagnoses, and the number of those diagnoses that were first diagnosed in the United Kingdom, for Bournemouth and the South West region, from 2019 to 2023:

Further information on the number of people diagnosed with HIV by local authority and health region is publicly available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/sexualhealth/data#page/4/gid/1938133286/pat/15/par/E92000001/ati/6/are/E12000009/iid/91818/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/car-do-0

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve children's facilities in hospitals.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever across the United Kingdom. This involves ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it. To make children’s services better, we are changing the National Health Service through our 10-Year Health Plan, to make it fit for the future. The plan will be published in June 2025.

Health is a devolved matter, and it is the responsibility of the individual devolved administrations to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need.

Guidance has been provided to the NHS on the provision of children’s facilities in hospitals in the best practice guidance, Hospital accommodation for children and young people, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HBN_23.pdf

NHS England has work currently ongoing with the Starlight Foundation to produce recommended guidelines, standards, and checklists for designing health play services for babies, children, and young people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the requirement for UK-produced phages to be manufactured under good manufacturing practice and (b) potential impact of this requirement on patient access to treatment.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the March 2024 response to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s report on bacteriophages, the Government acknowledged the challenges of requiring United Kingdom-produced phages to meet Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, which is essential for clinical use.

To address this, the Government committed to exploring the case for a dedicated GMP facility to support phage innovators, working with key stakeholders, including funders and research organisations, to strengthen the UK’s phage manufacturing capabilities and thereby improve patient access to these therapies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission in (a) Bournemouth West constituency, (b) the South West and (c) areas with high prevalence of HIV.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The HIV Action Plan was published in 2022 and sets out steps to reduce HIV transmission between 2019 and 2025, including the importance of HIV testing, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, and for those who test positive, rapid access to treatment. A new HIV Action Plan will be published in 2025.

The HIV Action Plan was written to be implemented at both the national and local level. The HIV Action Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-the-hiv-action-plan-for-england-2022-to-2025

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 41063 on Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling and Marketing, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of amending labelling regulations on pubs.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

While the Government has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of amending labelling regulations on no or low alcohol products in pubs, work continues across the Government to better understand how we can reduce alcohol-related harms by exploring potential opportunities, including changes to alcohol labelling.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of general practice staff that received the 2024 pay increase in full.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

For 2024/25, we accepted the recommendations of the Doctors' and Dentists' Pay Review Body in full, and the pay element of the GP Contract was uplifted by 6% on a consolidated basis, through an increase of 4% on top of the 2% interim uplift in April, to provide practices with the funding to uplift general practice (GP) partner, salaried GP, and other salaried staff pay by 6%. The uplift is backdated to April 2024, and it was our expectation that this funding should be passed on to all salaried GP staff.

As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is for practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees within the agreed GP Contract funding envelope. The Department does not centrally hold information on pay for salaried staff in GPs, nor could we provide a breakdown by gender. The data in the annual GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates is based on partner, contractor, and GP tax returns. Further information on the GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/gp-earnings-and-expenses-estimates/2020-21?key=I2IiJBo2P3DKdCqny5NcDpglRExoUa4d6Q6VkCGWQzX7ewE8OL3O1ZiI3lQBMduR

For 2025/26, we are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the biggest increase in over a decade. The 7.2% cash growth, estimated to be 4.8% of real growth on overall 2024/25 contract costs, on the contract funding envelope includes funding for an assumed increase in salaries of 2.8% in 2025/26. Once the Department has received the recommendations for GPs for 2025/26 from the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration, it will be considered in the usual way.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of independent pharmacy closures on (a) local GP capacity, (b) hospital capacity, (c) the healthcare needs of the local community and (d) local pharmacists in need of employment.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The impact of any specific pharmacy closure will differ depending on the remaining access to health services in the area. We monitor access carefully and in general, access to pharmacies in England continues to be good, with 80% of people able to reach a pharmacy within a 20 minute-walk and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. We continue to support those in areas where there are fewer pharmacies through the Pharmacy Access Scheme. Additionally, in rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the nearly 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients and deliver other services remotely.

Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served, and must keep these assessments under review in the interim. Integrated care boards must give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications to open new pharmacies in their areas.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department plans to have with general practice nursing staff on the development of the general practice contract for 2026-27.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As in previous years, the Department will engage with a range of stakeholders and will consult with the profession on the GP Contract for 2026/27. More details will be communicated in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS GP surgeries have closed in each year since 2010; and how many new NHS GP surgeries have been built in each of those years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of funding for the 2025-26 general practice contract in England will be allocated to the general practice nursing workforce.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We hugely value the critical role that general practice (GP) nurses play and are determined to address the issues they face by shifting the focus of the National Health Service beyond hospitals and into the community.

GPs are independent businesses, providing GP services to their local populations under an NHS contract. Practices have autonomy in deciding how to provide services, including their workforce mix, in order to deliver their contracts.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

The investment includes funding for an assumed increase in GP staff salaries of 2.8% in 2025/26. Once the Department has received the recommendations for GPs for 2025/26 from the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration, it will be considered in the usual way.

As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees within the agreed GP Contract funding envelope.

The contract changes for 2025/26 also include increased flexibilities for the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, to allow primary care networks to better respond to local workforce needs. Practice nurses have also been added to the scheme, with no restrictions on the numbers or type of staff able to be funded through the scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on (a) (i) autism and (ii) ADHD assessments and (b) other functions of the Patient Choice department.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for all patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending Early Intervention in Psychosis services to include people with bipolar who do not experience psychosis.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Early Intervention in Psychosis services provide evidence-based, specialist interventions, and treatment for individuals presenting with psychosis. These services recognise that bipolar disorder diagnoses can be uncertain and are therefore available to individuals irrespective of their diagnosis, including individuals experiencing bipolar 1 and bipolar 2.

The aim is for individuals who experience psychosis as part of a manic episode to be seen by an early intervention in psychosis service within two weeks of referral. If an individual experiences mood disturbance over time, bipolar disorder may be identified and treated.

Early Intervention in Psychosis services are not affective disorder services. It would therefore not be appropriate to extend services to individuals who are not experiencing psychosis. Individuals with bipolar 2 who do not experience mania or psychosis will receive support and treatment from primary care and community mental health teams as appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 42329 on General Practitioners: Finance, if he will list the (a) job roles and (b) areas of specialism used to compile salary data; and what those salaries were in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2024-25.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Market Forces Factor used in the Carr-Hill formula was estimated from a statistical model using all employees, anonymised, in the New Earnings Survey. The New Earnings Survey is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics, and is based on a 1% sample of employees in employment, information on whose earnings and hours is obtained in confidence from employers. It does not cover the self-employed.

The model included factors such as industry, occupation, and the age of each employee, to remove the modelled impact of these on earnings and thereby identify differences in earnings due to geographical location alone. The geographical earnings differentials form the Market Forces Factor in the Carr-Hill formula. There are no modelled earnings by geographical location for 2024/25.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) the National Institute for Health Research have commissioned (i) research and (ii) evaluation on systemic racism in maternity services.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The NIHR Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 sets out how the NIHR will become a more inclusive funder of research and widen access to participation in clinical trials for under-represented groups such as pregnant women and ethnic minorities. In addition to these priorities, the NIHR will specifically consider intersectionality, recognising that multiple social identities overlap to exacerbate the experience of inequities.

The NIHR is actively supporting research to address disparities and improve equity in maternity services, including projects focussed on racism and its impact on maternal health. For example, the NIHR has supported research to understand how multiple inequalities, including racism, shape postnatal mental health among Black Caribbean and Black African women. The NIHR is also funding a study which is undertaking a wider exploration of the harms that health and social care services can cause the African-Caribbean communities in the United Kingdom. This study will explore how health researchers can work more positively with people of African-Caribbean heritage; to start having conversations about the harms that health and social care services can cause to these communities and determine how research and practice in this area can improve.

In addition, in March 2024, the NIHR launched a £50 million ‘Challenge’ funding call for research to tackle inequalities in maternity care bringing together experts across the country into a new consortium. The research carried out by the consortium will focus on inequalities before, during and after pregnancy and identify specific areas where measurable improvements can be made.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of maternal health, including research on systemic racism in maternity services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help establish specialist care pathways for people with bipolar to (a) improve treatment and (b) reduce the levels of misdiagnosis

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that there can often be a long time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder because of under-reporting, the episodic nature of the condition, and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in individuals.

We are committed to increasing access to community mental health services for people with severe mental illness, including those with bipolar disorder. The community mental health framework, developed by NHS England, sets out the National Health Service’s vision for transforming community mental health services. This includes ensuring that services are needs led and that individuals do not require a specific diagnosis or care pathway to access care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the average time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder in line with early intervention targets for other conditions

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that there can often be a long time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder because of under-reporting, the episodic nature of the condition, and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in individuals.

We are committed to increasing access to community mental health services for people with severe mental illness, including those with bipolar disorder. The community mental health framework, developed by NHS England, sets out the National Health Service’s vision for transforming community mental health services. This includes ensuring that services are needs led and that individuals do not require a specific diagnosis or care pathway to access care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of mental health services in Bournemouth West constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board to make available adequate and appropriate provision to meet the mental health needs of the people in Bournemouth.

Nationally, we know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services across England are too long.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.

Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.

We have also committed £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on the busy mental health and accident and emergency services, and ensuring people have the support they need when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to community pharmacies of the rise in (a) business rates and (b) the National Minimum Wage from 1 April 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have taken the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The Department has considered the increases in the National Living Wage when consulting on the funding arrangements for community pharmacy. We have now agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion from April 2025. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40751 on GP Practice Lists, how the standardised mortality ratio for people aged under 65 years old is calculated in each constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The standardised mortality ratio for those aged under 65 years old is calculated by multiplying the number of people in each age group under 65 years old, within an area, by the national average death rate for each age group.

This is calculated at a ward level, with no constituency-level data calculated or used.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of female staff working in general practice not receiving the 2024 pay increase in full.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

For 2024/25, we accepted the recommendations of the Doctors' and Dentists' Pay Review Body in full, and the pay element of the GP Contract was uplifted by 6% on a consolidated basis, through an increase of 4% on top of the 2% interim uplift in April, to provide practices with the funding to uplift general practice (GP) partner, salaried GP, and other salaried staff pay by 6%. The uplift is backdated to April 2024, and it was our expectation that this funding should be passed on to all salaried GP staff.

As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is for practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees within the agreed GP Contract funding envelope. The Department does not centrally hold information on pay for salaried staff in GPs, nor could we provide a breakdown by gender. The data in the annual GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates is based on partner, contractor, and GP tax returns. Further information on the GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/gp-earnings-and-expenses-estimates/2020-21?key=I2IiJBo2P3DKdCqny5NcDpglRExoUa4d6Q6VkCGWQzX7ewE8OL3O1ZiI3lQBMduR

For 2025/26, we are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the biggest increase in over a decade. The 7.2% cash growth, estimated to be 4.8% of real growth on overall 2024/25 contract costs, on the contract funding envelope includes funding for an assumed increase in salaries of 2.8% in 2025/26. Once the Department has received the recommendations for GPs for 2025/26 from the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration, it will be considered in the usual way.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Christchurch of 25 March 2025, Official Report, column 773, whether he has received an update from the Dorset Integrated Care Board about the Burton Branch Surgery application.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB) has received applications to open a branch surgery in the Village of Burton, near Christchurch in Dorset. Applications are currently going through the ICB governance process, which is expected to conclude following the ICB Prevention, Equity and Outcomes Committee on 23 April.

Following a local practice closure in August 2024, the ICB is assessing capacity in the area, which remains good. Access to general practice (GP) services for local residents remains very good, with a choice of five practices in the Christchurch area that are all accepting new patients and growing their lists. The NHS Dorset ICB is engaging with local partners, other GP practices, and the Wessex Local Medical Committees to ensure views are collated while going through our governance processes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on increasing the availability of (a) methylphenidate and (b) pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As a result of intensive work, some issues with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicines have resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, atomoxetine oral solution, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.

However, whilst supply of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets has greatly improved, some issues persist. We are continuing to work to resolve these remaining issues by engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets and capsules to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to build further capacity to support the continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. The Department is also working with new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to improve supply and resiliency for the United Kingdom’s market.

The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the UK. Through this, we have managed to secure additional volumes of PERT for 2025 for the UK. We are continuing to work with all suppliers to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the market. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market.

In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers, and if authorised, these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the abolition of NHS England does not lead to a loss of institutional knowledge critical to NHS operations.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

There are talented, dedicated public servants working across the country, and at every level, of NHS England and the Department. The transition team will be working at pace to develop plans for the future to give certainty to those with the talent and skills needed for the future and ensure they are retained.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

As we work through the next steps on merging the two organisations, we will be putting in place plans to ensure there are no risks to patient safety and that critical information and systems are effectively transferred.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 34747, when responsibility for oversight and funding of the National Lung Screening Programme will transfer from NHS England to his Department.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. This reform is about devolving resources and responsibility to the frontline, thereby empowering staff to focus on delivering better care for patients.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care. We recognise the importance of lung cancer screening and are committed to ensuring its continuity during the transformation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that the planned reductions in headcount in NHS England and his Department do not result in disruption to the implementation of lung cancer screening.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. This reform is about devolving resources and responsibility to the frontline, thereby empowering staff to focus on delivering better care for patients.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care. We recognise the importance of lung cancer screening and are committed to ensuring its continuity during the transformation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the effective continuation of existing contracts and agreements currently held by NHS England after it is abolished.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, from what date Baroness Casey is contracted to start work on the social care commission.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Baroness Casey of Blackstock will start work on her independent commission into adult social care later this month, April 2025. Baroness Casey of Blackstock and her team are currently in the process of setting up the Independent Commission, ahead of its formal launch.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the regulations on the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the King’s Speech, we plan to bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to deliver on our commitment to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years old.

We are developing plans which consider the potential impact of high-caffeine energy drinks on children, and will set these out in a consultation in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure brain injury survivors have access to community-based specialist neurorehabilitation services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government wants a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition such as an acquired brain injury (ABI), receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently developing guidance ‘Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury’, which is expected to be published in September 2025. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181

The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention along with officials met the original proponent of the ABI strategy, Sir Chris Bryant MP, at the end of 2024 to discuss ABI, and had a useful discussion about what might be achievable in both the short term and the longer term. Sir Chris remains a huge advocate for those that have suffered an ABI, and the Department fully agrees with him that the Government should, and importantly will, do more. The Department and NHS England are keen to showcase those areas that have effectively integrated post-hospital care and support, including rehabilitation, to other areas where patients are not getting the care and support they deserve.

A decision on next steps on ABI at the national level will be taken in due course.

More widely, our 10-Year Health Plan will deliver three big shifts from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including ABI, closer to home.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the provisions outlined in his Department's press release entitled Crack teams get patients off waiting lists at twice the speed, published on 16 March 2025, on people in Bedfordshire.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to putting patients first, and we have wasted no time in getting to work cutting National Health Service waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care.

Further Faster 20 (FF20) is a scheme to tackle waiting lists through targeted support to improve and streamline pathways for patients at 20 trusts in areas with high levels of economic inactivity. The latest data from October 2024 to January 2025 shows that waiting lists in areas with an FF20 trust have, on average, been reduced at more than double the rate of the rest of the country, falling 130% faster in areas where the Government’s scheme is in action, compared to the national average. A total of 37,000 cases have been removed from waiting lists in those 20 areas, averaging almost 2,000 patients per local trust. Following the success of the programme, the Government has confirmed that this initiative will be rolled out to additional providers this year, to boost NHS productivity and cut waiting times.

The Bedfordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was not one of the 20 trusts targeted through the FF20 scheme, though the trust may access the resources of the wider Further Faster programme, which was rolled out to all trusts in March 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy shortages, what the (a) dates and (b) attendees were of meetings held with (i) clinicians, (ii) patient advocacy groups, (iii) affected charities, and (iv) manufacturers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy to discuss (A) shortages and (B) steps to increase supply.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is in regular discussions with the suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy on the latest stock availability and the actions being taken to mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the United Kingdom. We have had discussions with representatives from UK and global supply teams, and will continue these meetings to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the UK market.

The Department has worked with specialist clinicians from impacted therapeutic areas, the Medicine Shortage Response Group, and the Specialist Pharmacy Service to devise guidance for healthcare professionals with comprehensive management advice for the treatment of patients during this time.

The Department meets regularly with the affected patient advocacy groups and charities, including Pancreatic Cancer UK, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Guts UK, and Neuroendocrine Cancer UK to ensure they are kept informed on the latest supply picture and any communications issued to healthcare professionals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy shortages, if he will publish the volume of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy stock imported since 1 January 2024.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold details on the volume of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) stock imported since 1 January 2024. The Department continues to work with specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products, including unlicensed imports where licensed stock is unavailable.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the provision of pacemakers and implanted defibrillators.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The volume of implantable devices purchased by cardiac providers has increased by 22% in 2024/25, when compared with the same period in 2023/24. Commissioned providers determine the need for cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation using a multi-disciplinary team approach, which considers the needs of the individual patient and clinical guidelines.

In 2023/24, approximately 60,000 CIEDs, which includes implantable cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers, were implanted by National Health Service providers, as per the National Audit of Cardiac Rhythm Management report 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Car-Hill formula for funding to GPs in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There has been no assessment made of the adequacy of the Carr-Hill formula for funding to general practices (GPs) in Camborne, Redruth, and Hayle.

Plans to review this funding formula may be revisited in future. However, any changes would need careful planning to ensure they do not threaten stability or cause financial uncertainty for practices.

We are committed to ensuring that primary medical services receive appropriate support and resources. We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) severance payments and (b) redundancy packages for NHS England staff following the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department, but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of restructuring administrative functions following NHS England’s abolition.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department, but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress each NHS Trust providing maternity services has made on implementing each of the immediate and essential actions set out in the Final report of the Ockenden review, published on 30 March 2022.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

All of the recommendations made by Donna Ockenden in her review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in 2022 were accepted, including the requests made to the Government, the health system more widely, and the trust. Following publication of the Ockenden review, NHS England wrote to all trusts and systems asking them to deliver the recommendations and report to their public boards.

To support this delivery, the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services brought together the immediate and essential actions from the Ockenden review with those from other reports and guidance. The National Health Service’s operational planning guidance sets out the expectation that trusts should implement the key actions from the plan. In accordance with the NHS operating framework, it is for integrated care boards to oversee local progress with this. The technical guidance which accompanies the plan sets out how we are monitoring progress at a national level.

The plan aims to grow the maternity workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure women receive safe, compassionate care across the country. NHS England is in the second year of delivery, and progress has been made across the four themes to improve outcomes and experiences for women and their babies.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has seen a significant improvement in overall midwifery staffing levels. The trust has enhanced its senior and specialist midwifery teams to provide additional leadership, expert advice, and support for women and families, as well as the clinical teams. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust now has in place robust training programmes that equip the maternity workforce with up-to-date skills, training, and development, including in the management of emergency scenarios.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40390 on Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender Independent Review, whether his Department plans to implement the recommendations of the Sullivan Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender, published on 19 March 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on health technology assessment methods for evaluating novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Department officials have regular discussions with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of topics, including its health technology assessment methods.

The NICE develops its guidance independently on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence, in line with its published health technology evaluation manual. The NICE keeps its methods and processes under review to ensure that they are appropriate to emerging new treatments and aligned with best practice.

The NICE has established a Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory (HTA Lab) that aims to address the challenges that may arise in the assessment of innovative health technologies.

The NICE’s HTA Lab carried out a project to identify the key issues that are likely to emerge during the evaluation of the disease modifying treatments for dementia, including those licensed for Alzheimer’s disease. The project concluded that the NICE’s current approach and methods are appropriate for evaluating these treatments. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/our-research-work/hta-lab-projects#dmdts

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor (a) PCSE and (b) Capita's performance in managing the NHS Pension Scheme.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Business Service Authority is the scheme manager for NHS Pensions. NHS England is the employing authority for general practitioners (GPs) and undertakes local pension administration for GPs through Primary Care Support England (PCSE). NHS England has a monthly governance board in place to monitor and assure the delivery of the PCSE service, which includes an assessment of quality and performance indicators.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking through (a) recruitment and (b) retention practices to increase the diversity of the maternity healthcare professional workforce.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service employers. NHS England’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion plan, published in 2023, includes a commitment to embed fair and inclusive recruitment processes and talent management strategies that target under-representation and lack of diversity.

Targeted retention work for midwives is being undertaken by NHS England and led by the Chief Nursing Officer. This includes a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, and targeted efforts to improve the diversity of the workforce through four nationally run programmes to develop staff from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) retain existing and (b) recruit new GPs in Sussex.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to training thousands more general practitioners (GPs) across the country, including in Sussex. We invested an additional £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession and we are tackling morale issues through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.

The fully qualified GP workforce in Sussex has increased by 6.3% or 51.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) compared to January 2024 and compared with 2.7% nationally or 1,019 FTE.

I understand that the Sussex Primary Care Workforce Plan was developed and published last year, and aims to further develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, ensuring high-quality patient care despite rising demand. The plan prioritises expanding the workforce, improving staff retention, and introducing innovative training methods.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle regional differences in (a) timely and (b) accurate diagnostic rates for dementia.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%, which in England, at the end of February 2025, was 65.4%. To support the implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data on the diagnostic pathway and enable targeted support where needed.

To reduce variation in diagnosis rates, OHID’s Dementia Intelligence Network has developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.

To aid dementia diagnosis and the provision of support in care homes, NHS England funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two Trusts in each region, which is 14 sites, to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate (DiADeM) protocol. Learning is currently being shared and promoted with regional and local partners following an impact assessment of the pilots. The Department delivers dementia research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds a range of research into dementia, for example investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia. The NIHR is also partnering with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Alzheimer’s Society to support a £5.5 million investment in four Dementia Network Plus research grants. One of the Networks, EQUADEM, seeks to address inequalities in dementia diagnosis and care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the recent announcement on the level of employment at Hinchingbrooke Hospital on (a) clinical procedures (b) appointments and (c) work related to the New Hospitals Programme.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of local National Health Service trusts to determine the right level of staffing.

The Government is committed to cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care, including at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and across the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. We have already delivered on our pledge of two million extra elective appointments, and this is just a first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

Additionally, the New Hospital Programme is prioritising the rebuild of Hinchingbrooke Hospital alongside six other hospitals built primarily from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, to protect patient and staff safety. It is expected that it will enter construction between 2027 and 2028.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS England's Right to Choose policy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to giving patients greater choice and control over their care. Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment, when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient.

Currently, however, less than a quarter of patients recall being offered a choice of provider. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the work needed to empower patients with greater choice and control, in order to make informed choices. This includes making the NHS App and the Manage Your Referral website the default routes for patients to choose their provider, and improving the information available to patients to support their decision, such as improved waiting time information.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) PCSE and (b) Capita's management of the NHS pension scheme.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Primary Care Support England’s (PCSE) services are contracted to Capita Business Services Ltd under a contract held by NHS England. As part of the service, PCSE collects general practitioner pension contribution and earnings information and passes this to NHS Pensions, which is administered by the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England has governance in place to oversee the performance of Capita Business Services Ltd in delivering the PCSE contract in a range of ways. This includes holding PCSE to account for service delivery using key performance indicators, monitoring of complaints, and annual third-party audits.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the abolition of NHS England will require (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) no legislation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

Primary legislation will be required, and we intend to bring this forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase (a) the recruitment and (b) levels of training of GPs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have invested an additional £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) in 2024/25 to enable the recruitment of over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs). Under the 2025/26 GP contract changes, the ARRS will become more flexible to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of direct patient staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

The curriculum for postgraduate training is set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for foundation training, and by individual Royal Colleges and faculties for specialty training. The General Medical Council approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme. Curricula emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to develop a (a) comprehensive and (b) fully-funded plan to effectively (i) recruit, (ii) train, and (iii) retain a sustainable social care workforce.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. We expect that the commission will look at workforce issues, building on work already underway to provide a career structure, give care professionals greater skills and legislate for the first ever Fair Pay Agreements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve levels of (a) early and (b) accurate diagnosis for dementia; and if he will take steps to help increase the use of (i) blood tests and (ii) AI-driven assessments as diagnostic tools.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%, which in England, at the end of February 2025, was 65.4%. To support the implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data on the diagnostic pathway and enable targeted support where needed.

The Department delivers dementia research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds a range of research into dementia, for example investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.

To aid dementia diagnosis and provision of support in care homes, NHS England funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region (14 sites), to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate protocol. Learning is currently being shared and promoted with regional and local partners following an impact assessment of the pilots.

The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme has invested £13 million into three biomarker innovation competitions, which include an AI tool designed to improve the accuracy of blood tests for dementia. Alongside Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the People’s Postcode Lottery, the NIHR is funding the Blood Biomarker Challenge, which seeks to produce the clinical and economic data that could make the case for the use of a blood test in the National Health Service to support improved diagnosis of dementia in the future, if validated for clinical use.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) adults and (b) children currently waiting for an diagnosis of autism.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In England, in December 2024, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics show that there were a total of 212,964 patients with an open suspected autism referral. 129,179 of these patients were aged zero to 17 years old, and 83,837 of these patients were aged 18 years old and over. The median waiting time of all patients across England with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 427 days for zero to 17 year olds, and 266 days for over 18 year olds.

It should be noted that since each metric is rounded to the nearest five in the published data, the number of adults and children do not add up to the total number of patients. Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate and caution should be used when interpreting these statistics, since they are experimental rather than official statistics. The majority of children assessed for autism in the United Kingdom are seen in child development services, which are out of the scope of this dataset. This means the published figures will underestimate the volume of referrals or diagnoses, and the associated impact on health services. NHS England continues to conduct exploratory analysis into the Community Services Dataset, with a view to including autism waiting times data from that dataset.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of regional inequalities of access to mental health services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Severe Mental Illness Profile, developed by the Department, aims to help develop an understanding of severe mental illness at a regional and local level. It provides a set of metrics that allow planners, providers, and stakeholders to profile their area and benchmark against similar populations. Further information is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/mental-health/profile/severe-mental-illness

The profile shows that new referrals to secondary mental health services increased from 5,960 per 100,000 population in 2017/18, to 6,897 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 15.7%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 5,618 per 100,000 in the South East, to 8,429 per 100,000 in the West Midlands. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was seen in the West Midlands, at 22.3%.

Attended contacts with community and outpatient mental health services increased from 26,899 per 100,000 in 2017/18, to 30,674 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase 14.1%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 24,950 per 100,000 in the South East, to 45,016 per 100,000 in the North East. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was again seen in the West Midlands, at 19.9%. The East Midlands region had the lowest increase, of 4.6%.

Inpatient stays in secondary mental health services increased from 239 per 100,000 in 2017/18, to 241 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 1.2%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 186 per 100,000 for the South West, to 276 per 100,000 in the London region. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was seen in the East Midlands, at 10.5%. The London region had a decrease of 3.5%. Data for the following years is expected to be published this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients received urgent cancer treatment within 62 days of a GP referral in Dorset integrated care board since October 2023.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There were 642 diagnoses of cancer within Bournemouth West constituency between January 2024 and December 2024. Between October 2023 and December 2024, within the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), there have been 7,157 patients treated. Across this time, 69.2% of those treated were within the 62-day target. Performance as of December 2024 for Dorset ICB is 73.2% and exceeding the 70% recovery target.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of cancer were diagnosed within Bournemouth West constituency in the most recent year for which data is available.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There were 642 diagnoses of cancer within Bournemouth West constituency between January 2024 and December 2024. Between October 2023 and December 2024, within the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), there have been 7,157 patients treated. Across this time, 69.2% of those treated were within the 62-day target. Performance as of December 2024 for Dorset ICB is 73.2% and exceeding the 70% recovery target.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to other governments regarding the importance of international action to promote the uptake of vaccinations.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The United Kingdom continues to be the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a public-private partnership that works to ensure that 54 of the world’s poorest countries have affordable access to life-saving vaccines. We are providing a further £1.65 billion in financing for the period covering 2026 to 2030.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works in partnership with the devolved administrations to deliver on our commitments to the global elimination of vaccine preventable diseases such as polio, measles, rubella, hepatitis B and C. The UKHSA collaborates closely with international partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), on a range of activities aimed at strengthening routine immunisation programmes and improving uptake.

The UKHSA holds a mandatory role in the WHO’s Expanded Programmes for Immunization to ensure that all children, in all countries, benefit from life-saving vaccines, and is also contributing to work in the European Immunization Agenda 2030. The UKHSA also collaborates with international partners on relevant research, for example the Reducing Inequalities in Vaccine uptake in the European Region – Engaging Underserved communities project.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, sponsored by the Department, supports international work to improve the development of evidence-based advice on vaccination. This includes representation on the global National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) steering committee, and through bilateral and multi-lateral communication with NITAGs globally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the NHS 10 Year Health Plan will include a long-term strategic approach to managing long-term conditions.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have committed to developing a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. While it’s too soon to say exactly what will be in the plan, it will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with long-term complex health needs.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions closer to home. Earlier diagnosis of conditions will help prevent deterioration and improve survival rates. All of these are relevant to managing and improving long-term conditions in all parts of the county.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ban people from going abroad to obtain paid surrogacy in poorer countries.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has no plans to restrict international travel for surrogacy. We recognise that surrogacy is a complex and sensitive issue, but we do not support arrangements in which any party may be at risk of exploitation. We have issued guidance for those considering surrogacy overseas, clearly outlining the possible risks for individuals returning to the United Kingdom with a child born through an international arrangement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take towards a decision on the expansion of the shingles national immunisation programme for adult cohorts aged 80 and over, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in November 2024, and what is their timeline for that decision.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In November 2024, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation provided advice to the Government on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme. This included advice that the Government should consider expanding the shingles vaccination offer to include older adult cohorts aged 80 years old and over, as well as severely immunosuppressed adults aged 18 years old and over.

The Department is considering this advice as it sets the policy on who should be offered shingles vaccinations, and will update in due course. A timeline for decision-making has not been formally agreed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they have taken towards achieving no antibiotic prescription without diagnostic confirmation by 2027, as recommended by the World Innovation Summit for Health, and what future plans they have towards that aim.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Reducing unnecessary antimicrobial prescriptions by supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those who need them is a core undertaking of the Government’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP). The NAP highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use to help tackle AMR. Specifically, outcome four of the NAP commits to strengthening antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship by improved targeting of antimicrobials and diagnostic tools. Furthermore, outcome six relates to supporting the development of diagnostics for infection.

The NAP includes targets to achieve a 5% reduction in total antibiotic use in human populations by 2029 from the 2019 baseline, and to ensure 70% of antibiotics used across the human healthcare system are from the ‘Access’ category, a new United Kingdom category, by 2029. The Department continues to work with cross Government bodies, including NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency, to deliver the outcomes and commitments outlined in the NAP.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all medicines approved for treatment of osteoporosis by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are available in (1) integrated care systems and (2) local formularies.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of their costs and benefits.

The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.

The 2025/26 NHS Standard Contract, which applies to all contracts between NHS commissioners and providers, stipulates that, where any service involves or may involve the prescribing of medicines, the provider must ensure that its formulary reflects all relevant positive NICE technology appraisals.

The NICE has also published guidance on developing and updating local formularies, which is intended to support commissioners and healthcare providers in developing formularies that reflect local needs, reduce variation in prescribing, and allow for the rapid adoption of new medicines and treatments. Further information is available on the NICE website, in an online only format.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to dementia research by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Research, (b) UK Research and Innovation and (c) other public bodies in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government’s responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The following table shows NIHR and UKRI spend data for dementia research across five financial years, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:

Spend for dementia research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, therefore 2023/24 is the most recent year for which we have data. The Department does not centrally hold data on dementia research funding from other public bodies.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. All NIHR programmes welcoming applications on dementia enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many phase (a) one, (b) two and (c) three dementia clinical trials there have been in the UK in each of the last ten years; and how many participants were recruited for each of those trials.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department does not hold information centrally on clinical trials hosted in Wales and Scotland. The Department is therefore unable to provide how many phase one, phase two, and phase three clinical trials for dementia have taken place in Wales and Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

The following table shows the number of phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:

In addition, the following table shows the number of participants recruited into phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:

Note: studies are sometimes conducted across multiple phases, for example a study may cross phase one/two or phase two/three. Therefore, figures cannot be totalled.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce statutory regulation for (a) counsellors and (b) psychotherapists to help ensure minimum standards of (i) training, (ii) supervision and (iii) professional conduct.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans to extend statutory regulation to therapists and counsellors, and no recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of the lack of statutory regulation on patient safety.

When considering which professions should be protected in law the Government is clear that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public, and that statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration. Decisions about which professions are regulated, and which professional job titles are protected, are made by the Government and by Parliament.

Health professionals that are not subject to statutory regulation can join voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The Government would encourage anyone accessing mental health services to use a practitioner who is subject to statuary regulation or voluntary registration accredited by the PSA.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent people without accreditation from offering paid counselling services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans to extend statutory regulation to therapists and counsellors, and no recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of the lack of statutory regulation on patient safety.

When considering which professions should be protected in law the Government is clear that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public, and that statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration. Decisions about which professions are regulated, and which professional job titles are protected, are made by the Government and by Parliament.

Health professionals that are not subject to statutory regulation can join voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The Government would encourage anyone accessing mental health services to use a practitioner who is subject to statuary regulation or voluntary registration accredited by the PSA.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of changes which need to be made to the NHS Dental contracting framework.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to meet with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department uses external suppliers to meet its requirements for translation and interpretation services. In the 2024 calendar year, the cost to the Department was £16,833.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of pharmacies in (a) Bournemouth West constituency, (b) Dorset, (c) the South West and (d) England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Business Services Authority publishes the consolidated pharmaceutical list every quarter, with further information available at the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/consolidated-pharmaceutical-list

The following table shows the number of pharmacies, broken down by type, in Bournemouth West, Dorset, the South West, and England, as of 31 December 2024:

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-evaluating the Units of Dental Activity formula.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to meet with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of levels of statutory regulation of (a) counsellors and (b) psychotherapists on patient safety.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans to extend statutory regulation to therapists and counsellors, and no recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of the lack of statutory regulation on patient safety.

When considering which professions should be protected in law the Government is clear that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public, and that statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration. Decisions about which professions are regulated, and which professional job titles are protected, are made by the Government and by Parliament.

Health professionals that are not subject to statutory regulation can join voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The Government would encourage anyone accessing mental health services to use a practitioner who is subject to statuary regulation or voluntary registration accredited by the PSA.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the status is of the independent economic review of pharmacies, in the context of the recently announced abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. The findings of this work were published by Frontier Economics on 28 March 2025.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing immediate cash-flow funding for pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. The findings of this work were published by Frontier Economics on 28 March 2025.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publishing the independent economic review of pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. The findings of this work were published by Frontier Economics on 28 March 2025.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for (a) autism assessments and (b) SEND assessments in (i) Bournemouth West constituency, (b) Dorset and (c) the South West in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Information on autism assessments is not held centrally in the format requested, but may be held by individual providers or integrated care boards (ICBs). Some relevant information is available on autism assessment waiting times for the NHS Dorset ICB and the South West commissioning region.

In the NHS Dorset ICB, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics published by NHS England show that there were a total of 1,000 patients, of all ages, with an open suspected autism referral in December 2024, the latest available data. The median waiting time of all patients in this ICB with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 62 days in December 2024.

In the South West commissioning region, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics show that there were a total of 23,030 patients, of all-ages, with an open suspected autism referral in December 2024. The median waiting time of all patients in the South West commissioning region with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 548 days in December 2024. Caution should be used when interpreting these statistics, since they are experimental rather than official statistics.

Schools decide whether a pupil has additional needs that warrant them being on the school's Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) register. Some relevant information on waiting times for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children with SEND is available from the GOV.UK website, with the latest data available being from 2023, at the following link:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3ba82524-3944-4f30-c442-08dd57945a2e

In Dorset, 60.2% of EHCPs, including exceptions, were issued within 20 weeks, and in the South West, 33.0% of EHCPs, including exceptions, were issued within 20 weeks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that children with life-limiting conditions have access to children's palliative care in the community (a) out of hours and (b) at weekends.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Palliative care services, including for children and young people, are included in the list of services integrated care boards (ICBs) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification for children and young people.

The statutory guidance produced by NHS England on palliative and end of life care makes specific reference to commissioners defining how their services will meet population needs 24/7 and includes a priority action for ensuring that staff, patients and carers can access the care and advice they need, whatever the time of day. Regional NHS England teams continue to liaise with ICBs to ensure these commissioning arrangements are in place. Expert strategic networks in the regions provide an opportunity to share good practice around improving access and quality of palliative care and end of life care.

As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we will shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, and the palliative and end of life care sector will have a big role to play in that shift.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the framework governing private clinics offering ADHD diagnoses.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made these assessments. Medical practitioners must demonstrate that they work in line with the principles and values set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Good Medical Practice. This applies to all doctors, whether they work in the National Health Service, the independent sector, or undertake private work. The GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors, anaesthesia associates, and physician associates practising in the United Kingdom, and is directly accountable to Parliament.

Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent public body that provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. The guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aims to improve recognition and diagnosis, as well as the quality of care and support for people with ADHD. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. The NICE guideline recommends that an ADHD diagnosis should only be made by a licenced specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other healthcare professional with specialist training in ADHD diagnosis. We expect integrated care boards and private providers to take the NICE’s guidelines fully into account when commissioning and providing services on behalf of the NHS.

Independent providers who offer diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are currently in scope of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and are therefore regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, independent providers who only offer diagnosis of ADHD, without any form of treatment, are not within scope of CQC registration, as the regulations currently stand. Further information on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111117613/schedule/1

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of ADHD diagnoses made by private sector specialist clinics.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made these assessments. Medical practitioners must demonstrate that they work in line with the principles and values set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Good Medical Practice. This applies to all doctors, whether they work in the National Health Service, the independent sector, or undertake private work. The GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors, anaesthesia associates, and physician associates practising in the United Kingdom, and is directly accountable to Parliament.

Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent public body that provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. The guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aims to improve recognition and diagnosis, as well as the quality of care and support for people with ADHD. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. The NICE guideline recommends that an ADHD diagnosis should only be made by a licenced specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other healthcare professional with specialist training in ADHD diagnosis. We expect integrated care boards and private providers to take the NICE’s guidelines fully into account when commissioning and providing services on behalf of the NHS.

Independent providers who offer diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are currently in scope of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and are therefore regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, independent providers who only offer diagnosis of ADHD, without any form of treatment, are not within scope of CQC registration, as the regulations currently stand. Further information on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111117613/schedule/1

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve adult social care provision in (a) England and (b) Bournemouth West constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise the challenges facing the adult social care system, and we are taking immediate action to improve the situation. These actions include:

• making up to £3.7 billion of additional funding available for social care authorities in 2025/26, including an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. The additional funding available to Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to £25.84 million, or up to 6.6% in cash terms;
• taking forward a range of initiatives in 2025/26, including funding more home adaptations, promoting better use of care technologies, and professionalising the adult social care workforce;
• increasing the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit in April 2025 from £151 a week to £196, to support our unpaid family carers;
• introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do; and
• launching an independent commission, which will begin in April 2025, as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. Chaired by Baroness Casey of Blackstock, the commission will make clear recommendations for how to rebuild the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes commissioning a diverse range of care and support services that enable people to access quality care. The Department funds an annual programme of support to local authorities and their partners to help them improve the delivery of their statutory duties.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of autism assessments in (a) England and (b) Bournemouth West constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of integrated care board (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, and should consider how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation, and how they might overcome these.

NHS England is also working with research organisations to explore evidence-based models that support improved outcomes for those people waiting for an autism assessment.

The NHS Dorset ICB advises that it has conducted a review with local partners and people with lived experience to help develop plans to improve services. The ICB plans to introduce a local tool, which will be available to people working with children and young people, to identify their individual needs and provide support ahead of assessment. The ICB further advises that it is looking at creating additional assessment appointments over the next two years, while it develops a longer-term plan to create neurodiversity services which are fit for the future and provide all local people with the support they need.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of dementia diagnosis rates in (a) England and (b) Dorset.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%, which in England, at the end of February 2025, was 65.4%. To support the implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data on the diagnostic pathway and enable targeted support where needed.

To aid dementia diagnosis and provision of support in care homes, NHS England has funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region (14 sites) to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate protocol. Learning is currently being shared and promoted with regional and local partners following an impact assessment of the pilots.

Published data collated in February 2025 shows that the South West region has diagnosed 61.2% of the expected prevalence. The current DDR in Dorset is 57%. Dorset Integrated Care System is finalising a formal Dementia Diagnosis Review with the aim of establishing a fully co-produced model, from pre-diagnosis to post-diagnosis, to improve the offer to their local population.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether staff seconded from NHS England to a transitional operations team in his Departent will focus solely on the transfer of responsibilities from NHS England to the Department for Health and Social Care; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the work ordinarily undertaken by the staff who have been seconded will be completed.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements of the team required to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and take precautions to avoid disruption, including when staff have been moved to work on the transition.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's joint policy paper entitled Telecare National Action Plan: protecting telecare users through the digital phone switchover, published on 11 February 2025, if he will publish the (a) targets (b) key performance indicators (c) other relevant metrics used for (i) the Plan overall (ii) each headline outcome and (iii) each individual outcome.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are currently in the process of agreeing targets and Key Performance Indicators for each of the actions included in the Telecare National Action Plan, working with action owners and wider stakeholders.

The Telecare National Action Plan commits to providing updates every six months. We will comment on the progress against the actions in these updates. We will include relevant metrics, where the data and evidence are considered sufficiently robust.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the hon. Member for Wokingham in relation to the correspondence of 5 February 2025 from the Leader of the House on the number of newly-qualified GPs employed under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme GP Sum in each integrated care board since August 2024.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I replied to the hon. Member on 4 April 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase the number of vision rehabilitation specialists in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of local authorities and the National Health Service integrated care boards to commission therapy-led rehabilitation, reablement, and recovery services, including vision rehabilitation specialists, based on their assessment of local capacity and demand.

The Government understands the importance of having effective rehabilitation services available for people who need them, to assist recovery and return to their day-to-day activities. Intermediate care and reablement support services, including vision rehabilitation, can play a key role in providing alternatives to hospital admission and improving patient outcomes, by providing appropriate rehabilitation and reablement options following hospital discharge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39649 on NHS: Negligence, how many maternity negligence payments have been made to an adult claimant who was the victim of medical negligence at birth since 6 April 2019.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The following table shows the number of clinical negligence claims where the periodical payment orders (PPO) or settlement was equal or above the £4.75 million threshold, where payments were made for 'life-changing' injuries, excluding 'fatality' at any level, within the specialty of obstetrics, each year from 2019/20 to 2023/24:

Notes:

1. NHSR cannot break down the table by an adult and child split as NHSR often receive claims from both the mother and child for the same incident. NHSR’s coding does not distinguish who the claim relates to and so they have provided the data based on incidents preceding April 2001, with a presumption that a claimant continuing to receive payments for such an incident would be an adult by 2019;
2. in terms of life-changing injuries, NHSR does not code for this and therefore cannot provide data. The term life-changing injuries could also have various meanings. NHSR has, however, provided data using its actuarial value for PPO payments, which is over £4.7 million. Any case which is estimated to settle over this value will have life-changing injuries. There will be claims below that level that have life changing injuries, but this is the best way that NHSR can try and provide this data; and
3. as the data relates to payments made during the relevant financial years, it is also possible that the same claim may appear more than once in the dataset. For example, one payment is made in 2021/22, and a separate payment is made in 2022/23 for the same claim.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible families are receiving Healthy Start in Chester South and Eddisbury constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/

The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The Chester South and Eddisbury constituencies are included within the local authority areas of Chester West and Chester, within NHSBSA data reporting. The total number of people on the scheme for Chester South and Eddisbury in March 2025 was 1,729.

The NHSBSA does not currently hold data on the number of people who are eligible for the scheme. An issue was identified with the source data that is used to calculate uptake of the NHS Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA has therefore removed data for the number of people eligible for the scheme and the uptake percentage from January 2023 onwards.

The issue has only affected the data on the number of people eligible for the scheme. It has not prevented anyone from joining the scheme or continuing to access the scheme if they were eligible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many families are receiving support from Healthy Start in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Stafford.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/

The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The number of people receiving support from the Healthy Start scheme in March 2025 in Stoke-on-Trent was 2,592, and in Stafford was 566.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of publishing year-round data on the number of patients treated in temporary care environments.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We continue to keep the data available and published to support improvements to urgent and emergency care services under review.

NHS England has been working with trusts since 2024 to put in place new reporting arrangements related to the use of temporary escalation spaces, to drive improvement. Subject to a review of data quality, this information will be published later this year, and we will consider how this data could be published on a more regular basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold data in the format requested. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, such as ankylosing spondylitis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published expert guidance on the diagnosis and management of spondyloarthritis in over 16 year olds, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng65

The NICE guidance aims to raise awareness of the features of spondyloarthritis and provide clear advice on what action to take when people with signs and symptoms first present in healthcare settings.

As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with ankylosing spondylitis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of temporary care environments in patient care.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that long waits in accident and emergency are unacceptable and lead to worse patient outcomes. Patients should expect and receive the highest standards of service, and we are determined to tackle the issue of corridor care.

NHS England published guidance in September 2024 regarding the use of temporary escalation spaces, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/principles-for-providing-safe-and-good-quality-care-in-temporary-escalation-spaces/

In January, we published the National Health Service’s mandate and planning guidance for 2025/26, which set out the priorities and actions to be taken to reform and improve urgent and emergency care services. This includes increasing the proportion of patients admitted, discharged, and transferred from an emergency department within 12 hours across 2025/26 compared to 2024/25.

We will shortly set out the further improvements and actions to be taken to support urgent and emergency care services this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken to diagnose multiple sclerosis was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold data in the format requested. The latest data for referral to treatment waiting times in England, from January 2025, shows there were under 233,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment, 53.8% of which had been waiting less that 18 weeks.

On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. We have delivered an additional two million appointments between July and November 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, seven months ahead of schedule, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of energy drinks on children under 16.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the King’s Speech, we plan to bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to deliver on our commitment to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years old.

We are developing plans which consider the potential impact of high-caffeine energy drinks on children, and will set these out in a consultation in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the National Cancer Plan will be funded; and whether the funding will include ring-fenced resources specifically for children's and young people's cancers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will focus on how we make things better for patients through reforming the cancer sector and improving efficiency, building on the steps announced in the Elective Reform Plan. This will support a more scrupulous and effective use of funds in the future.

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government made nearly £26 billion available to the health and care system over two years, to fix the foundations of our broken National Health Service. We will review cancer funding, including funding for children and young people’s cancers, as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of levels of screening of type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes (ELSA) study is researching a screening programme for children, aged three to 13 years old, to detect for type 1 diabetes with a simple finger stick blood test. This looks for four antibodies, protein markers, which are associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.elsadiabetes.nhs.uk/

This study is currently screening children across the United Kingdom to identify those at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. The programme has been running through schools and general practice surgeries, as well as through online recruitment, and has been hugely successful, with over 24,000 children stepping forward for this test. The ELSA study launched in November 2022 with the intention for all enrolled children to be screened by the end of February 2025. The Department is awaiting the publication of the results of this study.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of screening relatives of people with type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes (ELSA) study is researching a screening programme for children, aged three to 13 years old, to detect for type 1 diabetes with a simple finger stick blood test. This looks for four antibodies, protein markers, which are associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.elsadiabetes.nhs.uk/

This study is currently screening children across the United Kingdom to identify those at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. The programme has been running through schools and general practice surgeries, as well as through online recruitment, and has been hugely successful, with over 24,000 children stepping forward for this test. The ELSA study launched in November 2022 with the intention for all enrolled children to be screened by the end of February 2025. The Department is awaiting the publication of the results of this study.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the levels of respiratory diseases in West Dorset constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the West Dorset area, which includes the Sherborne, Mid Dorset, and Jurassic primary care networks, there are 8,617 patients with asthma, and 2,490 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A systematic review published in 2021 highlighted the global variation in the diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis, and it is estimated that NHS Dorset could have between five and 25 people who suffer from pulmonary fibrosis.

The Dorset Respiratory Network has made significant progress in improving care for people with asthma, COPD, and other respiratory conditions, over the last few years. With Respiratory Champions now supporting 15 of the 18 primary care networks, local expertise has been strengthened, ensuring better access to care. A key focus has been enhancing diagnosis and management, which includes the increased use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing and a targeted drive to reduce over-reliance on short-acting reliever inhalers. These efforts have led to better outcomes for patients and a reduction in unnecessary hospital visits.

Local pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) teams have expanded their reach, delivering more PR classes across a wider range of locations in Dorset. This is helping more people manage their condition effectively, improve their quality of life, and reduce hospitalisation risks. Alongside this, an online platform has been launched, providing healthcare professionals with resources, training, and updates, ensuring the latest guidance is easily accessible. A new quarterly newsletter keeps clinicians informed of National Health Service updates, best practice, and innovations in respiratory care.

As part of the Reducing Hospital Admissions and Enhancing Care initiatives, targeted projects have employed a review of medication use to ensure the most effective treatments are available. There is also work on improving diagnosis rates through better access to essential tests and exploring digital solutions to help people manage their conditions at home.

Smoking cessation is one of the most effective ways to reduce respiratory disease and improve long-term health. In the first three quarters of 2024/25, over 6,000 people in Dorset quit smoking through support from the Council's smoking cessation programmes, the National Swap to Stop initiative and the NHS Treating Tobacco Dependency offer.

By expanding innovation, improving accessibility, and strengthening collaboration across healthcare teams, the Dorset Respiratory Network is delivering tangible improvements in respiratory health. Their work is helping people across the county breathe easier, stay healthier, and reduce their reliance on hospital care, ensuring better outcomes for patients and a more sustainable NHS for the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases in West Dorset constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the West Dorset area, which includes the Sherborne, Mid Dorset, and Jurassic primary care networks, there are 8,617 patients with asthma, and 2,490 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A systematic review published in 2021 highlighted the global variation in the diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis, and it is estimated that NHS Dorset could have between five and 25 people who suffer from pulmonary fibrosis.

The Dorset Respiratory Network has made significant progress in improving care for people with asthma, COPD, and other respiratory conditions, over the last few years. With Respiratory Champions now supporting 15 of the 18 primary care networks, local expertise has been strengthened, ensuring better access to care. A key focus has been enhancing diagnosis and management, which includes the increased use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing and a targeted drive to reduce over-reliance on short-acting reliever inhalers. These efforts have led to better outcomes for patients and a reduction in unnecessary hospital visits.

Local pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) teams have expanded their reach, delivering more PR classes across a wider range of locations in Dorset. This is helping more people manage their condition effectively, improve their quality of life, and reduce hospitalisation risks. Alongside this, an online platform has been launched, providing healthcare professionals with resources, training, and updates, ensuring the latest guidance is easily accessible. A new quarterly newsletter keeps clinicians informed of National Health Service updates, best practice, and innovations in respiratory care.

As part of the Reducing Hospital Admissions and Enhancing Care initiatives, targeted projects have employed a review of medication use to ensure the most effective treatments are available. There is also work on improving diagnosis rates through better access to essential tests and exploring digital solutions to help people manage their conditions at home.

Smoking cessation is one of the most effective ways to reduce respiratory disease and improve long-term health. In the first three quarters of 2024/25, over 6,000 people in Dorset quit smoking through support from the Council's smoking cessation programmes, the National Swap to Stop initiative and the NHS Treating Tobacco Dependency offer.

By expanding innovation, improving accessibility, and strengthening collaboration across healthcare teams, the Dorset Respiratory Network is delivering tangible improvements in respiratory health. Their work is helping people across the county breathe easier, stay healthier, and reduce their reliance on hospital care, ensuring better outcomes for patients and a more sustainable NHS for the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) compression treatment and (b) other follow-up care for women with arm lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to compression treatment or follow-up care for women with arm lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment.

Local health service commissioners – through Integrated Care Boards - determine what lymphoedema services are needed locally, based on the needs of their local population.

The NHS’ roll-out of personalised care ensures people with cancer have a holistic needs assessment, covering both their physical and psychosocial needs, and are referred to services where appropriate. Lymphoedema support is in the NHS’ Personalised Stratified Follow-Up (PSFU) handbook as a required part of PSFU pathways, however it does not cover the specifics of treatment.

We know that more should be done to support people living with and beyond cancer. The National Cancer Plan, coming later this year, will set out how we will seek to improve the experience and outcomes for people at every stage of the cancer pathway. It will look at how we can improve communication and coordination for patients, so that they feel informed and in control of their care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to manage the NHS provision of biologic medications and other high-cost treatments, particularly to avoid inequality between patients under different integrated care boards.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service in England on whether new medicines, including biologics, should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of their clinical and cost-effectiveness.

The NICE evaluates all new medicines and significant licence extensions for existing medicines, and NHS England and the integrated care boards are legally required to fund the medicines recommended in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance. The NICE’s evaluations and the associated funding requirement ensures that patients are consistently able to benefit from clinically and cost-effective medicines wherever they live in England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40872 on Epilepsy: Drugs, what steps he is taking to support patients whose neurologist has specified that Levetiracetam must come from Millfarm.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is not aware of any supply issues with levetiracetam tablets from the manufacturer, Milpharm. Pharmacies can obtain stocks from their usual wholesalers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term impact on the National Health Service of prospective successful applications for indefinite leave to remain until 2029.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of changes in the levels of grants of Indefinite Leave to Remain on the National Health Service, and there are no current plans to undertake such an assessment.

Internationally educated staff remain an important part of the workforce, and our Code of Practice for International Recruitment ensures stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas. The Government remains committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS.

We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure accurate recording of a presumed diagnosis of endometriosis in primary care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

General practices are expected to follow National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidance for the treatment and management of clinical conditions, as part of meeting the reasonable needs of patients. The NICE guidance on endometriosis is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73?UID=83951178202532511728

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that guidance published by the 'Getting It Right First Time' programme is implemented across England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change and remove variation in health services across England. It is a non-mandatory programme, approved by the royal colleges and professional bodies.

The GIRFT team is working with systems and regions to help the National Health Service embed best practice in elective care, to reduce waiting times, improve patient outcomes and, ultimately, to support delivery of the commitment that 92% of all patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029.

Guidance is delivered to teams all over England via national reports and best practice guidance products. While guidance is not mandatory, GIRFT tracks the audiences, downloads, and uptake of best practice guidance at a national level, ensuring that reports are driving change across the health landscape.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2025 to Question 28573 on Brain: Tumours, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including grading in the national cancer plan to help improve (a) treatment and (b) outcomes for brain tumour patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with brain tumours, at any grade. The Government has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.

In September 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients including those with brain tumours. However, we do not expect to consider the grading of brain tumours as part of the National Cancer Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to implement the Tobacco and Vapes Bill across all parts of the United Kingdom.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is United Kingdom-wide, and has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Department of Health and Social Care in England will work with the devolved administrations to implement the measures in the bill, including future regulations, once the bill receives Royal Assent.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase research into the causes of prostate cancer in men of sub-Saharan African ancestry.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical research on prostate cancer. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

These investments are pivotal towards efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes. The TRANSFORM trial is an important example of this. On 19 November 2023, the Government and Prostate Cancer UK announced the £42 million TRANSFORM screening trial to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer, to find it before it becomes advanced and harder to treat.

Prostate Cancer UK is leading the development of the trial with the Government contributing £16 million through the Department. One of the aims of the trial is to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis today. For example, one in four black men will develop prostate cancer, double the risk of other men, and often at a younger age. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of the men who are invited to participate in the trial are black.

The NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.

The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including prostate cancer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the role of the Care Quality Commission in the new NHS structure post NHS England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. The whole health and care sector, including all relevant Arms Length Bodies, needs to work effectively for patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address health inequalities in breast cancer prevention by ensuring that women in disadvantaged areas have (a) safe and (b) affordable access to (i) facilities and (ii) resources to maintain a healthy (A) lifestyle, (B) diet and (C) level of physical activity.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Tackling health inequalities, including in breast cancer prevention, requires a whole-Government effort. That is why there is ongoing work across the Government, from housing and education to employment and welfare, to ensure that health is built into all policies.

NHS England is working with integrated care systems, local authorities, and the directors of public health to embed regional and local solutions to reducing inequalities, ensuring that communities, including in deprived areas, have the power and resources to improve health outcomes, for instance through the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is developing an ambitious new cross-Government Food Strategy that will set the food system up for long-term success and provide wide ranging improvements. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.

By aligning policy efforts across health, social care, local government, and the voluntary sector, the Government is committed to driving real change, so that everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life.

The Government’s goal is to reduce the time people spend in ill health, support independence, and close the healthy life expectancy gap, ensuring that no one’s health outcomes are determined by their background or where they are born.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle inequalities in (a) access to clinical trials and (b) specialist psychological support for young people with cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research and to ensuring that clinical trials are more accessible.

The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trial participation for young people with cancer.

The NIHR has made research inclusion a condition of its funding. Applicants to domestic research programmes are required to demonstrate how inclusion is being built into all stages of the research lifecycle, and are also required to provide details of how their research contributes towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities. Before the end of March 2026, this will also be required for global health research and infrastructure awards.

The Department is dedicated to ensuring that all children and young people with cancer have access to psychological support, to help them through their diagnosis and treatment.

NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from the treatment for childhood cancer. Further information on NHS England’s published service specifications is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/

Children and young people’s cancer care is managed by Principal Treatment Centres (PTCs) who ensure quality care. Each PTC has a multi-disciplinary team which meets at least weekly and includes a specific focus on the psychosocial needs of patients. The multi-disciplinary team ensures that each service user is assessed for psychological needs and can access any psychosocial support that is required.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness among patients of patient-initiated follow-up appointments and how the system works.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is expanding the use of Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) as part of our broad package of elective reform, to ensure patients have greater choice and control, with more responsive and accessible follow up care. We have committed to offering PIFU to patients with long-term conditions as standard in all appropriate pathways by March 2026, and to increasing PIFU to at least 5% of all outpatient appointments by March 2029.

Shared decision-making is at the heart of our PIFU approach. To ensure that patients are empowered to make an informed decision, clinicians will discuss patients’ suitability and willingness to sit on a PIFU pathway. To help patients understand the process of PIFU and its aims, NHS England’s national guidance for trusts includes examples of quality communication resources to share with patients, including patient information leaflets and videos. Trusts are expected to include PIFU service details and contact information on their websites, and they should inform the patient’s general practitioner when they choose PIFU. Along with our broader reforms to enhance two-way communication between patients and their healthcare teams, we will ensure all patients can readily access information on PIFU and feel thoroughly supported to use it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what legislation will be required or amended to legally abolish NHS England; and what functions and powers held by NHS England cannot be transferred to other bodies until new legislation is enacted.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

Primary legislation will be required, and we intend to bring this forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure the future of the Greener NHS programme following the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve ambulance waiting times in (a) Bournemouth West constituency, (b) Dorset, (c) the South West and (d) England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ambulance services in Bournemouth West, Dorset, and the South West are provided by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, with commissioning responsibility for the services being a matter for the local NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board. Specific local actions to reduce ambulance waiting times should be undertaken and agreed locally by National Health Service organisations in the best interests of the local population and patients.

At a national level, the Government and NHS England are committed to improving ambulance response times. The NHS 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance set national priorities, which include improving accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times compared to 2024/25.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the provision of healthcare jobs for British born medical graduates.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our National Health Service.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual NHS employers. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

Internationally educated staff remain an important part of the workforce, and our Code of Practice for International Recruitment ensures stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the recent National Living Wage increase and National Insurance Contributions rise on the financial viability of community equipment providers.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over financial years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 will be set through phase two of the Spending Review, which will conclude and be published in June 2025.

The rise in employer National Insurance contributions (ENIC) will be implemented from April 2025, and NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding for National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare, and published national prices include an estimate of ENIC costs.

Local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will take into account the resources available to them. Economic growth is the Government’s number one mission, and the Government supports businesses to invest, grow, and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. To support the growth mission, the Government is driving forward work to implement a modern Industrial Strategy, to reset trade relations, to support small business, and to deliver a new deal for working people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives from the community equipment sector on the potential impact of costs on service availability and patient access.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over financial years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 will be set through phase two of the Spending Review, which will conclude and be published in June 2025.

The rise in employer National Insurance contributions (ENIC) will be implemented from April 2025, and NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding for National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare, and published national prices include an estimate of ENIC costs.

Local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will take into account the resources available to them. Economic growth is the Government’s number one mission, and the Government supports businesses to invest, grow, and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. To support the growth mission, the Government is driving forward work to implement a modern Industrial Strategy, to reset trade relations, to support small business, and to deliver a new deal for working people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support community equipment providers in managing rising operational costs while ensuring continued service provision.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over financial years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 will be set through phase two of the Spending Review, which will conclude and be published in June 2025.

The rise in employer National Insurance contributions (ENIC) will be implemented from April 2025, and NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding for National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare, and published national prices include an estimate of ENIC costs.

Local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will take into account the resources available to them. Economic growth is the Government’s number one mission, and the Government supports businesses to invest, grow, and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. To support the growth mission, the Government is driving forward work to implement a modern Industrial Strategy, to reset trade relations, to support small business, and to deliver a new deal for working people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for people displaying symptoms of inherited cardiac condition to receive a diagnosis from (a) GPs and (b) cardiac specialists.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2017, NHS England published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions (ICC) which defines the standards of care expected from organisations commissioned by NHS England. The specification sets the national minimum standards for the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with ICC.

NHS England is reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders, including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation. This review considers the referral of ICC patients from primary care into ICC specialised services and considers how families of ICC patients are supported through the screening and identification process. The service specification review has also considered referrals directly from primary into secondary care, which would improve the timeliness of patient diagnosis.

Department ministers regularly have discussions with their colleagues and counterparts in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland on matters of cross border interest.

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Found: They needed to go to the Department of Health and Social Care, because drug pricing is a major issue

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Found: Letter from the Interim Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Care relating to the

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to repeal section 2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government does not currently plan to review or repeal section 2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948. The Department of Health and Social Care recognise that this is an important issue, and the Department is looking at the drivers of cost in clinical negligence cases.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the introduction of a retailer licensing scheme, as outlined in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be the biggest public health intervention in a generation—tackling the harms of smoking, breaking the cycle of addition, and paving the way for a smoke-free UK. The Bill provides powers for Ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes and nicotine products. This will strengthen enforcement and support Trading Standards to crack down on rogue retailers.

The licensing scheme will be introduced in regulations, following consultation on the details of the scheme.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, and will continue to do so as the regulations are developed, to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, whether the abolition of NHS England will be entirely funded by the £150 million included in the transformation fund.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, how many redundancies from NHS England will be paid for from the £150 million included in the transformation fund.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Oral Statement of 26 March 2025 on the Spring Statement, Official Report, column 945, what proportion of the £150 million included in the transformation fund will be spent on the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Partnership and Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme on attainment for pupils in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; and what the cost is per child of the programme.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) is a cross-government programme, backed by £13 million of investment, delivered through collaboration between the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. PINS brings together integrated care boards (ICBs) local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodivergent children and their families.

The programme which began under the previous government deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to strengthen training for teachers and upskill around 1,600 mainstream primary schools, which equates to approximately 10% of the total number of mainstream primary schools in England. Building teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodivergent children provides the opportunity to enhance support and improve outcomes for all children in this whole-school approach. As the programme takes this whole-school approach and the benefits support all children, the department would therefore not be able to indicate a specific cost per child.

The department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the PINS programme. This has been designed to look at the implementation of the programme in primary schools and explore the impact on primary schools’ ability to better support neurodiverse pupils. The evaluation includes exploring attainment, and it covers all ICB areas currently participating in the programme.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department plans to provide to (a) fairs, (b) parades and (c) other local community events on the (i) supply and (ii) administration of first aid under Martyn’s Law.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act requires those responsible for certain premises and events to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack. In addition, appropriate steps to reduce vulnerability to terrorist attacks must also be considered at certain larger premises and events. The Act does not have specific requirements relating to the provision of medical treatment and associated equipment.

Wider work is ongoing to strengthen Healthcare Standards. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is working with partners to put in place updated guidance for health care at events. Once published the Event Healthcare Standard will be assessed in partnership with NHS England to determine whether this standard should become a statutory obligation.

DHSC has also undertaken work with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office and health sector partners to standardise the contents of Public Access Trauma kits.

The Home Office will be issuing statutory guidance, which will assist those responsible for qualifying premises and events in understanding the requirements set out in the legislation. The Home Office will also continue to engage with sectors affected by the legislation, to support them in understanding their obligations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what specific first aid equipment will be required under Martyn’s Law for (a) venues and (b) events; and whether there will be different requirements based on (i) venue size and (ii) risk level.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act requires those responsible for certain premises and events to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack. In addition, appropriate steps to reduce vulnerability to terrorist attacks must also be considered at certain larger premises and events. The Act does not have specific requirements relating to the provision of medical treatment and associated equipment.

Wider work is ongoing to strengthen Healthcare Standards. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is working with partners to put in place updated guidance for health care at events. Once published the Event Healthcare Standard will be assessed in partnership with NHS England to determine whether this standard should become a statutory obligation.

DHSC has also undertaken work with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office and health sector partners to standardise the contents of Public Access Trauma kits.

The Home Office will be issuing statutory guidance, which will assist those responsible for qualifying premises and events in understanding the requirements set out in the legislation. The Home Office will also continue to engage with sectors affected by the legislation, to support them in understanding their obligations.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve access to therapy services for children in care.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Children in care and care leavers are significantly more likely to have poor mental health. The department’s latest data shows that two thirds of children become looked after due to abuse or neglect and we know that care experienced adults are at 4 to 5 times greater risk of suicide attempt than their peers. Providing effective support is crucial given the significant trauma that many of these children and young people have experienced and its lasting impact.

To support looked after children, looked after children attract pupil premium plus funding of £2,570 per year. This is managed by the local authority’s virtual school head and can be used to facilitate a wide range of educational support including additional mentoring, tuition, and therapeutic services.

Given our significant concerns for the health and wellbeing of children in care and care leavers, the department is working alongside the Department of Health and Social Care to review and update current statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children. This guidance sets expectations on local authorities, Directors of Public Health, commissioners of health services for children, NHS England and others, for the promotion of physical, emotional and mental health.

Regulations require an assessment of physical, emotional and mental health needs for every child when they enter care and a plan to be developed to address their needs.

As part of the department’s statutory guidance review, we will consider what changes are needed to further ensure that children in care and care leavers receive the support they need for their physical and mental health and wellbeing, including access to any needed treatment or therapy.

In addition to the statutory guidance review, the department is also undertaking a programme of work specific to children with complex needs. Children with complex needs and multiple needs are some of our most vulnerable children in the care system. The outcomes for these children can often be very poor, with neither children’s social care nor health services alone capable of meeting their needs, and services not working effectively together for these children.

Since July 2023, the department and NHS England have jointly led a Task and Finish Group to consider how to improve the way system partners work together to support and improve outcomes for children and young people who are deprived of their liberty and who are in the most complex situations.

Drawing on the best evidence, including the voice of children, input from professionals and commissioned research, the department will, in collaboration with NHS England, test a new, community-based approach to pathways and provision which provides treatment and care, bringing in professionals from children’s social care, health, justice and education. This will enable the system to deliver specialist care and accommodation for children who have complex needs.

We have also recently commissioned independent research on how the system works, its current impacts and how we could do things differently to achieve better outcomes for children and young people. We plan to publish this research in summer 2025. We will draw on these reports to support the development and testing of evidence-based models of safe, therapeutic care that delivers integrated, consistent, and collaborative practices for these children and young people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the budget for (a) UK REACH and (b) GB CLP for 2025-26; and identify (i) income from fees, charges and other sources and (ii) expenditure including staff costs in the (A) Health and Safety Executive, (B) Environment Agency, (C) Office for Product Safety and Standards and (D) UK Health Security Agency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not publish separate budgets for the UK REACH and GB CLP regulatory regimes. For the financial year 2025-26, the full cost of the planned activity is around (a) £6.1m on UK REACH, of which approximately £2.5m are staff costs and (b) £1m on GB CLP, of which approximately £0.44m are staff costs.

These costs will be met by income from several sources, including fees and charges paid by industry and allocations from government which vary each year depending on the activity being carried out. For UK REACH, fees from industry for 2025-26 are forecast to be £1.53m.

The information requested on budgets and expenditures in relation to different agencies are not held by this department. You may wish to contact the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the Environment Agency, the Department for Business and Trade for Office for Product Safety and Standards, and the Department of Health and Social Care for UK Health Security Agency.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support partially sighted people into employment in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. We announced in the recent Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding. This support is needed to break down barriers, unlock work and open up opportunity. It will get people off welfare and into work – which we know many believe they could do.

Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions including the partially sighted are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.

It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the Joint DWP and DHSC Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which recommendations of the Etherton Report have yet to be implemented; and what his planned timeline is for the implementation of those outstanding recommendations.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

As of 1 April 2025, 42 of the 49 recommendations have been implemented, with work to implement the outstanding seven recommendations underway, demonstrating our commitment to supporting the LGBT veteran community.

Of the seven remaining recommendations, two are for Defence and five are for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Defence officials are also supporting DHSC colleagues with progressing their five remaining recommendations (recommendations 31, 35, 36, 38 and 42).

The two for Defence include recommendation 44 focusing on female veterans affected by the ban; this will be implemented as part of the new inclusive veterans’ strategy. Recommendation 17 to implement a dedicated memorial to LGBT personnel at the National Memorial Arboretum is expected to be unveiled before the end of 2025.

Defence encourages those affected to apply for non-financial restorative measures and the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme by completing the application forms available at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lgbt-veterans-support-and-next-steps.

Found: for National Statistics, ‘Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2023’, 1 October 2024. 4 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Scheduled: Autumn 2025 Topics: Health and social care, NHS Departments: Department of Health and Social Care

Found: urgent medical treatment in the UK following agreement about such treatment with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: urgent medical treatment in the UK following agreement about such treatment with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Government’s health mission, in the following ways: • The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: This follows news last month that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.  

Found: The MHRA, in discussion with the Department of Health and Social Care, considers these products critical

Found: accessible healthcare delivery during extreme weather Key UK government department Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care. 2023.

Found: Radiographers UK Clinical Pharmacy Association UK Oncology Nursing Society Others Department of Health and Social Care

Found: COVID-19 are listed in: • the independent advisory group report commissioned by the Department of Health and Social care

Found: HealthTech Industries Association of Clinical Psychologists Cruse Bereavement Support Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society • Urology Foundation Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Association • UK Cutaneous Lymphoma Group • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Daiichi Sankyo UK Defence Primary Healthcare Department of Health - Northern Ireland Department of Health and Social Care

Found: untreated ALK-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (review of TA909) The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Trials scheme: Medical Research Council, Foreign Commonwealth and Department Office, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Developing NICE guidelines: the manual. 5 Funding 6 NICE was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE, which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: genomic medicine to other invited organisations and representatives – for example, the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: £1.4 million, and it is contracted between the University of Liverpool and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: • the independent advisory group report commissioned by the Department of Health and Social care d

Found: conditions is available in the independent advisory group report commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Association  UK Cutaneous Lymphoma Group  UK Oncology Nursing Society Others  Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society • Urology Foundation Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: guidance consultation Cladribine for treating active relapsing multiple sclerosis The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: disease that responds inadequately to corticosteroids in people 12 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: community-based adults with COVID-19: an economic evaluation of the PANORAMIC trial Abbreviations: DHSC

Found: EXCELLENCE Draft guidance consultation Molnupiravir for treating COVID-19 The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care. 2023.

Found: unresectable advanced gastric or gastro- oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: peritoneal cancer after response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmacy Association • UK Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurse Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Immunodeficiency Network Others • Christie Haematology and Transplant Unit (Manchester) • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care in the remit for the evaluation, the scope will list requirements

Found: have been defined within an independent advisory group report c ommissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: 3 of 4 Consultees Commentators (no right to submit or appeal) Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: have been defined within an independent advisory group report commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: consultation Relugolix–estradiol–norethisterone for treating symptoms of endometriosis The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Forum on Haemoglobin Disorders • UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: reserved 3 of 4 Consultees Commentators (no right to submit or appeal) Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: have been defined within an independent advisory group report commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Radiographers • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmacy Association • UK Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurse Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: ) • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Department of Health and Social Care Diabetes and

Found: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Department of Health and Social Care Department of

Found: Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Department of Health and Social Care Department of

Found: Department of Health and Social Care g. Department for Education h.

Found: incentives scheme to support tobacco cessation in pregnancy (something currently being funded by DHSC

Found: Department of Health and Social Care DLACS Disability Living Allowance Computer System DLA (Adult

Found: was introduced into the House of Lords on 6 November 2024, and is sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The Bill is sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). 7.

Found: The Bill is sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care. 5.

Found: It is sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care. 2.

Found: General Sensitivity: General Definition A learning disability is defined by the Department of Health and Social Care