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 stigma around suicide in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year cross-government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which sets out over 100 actions to reduce suicide and save lives. The strategy identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level and includes action to improve awareness of available support, encourage help-seeking behaviour, and reduce the stigma associated with suicide and mental ill-health.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023–2028 highlights the importance of reducing stigma surrounding suicide and aims to destigmatise help-seeking for those who may be at risk. The Government believes that suicide prevention is everyone's business. Every person, organisation, and service across the country has a role to play in preventing suicide. In recent years, good progress has been made in tackling the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, but there is more to do to ensure that people feel able to seek support when they need it.

The Department engages regularly with a range of suicide prevention organisations and charities, to support delivery of the strategy. These organisations play a vital role in raising awareness of suicide prevention support, promoting open conversations about mental health, and tackling the stigma that can prevent people from seeking help.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of regional variation in England in access to, and take up of, biologic medicines for people with (1) severe asthma, and (2) chronic pulmonary obstructive disease.

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

There is currently a total of 21,654 people with severe asthma receiving a biologic for severe asthma in England. The number of people receiving a biologic is based on the number of requests received in the last 12 months, from June 2025 to May 2026, for either new initiation or continuation of asthma biologic treatment. The following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by integrated care board (ICB):

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by region:

Data relating to chronic pulmonary obstructive disease is (COPD) not held. However, through the £10 million Respiratory Transformation Partnership, launched in March, the Government is working with NHS England, the Health Innovation Network, industry, and third sector partners to improve care across asthma and COPD pathways. This includes earlier diagnosis, better long-term management, and pathway redesign to support more consistent uptake of biologic medicines.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the independent reviews by Dr Bill Kirkup, Donna Ockenden and Baroness Amos, what actions they are taking to ensure accountability for failures identified in relation to maternity services and care, particularly regarding leadership and governance; and whether they intend to remove any honours from board members who were in those roles during the period in which failings are found to have taken place.

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

The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, led by Baroness Amos, found that accountability is not being delivered consistently when things go wrong. Donna Ockenden’s Independent Review of Maternity Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust also identified serious failures of leadership and accountability.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee the development of a national action plan to implement the national recommendations from both reviews.

The Government will focus on ensuring the recommendations on accountability are acted upon. This includes extending the duty of candour to future maternity reviews in Leeds and Sussex. The independent Forfeiture Committee can consider recommending the revocation of an honour held by any recipient who is deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with [i] the NHS and [ii] baby loss organisations about the [a] impact of baby loss on fathers and [b] support services needed to support those fathers.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that baby or pregnancy loss can be extremely difficult for fathers and partners.

While my Rt. Hon. Friend, the current Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had any discussions to date specifically with the National Health Service or baby loss organisations about the impact of baby loss on fathers or support services, previous ministerial engagement has included meetings with bereaved fathers as part of wider engagement with families.

Fathers and partners can receive evidence-based assessment and support through Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services. Some NHS trusts also work with Home Start UK’s Dad Matters project to support paternal mental health.

Additionally, all NHS England trusts have signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, which acts as a set of standards and guidance aimed at ensuring all families, including fathers and partners, receive consistent, individualised and sensitive care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Psychiatric Intensive Care Units there were in every region of the country in each of the last five years.

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

The information requested is not held centrally by NHS England.

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 accessibility to NHS mental health services, including average waiting times for assessment and treatment for residents in Lewes constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that too many people are waiting too long for mental health support and is committed to improving access to services.

Data on average waiting times for assessment and treatment for National Health Service mental health services are not held centrally at the parliamentary constituency level. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning mental health services for their local populations, including in the Lewes constituency, and for ensuring services meet local needs. NHS England continues to work with local systems to improve access to services, including through the development of neighbourhood mental health teams that provide care and support closer to home. In Sussex, 16 neighbourhood mental health teams have been established, including one serving Lewes, bringing together mental health services and wider support organisations to deliver more integrated, locally tailored care.

As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackle regional disparities, expand access, and improve productivity across services. We are also improving community mental health support by accelerating the rollout of mental health support teams in schools and colleges to achieve full national coverage by 2029 and investing in early support hubs.

The forthcoming Mental Health Strategy and the Modern Service Frameworks for Severe Mental Illness and for Children and Young People will help improve consistency, reduce unwarranted variation, and ensure patients receive high-quality, evidence-based care wherever they live.

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 Newborn Behavioural Observations and the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale within NHS maternity, health visiting and perinatal mental health services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS) and Newborn Behavioural Observations (NBO) are tools used to observe newborn behaviour. The NBAS is a more detailed assessment, while the NBO is more commonly used to support parent-infant relationships by helping parents understand their baby’s cues, communication, and capabilities.

The evidence base is small and of limited quality, although it suggests potential benefits for parental confidence, responsiveness, and early bonding. A Cochrane review concluded that further research is needed before wider recommendation.

It is for individual National Health Service trusts to decide whether staff should use and be trained in these tools, therefore no assessment has been made of their use within the NHS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on supporting people in social care accommodation to remain in the same town or local area when their accommodation is reallocated or closed.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Adult social care plays a vital role in supporting people to live independent, fulfilling lives. This Government understands how significant these services are for those who rely on them, as well as for their families, carers and local communities. Any proposal to change or close services must therefore be handled with sensitivity, transparency, and care.

Local authorities are best placed to understand local needs and to plan, shape and manage their care markets accordingly. While central Government is not involved in making these decisions, all local authorities must continue to meet their duties under the Care Act 2014, including the duty to promote individual wellbeing. This requires them to have regard to people’s views, wishes and feelings, and to engage meaningfully with those affected by any potential changes. This includes commissioning a variety of different providers and specialist services that provide genuine choice to meet the needs of local people and that offer quality and value for money.

When re-commissioning and replacing services, local authorities should carry out activities to maintain quality and service delivery that supports the wellbeing of those who draw on care and support. When a care home closes, it is important that the provider allows for proper arrangements to be made that ensures for the safe and satisfactory transfer of all residents to suitable care provision which meets their needs. Adequate time should be allowed, so that residents, their relatives and carers have a choice in alternative care provision and are caused the minimum possible discomfort.

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 NHS England on partnership working with community-based men’s mental health organisations.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department continues to work closely with NHS England to improve outcomes for men, including through a shared focus on suicide prevention.

The Men’s Health Strategy seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, including by tackling men’s mental health. The strategy includes investment in community-based men's health and suicide prevention programmes, and a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to make sure people know what mental health support is available to them. This builds on the important work already being undertaken by community organisations in Essex, including Men's Sheds, Andy's Man Club and local Mind services, which help men access support within their communities.

The Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders Programme for middle-aged men will tackle this inequality by investing up to £3.6 million over the next three years. The programme is currently being designed and will seek to improve timely access to neighbourhood-based support for middle-aged men and to strengthen joined-up pathways between services.

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 improve public awareness of suicide prevention support in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year cross-government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which sets out over 100 actions to reduce suicide and save lives. The strategy identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level and includes action to improve awareness of available support, encourage help-seeking behaviour, and reduce the stigma associated with suicide and mental ill-health.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023–2028 highlights the importance of reducing stigma surrounding suicide and aims to destigmatise help-seeking for those who may be at risk. The Government believes that suicide prevention is everyone's business. Every person, organisation, and service across the country has a role to play in preventing suicide. In recent years, good progress has been made in tackling the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, but there is more to do to ensure that people feel able to seek support when they need it.

The Department engages regularly with a range of suicide prevention organisations and charities, to support delivery of the strategy. These organisations play a vital role in raising awareness of suicide prevention support, promoting open conversations about mental health, and tackling the stigma that can prevent people from seeking help.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with suicide prevention charities on reducing stigma around suicide in Surrey.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year cross-government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which sets out over 100 actions to reduce suicide and save lives. The strategy identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level and includes action to improve awareness of available support, encourage help-seeking behaviour, and reduce the stigma associated with suicide and mental ill-health.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023–2028 highlights the importance of reducing stigma surrounding suicide and aims to destigmatise help-seeking for those who may be at risk. The Government believes that suicide prevention is everyone's business. Every person, organisation, and service across the country has a role to play in preventing suicide. In recent years, good progress has been made in tackling the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, but there is more to do to ensure that people feel able to seek support when they need it.

The Department engages regularly with a range of suicide prevention organisations and charities, to support delivery of the strategy. These organisations play a vital role in raising awareness of suicide prevention support, promoting open conversations about mental health, and tackling the stigma that can prevent people from seeking help.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will act on the recommendations in the Taskforce for Lung Health’s report entitled Breathing Life into the NHS and introduce a respiratory Modern Service Framework.

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

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 July by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Sharon Hodgson MP) in response to Question 17694.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the reduction in the Referral to Treatment waiting list between August 2024 and March 2026 was attributable to (a) increased completed treatments and (b) non-treatment removals, including validation exercises.

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

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 30 June in response to Question HL381.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to publish monthly data showing the number of Referral to Treatment pathways removed from waiting lists by reason for removal.

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

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 30 June in response to Question HL381.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many students are expected to complete approved paramedic training courses in England in (a) 2026 and (b) 2027; how many Band 5 newly qualified paramedic posts NHS ambulance trusts plan to recruit to in each of those years; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the number of funded posts is aligned with the number of students completing paramedic training.

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

The Higher Education Statistics Agency publishes annual figures for entrants and qualifiers for paramedic training courses which are available at the following two links:

https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/what-study

https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/outcomes#qualifiers

The latest available data for qualifiers shows 3,325 across England in 2024/25.

Training places for paramedics are not centrally commissioned by the Government, instead, they are determined by local employers and education providers who decide the number of learners they admit based on learner demand and provider capacity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much undergraduate medical tariff funding has been withheld or unaccounted for, for each of the past five years.

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

The Medical Undergraduate Tariff (MUT) recognises both the time and staff required to supervise and teach undergraduate medical students, the provision of facilities for students while on placement, and the impact of hosting students on clinical activity.

The Annual Accountability Report was used by Health Education England (HEE) from 2020 to 2023 for secondary care providers to report on their use of the MUT. Following the merger of HEE into NHS England in 2023, NHS England gave responsibility for financial assurance to regional NHS England workforce, training, and education quality teams.

MUT payments are calculated based on the locally validated student placement data collection process, which provides assurance that trusts are receiving payments based on delivery of placements and education. It is the responsibility of NHS England and individual placement providers to ensure that money allocated to it is used for its intended purpose. No MUT payments have been withheld in the last five years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he intends to consult NHS staff, professional bodies and trade unions on proposed guidance relating to political symbols and expression in NHS workplaces; and whether he will publish an impact assessment before such guidance comes into force.

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

NHS England has welcomed the Mann Review, published alongside a written ministerial statement by the former Secretary of State on 4 June (HCWS91). Having already accepted its recommendations in full, it has no plans to consult, or publish an impact assessment, on their incorporation into its guidance to National Health Service trusts.

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 merits of a respiratory Modern Service Framework as a mechanism for reducing health inequalities, supporting economic participation and strengthening the UK's life sciences sector.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 July by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Sharon Hodgson MP) in response to Question 17694.

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 undergraduate medical tariff funding is spent on frontline teaching and training for medical students.

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

The Medical Undergraduate Tariff (MUT) recognises both the time and staff required to supervise and teach undergraduate medical students, the provision of facilities for students while on placement, and the impact of hosting students on clinical activity.

The Annual Accountability Report was used by Health Education England (HEE) from 2020 to 2023 for secondary care providers to report on their use of the MUT. Following the merger of HEE into NHS England in 2023, NHS England gave responsibility for financial assurance to regional NHS England workforce, training, and education quality teams.

MUT payments are calculated based on the locally validated student placement data collection process, which provides assurance that trusts are receiving payments based on delivery of placements and education. It is the responsibility of NHS England and individual placement providers to ensure that money allocated to it is used for its intended purpose. No MUT payments have been withheld in the last five years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason NHS England ceased collecting accountability reports on undergraduate medical tariff funding, and what alternative oversight arrangements are in place.

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

The Medical Undergraduate Tariff (MUT) recognises both the time and staff required to supervise and teach undergraduate medical students, the provision of facilities for students while on placement, and the impact of hosting students on clinical activity.

The Annual Accountability Report was used by Health Education England (HEE) from 2020 to 2023 for secondary care providers to report on their use of the MUT. Following the merger of HEE into NHS England in 2023, NHS England gave responsibility for financial assurance to regional NHS England workforce, training, and education quality teams.

MUT payments are calculated based on the locally validated student placement data collection process, which provides assurance that trusts are receiving payments based on delivery of placements and education. It is the responsibility of NHS England and individual placement providers to ensure that money allocated to it is used for its intended purpose. No MUT payments have been withheld in the last five years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of undergraduate medical tariff funding is used to support (a) wider NHS service delivery and (b) educational activities.

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

The Medical Undergraduate Tariff (MUT) recognises both the time and staff required to supervise and teach undergraduate medical students, the provision of facilities for students while on placement, and the impact of hosting students on clinical activity.

The Annual Accountability Report was used by Health Education England (HEE) from 2020 to 2023 for secondary care providers to report on their use of the MUT. Following the merger of HEE into NHS England in 2023, NHS England gave responsibility for financial assurance to regional NHS England workforce, training, and education quality teams.

MUT payments are calculated based on the locally validated student placement data collection process, which provides assurance that trusts are receiving payments based on delivery of placements and education. It is the responsibility of NHS England and individual placement providers to ensure that money allocated to it is used for its intended purpose. No MUT payments have been withheld in the last five years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England continues to collect annual accountability reports from NHS trusts on the expenditure of undergraduate medical tariff funding.

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

The Medical Undergraduate Tariff (MUT) recognises both the time and staff required to supervise and teach undergraduate medical students, the provision of facilities for students while on placement, and the impact of hosting students on clinical activity.

The Annual Accountability Report was used by Health Education England (HEE) from 2020 to 2023 for secondary care providers to report on their use of the MUT. Following the merger of HEE into NHS England in 2023, NHS England gave responsibility for financial assurance to regional NHS England workforce, training, and education quality teams.

MUT payments are calculated based on the locally validated student placement data collection process, which provides assurance that trusts are receiving payments based on delivery of placements and education. It is the responsibility of NHS England and individual placement providers to ensure that money allocated to it is used for its intended purpose. No MUT payments have been withheld in the last five years.

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 moving spinal cord injury services from nationally coordinated commissioning to the responsibility for ICBs.

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

Ahead of the planned merger of NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, it has been necessary to consider where commissioning responsibility for the portfolio of specialised services currently held by NHS England should sit in the future. Spinal cord injury services were identified as a service that may benefit from commissioning at a regional, multi-integrated care board level, to reflect their close links with wider rehabilitation and community services, and the potential to support more integrated care pathways. Regardless of the planned change in commissioning responsibility, spinal cord injury services will continue to require national level coordination between the centres, and continue to be defined as specialised services, subject to national service specifications, commissioning policies, and national standards.

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 29 June 2026, to question 12530 titled Diets: Religious Practice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the current guidance on protecting patients’ religious or philosophical dietary preferences.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the NHS Food and Drink Standards, last updated in 2022, which states that people’s preferences, religious, and cultural backgrounds must be considered when providing food and drink. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink/

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 address the decline in the recruitment of learning disability nurses.

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

We recognise the vital role that learning disability nurses play in supporting people with a learning disability and reducing health inequalities.

To support recruitment, the Department provides eligible healthcare students with a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 per academic year via the NHS Learning Support Fund. Students undertaking priority specialisms, including learning disability nursing, can receive an additional incentive payment.

NHS England has also established a learning disability nurse expert group which aims to work with stakeholders to consider how we ensure sustainability of education programmes and attract people onto learning disability nursing and grow the workforce.

More widely, the Government is investing £65 million to deliver 2,000 additional nursing degree apprenticeships over the next three years. We will prioritise areas of greatest need and ensure that communities relying most on the National Health Service benefit from a stronger, more resilient workforce. The forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether provision for capital investment in (a) new and (b) updated healthcare facilities in Castle Point constituency is being made available over the next five years.

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

Significant capital investment is being made available to support both new and improved healthcare facilities across the NHS East of England region over the next five years.

The region has been allocated £536 million between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to increase secondary and urgent and emergency care capacity. This funding will support a range of local transformation priorities, including diagnostic facilities, urgent treatment centres, emergency departments, and the completion of elective and surgical hub schemes.

In addition, the region has been allocated £277.2 million through the Estates Safety Fund between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to address critical infrastructure and safety risks, alongside a further £346.5 million planning assumption for estates through to 2034/35.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has also been allocated £181.6 million in operational capital funding for the 2026/27 to 2029/30 period, which can be used to support the maintenance, improvement, and modernisation of healthcare facilities where this is a local priority.

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 disparity between the level of NHS demand for nurses and the lack of employment opportunities for newly qualified nursing graduates; and what steps his Department is taking to address this.

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

Nurses play a vital role across the National Health Service and wider health and care system, and the Department and NHS England are committed to ensuring newly qualified nurses can access meaningful employment opportunities after graduation.

NHS England is actively monitoring the position and proactively working with employers, universities, and system partners to improve access to vacancies, broaden opportunities across community, primary care, social care and independent sector settings, and provide practical support that helps newly registered nurses successfully transition into professional practice.

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 implications of transferring responsibility for appointing NHS Foundation Trust Chairs and Non-Executive Directors from locally elected governors to central bodies.

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

Governors at the 141 National Health Service foundation trusts are currently responsible for appointing their trusts’ chairs and non-executive directors. Subject to the will of Parliament, the Health Bill will transfer this power to my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We will publish our intended approach to making these appointments in due course which will support foundation trusts to plan and make arrangements in good time ahead of the transfer being made.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, while governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we expect the next generation of foundation trusts to put in place more responsive and flexible arrangements for drawing on patient, staff and stakeholder insight. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, providers should develop engagement arrangements that reflect their local populations, geographies and healthcare needs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which capital projects have been (a) cancelled, (b) delayed, (c) descoped and (d) reprofiled to fund the Defence Investment Plan by region, original funding allocation and revised funding allocation.

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

The capital budget for health is due to increase to £15 billion by 2029/30, over 30% higher than 2024/25. We are cutting bureaucracy and speeding up delivery, so taxpayers get maximum value for money. Due to the Government’s record investment, frontline services will be protected. The Department remains committed to the delivery of all schemes in the New Hospital Programme, neighbourhood health centres, and NHS estates programmes. We are working through the detail of future capital spending plans.

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 that ambient voice technology used in the NHS captures structured, coded clinical data at the point of care rather than unstructured free-text notes; what criteria his Department uses to determine which suppliers are eligible for reimbursement under clinical AI scribing programmes; and whether AI scribing tools embedded within wider electronic patient record contracts are required to meet the same governance and registry standards as dedicated ambient voice technology suppliers listed on the NHS England Ambient Voice Technology Supplier Registry.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department, working with NHS England, is putting in place national support to help National Health Service organisations adopt and scale ambient voice technology (AVT) as appropriate for their respective areas, to help adopt AVT safely and consistently where there is evidence of benefit. NHS England will continue to work with systems, suppliers, and national partners to support adoption at pace where products meet the necessary standards for safety, effectiveness, interoperability, and value for money.

At present, NHS organisations are required to select AVT products from the NHS AVT Self-Certified Supplier Registry. This applies to standalone products or those natively integrated into Electronic Patient Record systems. In order to be allowed onto the registry, suppliers are required to evidence capabilities that show summarisation of output aligned to structured templates and configuration, including suggesting the relevant clinical codes.

While NHS England remains in the process of mobilising a wider programme to support the adoption of AVT, no decision has yet been taken on the eligibility criteria for participating organisations to receive funding, but we will provide further updates in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to establish a national deployment pathway for ambient voice technology, to move beyond repeated local pilots towards system-wide adoption across the NHS.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department, working with NHS England, is putting in place national support to help National Health Service organisations adopt and scale ambient voice technology (AVT) as appropriate for their respective areas, to help adopt AVT safely and consistently where there is evidence of benefit. NHS England will continue to work with systems, suppliers, and national partners to support adoption at pace where products meet the necessary standards for safety, effectiveness, interoperability, and value for money.

At present, NHS organisations are required to select AVT products from the NHS AVT Self-Certified Supplier Registry. This applies to standalone products or those natively integrated into Electronic Patient Record systems. In order to be allowed onto the registry, suppliers are required to evidence capabilities that show summarisation of output aligned to structured templates and configuration, including suggesting the relevant clinical codes.

While NHS England remains in the process of mobilising a wider programme to support the adoption of AVT, no decision has yet been taken on the eligibility criteria for participating organisations to receive funding, but we will provide further updates in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to a 50 per cent reduction in headcount across the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and integrated care boards by 2028.

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

The Government remains committed to significantly reducing headcount across NHS England and the Department, although the changes are no reflection on the tireless work carried out by talented professionals. Our ambition is to reduce staff numbers by up to 50% across the Department, NHS England and integrated care boards.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether previous structured undergraduate clinical training in NHS hospitals will count towards the requirement in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 that prioritised applicants for postgraduate medical training should have had significant experience of working in the NHS; and if so, to what extent.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, under the Act, immigration status will no longer automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, the act provides a power to specify in regulations any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners on how best to define and evidence significant NHS experience as part of the development of those regulations. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Act is not designed to, and does not, exclude any eligible applicants from applying for medical foundation or specialty training. Non-prioritised graduates can still apply, and they will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. For individuals who do not secure a foundation year one post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through the established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

The Government has no plans to introduce transitional arrangements for the implementation of the Act.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether students who were already enrolled in medical degree courses recognised by the General Medical Council before the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 was passed will receive transitional or grandfathering protection

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, under the Act, immigration status will no longer automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, the act provides a power to specify in regulations any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners on how best to define and evidence significant NHS experience as part of the development of those regulations. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Act is not designed to, and does not, exclude any eligible applicants from applying for medical foundation or specialty training. Non-prioritised graduates can still apply, and they will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. For individuals who do not secure a foundation year one post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through the established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

The Government has no plans to introduce transitional arrangements for the implementation of the Act.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the appropriate oversight and operational effectiveness of NHS procurement policies following the abolition of NHS England.

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

The Health Bill currently before Parliament will abolish NHS England and move the majority of its powers and functions to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Work is ongoing to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities ahead of April 2027, when NHS England will cease to exist as a separate entity.

The new commercial delivery model will ensure compliant, high-quality commercial decisions and will oversee procurement and contract management to secure value for money, deliver intended outcomes, and strengthen supplier performance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to organise NHS procurement to ensure value for money at all levels following the abolition of NHS England.

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

The Health Bill currently before Parliament will abolish NHS England and move the majority of its powers and functions to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Work is ongoing to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities ahead of April 2027, when NHS England will cease to exist as a separate entity.

The new commercial delivery model will ensure compliant, high-quality commercial decisions and will oversee procurement and contract management to secure value for money, deliver intended outcomes, and strengthen supplier performance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many funded foundation year 1 posts have been identified for the third and fourth NHS UK Foundation Programme 2026 reserve-list allocation rounds, broken down by Foundation School; and what estimate they have made of the number of applicants likely to remain unallocated after the fourth round.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. This year, at the point of primary allocation, there were more applicants for the 2026 Foundation Programme than places available. This meant that eligible non-prioritised applicants were placed on a national reserve list.

Five rounds of allocation from the reserve list took place between June and August 2026, resulting in 476 applicants being allocated to a Foundation School. Following the final allocation round on 12 August 2026, 188 applicants remained on the reserve list. There are no current plans to run any further rounds to allocate places from the reserve list, nor to fund any additional places on the UK Foundation Programme 2026.

We recognise the potential impact of prioritisation on applicants who are eligible for a foundation training place but do not receive one. The UK Foundation Programme Office aims to be as transparent as possible with affected applicants and provide guidance at every stage of the allocation process.

For individuals who did not secure a Foundation Year 1 post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through other established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial, professional, and mental health impact on applicants in the non-prioritised group who completed the eligibility process for the NHS UK Foundation Programme 2026 but remain unallocated; and what steps they are taking to mitigate that impact.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. This year, at the point of primary allocation, there were more applicants for the 2026 Foundation Programme than places available. This meant that eligible non-prioritised applicants were placed on a national reserve list.

Five rounds of allocation from the reserve list took place between June and August 2026, resulting in 476 applicants being allocated to a Foundation School. Following the final allocation round on 12 August 2026, 188 applicants remained on the reserve list. There are no current plans to run any further rounds to allocate places from the reserve list, nor to fund any additional places on the UK Foundation Programme 2026.

We recognise the potential impact of prioritisation on applicants who are eligible for a foundation training place but do not receive one. The UK Foundation Programme Office aims to be as transparent as possible with affected applicants and provide guidance at every stage of the allocation process.

For individuals who did not secure a Foundation Year 1 post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through other established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what milestones have been established in the 10-Year Health Plan for England; and whether progress against those milestones will be published annually.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan was published in July 2025. In October, NHS England published the Medium Term Planning Framework to drive the strategic shifts set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. Regular data is published on a variety of performance metrics. The Department reports on progress against key priorities in its Annual Report and Accounts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assumptions regarding workforce numbers, including (1) general practitioners, (2) allied health professionals, and (3) health specialists, underpins the commitments made in the 10-Year Health Plan for England; and whether they will publish these assumptions.

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

This will be set out in the Government’s forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the removal of patients from NHS waiting lists who have not completed treatment.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 15 June 2026 in response to Question 2077, which – for ease of reference – has been reproduced below:

NHS England publishes monthly Referral to Treatment (RTT) data, including information on completed pathways and overall changes to the waiting list. In 2025/26, 21.8 million pathways were removed from the waiting list. Of these, 18.6 million were completed pathways, an increase of 2.8% compared to 2024/25, the highest ever recorded. The remaining 3.18 million were recorded as “unreported removals”. On average, over 85% of removals from the RTT waiting list are completed pathways. This can include patients starting their first definitive treatment, a period of active monitoring, a clinical decision not to treat, or a patient declining a treatment.

Validation is a routine part of providers’ waiting list management which ensures that patients are on the best pathway to meet their needs, that they still need their appointments and that patient records are accurate. This includes checking for duplicate appointments. Validation is not the same as unreported removals. The Department does not hold data on the number of patient pathways removed from the elective waiting list in all the ways requested, including identification of duplicate appointments. However, data on instances where a patient died before treatment is collected through the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS). The WLMDS is unpublished management information, subject to less validation than the monthly official statistics and totals do not match between the two sources.

In 2025, there were 77,874 removals from the waiting list where the patient died before treatment. The cause of death is unknown and, in many cases, will not relate to the condition for which the patient was awaiting treatment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of a respiratory modern service framework as a mechanism for reducing health inequalities, supporting economic participation, and strengthening the UK's life sciences sector.

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

The Government will consider in due course other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.

After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme, and will take into account any relevant recommendations and representations made by other bodies, including the Taskforce mentioned by the Noble Lord.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the Taskforce for Lung Health's report Breathing Life into the NHS, published on 8 July; and what plans they have to introduce a respiratory modern service framework.

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

The Government will consider in due course other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.

After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme, and will take into account any relevant recommendations and representations made by other bodies, including the Taskforce mentioned by the Noble Lord.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to collect and publish the total number of patients who have waited over 24 hours in A&E from the decision to admit them until their admission.

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

NHS England currently publishes validated data on patients waiting more than four hours and more than 12 hours from the decision to admit until admission through its monthly A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions statistical publication, which is available on the NHS.UK website. This includes national, regional, and provider-level information on accident and emergency attendances, waiting times, and emergency admissions. There are no plans to alter the current approach to collating and publishing data in this area.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking with the devolved administrations to increase the number of patients able to participate in commercial clinical trials across the UK.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to ensuring that all patients across the UK have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, and we are working with the devolved administrations, delivery partners across the health system, and key stakeholders from across the clinical research sector – all under the umbrella of the UK Clinical Research Delivery Programme (UKCRD) – to increase commercial research participation, and make the UK a world leader in clinical trials.

To increase participation by patients across all four nations, we are establishing 21 new Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs) across the UK, alongside a UK-wide CRDC Network, which will coordinate activity, provide strategic leadership, and support consistency across the centres. The CRDC Network complements established UK-wide infrastructure, including the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres Network and the UK Clinical Research Facility Network, which support research delivery, strengthen capability, and enable patients across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to access innovative clinical trials.

The Hon Member may also be aware that the National Institute for Health and Care Research provides a UK-wide 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 across the UK to find and take part in commercial clinical trials and other health and care research.

In addition to the activity set out above, the Government is taking specific action through the UK Rare Diseases Framework to improve the lives of people living with rare diseases, and last year extended the framework to continue until 2027. The framework sets out four shared priorities for addressing rare diseases across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: improving speed of diagnosis; raising awareness of rare conditions with healthcare professionals; coordinating care; and providing access to specialist care and treatments.

Genomic testing and analysis of genomic data is at the heart of the UK Rare Diseases Framework, and the agencies contributing to that activity are taking constant steps to increase interoperability between rare disease registries, genomic data systems, and clinical records held across the four nations, to assist in research, testing and analysis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to improve interoperability between rare-disease registries and genomic-data systems across the UK.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to ensuring that all patients across the UK have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, and we are working with the devolved administrations, delivery partners across the health system, and key stakeholders from across the clinical research sector – all under the umbrella of the UK Clinical Research Delivery Programme (UKCRD) – to increase commercial research participation, and make the UK a world leader in clinical trials.

To increase participation by patients across all four nations, we are establishing 21 new Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs) across the UK, alongside a UK-wide CRDC Network, which will coordinate activity, provide strategic leadership, and support consistency across the centres. The CRDC Network complements established UK-wide infrastructure, including the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres Network and the UK Clinical Research Facility Network, which support research delivery, strengthen capability, and enable patients across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to access innovative clinical trials.

The Hon Member may also be aware that the National Institute for Health and Care Research provides a UK-wide 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 across the UK to find and take part in commercial clinical trials and other health and care research.

In addition to the activity set out above, the Government is taking specific action through the UK Rare Diseases Framework to improve the lives of people living with rare diseases, and last year extended the framework to continue until 2027. The framework sets out four shared priorities for addressing rare diseases across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: improving speed of diagnosis; raising awareness of rare conditions with healthcare professionals; coordinating care; and providing access to specialist care and treatments.

Genomic testing and analysis of genomic data is at the heart of the UK Rare Diseases Framework, and the agencies contributing to that activity are taking constant steps to increase interoperability between rare disease registries, genomic data systems, and clinical records held across the four nations, to assist in research, testing and analysis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for each Arm's Length Body (ALB) their Department sponsors, (a) how many people are employed in the following bands of total earnings, or nearest equivalent, (i) under £25,000, (ii) £ 25,001 to £ 35,000, (iii) £35,001 to £50,270, (iv) £50,271 to £100,00, (v) £100,001 to £ 125,140 and (vi) over £125,140, and (b) what estimate they have made of the total unfunded public sector pension liability.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not routinely collect or publish data on (a) the staffing of arm’s length bodies (ALBs) broken down by earnings band, or (b) what the Hon. Member describes as the ‘total unfunded public sector pension liability’. However, in most cases, the ALBs in question publish their own data on staffing, remuneration, and pension schemes in each body’s annual report and accounts, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.

The Hon. Member can also find details of staff numbers broken down by grade for each ALB, and their overall paybill, in the Workforce Management Information statistics published by the Department each month, the latest edition of which, for June 2026, are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many FTE equivalent staff in (a) their Department and (b) each Arm's Length Body it sponsors are dedicated to fulfilment of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED); what the (i) annual employment and (ii) total annual cost incurred is as a result of PSED and compliance with PSED for each of those bodies; what the outputs are from the work of PSED teams and personnel dedicated to PSED; and if they will publish an assessment of their Department's compliance with PSED.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The requested data is not centrally held by the Department, and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to address the postcode lottery in community glaucoma care across regions in England.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Health services are a devolved matter and arrangements for the commissioning and delivery of primary eye care services differs across the United Kingdom. However, the Department does work closely with our counterparts in the devolved governments to share expertise and identify new opportunities to improve health and social care delivery across the UK, including learning from the different approaches to the delivery of eye care services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps have been taken to reduce waiting times for mental health assessments in the constituency of Slough.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government and NHS England are taking steps to improve access to mental health services and assessments across the country, including in Slough.

Locally, a range of initiatives have been introduced to help people access support more quickly. These include the Safe Haven service, which provides same-day, walk-in access to support from trained mental health professionals for people suffering a mental health crisis, alongside the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.

Additional voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector staff have also been introduced at Wexham Park Hospital, to work alongside the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine Service and strengthen the multidisciplinary response for people requiring mental health assessment and support.

In addition, the local mental health trust has introduced a text messaging service for its crisis service to improve accessibility and make it easier for people to seek support.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps have been taken to reduce waiting times for mental health services in Slough.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government and NHS England are taking steps to improve access to mental health services and assessments across the country, including in Slough.

Locally, a range of initiatives have been introduced to help people access support more quickly. These include the Safe Haven service, which provides same-day, walk-in access to support from trained mental health professionals for people suffering a mental health crisis, alongside the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.

Additional voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector staff have also been introduced at Wexham Park Hospital, to work alongside the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine Service and strengthen the multidisciplinary response for people requiring mental health assessment and support.

In addition, the local mental health trust has introduced a text messaging service for its crisis service to improve accessibility and make it easier for people to seek support.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by NHS England to remove the requirement for executive healthcare experience in their new template job description for Integrated Care Board Chief Executives.

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

NHS England has advised that the template job description in question requires someone with substantial board-level experience, including at Chief Executive Officer level, knowledge of the health, care, and local‑government landscape and expert understanding of strategic commissioning. The revised description broadens the potential candidate pool, from executive experience within healthcare to a career in healthcare or equivalent, for example an executive career in a large and complex organisation, to enable the National Health Service to attract talented leaders from a wider range of relevant backgrounds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue guidance to Integrated Care Boards on patient, carer, and public involvement in the commissioning of specialised services.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are already subject to statutory duties to involve patients and the public in the planning, development, and consideration of proposals for changes to health services. The Government is committed to ensuring that patients, carers, and the public continue to play a central role in shaping specialised services. The Health Bill proposes to further strengthen local arrangements by making ICBs directly responsible for gathering and acting on patient and public feedback.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what data they collect on variation in diagnostic waiting times between Integrated Care Boards; and whether those data will be published routinely.

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

Waiting times for 15 key diagnostic tests (DM01) are collected and published monthly, reported two months in arrears. Diagnostic performance is reported as the proportion of diagnostic waits of over six weeks. Statistics on DM01 performance variation by integrated care board are published on the NHS.UK website in an online-only format.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people with (1) severe asthma, and (2) chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, are currently prescribed biologic medicines in England, with figures for each integrated care board and NHS region.

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

There is currently a total of 21,654 people with severe asthma receiving a biologic for severe asthma in England. The number of people receiving a biologic is based on the number of requests received in the last 12 months, from June 2025 to May 2026, for either new initiation or continuation of asthma biologic treatment. The following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by integrated care board (ICB):

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by region:

Data relating to chronic pulmonary obstructive disease is (COPD) not held. However, through the £10 million Respiratory Transformation Partnership, launched in March, the Government is working with NHS England, the Health Innovation Network, industry, and third sector partners to improve care across asthma and COPD pathways. This includes earlier diagnosis, better long-term management, and pathway redesign to support more consistent uptake of biologic medicines.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase access to biologic medicines for people with asthma and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease.

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

There is currently a total of 21,654 people with severe asthma receiving a biologic for severe asthma in England. The number of people receiving a biologic is based on the number of requests received in the last 12 months, from June 2025 to May 2026, for either new initiation or continuation of asthma biologic treatment. The following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by integrated care board (ICB):

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by region:

Data relating to chronic pulmonary obstructive disease is (COPD) not held. However, through the £10 million Respiratory Transformation Partnership, launched in March, the Government is working with NHS England, the Health Innovation Network, industry, and third sector partners to improve care across asthma and COPD pathways. This includes earlier diagnosis, better long-term management, and pathway redesign to support more consistent uptake of biologic medicines.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of how the single patient record could improve the recording of miscarriage across NHS services, and what measures are being taken to reduce the risk of ‘double counting’ the same miscarriage recorded by different services.

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

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The planned introduction of the new Single Patient Record (SPR) is an important step towards one, comprehensive health record for every patient, and this will start with maternity. The SPR will initially capture some, though not all, miscarriage data, and we will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the recording of miscarriage experienced by women engaged with NHS services.

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

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The planned introduction of the new Single Patient Record (SPR) is an important step towards one, comprehensive health record for every patient, and this will start with maternity. The SPR will initially capture some, though not all, miscarriage data, and we will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are using to assess whether NHS resource allocations are reflecting their commitment to deliver more care closer to home.

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

NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards (ICBs). The allocation methodology takes account of population need, including community health needs and health inequalities, to ensure resources are distributed fairly across ICBs. This is being complemented by the development of neighbourhood health services and associated incentives to support the Government's ambition to shift more care from hospitals into community settings.

The Medium Term Planning Framework sets out the priority deliverables and the reform opportunities that ICBs and providers need to deliver for the next three years and the broader strategic aims that will need to be reflected in five-year plans developed by each organisation. This includes expectations on prevention, and on neighbourhood health, including primary and community care. Further guidance on neighbourhood health has also been set out in the subsequent Neighbourhood health framework.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to integrated care boards on the allocation of resources towards prevention, primary care and community services.

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

NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards (ICBs). The allocation methodology takes account of population need, including community health needs and health inequalities, to ensure resources are distributed fairly across ICBs. This is being complemented by the development of neighbourhood health services and associated incentives to support the Government's ambition to shift more care from hospitals into community settings.

The Medium Term Planning Framework sets out the priority deliverables and the reform opportunities that ICBs and providers need to deliver for the next three years and the broader strategic aims that will need to be reflected in five-year plans developed by each organisation. This includes expectations on prevention, and on neighbourhood health, including primary and community care. Further guidance on neighbourhood health has also been set out in the subsequent Neighbourhood health framework.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what data they collect on the number of patients with dental issues who present at (1) accident and emergency departments, and (2) GP surgeries.

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

The specific data requested is not centrally collated, although the Noble Lord can find general information on A&E attendances disaggregated by primary diagnosis in NHS England’s annual publications on Hospital Accident & Emergency Activity.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent National Health Service dental care when they need it. We have introduced a package of reforms from April this year to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams have been experiencing. This includes introducing a requirement for NHS dental practices to deliver a set proportion of their contract as urgent care, supported by increased payments for delivering this care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 20 July (HL1965), what checks or actions they have taken to ensure that employers, system regulators and professionals are ensuring that physician assistants are not illegally acting as prescribers.

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

If any concerns are raised that a registered physician assistant is illegally prescribing, those concerns should be referred to the General Medical Council for investigation, in the same way as any other potential breach of professional standards.

More broadly, National Health Service employers have a legal responsibility for ensuring that the staff they employ are properly trained and competent to undertake only those responsibilities specified in agreed job descriptions, and for managing medicines in line with Care Quality Commission regulations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of increasing resident doctors’ pay to stop strikes.

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

The new resident doctor pay and training settlement in England was accepted by British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee members on behalf of resident doctors in England on 29 June, following the cancellation of their proposed strike action from 15 to 19 June. Under this deal, resident doctors will benefit from improved pay scales, better working conditions, enhanced career progression, and up to 4,500 new training places over the next three years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is a realistic pathway for current British medical students to access specialist training either abroad or at home following the implementation of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, under the Act, immigration status will no longer automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, the act provides a power to specify in regulations any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners on how best to define and evidence significant NHS experience as part of the development of those regulations. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Act is not designed to, and does not, exclude any eligible applicants from applying for medical foundation or specialty training. Non-prioritised graduates can still apply, and they will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. For individuals who do not secure a foundation year one post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through the established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

The Government has no plans to introduce transitional arrangements for the implementation of the Act.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to consult British medical students currently studying on overseas campuses of British universities before finalising the regulations due to be made in 2027 under the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, under the Act, immigration status will no longer automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, the act provides a power to specify in regulations any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners on how best to define and evidence significant NHS experience as part of the development of those regulations. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Act is not designed to, and does not, exclude any eligible applicants from applying for medical foundation or specialty training. Non-prioritised graduates can still apply, and they will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. For individuals who do not secure a foundation year one post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through the established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

The Government has no plans to introduce transitional arrangements for the implementation of the Act.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government on the basis of what evidence a period of five years was been chosen as the period necessary to demonstrate "significant NHS experience" for the purposes of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, under the Act, immigration status will no longer automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, the act provides a power to specify in regulations any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners on how best to define and evidence significant NHS experience as part of the development of those regulations. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Act is not designed to, and does not, exclude any eligible applicants from applying for medical foundation or specialty training. Non-prioritised graduates can still apply, and they will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. For individuals who do not secure a foundation year one post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through the established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

The Government has no plans to introduce transitional arrangements for the implementation of the Act.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many square metres of the NHS estate are currently vacant; and what estimate has been made of the annual holding cost.

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

At a local level, National Health Service trusts are responsible for managing their estates and making effective strategic decisions about land use. As such, the Department does not centrally hold data on the total vacant NHS estate or the associated annual holding costs, with individual NHS organisations holding this information locally.

NHS England’s Estates Return Information Collection collects data annually on unoccupied floor area across the NHS secondary care estate. In 2024/25, the reported unoccupied floor area was 47,476 square metres, with an associated annual occupancy cost of £3.7 million. Estates Return Information Collection data is publicly available at the NHS.UK website.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government recognises there is more we can do to support NHS organisations to make better use of the existing estate. That’s why we will do more to align financial incentives to increase estates utilisation and dispose of under-used and surplus land, whilst ensuring existing flexibilities are clear and accessible for frontline NHS organisations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the number of specialist training posts and consultant posts in clinical immunology, in light of the Royal College of Pathologists' Clinical Immunology Workforce Report 2025, published in September 2025.

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

On 29 June 2026, the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee announced that their membership had voted to accept an offer from the Government to resolve their dispute on pay and jobs. The deal for resident doctors includes the introduction of up to 4,500 specialty training places over the next three years, including 1,000 next year, 250 of which will be starting in February 2027. Further information on which specialties will receive these places and when will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to educate and equip healthcare professionals to engage in genomic testing for patients with pancreatic cancer.

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

The NHS England Genomics Education Programme provides education and training to support healthcare professionals in the use of genomic medicine. Working with the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, it delivers a national education programme designed to build genomic knowledge and skills across the healthcare workforce.

As part of this offer, the programme has developed GeNotes, a multi-professional clinical resource that supports clinicians to identify when genomic testing is appropriate, order the correct test, interpret results, and communicate them to patients. GeNotes aligns with the National Genomic Test Directory and provides both point-of-care guidance and more in-depth learning opportunities.

The resource includes educational material relevant to pancreatic cancer, including guidance to support clinicians managing patients with pancreatic cancer who may benefit from genomic testing and the interpretation of genomic results.

NHS England continues to work with healthcare professionals, academics, and professional organisations to ensure genomic education and training resources remain up to date and support the appropriate use of genomics across healthcare services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will allocate funding to the Learning Disability (LD) Physician training course beyond February 2027; if so, for how many years they project any such funding to continue, and how many training posts this will support; and, if no further funding is planned, what are their reasons for discontinuing the funding for the course.

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

We remain committed to reducing health inequalities experienced by people with a learning disability and we recognise the contribution that programme participants and graduates make to the care of people with a learning disability.

Decisions regarding future funding for specific programmes are reviewed regularly and made in the context of wider workforce planning and available resources. NHS England will continue to engage with stakeholders on future workforce planning and funding decisions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide funding for a time-limited transitional expansion of NHS UK Foundation Programme 2026 capacity, including additional standard, supernumerary, and delayed-start foundation year 1 posts, to support applicants remaining on the reserve list; and if not, why not.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. This year, at the point of primary allocation, there were more applicants for the 2026 Foundation Programme than places available. This meant that eligible non-prioritised applicants were placed on a national reserve list.

Five rounds of allocation from the reserve list took place between June and August 2026, resulting in 476 applicants being allocated to a Foundation School. Following the final allocation round on 12 August 2026, 188 applicants remained on the reserve list. There are no current plans to run any further rounds to allocate places from the reserve list, nor to fund any additional places on the UK Foundation Programme 2026.

We recognise the potential impact of prioritisation on applicants who are eligible for a foundation training place but do not receive one. The UK Foundation Programme Office aims to be as transparent as possible with affected applicants and provide guidance at every stage of the allocation process.

For individuals who did not secure a Foundation Year 1 post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through other established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NHS England, the UK Foundation Programme Office, and Foundation Schools about creating additional funded foundation year 1 posts for applicants remaining on the NHS UK Foundation Programme 2026 reserve list; and what the outcome of those discussions has been.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. This year, at the point of primary allocation, there were more applicants for the 2026 Foundation Programme than places available. This meant that eligible non-prioritised applicants were placed on a national reserve list.

Five rounds of allocation from the reserve list took place between June and August 2026, resulting in 476 applicants being allocated to a Foundation School. Following the final allocation round on 12 August 2026, 188 applicants remained on the reserve list. There are no current plans to run any further rounds to allocate places from the reserve list, nor to fund any additional places on the UK Foundation Programme 2026.

We recognise the potential impact of prioritisation on applicants who are eligible for a foundation training place but do not receive one. The UK Foundation Programme Office aims to be as transparent as possible with affected applicants and provide guidance at every stage of the allocation process.

For individuals who did not secure a Foundation Year 1 post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through other established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the NHS UK Foundation Programme 2026 reserve-list will remain open beyond round 4 to fill approved vacancies arising after the August start date.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 implements the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. This year, at the point of primary allocation, there were more applicants for the 2026 Foundation Programme than places available. This meant that eligible non-prioritised applicants were placed on a national reserve list.

Five rounds of allocation from the reserve list took place between June and August 2026, resulting in 476 applicants being allocated to a Foundation School. Following the final allocation round on 12 August 2026, 188 applicants remained on the reserve list. There are no current plans to run any further rounds to allocate places from the reserve list, nor to fund any additional places on the UK Foundation Programme 2026.

We recognise the potential impact of prioritisation on applicants who are eligible for a foundation training place but do not receive one. The UK Foundation Programme Office aims to be as transparent as possible with affected applicants and provide guidance at every stage of the allocation process.

For individuals who did not secure a Foundation Year 1 post this year, there are alternative routes to pursuing a medical career in the UK. These include obtaining full General Medical Council (GMC) registration through other established GMC pathways, such as completing an approved internship in the country where they trained and then entering the UK healthcare system through applying to a locally employed doctor role or another non-training post.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations of antisemitic behaviour and racism perpetrated by UK doctors and other healthcare professionals in the workplace; and what steps they are taking to protect Jewish patients and doctors seeking care and working within the NHS.

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

In October 2025, Lord John Mann was asked to undertake an urgent review into how the health system, including National Health Service employers and United Kingdom health professional regulators, are dealing with incidents of antisemitism and other forms of racism.

On 4 June 2026, the Government published Lord Mann’s review, alongside a Government response, which, accepted all recommendations for the Department and NHS England, subject to consultation where appropriate. We are taking action to deliver these recommendations, to help protect all patients and staff from hatred and discrimination.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 June 2026 (HL683), what plans they have to increase the number of services subject to patients' right to choose, particularly non-consultant led community services.

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

The Government is committed to strengthening patient choice, through the mechanisms set out to the Noble Lord in the answer to which his question refers.

In terms of the current statutory rights to choice set out in the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups Regulations 2012, any future expansion of those legal rights would require a thorough evidence-based assessment to ensure that it would be deliverable within the current system, support safe and high-quality care, and provide meaningful benefits for patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the variation in waiting times for patients referred to specialist interstitial lung disease centres.

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

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services for people with interstitial lung disease, enabling services to be planned around local needs and supporting more joined-up care. In some regions, hub-and-spoke models are being implemented to support clearer and faster referral pathways between local providers and specialist interstitial lung disease centres.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to ensure independent assessment of the performance of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) following the abolition of NHS England; and who will be responsible for publishing comparative performance data between ICBs.

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

The Health Bill, subject to parliamentary passage, proposes to transfer the requirement to conduct annual assessments of integrated care boards from NHS England to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and to focus assessments on the statutory functions of these organisations.

The Health Bill also proposes that my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, must publish a report each financial year containing a summary of the results of each performance assessment conducted with respect to that year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of abolishing NHS England.

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

This Government is committed to delivering better value for taxpayers and better services for patients, and the integration of NHS England into the Department is an important step towards achieving these aims. We expect that integrating NHS England into the Department, alongside the restructuring of integrated care boards, could deliver up to £1 billion in annual savings by the end of the Parliament, driven primarily by reductions in headcount against a March 2025 baseline. Expenditure on the transformation will be reported in our Annual Accounts in the normal way.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Single Patient Record could improve the recording of miscarriage across NHS services; and what steps are being taken to reduce the risk of double counting the same miscarriage recorded by different services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The Single Patient Record (SPR) aims to provide a more joined-up view of a patient’s health and care history, reducing the need for the same information to be recorded multiple times across different systems. Maternity is one of the priority care pathways for the roll out of the SPR, with early implementation starting in 2027.

The SPR will help to address the lack of miscarriage data by better enabling the National Health Service and supporting organisations to record miscarriages wherever they may be reported across different care settings. We will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

It is not currently mandatory for trusts to record second trimester miscarriage through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). The requirements for the next iteration of the MSDS include more detailed data collection around pregnancy outcomes, including on miscarriage.

Timescales for this next iteration will be confirmed in due course. We will also consider what changes may be required to the Digital Maternity Record Standard as part of wider maternity data architecture design work, which will also support the MSDS and the SPR.

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 increasing open access care models in mental health services; and if he will take steps to ensure that people have access to timely support without requiring referral or meeting high eligibility thresholds.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the announcement on this subject made by my rt. Hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 5 August 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-expansion-of-community-mental-health-support-across-england

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what role Clinical Reference Groups will have in the development and review of national standards for specialised services from 2027–28.

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

Clinical reference groups provide expert clinical advice on specialised services and support the development and review of national service specifications and clinical commissioning policies.

The Government recognises the importance of clinical advice and leadership in maintaining high-quality specialised services. Subject to final organisational arrangements, clinical expertise will continue to contribute to the development and review of national standards for specialised services so that commissioning decisions remain informed by the best available evidence and clinical expertise.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish ophthalmology waiting times in order to address regional variations in and inconsistent commissioning of sight-saving treatment.

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

This Government is committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment across all specialties, including in ophthalmology services. As of May 2026, the proportion of waits below 18 weeks has increased from 65.7% in July 2024 to 74.1% in May 2026, an 8.4 percentage point improvement. This data is published on the NHS.UK website.

We are taking specific steps to improve services like ophthalmology. NHS England accelerator pilots have demonstrated that improved IT connectivity and a single point of access can significantly speed up eye care referrals and support more patients to be managed in the community, in line with the ambitions in the 10-Year Health Plan.

In May 2026, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme released a best practice guidance for the care of patients with glaucoma, and this will be the first in a series of best practice documents for ophthalmology conditions. The aim of this series is to standardise the patient pathways in use across England in line with best practice, which will enable the most complex and most at risk to be seen more quickly by specialist ophthalmology teams.

Specific measures to address regional variations and inconsistent commissioning in ophthalmology include the Public Health Outcomes Framework eye health indicator, which continues to track the rate of sight loss for age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. This information is available to commissioners and can be used to drive improved local outcomes and interventions. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended a number of medicines for eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration. Integrated care boards are legally required to fund NICE-recommended medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations.

From next year, we are also introducing NHS Online, which will help reduce patient waiting times across England by giving people on glaucoma pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. NHS Online will deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointment and assessments in its first three years across all specialities. We are also committed to expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide dedicated and protected elective capacity to drive improvement in six specialities, including ophthalmology.

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 trends in the level of waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Demand for children and young people’s mental health services continues to increase, with referrals rising from around 70,000 per month in March 2016 to almost 130,000 per month in March 2026, placing significant pressure on services and contributing to longer waiting times. Later this year, the Government will publish a new cross-government Mental Health Strategy, which will focus on prevention, earlier intervention and reducing waiting times, alongside wider reforms to SEND services and children’s mental health support. We are also expanding early support for children and young people through Mental Health Support Teams, Early Support Hubs and Young Futures Hubs, as part of efforts to ensure children receive support earlier and reduce pressure on specialist 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 improve community-based glaucoma services across England.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Health services are a devolved matter and arrangements for the commissioning and delivery of primary eye care services differs across the United Kingdom. However, the Department does work closely with our counterparts in the devolved governments to share expertise and identify new opportunities to improve health and social care delivery across the UK, including learning from the different approaches to the delivery of eye care services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the Single Patient Record could improve the recording of miscarriage across NHS services and what steps he is taking to help reduce the risk of double counting the same miscarriage recorded by different services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The Single Patient Record (SPR) aims to provide a more joined-up view of a patient’s health and care history, reducing the need for the same information to be recorded multiple times across different systems. Maternity is one of the priority care pathways for the roll out of the SPR, with early implementation starting in 2027.

The SPR will help to address the lack of miscarriage data by better enabling the National Health Service and supporting organisations to record miscarriages wherever they may be reported across different care settings. We will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

It is not currently mandatory for trusts to record second trimester miscarriage through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). The requirements for the next iteration of the MSDS include more detailed data collection around pregnancy outcomes, including on miscarriage.

Timescales for this next iteration will be confirmed in due course. We will also consider what changes may be required to the Digital Maternity Record Standard as part of wider maternity data architecture design work, which will also support the MSDS and the SPR.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether an update to the Digital Maternity Record Standard is planned to limit birth outcome to coded values and ensure that a value is included for second trimester miscarriage.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The Single Patient Record (SPR) aims to provide a more joined-up view of a patient’s health and care history, reducing the need for the same information to be recorded multiple times across different systems. Maternity is one of the priority care pathways for the roll out of the SPR, with early implementation starting in 2027.

The SPR will help to address the lack of miscarriage data by better enabling the National Health Service and supporting organisations to record miscarriages wherever they may be reported across different care settings. We will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

It is not currently mandatory for trusts to record second trimester miscarriage through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). The requirements for the next iteration of the MSDS include more detailed data collection around pregnancy outcomes, including on miscarriage.

Timescales for this next iteration will be confirmed in due course. We will also consider what changes may be required to the Digital Maternity Record Standard as part of wider maternity data architecture design work, which will also support the MSDS and the SPR.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve the recording of miscarriage experienced by women engaged with NHS services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The Single Patient Record (SPR) aims to provide a more joined-up view of a patient’s health and care history, reducing the need for the same information to be recorded multiple times across different systems. Maternity is one of the priority care pathways for the roll out of the SPR, with early implementation starting in 2027.

The SPR will help to address the lack of miscarriage data by better enabling the National Health Service and supporting organisations to record miscarriages wherever they may be reported across different care settings. We will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

It is not currently mandatory for trusts to record second trimester miscarriage through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). The requirements for the next iteration of the MSDS include more detailed data collection around pregnancy outcomes, including on miscarriage.

Timescales for this next iteration will be confirmed in due course. We will also consider what changes may be required to the Digital Maternity Record Standard as part of wider maternity data architecture design work, which will also support the MSDS and the SPR.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans NHS England has to improve the collection of second trimester miscarriage data through the Maternity Services Dataset.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It has historically been difficult to gather accurate and comprehensive data on miscarriages. While data is collected on those miscarriages that occur during hospital stays, the majority occur outside of healthcare settings, and it is the choice of the woman affected whether she discloses that information to healthcare professionals.

The Single Patient Record (SPR) aims to provide a more joined-up view of a patient’s health and care history, reducing the need for the same information to be recorded multiple times across different systems. Maternity is one of the priority care pathways for the roll out of the SPR, with early implementation starting in 2027.

The SPR will help to address the lack of miscarriage data by better enabling the National Health Service and supporting organisations to record miscarriages wherever they may be reported across different care settings. We will continue to consider this as implementation progresses.

It is not currently mandatory for trusts to record second trimester miscarriage through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). The requirements for the next iteration of the MSDS include more detailed data collection around pregnancy outcomes, including on miscarriage.

Timescales for this next iteration will be confirmed in due course. We will also consider what changes may be required to the Digital Maternity Record Standard as part of wider maternity data architecture design work, which will also support the MSDS and the SPR.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England have to meet rare disease patient groups to discuss indication-specific pricing for multi-indication medicines as part of its work in the forthcoming Commercial Framework consultation.

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

NHS England has not entered into any commercial agreements involving indication-specific pricing for kidney conditions, or for rare kidney conditions, between June 2021 and July 2026. However, during this period, NHS England has entered into three commercial agreements involving indication-specific pricing for kidney cancer indications, including renal cell carcinoma indications.

NHS England regularly engages with patient groups, including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition, Genetic Alliance UK, and the Neurological Alliance, whose members represent people living with a wide range of rare conditions. More recent engagement has included patient groups representing people with conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, and motor neurone disease, where National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisals have been undertaken or are ongoing.

As part of the upcoming consultation on updates to the NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines, NHS England will seek views from a broad range of patient organisations, including those representing people with rare diseases.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the commercial engagements made by NHS England between June 2021 and July 2026 involving indication-specific pricing were for indications for (1) kidney conditions, and (2) rare kidney conditions.

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

NHS England has not entered into any commercial agreements involving indication-specific pricing for kidney conditions, or for rare kidney conditions, between June 2021 and July 2026. However, during this period, NHS England has entered into three commercial agreements involving indication-specific pricing for kidney cancer indications, including renal cell carcinoma indications.

NHS England regularly engages with patient groups, including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition, Genetic Alliance UK, and the Neurological Alliance, whose members represent people living with a wide range of rare conditions. More recent engagement has included patient groups representing people with conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, and motor neurone disease, where National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisals have been undertaken or are ongoing.

As part of the upcoming consultation on updates to the NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines, NHS England will seek views from a broad range of patient organisations, including those representing people with rare diseases.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to commission an independent, external audit of the deliverables and data security under the Federated Data Platform contract with Palantir.

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

NHS England continually assesses performance against the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) contract, and performance of the programme as a whole. NHS England regularly publishes data on uptake and benefits each quarter, in the interest of full transparency and to help the public understand the difference it is making to patients’ lives. The NHS FDP is delivering for the National Health Service, helping people get the care they need quicker and more efficiently.

NHS England has commissioned an academic partner, Imperial College London, to conduct an independent evaluation of the impact, processes, and value for money of the NHS FDP. This evaluation is currently in progress.

In addition, the National Audit Office has also begun a study examining how the Department and the NHS in England are working to integrate patient data, and whether they are on track to secure the expected improvements from their investments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of the MedTech funding mandate since its launch.

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

In 2024, NHS England reviewed the MedTech Funding Mandate (MTFM) with key stakeholders. The review found that the MTFM had helped to move the dial on the adoption of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended technologies, improving patient access and testing new approaches to embedding proven innovation across the National Health Service. It also generated valuable learning to strengthen future policy, particularly around consistent implementation, local funding and commissioning, workforce and pathway readiness, stakeholder understanding, and adoption data.

A further review of the policy is underway as part of the broader development of the national health technology delivery plan, to determine how it can continue to best support wider efforts to increase the uptake and spread of promising and proven health technologies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to measure, monitor, and publish national statistics on the life expectancy gap for people with a learning disability following the conclusion of the national LeDeR annual report; and through what formal mechanism future evidence-based national recommendations will be made to address avoidable early mortality.

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

Following the conclusion of the national Learning from Lives and Deaths – People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People (LeDeR) annual report, data will be incorporated into a new patient-level dataset. This will bring together data on the health outcomes of people with a learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome and autistic people in England. Using the General Practice Extraction Service, it will aim to address limitations of current data sources and link with wider datasets such as hospital episodes and mental health activity. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of disparities and inform targeted local and national solutions. We are committed to publication of this dataset and will share next steps in due course.

There are clear expectations of local systems to improve outcomes for people with a learning disability and governance through existing frameworks, including to ensure they consider and act on LeDeR findings. Each integrated care board (ICB) has a duty to reduce health inequalities, including addressing avoidable and premature mortality. Each ICB is also expected to have an executive lead for learning disability and autism, who supports the board in addressing health inequalities, as well as an executive lead on LeDeR, who oversees prioritisation of LeDeR reviews and produces local annual reports. Existing expectations on local health and care systems to review deaths, act on LeDeR findings and address health inequalities remain the same.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of co-producing recommendations derived from national patient-level health outcomes datasets for people with a learning disability with experts by experience, in line with the Kingston University Intellectual Disability research group model.

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

The Government recognises the value of bringing together people with lived experience, clinicians, and other experts when developing initiatives to improve health and care services, including for people with a learning disability.

NHS England employs people with lived experience of learning disability within the national Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Conditions programme. It has also published resources to support co-production in health, including a Co-production resource toolkit, which is an approach supported by NHS England regional teams.

Over the past year, NHS England has worked with people with lived experience, charities, clinicians, and integrated care boards to evaluate and improve the Learning from Lives and Deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) review process, including the future of LeDeR beyond the publication of the 2024 report.

Co-production is also central to a number of nationally supported initiatives. For example, mandatory training on learning disability and autism, introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022, is required under the Code of Practice to be co-produced and co-delivered with people with lived experience. NHS England has also been working with people with lived experience, clinical professionals, and commissioners to produce guidance to improve the identification of people with a learning disability on general practice learning disability registers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb col 2), how many Fracture Liaison Services are there between the 23 reconfigured Integrated Care Boards which have these services; how many of those services were operating before July 2024; and how many have opened since then.

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

Analysis of 2025 data shows that the number of Fracture Liaison Services in England has increased since 2024, from 80 to 83.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support’s report Fairer care funding, published in July 2011.

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

No specific assessment has been recently made of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support's 2011 report, Fairer Care Funding.

Found: Department of Education, Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice) should be established

Found: Is there sufficient alignment between the strategies and reviews of the Department of Health and social care

Found: mental health and wellbeing support for young people. 24 Hubs received additional funding from the DHSC

Found: strategy and cross- departmental working between the Department of Health and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Is there sufficient alignment between the strategies and reviews of the Department of Health and social care

Found: Is there sufficient alignment between the strategies and reviews of the Department of Health and social care

Found:  The Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education must now look at how long-term

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2026 to Question 8052 on Permanent Secretary: Pay, for what reason is the DHSC Permanent Secretary salary of £310,000 to £314,999 set above the SSRB pay range of £155,000 to £220,000.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The salary of the DHSC Permanent Secretary was approved in line with the senior pay control process.

Found: and young people. 18 • In March 2026, the Department of Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Memorandum from the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice - 28 August 2026 (large

Found: Memorandum from the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice - 28 August 2026

Found: Impact Assessment from the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice - 28 August 2026

Found: Memorandum from the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice - 27 August 2026

Found: Memorandum from the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice - 27 August 2026 (large

Found: Development) - Level 2The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate has been developed by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: for Energy Security and Net Zero Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department of Health and Social Care

Found: <1 month Good Yes FY25-26 Q2 Jul-Aug-Sep DHSC DHSC - National Institute for Health Research CONTRACT

Found: DHSC GO - Single eCommercial System for DHSC, Health Family and the NHS Atamis Ltd Response times for

Found: . >=100 Good Yes FY25-26 Q4 Jan-Feb-Mar DHSC DHSC Information Management Services for IMS4 Entserv UK

Found: DHSC DHSC Facilities Management (FM2) (FY2018-25) EMCOR Group UK (plc) Security Services - Provide a

Found: Note, revised definition of contractual KPI (at DHSC request) from Q2 FY24-25 Q1 Apr-May-Jun DHSC DHSC

Found: Good Yes FY24-25 Q4 Jan-Feb-Mar DHSC DHSC GO - Single eCommercial System for DHSC, Health Family and

Found: requirements of reconciliation and accruals) Good Yes FY24-25 Q2 Jul-Aug-Sep DHSC DHSC CONTRACT FOR

Found: All three months green Approaching Target Yes FY24-25 Q3 Oct-Nov-Dec DHSC DHSC Information Management

Found: DHSC DHSC: WIST: D365 Support, Maint & Application Development Contract HITACHI SOLUTIONS EUROPE LTD

Found: FY23-24 Q4 Jan-Feb-Mar DHSC DHSC DHSC: WIST - Information Management Services for IMS4 (FY21-27) ENTSERV

Found: Good Yes FY23-24 Q2 Jul-Aug-Sep DHSC DHSC C97988 DHSC: SRE: NIHR Digital Strategy / IS Function Services

Found: Pass Good FY23-24 Q1 Apr-May-Jun DHSC DHSC DHSC Facilities Management EMCOR Group UK (plc) Maintenance

Found: >80% Good FY22-23 Q1 Apr-May-Jun DHSC DHSC DHSC: OHID - PHE Corporate Communications Contact Centre

Found: Good FY22-23 Q4 Jan-Feb-Mar DHSC DHSC CONTRACT FOR THE PROVISION OF NIHR OFFICE FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH

Found: LLP Publication of new Notices 98% Good FY22-23 Q3 Oct-Nov-Dec DHSC DHSC DHSC International Freight

Found: 100% Good FY22-23 Q2 Jul-Aug-Sep DHSC DHSC DHSC International Freight and Logistics Solutions - D (Warehousing

Found: FY22-23 Q2 Jul-Aug-Sep DHSC UKHSA Wincanton Holdings Ltd WINCANTON HOLDINGS LIMITED On time delivery

Found: process within 2 working days 100% Good FY21-22 Q4 Jan-Feb-Mar DHSC DHSC Health Start Reimbursement

Found: Good FY21-22 Q3 Oct-Nov-Dec DHSC DHSC Health Family e-commercial System Atamis 95% of support tickets

Found: Good FY21-22 Q1 Apr-May-Jun DHSC DHSC Health Family e-commercial System Atamis 95% of support tickets

Found: FY21-22 Q2 Jul-Aug-Sep DHSC DHSC Health Family e-commercial System Atamis 95% of PL4 issues resolved

Found: Good FY20-21 Q4 Jan-Feb-Mar DHSC DHSC Health Familt e-commercial System Atamis 95% of support tickets

Found: Equipment) >=99.90% Good % of Network and Control Room/Terminal Cases resolved within SLA >=94% Good DHSC

Found: DHSC Facilities Management EMCOR Group UK (plc) Jul-Aug-Sep CAFM/Helpdesk Services - Provide a fully

Found: Equipment) >=99.90% Good % of Network and Control Room/Terminal Cases resolved within SLA >=94% Good DHSC

Found: GP Foundation Clinical Systems >=99.9% Good FY20-21 Q3 Oct-Nov-Dec DHSC NA GP IT Futures (GPITF) EMIS

Found: Equipment) >=99.90% Good % of Network and Control Room/Terminal Cases resolved within SLA >=94% Good DHSC

Found: DHSC GAM update Marcin Sanocki 10:20 FRAB 158 (03) 4.

Found: collaborating with Defra to deliver policies that strengthen both climate a nd nature, and working with DHSC

Found: and Sport Department for Transport Department for Work and Pensions Department of Health and Social Care

Found: youth secure accommodation, the Department for Education, the Welsh Government, the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Whitty KCB - Chief Medical Officer (England) Samantha Jones OBE  – Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Whitty KCB - Chief Medical Officer (England) Samantha Jones OBE  – Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Ombudsman Chair, Pensions Regulator Chair, Social Security Advisory Committee Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Anti-social Behaviour DCMS Department for Culture, Media, and Sport DfE Department for Education DHSC

Found: missing deadlines contributing to delays in the annual report and accounts of the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: We have made sure that the lead government departments, co-ordinated by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The school fruit and vegetable scheme The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds the School

Found: We have made sure that the lead government departments, co-ordinated by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Diwylliant, y Cyfryngau a Chwaraeon (DCMS), yr Adran Addysg (DfE), yr Adran Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol (DHSC

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Veterinary Medicine Madingley Road CAMBRIDGE CB3 0ES Wider Public Sector 10007881 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: and Sport Department for Transport Department for Work and Pensions Department of Health and Social Care

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

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

Found: replacement or alternative ventilators should escalate through local procurement arrangements and the DHSC

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

Found: Care Professions Council (HCPC), the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) British Transplantation Society Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Final approved education and training (E&T) tariff prices will be published by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: reflecting feedback from local systems, NHS trusts, NHS England regional teams and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The ‘National plan to phase down use of dental amalgam in England’ (Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: In contrast, UK-specific data derived from NHSBT-linked analysis (Riley et al., 2026, DHSC/NHSBT) indicates

Found: British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) British Transplantation Society Department of Health and Social Care

Found: recurrent attacks of hereditary angioedema in people 12 years and over [ID6457] The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: venetoclax with or without obinutuzumab for untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Acalabrutinib with bendamustine and rituximab for untreated mantle cell lymphoma The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Society • 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: The Department of Health and Social Care independent report: Honouring the gift of organ donation (2023

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

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care independent report: Honouring the gift of organ donation (2023

Found: British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL) British Transplantation Society Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK CLL forum • 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: UK Clinical Pharmacy Association • UK Forum on Haemoglobin Disorders 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: Commentators (no right to submit or appeal) • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

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

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

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

Found: allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma caused by house dust mites (review of TA834) The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: We spoke to DHSC this morning.

Found: [REDACTED - Section 38(1)(b)] had met with DHSC and JCCP who have contributed to the consultation in

Found: Please provide copies of all information held by Welsh Government contained within correspondence with DHSC

Found: other strategies are outlined inAlcohol consumption: advice on low-risk drinking (Department of Health and Social Care