Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot sent on 14 May 2026 under case ref MW15899.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

We received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 14 May 2026 and have replied as of 30 June 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 10227 on Migraines: Drugs, which specific NICE guidance addresses the prescribing interface between preventive migraine treatment and psychiatric comorbidity, including the identification and recording of psychiatric history, psychotropic medication use and previous psychiatric adverse drug reactions, for patients with both conditions.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline CG150, Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management, provides recommendations on the assessment and treatment of migraine, including preventive treatments, and highlights important safety considerations for certain medicines.

The guideline advises clinicians to take account of relevant safety information, contraindications, and patient-specific risk factors when selecting treatment. Before starting preventive treatments, including propranolol or amitriptyline, healthcare providers must evaluate the patient’s comorbidities, psychiatric history, and risk for adverse drug reactions and discuss the benefits and risks with the patient, specifically taking into account these factors.

When prescribing propranolol, the guideline advises that clinicians use caution in patients with a history of depression to minimise the risk of self-harm, drug toxicity, or rapid deterioration in overdose. Also, when considering amitriptyline as a preventive treatment, clinicians are directed to follow NICE guidance, Medicines Associated with Dependence or Withdrawal Symptoms, reference code NG215, regarding safe prescribing, managing adverse reactions, and safe withdrawal.

Guideline CG150 makes it clear that clinicians should take the guidance fully into account alongside the individual needs, preferences, medical history, and the circumstances of each patient when exercising their clinical judgement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanism exists for psychiatric adverse drug reaction signals, including Yellow Card reports and Prevention of Future Deaths reports, to be considered in national migraine prescribing guidance, pathway design and medicines safety assurance.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The safety of medicines is closely monitored through the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) pharmacovigilance system. Reports submitted through the Yellow Card Scheme are used by the MHRA to identify and investigate potential adverse drug reaction signals, including psychiatric adverse effects. Where a safety concern is identified, the MHRA can take regulatory action and communicate new safety information to healthcare professionals and patients.

National clinical guidance and care pathways are informed by the best available evidence, including emerging medicines safety information. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence keeps its guidance under review and considers new evidence and safety information when determining whether recommendations should be updated. Medicines safety concerns may also be considered through National Health Service medicines governance and patient safety processes.

Coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports provide an important source of patient safety learning. NHS England has established processes to review, analyse, and identify themes arising from PFD reports and to escalate issues where further action is required. Learning from PFD reports can, therefore, inform wider patient safety improvement work, including service design and clinical practice where relevant.

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 levels of air pollution between the most and least deprived communities.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom. Areas of high deprivation frequently have higher levels of traffic or industrial activities. People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to have pre-existing health conditions earlier in life, and the higher exposure to air pollution may add to the greater burden of poor health.

A 2021 study by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), previously Public Health England, found that schools with higher annual mean particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations are more likely to have a higher deprived pupil intake than low PM2.5 schools. They are more likely to be in neighbourhoods with high levels of child income deprivation, compounding existing socioeconomic disadvantages, and potentially exacerbating health and educational inequalities.

The UKHSA has developed an indicator to represent population level vulnerability to air pollution in England. It is currently available to local authorities to aid decisions on local air quality and public health policy. However, more research is needed to better understand how socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and ethnic minority communities experience the health harms of air pollution.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of General Practitioners leaving the NHS before retirement age in each year since 2015, by numbers leaving more than 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years before retirement age.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Retirement age is not a fixed date and can vary depending on pension arrangements, the state pension age, and individual choices. Data held by the Department cannot therefore show how many years a general practitioner (GP) has left until retirement.

NHS England does publish data on the age of GPs employed by practices leaving the workforce. The attached table presents this data by five-year age bands.

A GP counted as a “leaver” may have left active service for a range of reasons, including retirement, moving to a National Health Service organisation outside of GPs or to another non-NHS healthcare employer, taking a career break, going on maternity leave, or leaving the workforce temporarily.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether measures and mechanisms are in place for the new Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner to assess whether the views and concerns of women, families and frontline staff are being reflected in trust-level maternity and neonatal decision-making and service provision.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government has announced that we will appoint the first ever Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner. This was one of Baroness Amos’ urgent actions from her national maternity and neonatal investigation final report. We accept that this is a crucial first step for us in overseeing systemic improvement to care and outcomes and earning back the trust of women and families.

The independent commissioner will have a crucial role in holding the system to account to deliver improvements in maternity and neonatal care, ensuring women’s voices are at the heart of everything we do. The scope and responsibilities of this role will be discussed urgently with the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what powers and responsibilities the new Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner will have to improve accountability and organisational culture within NHS trusts.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government has announced that we will appoint the first ever Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner. This was one of Baroness Amos’ urgent actions from her national maternity and neonatal investigation final report. We accept that this is a crucial first step for us in overseeing systemic improvement to care and outcomes and earning back the trust of women and families.

The independent commissioner will have a crucial role in holding the system to account to deliver improvements in maternity and neonatal care, ensuring women’s voices are at the heart of everything we do. The scope and responsibilities of this role will be discussed urgently with the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 14 November 2025 to UIN 87821, which 11 companies have olanzapine products which do not list lactose as an ingredient.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The search that was carried out in November 2025 for UIN 87821 listed 11 companies. Accord UK Limited has since cancelled, as of 31 December 2025, its lactose free olanzapine licences, leaving 10 companies from the original list: Generics (UK) Limited; Nordic Pharma Limited; Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (UK) Limited; Milpharm Limited; Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Europe BV; Torrent Pharma (UK) Limited: Eramol (UK) Limited; Krka, Tovarna Zdravil, D.D., Novo Mesto; Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Europe Limited; and Neon Healthcare Limited.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 2026/27 GP contract on continuity of care; and whether he has made an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of reduced continuity, as a result of mandating urgent appointments, in terms of increased hospital admissions and overall NHS expenditure.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Where a patient presents with a clinically urgent need, it is for the general practitioner to determine the appropriate course of action, and the patient should receive a clinically appropriate response on the same day. Where a request is ‘dealt with’, this does not always mean a same‑day appointment, but that the patient has received an appropriate clinical response. This could include advice, an appointment, including one that delivers continuity of care, or signposting to another suitable service, depending on the patient’s needs.

The Government recognises that continuity of care plays an important role in patient experience and outcomes, particularly for those with ongoing health challenges. As part of the 2026/27 contract, we have made it a core requirement for primary care networks to identify and prioritise cohorts for continuity of care using risk stratification tools as part of their core activities. This will make continuity a core expectation within primary care and support future work to embed more meaningful continuity models in subsequent contract reform.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library a copy of Baroness Casey of Blackstock’s declaration of political activity.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Under the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, no declaration of political activity is required for Direct Ministerial Appointments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 24 June 2026 on Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services, Official Report, column 346, whether the extension of Martha’s Rule to maternity services will be funded (a) from the existing funding allocated for Critical Care Outreach Teams and (b) whether additional funding will be provided to NHS trusts to support its implementation in maternity services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

In June, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced the implementation of Martha’s Rule in all antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal inpatient maternity and neonatal settings in England, building on 15 successful pilot sites.

This is to ensure that every parent can request a rapid review from an independent medical team if a baby or mother’s condition is deteriorating and they are concerned this is not being responded to.

NHS England is supporting the implementation of Matha’s rule, including in maternity services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to tackle regional disparities in access to specialist mental health support for parents following baby loss.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

We are committed to ensuring that all parents experiencing the devastating loss of a baby receive timely, equitable, and compassionate support, regardless of where they live.

Every National Health Service trust in England has signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP), supporting the delivery of consistent, individualised, and sensitive bereavement care. NHS England is working with Sands to support faster and more consistent implementation, and the NBCP has been included in its Medium Term Planning Framework for 2026/27 to 2028/29.

To reduce regional variation, NHS England has funded all integrated care boards to establish seven-day bereavement services across maternity settings. Currently, 38 of 42 integrated care boards and 115 of 120 trusts offer this service.

Maternal mental health services are now available in all areas of England, providing specialist psychological support for women experiencing moderate-to-severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from baby loss. More parents than ever, including fathers and partners, accessed maternal mental health or specialist community perinatal mental health services in the year to April 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 24 June 2026 on Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services, Official Report, column 346, whether second opinions requested under Martha’s Rule in maternity services will be provided by (a) Critical Care Outreach Teams or (b) obstetric specialists; and what steps he will take to ensure that second opinions are provided in a timely manner.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

In June, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced the implementation of Martha’s Rule in all antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal inpatient maternity and neonatal settings in England, building on 15 successful pilot sites.

This is to ensure that every parent can request a rapid review from an independent medical team if a baby or mother’s condition is deteriorating and they are concerned this is not being responded to.

NHS England is supporting the implementation of Matha’s rule, including in maternity services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to age-appropriate inpatient mental health care for children and young people.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government is committed to ensuring that inpatient mental health care for children and young people is safe, high‑quality, recovery‑focused, and delivered in the least restrictive, age‑appropriate settings, supported by reforms to improve standards and consistency of care.

We are taking action to improve access and quality of inpatient and specialist mental health provision. This includes investment to improve inpatient environments and capacity, helping to reduce the need for children and young people to be treated far from home, and implementing reforms to the Mental Health Act to ensure families have greater choice, autonomy, and rights in inpatient settings. Alongside this, we are introducing national frameworks and standards to define high‑quality, evidence‑based care, improving transparency and strengthening oversight of services.

NHS England is also working very closely with all the children and young people mental health providers of inpatient services to ensure that services are based on needs and complexity, not just the young person’s diagnosis or what is routinely provided. This approach to care delivery is in line with guidance published on transitions in April 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/supporting-young-people-to-transition-into-adolescent-and-adult-services/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of appointing a Maternity Commissioner.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

On Tuesday 30 June, the final report and recommendations of the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation were published. Baroness Amos’s national independent investigation was commissioned to help us understand the issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care.

The Government is taking immediate measures in response to Baroness Amos's investigation and will appoint the first statutory Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner.

The Commissioner will co-chair the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce to drive the necessary change and to champion the voices of women, babies and families. The full scope and nature of the role will be developed by the taskforce.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals use Cancer360 for managing patient pathways.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Five National Health Service hospital trusts are currently using the Cancer 360 product to manage patients with cancer or suspected cancer, as of the end of March 2026. This does not include wider cancer products that are being piloted across all Greater Manchester providers. NHS England regularly publishes updated uptake and benefit statistics for the NHS Federated Data Platform at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/nhs-federated-data-platform/impact/fdp-uptake-and-benefits/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any of his Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies (a) affiliate or (b) subscribe to Stonewall and its services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The only arm’s length body with a subscription to Stonewall is NHS Blood and Transplant.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to improve emergency maternity care in Slough.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is the provider of maternity services to the residents of Slough, through community midwifery, Frimley Park Hospital services, and Wexham Park Hospital services.

Since March 2026, a Day Assessment Unit has been in place to provide surveillance for high-risk pregnancies within a midwifery-led setting. This operates as a seven-day service and supports the availability of maternity triage services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for those presenting with acute concerns.

Service users at Wexham Park Hospital are able to access all areas of the maternity service via a dedicated telephone triage system, the MAMAS Line, introduced in 2022. Women are triaged using the nationally recognised Birmingham Symptom-Specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS). The trust continues to strengthen its application, including undertaking a BSOTS health check in May 2026 to ensure women are assessed according to clinical urgency and seen by the most appropriate clinician.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Trusts reported to be failing to meet cancer standards have been (a) mandated and (b) encouraged to use Cancer360 by NHS England.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Trusts are not mandated to use the product or individually encouraged based on their performance on cancer care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of Inclusion Body Myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people living with rare diseases, including inclusion body myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders, through the UK Rare Diseases Framework and successive England Rare Diseases Action Plans. Increasing awareness among healthcare professionals is one of the framework’s four priorities.

As set out in the 2026 England Rare Diseases Action Plan, NHS England continues to expand rare disease education through the National Genomics Education Programme, including GeNotes, a clinical resource that now covers more than 150 rare diseases and has been integrated into primary care decision-support tools used by general practitioners. NHS England is also developing resources to support healthcare professionals in having sensitive conversations with patients receiving a rare disease diagnosis, while the Genomics Training Academy provides education and training to the specialist genomics workforce.

These initiatives support earlier recognition, diagnosis, and appropriate management of rare conditions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) names and (b) roles of all senior clinicians who declined to take part in the Ockenden Review of Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Maternity and Neonatal Review led by Donna Ockenden is an independent review. Therefore, the Department does not hold information about those individuals who declined to participate.

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, or Hillsborough Bill, that is currently in Parliament will establish a new duty of candour and assistance at inquiries, inquests, and other investigations. Once the bill achieves Royal Assent, we will extend the duty of candour to the reviews commissioned this year into maternity and neonatal care at Leeds and Sussex.

This will give the reviews’ chairs formal powers to help them find the truth from the organisations and staff involved, including compelling everyone they invite to provide evidence, whether or not they still work in the National Health Service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will instruct NHS England to implement the revisions to the Professional Records Standards Body's Core Information Standard on data items relating to sex and gender.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Professional Records Standards Body's (PRSB) updates to the sex and gender data item representation for clinical use in the Core Information Standard have not yet been updated in the NHS England Standards Directory repository. Although these changes leave the PRSB specification and the NHS England Standards Directory out of step, it is proposed that the work to update the Standards Directory will commence next week.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 24 June 2026 on Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services, Official Report, column 346, if he will make it his policy to set a target response time for NHS trusts to achieve a second opinion requested under Martha’s Rule in maternity settings where an urgent obstetric review is required.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

In June, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced the implementation of Martha’s Rule in all antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal inpatient maternity and neonatal settings in England, building on 15 successful pilot sites.

This is to ensure that every parent can request a rapid review from an independent medical team if a baby or mother’s condition is deteriorating and they are concerned this is not being responded to.

NHS England is supporting the implementation of Matha’s rule, including in maternity services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer to Question 10108 on 24 June 2026, where data on NHS prescriptions issued to not ordinarily resident overseas visitors is held.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

This data is not routinely collected.

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 increased use of online consultation systems on total demand for GP services; and whether additional funding has been provided to practices to meet any increase in workload arising from that demand.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Government is committed to improving access to general practices (GPs) by increasing capacity and making it easier for patients to contact their surgery. The changes made to online consultation systems in October 2024 are supporting greater parity across booking routes, reducing pressure on busy phone lines, and ensuring patients have a consistent and reliable way to request care.

The Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey for May 2026 shows that 76.5% of patients reported it was easy to contact their GP, up from 60.9% in July 2024, an increase of nearly 16%

To support practices, we are investing an additional £601 million in GPs in 2026/27, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to approximately £14 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion increase in 2025/26, the largest uplift in over a decade. Since October 2024 we have recruited 2,000 more GPs. We now have the highest number of GPs by headcount since 2015. The 2026/27 contract also introduces a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme, backed by £292 million, to help practices recruit more GPs or expand sessions

Data collected through General Practice Appointment Data provides insight into the volume of online consultation submissions received by practices. In May 2026, practices received 2.1 million more online consultation submissions than in May 2025, a 36.4% year-on-year increase. However, submissions were 7.2% lower than in April 2026, following a larger month-on-month decrease in April of 14.6%, equivalent to 1.5 million fewer submissions.

As a result, GPs have delivered 12.7 million additional appointments to patients compared with the previous year. This data is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/appointments-in-general-practice/may-2026

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the sharing of best practice between Medical Examiner offices.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Health Service ensures the sharing of best practice between medical examiner offices through a centralised, tiered governance structure overseen by the National Medical Examiner (NME), which includes regular NHS England and NME bulletins, sharing good practice and updates on guidance, training, and reporting. Each region in England has regular forums where medical examiner offices come together and share best practice and learning. This relates to both the efficiency of medical examiner processes but also themes related to patient safety and areas where care can be approved.

Medical examiners and medical examiner officers actively collaborate with neighbouring medical examiner offices, sharing experiences and expertise to support peer learning.

In partnership with the Royal College of Pathologists, the NME also regularly publishes the Good Practice Series, a collection of guidance documents for medical examiners covering operational standards, community sensitivities, and procedures for reviewing non-coronial deaths.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether processes are in place to investigate Medical Examiner offices whose turnaround times consistently exceed the national average.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Medical Examiner (NME) Annual Report for 2025 has assessed the potential impact of medical examiner scrutiny on the completion of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs). The typical time to register deaths is seven to eight days, compared to six to seven days under the previous arrangements which offered significantly less assurance and required next of kin to register deaths more quickly.

The NHS England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership monitor the work of medical examiner offices, including the time taken, though the integrity of scrutiny. Between October and December 2025, 105 medical examiner offices in England, or 84%, reported a median time of five days or fewer to send MCCDs to registrars after a death. More than a third reported a median time of three days or fewer.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) published an interim report on the death certification reforms in October 2025 which noted there had been a general downward trend in the overall median time throughout 2025, and it is now closer to pre-death certification reform levels. A further full ONS report is expected to be produced by the end of 2026.

The NME has oversight of the medical examiner system and regularly reviews performance of individual offices through regional medical examiners who provide support and challenge.

The NME report for 2025 sets out priorities for further improvement and a commitment to identify and reduce or eliminate avoidable delays to death certification without compromising the integrity of independent medical examiner scrutiny.

The NME report has also assessed the potential impact of delays on bereaved families and funeral arrangements, concluding that all those involved in certification and registration must continue to work together to avoid causing unnecessary delay and distress to bereaved families.

The bereaved are at the heart of the death certification reforms. The NME report demonstrates the commitment to provide a better service for the bereaved, reporting that where bereaved people request more rapid registration of deaths, to avoid unnecessary distress for bereaved families, medical examiner offices were able to facilitate 90% of these requests for rapid scrutiny.

Feedback received by medical examiner offices, and presented in the NME report, from the bereaved on the medical examiner process continues to be overwhelmingly positive, noting the compassion shown by medical examiners and officers and the comfort and reassurance they provide.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Whizz Kidz Youth Board's report entitled Mobility Matters: A Youth Perspective on NHS Wheelchair Services, published on 26 June 2026, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of arrangements for commissioning paediatric wheelchair services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population. This includes wheelchairs for adults and children. NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment.

This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/

NHS England’s wheelchair data collection reports on the proportion of adults and children whose episode of care was closed in the reporting period and prescribed equipment was delivered within 18 weeks or less. In Quarter four, 2025/26, the proportion of patients whose episode of care was closed in the reporting period and whose prescribed wheelchair was delivered within 18 weeks or less was: 79.1% for children, up from 79% since Quarter three; and 81.5% for adults, down from 83.1% since Quarter three.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets a requirement for all providers and ICBs to actively manage long waits for community health services, reducing the proportion of all waits over 18 weeks. This will be monitored via the National Health Service’s usual regional and national assurance processes. The Community Health Services Situation Report will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27. These targets will guide systems to reduce the longest waits.

We expect ICBs to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2022 NICE published the guidance Disabled children and young people up to 25 with severe complex needs: integrated service delivery and organisation across health, social care and education, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng213/chapter/Recommendations-on-service-organisation-integration-and-commissioning

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide additional funding to Medical Examiner offices experiencing persistent backlogs.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Funding for the medical examiner system is provided by integrated care boards (ICBs) direct to medical examiner offices and data from the National Medical Examiner report for 2025 indicate that staffing levels are broadly in line with the figures set out in the impact assessments published in 2018, 2022, and 2024, that demonstrated that any new cost to doctors or business from implementing the statutory system would be minimal or zero.

There is no evidence of any systemic underfunding. From 2025, funding for medical examiner offices is no longer ringfenced and ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and the Welsh Government are responsible for ensuring offices are funded appropriately.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing and resources available to Medical Examiner offices.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Funding for the medical examiner system is provided by integrated care boards (ICBs) direct to medical examiner offices and data from the National Medical Examiner report for 2025 indicate that staffing levels are broadly in line with the figures set out in the impact assessments published in 2018, 2022, and 2024, that demonstrated that any new cost to doctors or business from implementing the statutory system would be minimal or zero.

There is no evidence of any systemic underfunding. From 2025, funding for medical examiner offices is no longer ringfenced and ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and the Welsh Government are responsible for ensuring offices are funded appropriately.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data NHS England holds on Community Dental Service activity and referral waiting times for patients with complex neurological conditions, including epilepsy.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Data is not held on Community Dental Service (CDS) activity and referral waiting times for patients with complex neurological conditions, including epilepsy.

We recognise that certain groups of patients may be particularly vulnerable to oral health problems and may find it difficult to access dental care. Specialised dental services are in place to provide dental treatment and are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs).

The January 2025 Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report on Community Dental Services (CDS) highlighted several known challenges in the operation and monitoring of CDS and offered recommendations for improvements. The majority of recommendations in the GIRFT report related to operational considerations for individual ICBs to address, which varies according to local arrangements, priorities, and needs.

NHS England and the Department have taken the recommendations on board and are working to improve the data reporting process to increase oversight of CDS activity, including current waiting lists and performance reporting. An amended waiting list data collection was implemented in August 2025 and will improve oversight of the current waiting lists and waiting times for adults and children.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to conduct a review of the Medical Examiner system introduced in September 2024.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Medical Examiner (NME) is responsible for oversight of the medical examiner system and provides guidance and professional leadership to medical examiners in England and Wales.

The NME publishes an annual report which provides a review of how medical examiners have fulfilled their functions and how service improvements may be made. The latest report, published on the 6 July 2026, reflects on how the statutory system continues to be implemented smoothly, reporting unprecedented reductions in unnecessary referrals to coroners, a 99.7% reduction of uncertified deaths, and ensuring the bereaved remain at the heart of the reforms, with half a million bereaved taking up the opportunity to ask questions, and raise concerns with a medical examiner in 2025.

The University of Birmingham, RAND, and the Cambridge Evaluation Centre are currently conducting an evaluation of the 2024 death certification reforms and the medical examiner system and is scheduled to publish their findings by the end of 2026.

The Department is monitoring the introduction and implementation of the death certification reforms and continues work to drive improvement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of NICE's severity modifier on the availability of Enhertu for patients with secondary breast cancer.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered the impact of its severity modifier as part of its appraisal of Enhertu for HER2-low metastatic breast cancer. However, even with the severity weighting applied, NICE concluded that the treatment was not cost-effective at the price offered by the company and therefore could not recommend it for routine National Health Service use.

The Department recognises the disappointment this decision caused for patients and the breast cancer community, particularly as Enhertu is the only breast cancer treatment that NICE has been unable to recommend for NHS use in the last eight years. In light of NICE’s updated cost-effectiveness threshold, NICE, NHS England, and the manufacturers have resumed discussions to explore whether a commercial agreement can be reached that would make Enhertu available to NHS patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of VAT on free-of-charge medicine donations on NHS access to medicines supplied through early access schemes.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 30 June to the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham in response to Question 8180, and to the written statement made by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 2 July.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the names of the organisations that have (a) had departmental Civil Servants seconded to them since July 2024, and (b) seconded organisational staff to the department.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The organisations that have had departmental civil servants seconded to them since July 2024 are:

• Association of British Health Ind;
• Greater London Authority;
• National Wealth Fund;
• NHS England;
• Royal Borough of Windsor;
• Royal London Hospital;
• Wellcome Trust; and
• Westminster City Council.

The organisations that have seconded staff into the Department since July 2024 are:

• Bangor University;
• Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust;
• Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust;
• Christie NHS Foundation Trust;
• Centre for Mental Health;
• College of Policing;
• Department for Transport;
• Edge Health;
• Foundation for Liver Research;
• Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
• Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust;
• Health Education North East;
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body;
• House of Commons;
• Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust;
• Institute for Public Policy Research;
• Kings College London;
• Laboratory of the Government Chemist;
• Leeds Teaching Hospital;
• Liverpool City Council;
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine;
• Made Tech;
• Mersey and West Lancashire NHS Trust;
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence;
• The Kings Fund;
• NHS Blood and Transplant;
• NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (ICB);
• NHS Business Authority;
• NHS England;
• NHS Leadership Academy;
• NHS Resolution;
• North East Lead Employer Trust;
• North East and North Cumbria;
• North London NHS Foundation Trust;
• North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB;
• Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust;
• Northumbria Health Care NHS Foundation;
• Nottingham City Council;
• Oxford University Hospitals;
• Plymouth City Council;
• Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland;
• Prudence Trust;
• Queen Mary University of London;
• Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust;
• Social Finance;
• South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust;
• St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospital;
• The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;
• UK Health Security Agency;
• UK Research and Innovation;
• University College London;
• University of Birmingham;
• University of Bristol, Centre for Academic Primary Care;
• University of Cambridge;
• University of Liverpool;
• University of Oxford; and
• Wellcome Trust.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of weekend and out-of-hours provision for death certification by GPs, Medical Examiner services and registrar services; and what steps he is taking to ensure timely and consistent access for bereaved families.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The process of death certification and registration is complex, and no single department has policy and operational responsibility.

Alignment is needed, including the availability of the medical practitioner who attended the deceased, the medical examiner who scrutinises the proposed cause of death, and finally the Registrar who registers the death. The availability of general practitioners is not controlled by the Department, it is determined by local National Health Service arrangements, and the General Register Office is responsible for the availability of registrars.

The National Medical Examiner provides guidance to medical examiner offices for weekend and public holiday cover and urgent release of a body in circumstances where a bereaved families may have particular reasons to request urgent release of the deceased’s body for burial. The National Medical Examiner annual report for 2025 demonstrates the improving resilience in the system, with medical examiner offices in England reporting they were able to facilitate requests for rapid scrutiny in approximately 90% of requests. The medical examiner system has reduced inappropriate referrals to the coroner and the rate of postmortems, both of which can add significant additional time until burial.

Responsibility for ensuring that medical examiner services respond to local needs sits with trusts. Arrangements should reflect local health priorities and the needs of communities, particularly if there is regular demand for the urgent release of bodies at weekends and public holidays.

The Department is monitoring the introduction and implementation of the death certification reforms and continues work to drive improvement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce national communication standards for Medical Examiner offices.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Medical Examiners Regulations introduced in September 2024 set out the requirements for medical examiners’ terms and conditions. This includes the requirement for the bereaved to be an offered an opportunity to discuss the death and to raise any concerns with the medical examiner who undertakes independent scrutiny of the proposed cause of death and will not have cared for the deceased.

Evidence from the National Medical Examiner (NME) report for 2025 shows that half a million bereaved families every year are now being given an opportunity to raise concerns and to ask questions about what caused the death of their loved ones, with 97% taking up this opportunity.

Existing NME guidance sets out the requirement that medical examiners, and their officers are expected to treat the bereaved with compassion. Feedback published in the NME report for 2025 indicates the bereaved welcome the care and compassion they receive from the medical examiner offices.

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 Medical Examiner scrutiny on the timeliness of the completion of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death; and what assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional variations in turnaround times.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Medical Examiner (NME) Annual Report for 2025 has assessed the potential impact of medical examiner scrutiny on the completion of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs). The typical time to register deaths is seven to eight days, compared to six to seven days under the previous arrangements which offered significantly less assurance and required next of kin to register deaths more quickly.

The NHS England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership monitor the work of medical examiner offices, including the time taken, though the integrity of scrutiny. Between October and December 2025, 105 medical examiner offices in England, or 84%, reported a median time of five days or fewer to send MCCDs to registrars after a death. More than a third reported a median time of three days or fewer.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) published an interim report on the death certification reforms in October 2025 which noted there had been a general downward trend in the overall median time throughout 2025, and it is now closer to pre-death certification reform levels. A further full ONS report is expected to be produced by the end of 2026.

The NME has oversight of the medical examiner system and regularly reviews performance of individual offices through regional medical examiners who provide support and challenge.

The NME report for 2025 sets out priorities for further improvement and a commitment to identify and reduce or eliminate avoidable delays to death certification without compromising the integrity of independent medical examiner scrutiny.

The NME report has also assessed the potential impact of delays on bereaved families and funeral arrangements, concluding that all those involved in certification and registration must continue to work together to avoid causing unnecessary delay and distress to bereaved families.

The bereaved are at the heart of the death certification reforms. The NME report demonstrates the commitment to provide a better service for the bereaved, reporting that where bereaved people request more rapid registration of deaths, to avoid unnecessary distress for bereaved families, medical examiner offices were able to facilitate 90% of these requests for rapid scrutiny.

Feedback received by medical examiner offices, and presented in the NME report, from the bereaved on the medical examiner process continues to be overwhelmingly positive, noting the compassion shown by medical examiners and officers and the comfort and reassurance they provide.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce delays in areas where Medical Examiner offices have reported the longest turnaround times for scrutiny of medical certificates of cause of death.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Medical Examiner (NME) Annual Report for 2025 has assessed the potential impact of medical examiner scrutiny on the completion of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs). The typical time to register deaths is seven to eight days, compared to six to seven days under the previous arrangements which offered significantly less assurance and required next of kin to register deaths more quickly.

The NHS England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership monitor the work of medical examiner offices, including the time taken, though the integrity of scrutiny. Between October and December 2025, 105 medical examiner offices in England, or 84%, reported a median time of five days or fewer to send MCCDs to registrars after a death. More than a third reported a median time of three days or fewer.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) published an interim report on the death certification reforms in October 2025 which noted there had been a general downward trend in the overall median time throughout 2025, and it is now closer to pre-death certification reform levels. A further full ONS report is expected to be produced by the end of 2026.

The NME has oversight of the medical examiner system and regularly reviews performance of individual offices through regional medical examiners who provide support and challenge.

The NME report for 2025 sets out priorities for further improvement and a commitment to identify and reduce or eliminate avoidable delays to death certification without compromising the integrity of independent medical examiner scrutiny.

The NME report has also assessed the potential impact of delays on bereaved families and funeral arrangements, concluding that all those involved in certification and registration must continue to work together to avoid causing unnecessary delay and distress to bereaved families.

The bereaved are at the heart of the death certification reforms. The NME report demonstrates the commitment to provide a better service for the bereaved, reporting that where bereaved people request more rapid registration of deaths, to avoid unnecessary distress for bereaved families, medical examiner offices were able to facilitate 90% of these requests for rapid scrutiny.

Feedback received by medical examiner offices, and presented in the NME report, from the bereaved on the medical examiner process continues to be overwhelmingly positive, noting the compassion shown by medical examiners and officers and the comfort and reassurance they provide.

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 delays in the medical examiner process on bereaved families and funeral arrangements.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Medical Examiner (NME) Annual Report for 2025 has assessed the potential impact of medical examiner scrutiny on the completion of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs). The typical time to register deaths is seven to eight days, compared to six to seven days under the previous arrangements which offered significantly less assurance and required next of kin to register deaths more quickly.

The NHS England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership monitor the work of medical examiner offices, including the time taken, though the integrity of scrutiny. Between October and December 2025, 105 medical examiner offices in England, or 84%, reported a median time of five days or fewer to send MCCDs to registrars after a death. More than a third reported a median time of three days or fewer.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) published an interim report on the death certification reforms in October 2025 which noted there had been a general downward trend in the overall median time throughout 2025, and it is now closer to pre-death certification reform levels. A further full ONS report is expected to be produced by the end of 2026.

The NME has oversight of the medical examiner system and regularly reviews performance of individual offices through regional medical examiners who provide support and challenge.

The NME report for 2025 sets out priorities for further improvement and a commitment to identify and reduce or eliminate avoidable delays to death certification without compromising the integrity of independent medical examiner scrutiny.

The NME report has also assessed the potential impact of delays on bereaved families and funeral arrangements, concluding that all those involved in certification and registration must continue to work together to avoid causing unnecessary delay and distress to bereaved families.

The bereaved are at the heart of the death certification reforms. The NME report demonstrates the commitment to provide a better service for the bereaved, reporting that where bereaved people request more rapid registration of deaths, to avoid unnecessary distress for bereaved families, medical examiner offices were able to facilitate 90% of these requests for rapid scrutiny.

Feedback received by medical examiner offices, and presented in the NME report, from the bereaved on the medical examiner process continues to be overwhelmingly positive, noting the compassion shown by medical examiners and officers and the comfort and reassurance they provide.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Medical Examiners and Medical Examiner Officers have been recruited since the implementation of the death certification reforms in September 2024.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The workforce at medical examiner offices in 2025 is broadly in line with modelled expectations. In Wales, the medical examiner system workforce comprised of 12.8 whole time equivalent (WTE) medical examiners and 39.1 WTE medical examiner officers. In England, there were 180.6 WTE medical examiners and 510.2 WTE medical examiner officers.

Overall, activity in all regions in England and Wales is within expected parameters. The workforce appears sufficient from a national and regional perspective. The Royal College of Pathologists trained an additional 197 medical examiners in 2025, resulting in a cumulative total of 2,663, and an additional 113 staff attended medical examiner officer training, resulting in a cumulative total of 909.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish Baroness Casey's status as a Direct Ministerial Appointment, including her remuneration, on the Direct Ministerial Appointments portal on gov.uk.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

We do not intend to update Baroness Casey's status and her remuneration on the GOV.UK website portal.

Baroness Casey’s appointment and the Terms of Reference were published in line with the guidance in force at the time. There is no requirement in the updated guidance to publish appointments made prior to its introduction.

As the commission into adult social care is independent, it is responsible for reporting on its financial expenditure and will be doing so in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the EQ-5D-5L quality of life value set will be adopted in NICE technology appraisals.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is planning to adopt the EQ-5D-5L value set and has recently consulted on proposed changes to its guidance development manuals. NICE is now considering the responses to the consultation and expects to implement changes to its methods in the coming months.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) modelling and (b) risk assessment was undertaken prior to the implementation of the 1 April 2026 GP contract changes to evaluate their impact on (a) patient safety, (b) primary care capacity and (c) workload transferred to general practice through referral management and mandatory Advice and Guidance requirements.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Department and NHS England considered the potential impacts of expanding Advice and Guidance (A&G) as part of the policy development process, including through clinical input, established governance arrangements, and equalities considerations. A&G is intended to support timely clinical decision‑making and ensure patients are directed to the most appropriate care. National guidance is in place to support its safe and consistent use, and the use of A&G does not change existing clinical accountability or patient safety arrangements.

The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. General practitioners (GPs) should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement.

The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the previous A&G enhanced service funding into core practice funding. Following near universal uptake of the A&G Enhanced Service in 2025/26, the focus for 2026/27 is on stability and simplicity. Embedding the specialist advice model within the core contract recognises its role in routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish any internal documents, including meeting notes and summaries, relating to engagement with faith groups during the development of the death certification and registration reforms introduced in September 2024.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department has worked extensively with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders on the death certification reforms.

The Department’s formal consultation in March 2016 sought direct views from National Health Service clinicians, medical examiners, coroners, registrars, regulatory bodies, funeral industry, cremation and burial authorities, faith groups, and the public, regarding the feasibility of proposals for changes to the death certification process in England and Wales. The June 2018 consultation response demonstrated that there was widespread support for the aims of the reforms and for the introduction of medical examiners.

The Department and NHS England have continued to work closely with these groups to support the introduction of the medical examiner system, and post-implementation monitoring following the introduction of the reforms on 9 September 2024.

The Department also conducted impact assessments, published in 2018, 2022, and 2024, that demonstrated that any new cost to doctors or business from implementing the statutory system would be minimal or zero.

The National Medical Examiner publishes an annual report setting out how medical examiners have exercised their functions. These reports reflect on how the statutory system continues to be implemented smoothly, reporting unprecedented reductions in unnecessary referrals to coroners, a 99.7% reduction of uncertified deaths, and ensuring the bereaved remain at the heart of the reforms, with half a million bereaved taking up the opportunity to ask questions, and raise concerns with a medical examiner in 2025.

The Department is monitoring the introduction of the reforms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made in considering options for redress for patients affected by valproate and pelvic mesh, and when he expects to set out next steps in response to the Hughes Report.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC), Professor Henrietta Hughes, including her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government has been clear that there must be meaningful progress on this matter during this Parliament. We recognise how difficult this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed on this important work.

As you may be aware, the Department has been in contact with the PSC with regard to the ongoing health initiatives regarding sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Details of the Government’s work to date are set out in recent letters to Professor Hughes, which are published on the PSC website, at the following link:

www.patientsafetycommissioner.org.uk

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS clinicians, medical examiners, coroners or registrars raised concerns about the operational impact, workload implications or feasibility of the death certification and registration reforms, during their development and since their implementation in September 2024; and if he will publish a summary of those concerns.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department has worked extensively with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders on the death certification reforms.

The Department’s formal consultation in March 2016 sought direct views from National Health Service clinicians, medical examiners, coroners, registrars, regulatory bodies, funeral industry, cremation and burial authorities, faith groups, and the public, regarding the feasibility of proposals for changes to the death certification process in England and Wales. The June 2018 consultation response demonstrated that there was widespread support for the aims of the reforms and for the introduction of medical examiners.

The Department and NHS England have continued to work closely with these groups to support the introduction of the medical examiner system, and post-implementation monitoring following the introduction of the reforms on 9 September 2024.

The Department also conducted impact assessments, published in 2018, 2022, and 2024, that demonstrated that any new cost to doctors or business from implementing the statutory system would be minimal or zero.

The National Medical Examiner publishes an annual report setting out how medical examiners have exercised their functions. These reports reflect on how the statutory system continues to be implemented smoothly, reporting unprecedented reductions in unnecessary referrals to coroners, a 99.7% reduction of uncertified deaths, and ensuring the bereaved remain at the heart of the reforms, with half a million bereaved taking up the opportunity to ask questions, and raise concerns with a medical examiner in 2025.

The Department is monitoring the introduction of the reforms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department had with faith groups on the development of the death certification and registration reforms introduced in September 2024.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department has worked extensively with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders on the death certification reforms.

The Department’s formal consultation in March 2016 sought direct views from National Health Service clinicians, medical examiners, coroners, registrars, regulatory bodies, funeral industry, cremation and burial authorities, faith groups, and the public, regarding the feasibility of proposals for changes to the death certification process in England and Wales. The June 2018 consultation response demonstrated that there was widespread support for the aims of the reforms and for the introduction of medical examiners.

The Department and NHS England have continued to work closely with these groups to support the introduction of the medical examiner system, and post-implementation monitoring following the introduction of the reforms on 9 September 2024.

The Department also conducted impact assessments, published in 2018, 2022, and 2024, that demonstrated that any new cost to doctors or business from implementing the statutory system would be minimal or zero.

The National Medical Examiner publishes an annual report setting out how medical examiners have exercised their functions. These reports reflect on how the statutory system continues to be implemented smoothly, reporting unprecedented reductions in unnecessary referrals to coroners, a 99.7% reduction of uncertified deaths, and ensuring the bereaved remain at the heart of the reforms, with half a million bereaved taking up the opportunity to ask questions, and raise concerns with a medical examiner in 2025.

The Department is monitoring the introduction of the reforms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether they will commit to publishing a clear timetable for the establishment of a compensation scheme for those harmed by pelvic surgical mesh, in line with the recommendations of the Hughes Report.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC), Professor Henrietta Hughes, including her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government has been clear that there must be meaningful progress on this matter during this Parliament. We recognise how difficult this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed on this important work.

Departmental officials are working in coordination with colleagues across the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, and the devolved administrations to establish the full scope of those affected by pelvic mesh, to assess the financial impact on individuals, and to develop our response to the PSC's report.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications resulting from mesh operations get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.

However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether interim financial or medical support is available to patients experiencing ongoing complications from pelvic mesh while a compensation scheme is under consideration.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC), Professor Henrietta Hughes, including her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government has been clear that there must be meaningful progress on this matter during this Parliament. We recognise how difficult this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed on this important work.

Departmental officials are working in coordination with colleagues across the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, and the devolved administrations to establish the full scope of those affected by pelvic mesh, to assess the financial impact on individuals, and to develop our response to the PSC's report.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications resulting from mesh operations get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.

However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Department has made towards establishing a redress scheme for patients harmed by pelvic mesh implants since the publication of the Hughes Report.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC), Professor Henrietta Hughes, including her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government has been clear that there must be meaningful progress on this matter during this Parliament. We recognise how difficult this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed on this important work.

Departmental officials are working in coordination with colleagues across the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, and the devolved administrations to establish the full scope of those affected by pelvic mesh, to assess the financial impact on individuals, and to develop our response to the PSC's report.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications resulting from mesh operations get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.

However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether they have assessed the financial impact on individuals unable to work due to complications arising from pelvic mesh implants.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC), Professor Henrietta Hughes, including her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government has been clear that there must be meaningful progress on this matter during this Parliament. We recognise how difficult this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed on this important work.

Departmental officials are working in coordination with colleagues across the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, and the devolved administrations to establish the full scope of those affected by pelvic mesh, to assess the financial impact on individuals, and to develop our response to the PSC's report.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications resulting from mesh operations get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.

However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has been made of the number of patients affected by complications arising from pelvic mesh implants in England.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC), Professor Henrietta Hughes, including her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government has been clear that there must be meaningful progress on this matter during this Parliament. We recognise how difficult this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed on this important work.

Departmental officials are working in coordination with colleagues across the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, and the devolved administrations to establish the full scope of those affected by pelvic mesh, to assess the financial impact on individuals, and to develop our response to the PSC's report.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications resulting from mesh operations get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.

However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of convening an emergency taskforce to address current medicine shortages.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

There are no plans to convene a taskforce on medicine shortages.

There are around 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply. Medicine supply chains are complex, global and highly regulated and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted. Many of these are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution and regulatory issues.

To help manage these risks, the Department and NHS England are committed to strengthening long term supply chain resilience and continually improving how we prevent, mitigate, and manage supply issues to protect patients from shortages.

The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to further strengthen our ability to anticipate, mitigate, and manage shortages. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue, and improving resilience requires action from all parts of the supply chain through a collaborative approach.

In August 2025, the Department published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines, which provides greater transparency of the supply chains we rely on, the actions we take to protect patients from medicines shortages when they occur, and the steps being taken to strengthen resilience. Later this year, we will publish an update on progress against those commitments and set out further actions to strengthen the resilience of our medicines supply chains. The paper is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Department holds on the proportion of patients with restless legs syndrome alone, compared with patients with restless legs syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism or bipolar disorder, who develop new impulse control disorders or worsening pre-existing impulse control traits after dopamine agonist exposure; and whether similar data are available for Parkinson’s disease patients with those co-morbidities.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on (a) the likelihood of patients who develop one dopamine agonist-associated impulse control disorder developing additional impulse control disorders and (b) the combinations of (i) hypersexuality, (ii) binge eating, (iii) compulsive shopping, (iv) compulsive gambling and (v) risky investments that are most commonly reported.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support engagement with people who are less likely to engage with health services directly, including groups experiencing health inequalities, under the proposed arrangements for local engagement and feedback following the abolition of local Healthwatch.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Patient Experience Directorate in the Department of Health and Social Care will focus on groups less likely to engage with health and care services. Statutory guidance published by the Department will make it clear that integrated care boards and local authorities should ensure that the steps they take to involve local people include those experiencing health inequalities, those who do not have access to digital platforms, those who are less proficient with technology, and people for whom English is a second language. This will ensure that services provided will benefit all people covered by the integrated care board and local authority area.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of the proposals to abolish Healthwatch, how he will ensure that people who are less likely to engage with health services directly, including those experiencing health inequalities, have their concerns identified and addressed.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Patient Experience Directorate in the Department of Health and Social Care will focus on groups less likely to engage with health and care services. Statutory guidance published by the Department will make it clear that integrated care boards and local authorities should ensure that the steps they take to involve local people include those experiencing health inequalities, those who do not have access to digital platforms, those who are less proficient with technology, and people for whom English is a second language. This will ensure that services provided will benefit all people covered by the integrated care board and local authority area.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Department holds on the proportion of patients with restless legs syndrome treated with dopamine agonists who have co-existing neurodevelopmental or psychiatric diagnoses, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism or bipolar disorder; and how many had documented impulse control disorders or addictive behaviours before dopamine agonist initiation.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of risk factors for dopamine agonist-induced impulse control disorders, including age, renal impairment, duration of exposure, cumulative dose, polypharmacy, pre-existing depression or anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, bipolar disorder and prior addictive or impulsive behaviours.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Department holds on the average age at (a) initiation of dopamine agonist therapy, (b) first report or diagnosis of an impulse control disorder while taking a dopamine agonist and (c) bringing a legal claim relating to dopamine agonist-associated impulse control disorders.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Department holds on (a) the average length of time patients remain on dopamine agonists or partial dopamine agonists for each licensed indication, (b) the proportion of patients who require dose escalation and (c) the typical timing and magnitude of such escalation.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence the Department has assessed on the average time from initiating a dopamine agonist, or increasing its dose, to (a) the onset or first report of impulse control disorder symptoms and (b) formal recognition and recording of dopamine agonist-associated impulse control disorders; and how those intervals vary by indication, care setting and method of detection.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

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 use of artificial intelligence and digital tools within the NHS and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to (a) detect potential dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders and augmentation from prescribing and clinical records and (b) support earlier warnings and monitoring for patients at higher risk.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information national pharmacovigilance systems and clinical datasets provide on the range and relative frequency of withdrawal symptoms associated with dopamine agonist discontinuation, including anxiety, depression, autonomic symptoms, pain and craving.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data national bodies hold on (a) the number and proportion of people prescribed dopamine agonists who self-report impulse control disorders and (b) the number and proportion whose impulse control disorders are first reported by a family member, carer or other third party.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence the Department has assessed on the number and proportion of patients who develop impulse control disorders while taking dopamine agonists and subsequently (a) continue dopamine agonist treatment and (b) are able to stop or switch treatment.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of the levels of (a) sexually transmitted infections acquired in the context of dopamine agonist-induced hypersexuality and (b) unplanned pregnancies among women treated with dopamine agonists who have documented impulse control disorder-related hypersexual behaviours; and whether patients are routinely asked about current dopamine agonist use in abortion and sexual health services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds audit or research data on differences between neurology or movement disorder specialists and general practitioners in (a) warning patients and families about dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders and augmentation, (b) monitoring for behavioural side effects at follow-up and (c) documenting impulse control disorders in a retrievable format for audit and research.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of how dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders and augmentation are taught and assessed in undergraduate medical education; and what postgraduate or continuing professional development training is available on dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders, augmentation and withdrawal syndromes.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is issued to clinicians on discussing in advance with patients, and where appropriate their families, how treatment should be managed if severe impulse control disorders develop while taking dopamine agonists, including the option of recording the patient’s wishes about dose reduction or discontinuation.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Department holds on (a) the number and proportion of dopamine agonist-treated patients who report binge eating or marked weight gain, (b) weight and metabolic monitoring practices when dopamine agonists are started or doses increased, (c) the incidence of new-onset diabetes or serious obesity-related complications in that group and (d) how those findings affect prescribing or dose decisions.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of the level of suicides and attempted suicides among (a) people prescribed dopamine agonists who have experienced impulse control disorders, augmentation or dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome and (b) immediate family members or co-habitants affected by the consequences of a relative’s dopamine agonist-induced impulse control disorder.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders and augmentation in people with restless legs syndrome and Parkinson’s disease on the economy, including effects on (a) employment and loss of earnings, (b) welfare and benefits claims and (c) mental health service use by patients and affected family members.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

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 financial impact of dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders on those experiencing such disorders, including through (a) gambling-related behaviours, (b) compulsive buying and (c) other routes.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data the Department holds on the number and proportion of dopamine agonist-treated patients with impulse control disorders who experience relationship breakdown or divorce.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the workload and associated cost to GP practices arising from the expansion of Advice and Refer under the 2026/27 GP contract; and what funding has been allocated to general practice to cover those costs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Department and NHS England considered the potential impacts of expanding Advice and Guidance (A&G) as part of the policy development process, including through clinical input, established governance arrangements, and equalities considerations. A&G is intended to support timely clinical decision‑making and ensure patients are directed to the most appropriate care. National guidance is in place to support its safe and consistent use, and the use of A&G does not change existing clinical accountability or patient safety arrangements.

In 2025/26 we introduced an enhanced service for A&G with funding of up to £80 million made available nationally to support increased use of A&G in general practices (GPs). This was uplifted to £82 million in 2026/27.

The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the previous A&G enhanced service funding into core practice funding. Following near universal uptake of the A&G Enhanced Service in 2025/26, the focus for 2026/27 is on stability and simplicity. Embedding the specialist advice model within the core contract recognises its role in routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.

The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. GPs should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement.

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 adequacy of the funding uplift in the 2026/27 GP contract.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide £14 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account of the cost of delivering services.

In early 2026, we concluded the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation. This year we expanded the consultation to engage with wider stakeholders, and these were the General Practitioners Committee England, the Royal College of General Practitioners, National Voices, the Institute of General Practice Management, Healthwatch England, NHS Confederation, now NHS Alliance following its merge with NHS Providers, and the National Association of Primary Care. The feedback we received from stakeholders across the system has been constructive and comprehensive, enabling us to refine proposals and address concerns while developing the final contract package.

We are investing £601 million in GPs in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to £14 billion. This builds on last year’s £1.1 billion of investment. This uplift represents a 4.5% cash increase, or 2.2% real terms increase, and includes the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration recommended pay increase of 3.5%.

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 patients can access the most effective innovations for migraine.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended several new medicines as options for the treatment of migraine. The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance.

The NHS England Neurology Transformation Programme has developed a neurology toolkit for integrated care boards (ICBs) which includes guidance on optimising system-wide headache pathways, including for migraine. This guidance will provide support to ICBs in reducing regional variation in access to NICE-recommended Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide and gepant migraine treatments for patients, including options for improving community-based services that reduce outpatient waiting lists and improve timely access to diagnosis and treatment.

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 for the Innovative Medicines Fund to support access to treatments that are awaiting funding through the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) process.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

There are no plans to use the Innovative Medicines Fund to provide access to medicines awaiting consideration by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group. The Innovative Medicines Fund is reserved for medicines that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has concluded are plausibly cost-effective, but where additional evidence is required to address resolvable clinical uncertainty. This approach ensures that the Innovative Medicines Fund supports value for money from medicines spending and does not undermine the established commissioning processes for medicines.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of patients who, having developed impulse control disorders while taking dopamine agonists and attempted withdrawal, subsequently return to their previous dopamine agonist dose or restart a dopamine agonist where withdrawal symptoms were recorded as the reason.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency holds on how many and what proportion of patients develop withdrawal symptoms, including dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome, when dopamine agonists are reduced or stopped in routine clinical practice in the last five years.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

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 typical duration and severity of withdrawal symptoms associated with dopamine agonist dose reduction or discontinuation; and how those outcomes vary by starting dose, indication and duration of exposure.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent of under-reporting of dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders to the Yellow Card scheme; and what steps it is taking to improve reporting and capture of those events.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

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 accelerate the translation of beta cell research into clinical trials and routine NHS care for people with type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department delivers research into type 1 diabetes through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

As well as funding research itself, the Department invests significantly in centres of excellence which support and deliver health and care research. Collectively these form the NIHR infrastructure.

NIHR infrastructure supports research to help accelerate the development of treatments for type 1 diabetes. This includes, for example, research into earlier diagnosis and improved risk prediction to identify people who may benefit from disease-modifying or beta cell-preserving therapies. It also includes support for the development and testing of beta cell replacement, stem cell-derived islet, and immune-modulating therapies.

The NIHR infrastructure provides the end-to-end system needed to design, test, and deliver new therapies, playing a central role in delivery of clinical trials and ensuring that effective innovations are supported into practice at scale.

The NIHR is also supporting a new United Kingdom-wide Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapy Clinical Trials Network. Funded by the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge, this £5 million NIHR-backed programme aims to build a nationwide infrastructure across NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Clinical Research Facilities for cell-therapy trials. This network is designed to address shared challenges in delivering cell therapy trials, ensuring all people with the condition gain access to the latest cutting-edge treatments as early as possible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients exposed to dopamine agonists for (a) Parkinson’s disease and (b) restless legs syndrome; and what comparison the Department has made between (i) the number of Yellow Card reports of impulse control disorders associated with those medicines and (ii) prevalence rates of those disorders reported in large clinical cohorts in the UK over the last 20 years.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Yellow Card reports have (a) listed pramipexole, ropinirole, rotigotine and cabergoline as a suspected medicine and (b) included any reaction term relating to impulse control disorders, including pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive buying, binge eating or other compulsive behaviours during the last 20 years.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The information requested on dopamine agonists is not held centrally nor held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Dopamine agonists encompass a range of medicines authorised for the management of Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and endocrine disorders in the United Kingdom.

The product information approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are designed to support safe use of the medicine by providing essential information and supporting discussions between patients and the healthcare professionals providing their care.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the UK market to ensure that warnings and side-effects listed in the product information accurately reflect the available data. The MHRA is currently reviewing whether further action is needed to raise awareness of the existing warnings about impulse control disorders with dopamine agonists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2026 to Question 1816 on Government Departments: Bureaucracy, how his Department has changed how it produces its Annual Report.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The Department has not changed how it produces its own annual report and accounts. The consultation referred to in the answer of 20 May 2026 was the Department’s annual consultation on the draft Group Accounting Manual. This manual provides technical guidance for group bodies to support the preparation of annual reports and accounts across the group. The consultation gives group bodies and auditors the opportunity to comment on proposed changes to the guidance, identify where further clarification is needed, and suggest practical improvements. It is not a consultation on changes to the way the Department prepares its own annual report and accounts.

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 (a) maternity workplace cultures and (b) relationships between maternity staff and mothers.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Maternity and neonatal services have been supported to improve workplace culture through the Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme (PCLP), which all 152 perinatal sites participated in between October 2022 and March 2025. The programme promoted compassionate, inclusive, and collective leadership, and strengthened multidisciplinary working across obstetrics, midwifery, neonatology, and anaesthetics. An external evaluation demonstrated a meaningful contribution to strengthening relational leadership, improving understanding of local cultures, and creating the conditions for cultural improvement, although its wider and sustained impact has been constrained by operational pressures, structural barriers, and variable local ownership. Further information on the external evaluation is available at the following link:

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/projects/perinatal-culture-and-leadership-programme-pclp

To follow on from the delivery of the PCLP, NHS England commissioned the network of Patient Safety Collaboratives from 2024 to 2026 to support perinatal leadership teams with the development, progression, and sustainability of their work culture. This support was tailored to local context and encouraged peer collaboration and sharing of good practice.

NHS England is also rolling out the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme to every maternity and neonatal service in England. This multi-disciplinary culture change programme aims to tackle racism and discrimination, support fair and psychologically safe working environments for staff, and improve the experience of care for women, babies, and families.

Baroness Amos’ national independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal care identified culture as a significant issue. The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will translate the recommendations from Baroness Amos’ investigation into a single, national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care.

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 improve collaboration between adult social care and voluntary sector homelessness services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Local authorities and integrated care boards share responsibility for undertaking a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), working through health and wellbeing boards, to assess current and future health and social care needs. This assessment then informs the commissioning and delivery of health and care services. Guidance on JSNAs makes clear that they should cover the needs of vulnerable groups, including homeless people.

More broadly, the Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to deliver on the ambitions set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness. This includes a commitment that no one eligible for homelessness assistance is discharged to the street after a hospital stay.

In addition, we have established a new national adult safeguarding board in response to Baroness Casey’s adult social care reform recommendations. One of the initial priorities of this board is to update the Care Act statutory guidance on adult safeguarding to drive better multi-agency implementation and practice across a wide range of issues, including homelessness.

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 ensure that people with arthritis are signposted to holistic support at the point of diagnosis.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

We are supporting better care for patients with arthritis through the Getting It Right First Time Programme (GIRFT) for Rheumatology. The GIRFT rheumatology programme is supporting the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across England and closer to patients’ homes, and improve services nationally.

As part of the GIRFT MSK Community Delivery Programme, GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for patients with arthritis, and improve referral pathways to wider support services.

As part of a major transformation of the NHS under the 10-Year Health Plan, patients with MSK conditions, such as arthritis, will also soon be able to directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions, including arthritis, back pain, and joint pain, while enabling general practitioners (GPs) to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up GPs.

Diagnosis Connect, which was announced in July 2025, will ensure that patients are signposted to trusted charities and support organisations when they are diagnosed with a long-term condition, providing personalised advice, information, and guidance to help them manage their condition and feel more in control. This support is designed to complement, not replace, their usual NHS care. A national partnership has now been developed, with NHS England, the Richmond Group of Charities, which includes Arthritis UK, and wider voluntary, community, and social enterprise partners working together to bring this vision to life. This is being backed by a £10 million investment.

Initial testing will begin with one condition being diagnosed in primary care. This testing will provide an opportunity to demonstrate what is possible before expanding to other conditions. Following initial testing, other conditions will be added to the programme.

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 causes of delays in issuing Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry results within NHS trusts in England.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Ensuring patients receive their diagnostic test results, including dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) results quickly is a priority for the Government.

NHS England guidance, published in August 2023, sets out that imaging reports must be provided within four weeks, or 28 days, of image acquisition. All National Health Service providers and imaging networks are expected to meet this. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/diagnostic-imaging-reporting-turnaround-times/

Achieving this relies on good digital connectivity, IT infrastructure, home working solutions, and approved insourcing models established across imaging departments and networks. That is why the Government is investing in digital diagnostic transformation through NHS England’s Diagnostics Digital Capability Programme which ensures networks have a core set of digital capabilities to improve the quality, safety, and productivity of care.

The Government announced in March 2026 that tens of thousands of patients at risk of osteoporosis and other bone conditions are getting faster access to vital bone scans, as the Government has invested in 20 new DEXA scanners across England. This builds on the first wave of 13 scanners announced last year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to NHS trusts and Integrated Care Boards on ensuring timely access to specialist care and treatment for women experiencing complications associated with hormone replacement therapy.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline on the identification and management of menopause includes guidance for healthcare professionals on the prescribing of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The guideline includes guidance on reviews for women receiving treatment for menopause and recommends that women should be referred to a healthcare professional with expertise in menopause if treatments do not improve their menopause-associated symptoms or they have ongoing side effects.

These NICE guidelines represent best practice and support clinicians in the assessment, management, and treatment of menopause symptoms and associated complications. Healthcare professionals are expected to take these guidelines fully into account in their prescribing decisions. The guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23

HRT is the main treatment for menopause symptoms, and NICE recommends that for most women it is safe and effective. It is important, however, that women are provided with accurate information and are able to make informed choices about their care, including HRT and that healthcare practitioners take a personalised approach when discussing treatments, using evidence-based information tailored to individuals’ circumstances.

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 benefits of requiring food labels to declare levels of potassium and phosphate content.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The labelling of packaged foods and drinks plays an important role in helping individuals access the information they need to make informed choices about the food they buy. Food labelling legislation sets out the information that must be displayed on a product’s labelling or packaging, including the ingredients list, the nutrition declaration, and any voluntary food information provided by businesses.

The key nutrients that must be included in the nutrition declaration on a mandatory basis, regardless of the amount, are the most relevant to current public health concerns in Great Britain at a population level. A standardised set of nutrients ensures consumers can easily compare products, and requiring too many nutrients to be included on a mandatory basis may complicate labels and make comparisons harder.

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 promote the use of sunscreen to reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation; and whether he plans to expand public awareness campaigns on sun protection.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government's current approach to promoting sunscreen use is part of the sun protection measures recommended to reduce exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This aligns with the World Health Organization’s guidance, which is available at the following link:

https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-protecting-against-skin-cancer

The public health guidance is primarily through the National Health Service, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Met Office rather than through dedicated national sunscreen-awareness campaigns.

NHS England and other NHS organisations regularly share social media messages during periods of sunny weather to remind the public about the importance of sun safety and using sunscreen to protect against harmful UV exposure.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if there will be a resumption of Covid surveillance by UKHSA and devolved health authorities as a result of the Covid enquiry.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Since 2023, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) COVID‑19 surveillance has shifted from intensive, pandemic‑specific systems to a more streamlined and routine model.

Surveillance is now integrated into UKHSA’s broader respiratory monitoring. COVID‑19 is tracked alongside influenza and other viruses through weekly national surveillance reports that draw on laboratory data, general practice consultations, and hospital activity.

The UKHSA publishes the National influenza (flu) and COVID-19 report, monitoring COVID-19 activity, seasonal flu, and other seasonal respiratory illnesses, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of women with long-term gynaecological conditions are able to see a healthcare professional regularly to receive both physical and mental health support for their condition.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

This information is not held centrally. We are committed to cutting waiting lists and improving waiting times across the board, ensuring patients get the care they need sooner.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, published in April 2026, represents a decisive shift towards addressing longstanding failings in women’s health outcomes, experiences, and access to care.

As part of the renewed strategy, we are supporting integrated care boards to introduce a single point of access for all non-urgent referrals to gynaecology and women's health services to speed up access to better treatment. By introducing a single point of access, when general practitioners (GPs) refer a woman to a specialist, they will be directed through triage immediately to the most appropriate professional, whether this be in the community, secondary care, or for a diagnostic procedure.

We are redesigning clinical pathways for the most common clinical pathways, including heavy periods, menopause, and uro-gynaecology. This will standardise care pathways and remove unnecessary procedural delays. These redesigned pathways will create roadmaps for health systems to use and adapt for local needs that will enable women to move more quickly through the system and reach the level of care they need with fewer appointments.

A core part of the improved women’s health offer set out in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy will be neighbourhood women's health services. Neighbourhood women’s healthcare is delivered by both a range of providers and digitally, giving women access not just to GPs and community specialists in women’s health, but to other services including pelvic physiotherapists, pharmacies, and psychological support services.

Next year we will establish an online hospital, NHS Online, which will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care. Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis and menopause, are prioritised as two of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register to include all women at increased risk of breast cancer.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government is committed to improving outcomes for people with breast cancer, including those at higher risk of developing the disease.

The new and world-leading NHS National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry (NICPR), which is part of the National Disease Registration Service, will help the National Health Service to deliver proactive, targeted prevention, surveillance, and earlier diagnosis for people and their families. Self-testing swabs will accelerate access to genomic tests, and those who need it will get genetic counselling, regular surveillance checks, and prophylactic treatment options.

Women at increased risk of breast cancer are included within the NICPR where they have inherited genetic variants associated with an increased risk of cancer. The NICPR supports the identification and management of individuals with inherited cancer predisposition syndromes, and women at very high risk of breast cancer are additionally supported through nationally commissioned NHS services, including the NHS Breast Screening Programme's very high-risk surveillance pathway.

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 information about breast cancer and the importance of breast-checking is available in all women’s health hubs.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February this year, commits to improving public awareness of cancer, including breast cancer, increasing breast screening uptake, and supporting local awareness and early diagnosis initiatives through Cancer Alliances and neighbourhood health services.

A core part of the improved women’s health offer set out in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy will be neighbourhood women's health services. This model, learning from the proof-of-concept women's health hubs, will transform women's healthcare in every community in line with our 10-Year Health Plan neighbourhood model. Where high-quality women's health hubs exist, they will continue to lead service delivery.

To raise awareness about early diagnosis of breast cancer, the National Health Service in England encourages everyone to check their breast regularly for changes or thickened areas of tissue, and to consult their general practitioner straight away if they have any concerns.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to improve the (a) early detection and (b) timely treatment of bowel cancer in young adults.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government is determined to improve early diagnosis and timely treatment for bowel cancer, including in young adults.

The Government is increasing the sensitivity of faecal immunochemical tests for bowel cancer screening to catch more bowel cancers at an earlier stage. The increase in sensitivity, combined with increased uptake, will deliver 17,000 earlier diagnoses by 2035. The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme already offers people aged 50 to 74 years old screening every two years. The programme is undergoing several updates to its standards aimed at improving coverage, accessibility, and early detection. This includes updated performance thresholds, and improved accessibility of bowel cancer screening kits.

The Department will continue to support digital support tools to help flag concerning symptoms or test results to general practitioners for all cancers and age groups. As part of this, NHS England will pilot an incentive which encourages the use of electronic safety netting to increase the number of people who complete checks for bowel cancer.

The National Cancer Plan also commits to speeding up detection and diagnosis for children and young people with cancer, ensuring their needs are embedded in the design of neighbourhood health services, improving access to specialist support, and supporting the safe use of artificial intelligence-based decision tools.

Finally, local communities across England will benefit from major investment aimed at reducing cancer screening inequalities and catching more cancers early. The Government will close inequalities for ethnic minority communities and underserved communities, including for bowel cancer, through local awareness campaigns and our new Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund, which is part of the £200 million for Cancer Alliances.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve mental health support for prisoners.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

NHS England commissions prison health care services into every prison in England to the equivalence of the community. NHS England’s Service Specification for integrated mental health services in prisons states that patients within secure settings should receive the same level of healthcare as those people in the community, both in terms of the range of interventions available to them which meet their needs, and the quality and standards of those interventions. The specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/service-specification-mental-health-for-prisons-in-england-2.pdf

Access to mental health provision is available to every person in prison at any stage of their sentence, this begins at the point of entry. NHS England commissions first night reception screening to review patients’ medical history by a registered nurse or practitioner, with the following purposes: to address immediate health needs and risks; to ensure medication is made available as soon as possible; and to ensure onward referrals to onsite healthcare teams, including mental health services, for both urgent face to face appointments within 24 hours, and routine face to face appointments within five working days, are made. Outside of reception screening, people in prison can be referred or self-refer to mental health services, within those timeframes.

To improve mental health services in prison, NHS England is revising the National Integrated Prison Service Specification to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the prison population.

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 implement the suicide prevention strategy.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. The strategy sets out over 100 actions across the Government and wider organisations, all aimed at saving lives, providing early intervention, prevention initiatives, and supporting anyone who might find themselves at crisis point.

We have made substantial progress at the strategy’s mid-point. This includes NHS England’s publication of the Staying Safe from Suicide guidance and e-learning for mental health staff, the introduction of the Near Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance System to identify emerging trends more quickly, and action to tackle harmful suicide and self-harm content as the Online Safety Act is implemented. We have also committed up to £3.6 million in targeted suicide prevention support for middle-aged men, a priority group identified in the strategy.

Suicide prevention requires action across the Government and society. We continue to work closely with departments, including the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver actions in schools, prisons, probation settings, and frontline public services. We recognise that there is more to do and will continue to drive delivery of the strategy. The Government is also developing a new cross-Government mental health strategy for England, with a core focus on early intervention, prevention, and supporting people before they reach crisis point.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is provided to NHS Mental Health Trusts on involving families and carers in the care and support of mental health patients.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Community Mental Health Framework makes clear that families and carers should be involved in the design of services and in the assessment and delivery of care. It emphasises that assessment should be a collaborative, biopsychosocial process involving the individual, their families, carers and wider support network, based on communication, respect and shared understanding.

NHS England is also developing further guidance through the Mental Health Personalised Care Framework, which will support services to involve families, carers and support networks appropriately in care planning and delivery, as part of effective personalised care. In addition, the Culture of Care Standards highlight that high-quality inpatient mental health care should actively involve families and carers wherever possible, recognising the important knowledge they bring and the positive impact this can have on safety, continuity and recovery.

We have also launched a call for evidence to shape the new mental health strategy, which closes on 10 July 2026. The call for evidence is available at the following link:

https://consultations.dhsc.gov.uk/informing-the-mental-health-strategy-for-england

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 maternity services are able to respond to changes in demand and clinical practice, including (a) an increase in the average age of mothers at childbirth and (b) the rising proportion of births by caesarean section.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government and NHS England remain committed to ensuring safe, personalised, and evidence-based maternity care, grounded in informed choice. We will translate Baroness Amos’s National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation recommendations and Donna Ockenden’s national recommendations from her review of Nottingham University Hospitals maternity services into a single, national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will oversee the development of this action plan and hold the system to account for improving outcomes and experiences for women, babies, and families, as well as staff.

Maternity services are already responding to increasing complexity and changes in clinical practice, including an increase in the average age of mothers at childbirth and a rising proportion of births by caesarean section, which present an ongoing challenge. We are supporting the system with clinical guidance, workforce investment, and estate funding through:

• the Maternal Care Bundle, which provides clear, standardised pathways, risk assessment processes, and multidisciplinary approaches to care;

• 14 maternal medicine networks across England, for access to specialist care for chronic and acute medical problems around pregnancy;

• investing £10.6 million to boost maternity care by funding an additional 1,000 temporary roles to support newly qualified midwives to join the National Health Service. There are a record number of midwives working in the NHS this year, with over 600 more than a year ago;

• development of a sustainable training route for obstetric physicians and targeted investment of £750,000 for obstetric physician capacity;

• working with partners to develop homebirth standards and a homebirth framework; and

• investing an additional £41 million of safety funding to improve maternity and neonatal estates, supporting safer care and better outcomes for mothers and their newborns.

We recognise that caesarean birth is major abdominal surgery, and that recovery can place additional physical and emotional demands on women and their families in the early weeks and months after birth. All women who have given birth should be offered a six-to-eight-week postnatal consultation with a general practitioner covering both physical and mental health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in England have a formal clinical diagnosis of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder recorded in NHS primary care records.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department does not hold data on the number of people in England with a formal clinical diagnosis of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder recorded in National Health Service primary care records.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework publication shows the prevalence of depression more broadly, with the depression disease register capturing all patients with an unresolved diagnosis of depression since 1 April 2006. However, it does not break this down by the number of patients with a specific type of diagnosis. The Quality and Outcomes Framework publication is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/quality-and-outcomes-framework-achievement-prevalence-and-exceptions-data/2023-24/data-quality-annex

The most recent Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, for 2023/24, reported that one in five adults have a common mental health condition, which comprise of different types of depression and anxiety disorders.

The Department has commissioned an independent review into the prevalence, trends, and inequalities associated with mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism in children, young people, and adults. An interim report was published in March, with a final report expected in the summer. The interim report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have attended NHS mental health services in each of the last five years.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The following table shows the available data from the Mental Health Services Data Set on the number of people accessing National Health Service mental health services over 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 his Department has made of the potential security and data privacy impact of so-called smart vapes and other internet-connected vaping devices.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Department is aware of the increasing role of technology in vapes. That is why the Tobacco and Vapes Act includes broad powers to regulate the technological features of vapes and associated software. In October 2025, we launched a call for evidence to inform potential policy proposals for future vape regulations, including in relation to the role of technology in vapes.

The Government, working with the devolved administrations where appropriate, is committed to consulting on how we will make use of new powers. We have already consulted on measures relating to introducing vape-free places and are planning to consult on introducing restrictions on vaping and nicotine product packaging, vape appearance, and changing where and how vapes are displayed in shops soon. These measures will help to reduce the appeal of vapes to young people whilst still enabling them to be accessed and used by adult smokers seeking to quit.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the timely diagnosis of (a) Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and (b) hypermobility spectrum disorders.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Department recognises that timely and accurate diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) is important in supporting people to access appropriate care and management.

The National EDS Diagnostic Service focuses on the rarer, genetically confirmed forms of EDS rather than the more common hypermobile type, where specialist genetic and multidisciplinary input is required to confirm a diagnosis. Hypermobile EDS (hEDS) and HSD are usually diagnosed in primary care or by specialists such as rheumatologists, with referral where symptoms are complex.

The Department also recognises that a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals can lead to symptoms being overlooked or misattributed to other conditions, resulting in delayed recognition and diagnosis of HSD and hEDS. Once qualified, healthcare professionals are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up to date, and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. Clinical teams are expected to use the best available evidence when assessing and managing patients with complex connective tissue disorders.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed an EDS toolkit for general practitioners (GPs), which is now hosted by The Ehlers-Danlos Support UK. This provides GPs with guidance on recognising and managing EDS, particularly the hEDS sub-type. The toolkit covers diagnostic clues, common co-occurring conditions, and when to consider a diagnosis. It details approaches to management in primary care, indications for specialist referral, and resources for physiotherapy and midwifery.

As part of its Clinical Knowledge Summary resources, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also published detailed guidance on hypermobility in children, which includes information on hypermobility syndromes and EDS.

While the Department has not made a formal, specific assessment of the impact of delays in diagnosing hEDS and HSD, we recognise that such delays can have an impact on patients’ long‑term health outcomes, including increased risk of complications, poorer quality of life, and prolonged unmanaged symptoms. Delayed diagnosis may also affect participation in education and employment, with potential implications for economic activity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to WPQs 2849, 2850 and 2851 answered on 9 June 2026 about Steroid Drugs: Young People, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on considering the impact of online advertising of SARMs and IPEDs in the response to the Growing up in the Online World consultation.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Following the national consultation, Growing up in the Online World, the Government is banning social media companies from offering their services to children under 16 years old. We will take the same approach as Australia. This will capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction, including platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

The ban will reduce children’s exposure to all potentially harmful content which can be viewed via social media platforms, including online advertising and the promotion of steroid drugs like selective androgen receptor modulators and image and performance enhancing drugs.

The full Government response to the consultation will be published in July, setting out further measures we are taking to keep children safe online. One of the many areas explored through the consultation was restricting the ability of services to advertise to children. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Science and Technology to ensure policy decisions are informed by meaningful consideration of potential public health impacts.

In addition, the Men’s Health Strategy recognises the role that the media plays in shaping how men in particular interpret health information. The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to identify ways to build media literacy skills in men to help them critically assess health information and protect against misinformation that harms health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the testing and expansion of alternative pathways into breast clinics and ensuring that younger women can utilise these.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Ensuring that people with breast symptoms have timely access to diagnostic services and clinics is a priority for the Government. Through the National Cancer Plan, we are rolling out breast pain clinics nationally by the end of 2026, helping provide alternative pathways for people at risk of cancer while ensuring urgent diagnostic services remain available for those who need them most.

We will continue to empower cancer patients and provide them with more opportunities to act on risks to their health. We are already testing the use of NHS 111 Online and the NHS App for self-referral to suspected breast cancer pathways, helping to streamline access to diagnostic services and reduce delays. These pilots are intended to make it easier for people with concerning breast symptoms, including younger women who are not routinely invited for breast screening, to access appropriate assessment and referral.

In the future, our vision is that every neighbourhood will provide proactive, specialist, and preventative women's health care that complements and extends the primary care offer, directly delivering intermediate care services and leading population prevention within neighbourhoods, including preconception health, contraception, and screening services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of his Department’s contribution to the Department for Education to support exercise and other health-related activity in schools in (i) 2023/4, (ii) 2024/5, (iii) 2025/6 and (iv) 2026/7.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Department of Health and Social Care works collaboratively with the Department for Education on a range of programmes to improve children’s health.

This includes making a significant funding contribution to the Department for Education over a number of years to the Primary PE and Sport Premium, and to the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, to provide all children with equal opportunities to reap the benefits of physical activity.

The Department of Health and Social Care works collaboratively with the Department for Education on a range of other health-related activity in schools, including the delivery of mental health support teams; integrated Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies; evidence-based screen use guidance for parents and carers of under-five year olds; the School Fruit and Veg Scheme; and on updating the School Food Standards to bring them in line with the latest dietary advice.

Found: DHSC, the Home Office, HMRC and the Ministry of Justice all face complex data challenges where the same

Found: to NHS social prescribing for burnout and mild-to-moderate mental health conditions; a small DCMS-DHSC

Found: Correspondence from Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: .6 On 8 February 2025, Mr Gwynne, a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Hodgson MP, Parliamentary Under -Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: catch-up campaign.2 This was as part of a pilot for children aged 5-11 who had missed 1 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Joint Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive

Found: Joint Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive

Found: with digital technology suppliers HC 640 26th Tackling Violence against Women and Girls HC 644 25th DHSC

Found: We will work with NHS England and DHSC to strengthen access to trauma- informed care through existing

Found: government/publications/improving-lives-the-future- of-work-health-and-disability 7.4 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: I am really pleased that the Department of Health and Social Care has committed to that being in all

Found: Emran Mian: DHSC has said that the cost of any additional medicines approved under the new threshold

Found: We worked very closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to understand what that would

Found: Hodgson MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention Department of Health and Social Care

Found: PMA0123 - Innovation in the NHS: personalised medicine and AI Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: such as the defence investment plan and the reforms that the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health and Social Care

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of fees charged for spousal visa applications; and if she will provide a breakdown of the £3,994.50 fee.

Answered by Mike Tapp

Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review. Where changes to fee legislation are made, Impact Assessments are produced which identify potential impacts resulting from the changes. The most recent Impact Assessment which includes considerations in respect of fees for family routes is published here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2026/44/pdfs/ukia_20260044_en.pdf.

The Home Office publishes the fees charged and the estimated unit cost of processing immigration and nationality applications on gov.uk. This can be reviewed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data.

The Home Office also provides for exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These include affordability-based waivers for entry clearance and leave to remain on family and human rights grounds.

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is set at £1,035 per person per year and is calculated based on the length of immigration permission granted. For a standard 30‑month spouse visa, applicants pay £2,587.50 for the IHS. This coupled with the spousal visa cost of £1407 means applicants pay £3994.50. The IHS rates are set using analysis from the Department of Health and Social Care on the average yearly cost to the NHS of treating those who pay the IHS. This analysis is regularly reviewed to make sure the rates reflect the actual cost of providing healthcare to migrants. The IHS is charged as a fixed amount, rather than based on individual use, which ensures the system is fair to everyone who pays.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the UK's position globally in respect of research into beta cell preservation, regeneration and replacement therapies for type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

Through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), including UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC), the Government supports a broad portfolio of research relevant to Type 1 diabetes. This includes work on pancreatic biology, immunology, and cell replacement approaches, alongside wider research into the underlying mechanisms of the disease. Funding is awarded through open, competitive processes based on scientific excellence, ensuring the UK remains well placed to contribute to advances in areas such as beta cell therapies.

The Department of Health and Social Care also funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which supports high-quality research to improve the diagnosis, treatment and management of Type 1 diabetes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider developing a national workforce plan to support councils and other bodies to determine resources for future SEND provision needs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, including delivery of the Experts at Hand offer and strengthening joint workforce planning and local commissioning between education and health partners.

We are proactively addressing workforce implications as part of wider long-term planning, working with DHSC and NHS England on priorities such as the 10 Year Workforce Plan.

The department is investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop an Experts at Hand offer, improving access to health and education specialist support in mainstream settings. As part of this, local authorities and integrated care boards will establish a baseline of current workforce capacity and capability, in line with clear national guidance, to inform local workforce planning and decisions, ensuring investment is focused on delivering the greatest impact for children and young people in mainstream settings.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer to question 11397, what representations his Department made to the Department for Health and Social Care on the vending machine industry and the proposed ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade engaged with the Department of Health and Social Care during the development of proposals relating to the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s. As is standard practice, Ministers and officials work closely with counterparts across Government to help inform policy development, including consideration of impacts.

Found: Department for Education (DfE), Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), wider sectoral departments

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

Found: The data suggests that, to date, high-level supply disruption activity alongside Department of Health and Social Care

Found: In an MPF scenario, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) would also activate robust, sector‑wide

Found: The 10 Year Health Plan sets out how the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England

Found: and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: commercialisation of research through the Cyber ASAP and Cyber Runway programmes LIFE SCIENCES SECTOR PLAN D SIT, DHSC

Found: commercialisation of research through the Cyber ASAP and Cyber Runway programmes LIFE SCIENCES SECTOR PLAN D SIT, DHSC

Found: any specific recommendations in relation to prisoners serving IPP sentences.21 21 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Ministry of Justice, Office for National Statistics, Scottish Government, HM Treasury, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Ministry of Justice, Office for National Statistics, Scottish Government, HM Treasury, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: developing, producing, acquiring, transferring, stockpiling and using biological weapons Outcome 7 (DHSC

Found: DfE and DHSC will strengthen joint working and senior engagement so that sponsorship supports effective

Found: Dept Plans for Reforms Assimilated law (formerly REUL) which will be affected by these reforms DHSC

Found: DHSC The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendments) Regulations 2024 Ionising radiation:

Found: Made 28/04/2025 Laid 30/04/2025 Came into force 23/06/2025 DHSC (led Recognition of Amendments to

Found: Where Parliamentary approval is required, DHSC would lay the relevant statutory instrument before Parliament

Found: Available at: Effects of poverty | CPAG 2, 4 Department of Health and Social Care (2021).

Found: An evaluation of Healthy Babies will be procured by DHSC to run from mid-2026 to March 2029.

Found: An evaluation of Healthy Babies will be procured by DHSC to run from mid-2026 to March 2029.

Found: of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department of Health and Social Care

Found: External) ; ; (DBT) ; (DSIT) ; (DSIT) ; ; (Cabinet Office) (Sensitive) ; ; USTechPartnership ; (DHSC

Found: Advancing Value Based Procurement (VBP) The Department of Health and Social Care launched an industry

Found: To support this, the NIHR will report progress against this mandate to the DHSC Secretary of State,

Found: (DHSC) – has compounded challenges in embedding sector- wide understanding and engagement

Found: (DHSC) – has compounded challenges in embedding sector- wide understanding and engagement

Found: Key result: A key result of this DHSC policy will be the introduction of a mandatory reporting scheme

Found: DSIT (2025), Online Safety Act: Enactment impact assessment DHSC: Enabling the safe development of

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

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

Found: objectives, including the Biosecurity, Borders and Trade Programme (by DEFRA), Digitising Social Care (by DHSC

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

Found: COUNTERMEASURES DELIVERY, 10 SOUTH COLONNADE, LONDON, E14 4PU, UNITED KINGDOM 18732045 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Found: information about all the sites licensed as wholesale dealers of human medicines by the Department of Health and Social Care

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

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

Found: her letter, Minister Hodgson confirmed the economic growth goals agreed between the Department of Health and Social Care

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

Found: repeated Treasury sign-off, projects worth up to £300 million will be approved by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: repeated Treasury sign-off, projects worth up to £300 million will be approved by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said: We’re pleased to be partnering with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said: We’re pleased to be partnering with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Financial statements 108 • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: You may also contact the DHSC Data Protection Officer at [email protected].

Found: The building is managed by the main occupier, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and we

Found: Education and Skills Funding Agency DfE Teaching Regulation Agency DfE UK Health Security Agency DHSC

Found: NHSBT works with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England on efforts to strengthen

Found: We are a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Found: We are a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Found: of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department of Health and Social Care

Found: of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department of Health and Social Care

Found: 19 December 2025 and sets out the functions exercised under legislation relevant to DSIT, DCMS and DHSC

Found: 19 December 2025 and sets out the functions exercised under legislation relevant to DSIT, DCMS and DHSC

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">UK Health Security Campus

Found: Exempt under Section 35 - Formulation of government policy DOH_0017_1112-Q1 FRONTLINE DIGITISATION DHSC

Found: document1 agreed with our sponsor the Department for Education, in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: document1 agreed with our sponsor the Department for Education, in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: OF JUSTICE 32 MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 36 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Found: (DHSC).

Found: (DHSC).

Found: any specific recommendations in relation to prisoners serving IPP sentences.21 21 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: N2 Medicine DHSC & Arm's Length Bodies 6149123 Gavin Dabrera N1 Public Health Medicine DHSC & Arm's

Found: single-identity brand__border-color" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

Found: collaborative project between the NCJDRSU in Edinburgh and the UK blood services, funded by Department of Health and Social Care

Found: a number of national and international panels and provide advice to the WHO, FSA, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Where Parliamentary approval is required, DHSC would lay the relevant statutory instrument before Parliament

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: A subsequent model commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in 2018, focusing

Found: capacity; global competition strongHeat/cold exposure without efficient reversible systemsDLUHC / DHSC

Found: report was published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, part of the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: report was published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, part of the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: report was published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, part of the Department of Health and Social Care

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

Found: Security Agency The UK Health Security Agency 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: To support this, the NIHR will report progress against this mandate to the DHSC Secretary of State,

Found: Advancing Value Based Procurement (VBP) The Department of Health and Social Care launched an industry

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has agreed a set of growth goals with the Food Standards

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has agreed a set of growth goals with the National Institute

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has agreed a set of growth goals with the Medicines and

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: medium-term: within 4 to 5 years long-term: within 10 years Work will be led by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: with significant benefits other than health, only when requested specifically by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: together partners from across government, including the Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: BACN Response to the DHSC Consultation on the Licensing of Non- Surgical Cosmetic Procedures in England

Found: Collaboration The Welsh Government has worked closely with the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care

Found: review of previous tobacco Display regulations.37 This paper was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care