Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 23 April 2025 to Question 45093 on Alan Milburn, whether Mr Milburn has initiated the process outlined in that Answer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any updates to a declaration of interest will be published in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and on the GOV.UK website, in alignment with Government policy.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help improve levels of public understanding of how (a) personal medical data can be and (b) people can opt out of having their data used for health research.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring public understanding of the use of health data is critical to building trust. The Department and NHS England co-fund an independent organisation called Understanding Patient Data which provides objective information about how patient data is used, including for research, via the development of creative, accessible resources.
NHS England also publishes a breadth of transparency information including a website for the National Data Opt-out, which provides information on how people can opt-out, and a dashboard indicating opt-out rates. Links to opt out choices are also available on the NHS App.
The Department and NHS England are conducting large-scale public engagement on health data, which includes discussing the national Data Opt-out, and what choices people would like to make about how their data is used. This will help to inform future policy on opt-outs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his plans are for the future (a) scope, (b) role and (c) responsibilities of National Clinical Directors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England and the Department are strongly supportive of clinical leadership and recognise the critical need to incorporate clinical expertise into our work. The national clinical directors are a key part of this approach and play an important role in policy development and implementation.
Ministers and senior Department officials are working with the new executive team in NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the leadership, structure, and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. As part of this process, we are carefully considering the future role of national clinical directors. While no specific decisions have been made yet regarding their scope and responsibilities within the new organisation, their expertise and leadership will continue to be pivotal in shaping the future of healthcare in our country.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 need for Commissioner intervention in Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, in the context of the absence of senior leadership.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently temporary senior leadership arrangements in place at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust. Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and NHS England’s North East and Yorkshire Regional Team continue to provide ongoing support to the trust, ensuring that the temporary acting arrangements are successfully in place and offering any additional support that is required.
NHS England will continue to provide ongoing support to the trust and its senior leadership team to ensure that our patients and public continue to receive the highest quality of care possible across the Humber region.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 proactive management of medicine shortages.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply. Where supply issues do arise, we know how frustrating and distressing these can be for patients, and we work closely with industry, the National Health Service, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to resolve the issues as quickly as possible, to ensure patients can access the medicines they need.
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues.
While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, and use of Serious Shortage Protocols. In addition, we will issue communications to the NHS which provides management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.
The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and to strengthen our resilience.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP surgeries there are in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future. This means we need to see world class NHS infrastructure across the entire NHS estate. Beyond hospitals, we know we need the right infrastructure in the right place to deliver a true Neighbourhood Health Service, to ensure that all patients receive the care they deserve.
Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire is part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme, with construction of the new hospital expected to commence in 2027/28.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB) is working towards a further four facilities in the constituency. In Alconbury Weald, the Glade health facility is due to be operational from late 2025. In addition, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB is currently working with local councils to support the delivery of the Alconbury Weald Hub Health Facility over the next five years, along with similar health infrastructure developments in both Wintringham and Great Staughton.
There are 16 general practices in the Huntingdon constituency.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what new NHS facilities are planned to be built within Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future. This means we need to see world class NHS infrastructure across the entire NHS estate. Beyond hospitals, we know we need the right infrastructure in the right place to deliver a true Neighbourhood Health Service, to ensure that all patients receive the care they deserve.
Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire is part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme, with construction of the new hospital expected to commence in 2027/28.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB) is working towards a further four facilities in the constituency. In Alconbury Weald, the Glade health facility is due to be operational from late 2025. In addition, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB is currently working with local councils to support the delivery of the Alconbury Weald Hub Health Facility over the next five years, along with similar health infrastructure developments in both Wintringham and Great Staughton.
There are 16 general practices in the Huntingdon constituency.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42316 on NHS: Buildings, if he will take steps to publish further data on the (a) occupancy and (b) utilisation rates of all clinical rooms in the NHS estate in addition to the Estates Returns Information Collection data showing which organisation space is allocated to.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No decision has been made to publish further data on the occupancy and utilisation rates of all clinical rooms in the National Health Service estate in addition to the Estates Returns Information Collection data showing which organisation space is allocated to.
There are no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the NHS property estate. NHS trusts and integrated care boards decide locally how best to manage their estate; we expect them to do this using technology in the efficient management of the estate.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April to Question 42318 on NHS: Buildings, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the NHS property estate.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No decision has been made to publish further data on the occupancy and utilisation rates of all clinical rooms in the National Health Service estate in addition to the Estates Returns Information Collection data showing which organisation space is allocated to.
There are no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the NHS property estate. NHS trusts and integrated care boards decide locally how best to manage their estate; we expect them to do this using technology in the efficient management of the estate.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) religious and (b) cultural holidays are observed by their Department.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is in line with the Civil Service approach in offering employees eight public bank holidays plus one privilege day each year, pro-rated for part-time workers. Of these, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Christmas Day are deemed religious holidays.