Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional variation in patient access to motor neurone disease clinical trials; and what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access across all NHS regions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring equitable access to health and care research, including motor neurone disease (MND) studies, across all National Health Service regions. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) infrastructure has national coverage, but we recognise that trials in some disease areas can be concentrated in specialist centres, which can result in regional variation in patient access.
Through investment in world-class expertise, specialist facilities, a dedicated research delivery workforce, and coordinated support services, the NIHR enables research to be set up and delivered effectively across the NHS and wider health and care system.
Measures to ensure equitable access include supporting travel and accommodation costs through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, study-level travel reimbursement, and practical assistance from NIHR Clinical Research Facilities and the Research Delivery Network.
In line with the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, there is a growing emphasis on delivering research in community and home settings, supported by digital tools and mobile research teams. This approach reduces the need for hospital visits and ensures that patients with MND can participate in research regardless of their location. This work is complemented by wider Government investment, such as the £6 million MND Translational Accelerator and the £8 million EXPERTS-ALS programme, which are designed to connect research centres nationally and broaden opportunities for patients across regions.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to support the (a) development and (b) expansion of MND clinical trial infrastructure.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds health and care research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This provides world-class research expertise, specialist facilities, a dedicated research delivery workforce, and support services across the National Health Service and wider health and care system in England.
NIHR infrastructure funding is not allocated by individual disease or therapy area. Instead, it underpins the development and expansion of research capacity across all specialties, including motor neurone disease (MND). Examples include:
- Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), with £909 million awarded from December 2022 to March 2028. Six BRCs conduct research into neurological disease, supporting discovery science and the development of new trial approaches;
- the Research Delivery Network, with approximately £380 million provided each year, providing the NHS with support funding and the workforce to expand research delivery capability across regions, including for MND studies; and
- Clinical Research Facilities, with £214 million invested until 2029 in 28 facilities, creating dedicated spaces for early-phase and complex trials such as drug, cell, and gene therapies, supporting both the development and expansion of MND clinical trials.
Government responsibility for MND research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by NIHR, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). In addition, targeted investments are helping to strengthen trial capacity, including £6 million for the MND Translational Accelerator, which connects UK institutes to speed up the development of treatments, and £8 million for the EXPERTS-ALS programme, which screens promising drugs and complements the MND-SMART platform trial.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
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 extending the provision of Covid vaccinations to people with (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) long term immunosuppressive health conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert committee which reviews the latest data on COVID-19 risks, vaccine safety, and effectiveness and advises the government on eligibility for vaccination and immunisation programmes. The JCVI has published advice for future COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in autumn 2025, spring 2026, autumn 2026, and spring 2027. The government has accepted JCVI advice for autumn 2025. The Government is considering the JCVI’s advice for 2026 and spring 2027 carefully and will respond in due course.
The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious disease (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.
Therefore, in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to:
The JCVI has advised that more recent data are needed to assess whether any other population groups under the age of 75 years with specific clinical comorbidities, such as type 1 diabetes, are at similar risk of serious disease as those aged 75 years and over.
The JCVI continues to review evidence and may update its advice in future.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of sites previously used to dump fly ash now used for house building on public health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not undertaken any overarching assessment of the potential impact on public health from housebuilding on sites previously used to deposit fly ash.
Assessments of potential land contamination used for housing are governed at national level by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs under contaminated land legislation and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under planning legislation. Local authorities assess land within their areas with respect to contaminated land, and Local Planning Authorities address legacy contamination through local plans and development management.
In England and Wales, local authorities are required to assess their areas to identify and remove unacceptable risks to public health and the environment, and act as a regulator to ensure that contaminated land is made suitable for its current use. Specific development sites brought into use for housing should be adequately risk-assessed, and any required remediation overseen, within the planning process.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether whole genome sequencing will be available on the NHS for all sarcoma patients under the 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing, in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service. Testing is directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), which sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing.
For all cancer patients undergoing genomic testing, to support routine care, and including sarcoma patients, the first line testing is done by next generation sequencing panel testing that includes all the targets for the currently available precision medicines. The NGTD’s eligibility criteria outlines that, if clinically required, WGS can then be offered for sarcoma patients to determine their next stage of treatment or management.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Health and Social Care on 31 March (HC38280), what progress they have made in linking fathers' health and contact information to their children's NHS records via birth notification as they currently do with mothers' data.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Once a child is registered with the General Registry Office of Births and Deaths (GRO), the National Health Service receives information showing the parents listed on the birth certificate. Due to a period where not all GRO relationships were added to the NHS record, the NHS is currently working to ensure this happens in the future. This work should be complete by the end of 2025.
Following this, NHS England will be integrating the data into a new service, to make it easier for fathers to access their child's health record and tasks. This will be delivered through 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the apheresis working group plans to consult external stakeholders, including patient organisations and the life sciences industry, prior to publishing the apheresis review.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The apheresis working group was established in 2024 to provide independent advice to the Department on issues around apheresis capacity and the resilience of the United Kingdom’s stem cell supply. Membership includes the UK aligned stem cell registry, health professionals, and service providers. Stakeholder views have been captured through member organisations, including the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and blood cancer charities, and industry representatives have also been invited to present at meetings of the group.
There are no plans to consult external stakeholders prior to the publication of the group’s review of apheresis capacity. The group will look at options for formalising feedback following publication.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish the findings of the review undertaken by the apheresis working group.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The apheresis working group was established in 2024 to provide independent advice to the Department on issues around apheresis capacity and the resilience of the United Kingdom’s stem cell supply. The group has submitted an internal, interim report to ministers for consideration and is currently working to gather additional data to strengthen the evidence base of this report, before proceeding to publication.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 29 May 2025 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, ref LS06945.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Baroness Merron) replied to the hon. Member on 1 August 2025.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence plans to publish updated guidance on the eight types of hernia mesh.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Topics for new or updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are considered through the NICE prioritisation process. Decisions as to whether NICE will create new, or update existing, guidance are overseen by an integrated, cross-organisational prioritisation board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer. NICE’s prioritisation board is considering the use of hernia mesh in the treatment of ventral and inguinal hernias as a potential topic for guidance, and a decision will be taken in due course.