Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current average waiting times are for patients to begin radiotherapy treatment following referral, broken down by region and cancer type.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The published data on cancer waiting times in England does not include average waiting times for patients to begin treatment, and the Department does not publish radiotherapy data broken down by tumour type, as we present tumour type and treatment modality breakdowns separately.
However, the Department does publish the 31-day standard performance data for radiotherapy. Whilst the publication does not directly present this data at a regional level, the published commissioner-level data can be aggregated using publicly available mapping tables.
The following table shows 31-day standard performance data for radiotherapy at the regional and national levels, for the latest month of data available at the time of production, November 2025:
Region name | Total activity | Within standard activity | Breaches | Performance |
East of England | 1,266 | 1,027 | 239 | 81.1% |
London | 1,204 | 1,129 | 75 | 93.8% |
Midlands | 2,121 | 1,918 | 203 | 90.4% |
North East and Yorkshire | 1,867 | 1,562 | 305 | 83.7% |
North West | 1,486 | 1,460 | 26 | 98.3% |
South East | 1,801 | 1,577 | 224 | 87.6% |
South West | 1,318 | 1,235 | 83 | 93.7% |
Unknown or national commissioning hub | 109 | 109 | - | 100.0% |
National | 11,172 | 10,017 | 1,155 | 89.7% |
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (i) whether Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claims are matched to assessors with condition-specific expertise, (ii) whether the Department for Health and Social Care holds audits or quality assurance exercises on the accuracy and consistency of medical determinations under the VDPS since 2021, and (iii) what steps are being taken to ensure the transparency and accountability of the VDPS medical assessment process.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Each claim to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is assessed on a case-by-case basis by a medical assessor. All medical assessors are General Medical Council registered doctors, who have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), as the administrator of the VDPS, is responsible for managing quality assurance with the medical assessment supplier. Medical assessors write a comprehensive medical assessment report for each claim, explaining how they reached their decision and what evidence they considered. NHSBSA shares this report with the claimant.
If a claim is rejected, the claimant can challenge the medical assessor’s decision by submitting a mandatory reversal request. The original decision will then be reviewed.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on delivering national targets for ambient air including by sharing data.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department of Health and Social Care ministers engage regularly with ministerial colleagues on air quality. The 10-Year Health Plan for England details action the Government will take to reduce the health harms of air pollution. This includes the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ refreshed Environmental Improvement Plan which sets out action to further improve air quality in England including through revised interim targets.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the National Cancer Plan will support people with secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan, published 4 February 2026, will transform outcomes for people with secondary breast cancer.
The National Health Service is piloting the use of self-referral breast cancer pathways to streamline diagnostic pathways using the NHS App and NHS 111 online service. This is in addition to the Government’s commitment for the NHS to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 through a £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics. We are also ensuring as many community diagnostic centres as possible are fully operational and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
To improve the diagnosis of breast cancer, the NHS will harness 'circulating tumour DNA' tests for breast cancer, which can pick up relapse months earlier. This will accelerate clinical decisions and allow patients to start the most effective treatment faster.
The NHS will monitor the emerging evidence from the BRAID trial, which aims to determine whether additional imaging with one of several types of scans, is helpful in diagnosing breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue. This will target screening programmes at women who are at greater risk of cancer.
The NHS is also improving the experience of those with a cancer diagnosis. Every patient diagnosed with cancer will be supported through a full neighbourhood-level personalised care package, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns. For people with secondary breast cancer, this will be a step forward in building care around them, their needs, their lives, and their families.
We will harness data, as we begin counting metastatic disease, starting with breast cancer, so that people living with incurable cancer are properly recognised and better supported.
Through these National Cancer Plan actions, we will ensure that people with secondary breast cancer have faster diagnoses and treatment, access to the latest treatments and technology, and high-quality support throughout their journey, while we work to drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 the current provision for young adults with cerebral palsy but with no diagnosed learning disability.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that young adults with cerebral palsy, including those without a diagnosed learning disability, can access appropriate, high‑quality services that meet their individual needs.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local populations and for commissioning the necessary services, including specialist neurodisability, therapy, community rehabilitation, and wider support for people with cerebral palsy.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a guideline for adults with cerebral palsy, reference code NG119. The guideline recommends regular reviews of clinical and functional needs, clear care pathways, and access to multi-disciplinary teams and specialist neurology services. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng119
ICBs are expected to take full account of NICE guidance when designing and commissioning services for their local populations. NICE guidelines provide authoritative, evidence‑based recommendations on best practice, including clinical and cost‑effectiveness considerations. NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a vision for a health and care system that delivers more personalised, integrated, and proactive care for people with long-term and complex conditions, including those with cerebral palsy but no diagnosed learning disability. By 2027, 95% of people with complex needs should have an agreed personal care plan. These will promote shared decision-making and access to personal health budgets, giving individuals more choice and control over therapies, equipment, and support tailored to their needs. Additionally, integrated neighbourhood health teams will bring together professionals across disciplines to deliver joined-up care for people with cerebral palsy.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps has he taken to increase bowel screening uptake in Slough constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving cancer services is a priority for the Government. We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. Slough is seeing an improvement in bowel screening uptake, although this remains below the national average.
Commissioners and providers continue to work together to address this variation and to ensure that all eligible residents are supported to participate in screening at the earliest opportunity.
The Berkshire Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and local partners have undertaken several initiatives to increase awareness and participation in Slough including:
In addition, Slough Borough Council is actively supporting improvement in cancer screening uptake through communication and training measures.
All partners remain committed to collaborative working to reduce inequalities, strengthen pathways, and support increased uptake among underserved populations.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) bring awareness to and (b) help address the potential adverse impact of poor ambient air quality.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out actions to reduce people’s exposure to harmful emissions, improve public understanding of air pollution, and strengthen how air quality information is communicated. The Department continues to work with partners across the Government and the health system to ensure the public receives clear, evidence-based advice and that air quality becomes part of everyday conversations.
In line with commitments in both the 10-Year Health Plan and the Environmental Improvement Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Government to reduce the health harms associated with poor ambient air quality.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 assessments his Department has made on the potential impact of the removal of the Resident Labour Market Test in 2020 on trends in the level of doctors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of the removal of the Resident Labour Market Test in 2020 on trends in the level of doctors.
The number of applications to foundation and speciality training has increased over recent years, both from people graduating from United Kingdom medical schools, or UK medical graduates, and from graduates of international medical schools, or international medical graduates.
For specialty training, the number of international medical graduates applying for places has significantly increased since 2020. Data from the General Medical Council (GMC) shows that the number of non-UK trained doctors applying for Core Training Year One and Specialty Training Year One places has increased from 5,326 in 2019 to 18,857 in 2024, a 254% increase. Over the same period the number of UK trained applicants increased from 8,836 to 11,319, a 28% increase.
Internationally trained doctors may also be seeking employment outside of medical specialty training posts and GMC data shows that the proportion of doctors taking up or returning to a GMC licence to practice who were trained outside of the UK was 57% in 2019 which has increased to 66% in 2024.
To tackle bottlenecks in medical training pathways, the government introduced The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the NHS for a significant period for specialty training.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds information on the number of resident doctors who, whilst on strike, work for another trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of resident doctors who, whilst on strike, work for another trust.
National Health Service staff who are on strike are not prevented by law from working for non-NHS bodies or other NHS organisations, including NHS trusts, on days of industrial action, as long as they are not provided by an employment business to cover the work of striking workers. Before the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) strike action in July 2025, NHS England set out in guidance that resident doctors who have chosen to take industrial action should not undertake a locum or bank shift elsewhere during the period of action. More information is available at the following link:
During the BMA RDC strike action in December 2025, NHS England issued additional communications to Trusts to reaffirm the existing guidance.
NHS staff should consider the guidance published by the relevant professional bodies before undertaking additional work during strike days.
The Department continues to monitor the impact of industrial action on NHS services and staffing arrangements.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 oversight of care agencies and to enhance enforcement powers against providers who fail to meet required care standards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have understood that the term care agencies refers to employment agencies. Care providers are required to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) where they carry out a regulated activity, as described in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. However, employment agencies do not usually carry out regulated activity and as such do not typically need to be registered.
Providers such as care homes and those providing domiciliary care do typically carry out regulated activity and therefore are registered with the CQC. The CQC requires all health and social care providers registered with them to deploy enough suitably qualified, competent, and experienced staff, including both registered and unregistered professionals. This requirement applies where that provider chooses to recruit staff via employment agencies.
It is therefore the responsibility of the regulated provider to ensure robust and safe recruitment practices are in place, and to make sure that all staff, including agency staff, are suitably experienced, competent, and able to carry out their role.
To support providers to do so, the Department provides reimbursement towards the cost of training and qualifications through the Adult Social Care Learning and Support Scheme, backed by up to £12 million in funding this financial year.