Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, If she has plans to increase the number of GP training places at Anglia Ruskin University.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government keeps the total number of medical school places under close review to ensure it meets England’s workforce requirements, and decisions on training numbers will be considered as part of the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.
General practice (GP) is a medical specialty, with doctors undertaking relevant specialty training following completion of medical school and the two-year Foundation Programme.
NHS England continues to expand the number of GP training places. An additional 250 GP training places will be available from September 2026, bringing the total number of training places to 4,500 with plans to expand further each year and reach 5,000 places by 2028.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for each of the last five financial years, what data is available on the uptake of a) the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service, and b) the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme among patients living in rural versus non-rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No data is centrally held on the uptake of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service provision. The following table shows the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme’s uptake over the last five financial years:
2021/22 | 12,763 |
2022/23 | 13,817 |
2023/24 | 12,930 |
2024/25 | 10,315 |
2025/26 | 10,344 |
The usage of the schemes cannot be disaggregated by rural/non-rural areas as the data is not collected in this way.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of offering updated dietary guidance to schools, hospitals and other public institutions, and ceasing to use the Eatwell Plate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 23 June in response to Question 9942.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take urgent steps to respond to Professor Hughes’ deadline for the Government to commit to a compensation scheme for women harmed by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July in response to Question 16121.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to review its guidance on the a) identification and b) referral of women under the age of 50 at increased risk of developing breast cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 6 July in response to Question 13406.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve early identification of women at increased risk of developing breast cancer before they become eligible for routine NHS screening.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 6 July in response to Question 13406.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of regional variation in access to nabiximols for MS-related spasticity since NICE guideline NG144 was published.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Nabiximols is the United States Adopted Name for the medication marketed as Sativex (dronabinol/cannabidiol) and licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for symptom improvement in adult patients with moderate to severe spasticity due to multiple sclerosis.
The attached table shows the number of identifiable patients who were prescribed Sativex in the community in England by integrated care board in each financial year from 2023 to 2026 and from April 2026 to June 2026. The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold information on patient condition or reasons for why Sativex has been prescribed.
The Department has made no assessment of the levels of variation in access to Sativex for multiple-sclerosis related spasticity. National Health Service commissioners are expected to take National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines fully into account in ensuring that services meet the needs of their local populations. NICE keeps its guidelines under review and would consider the need to update its recommendations on Sativex in light of any new evidence.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients with multiple sclerosis were prescribed nabiximols on the NHS in England in each of the last three years by integrated care board.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Nabiximols is the United States Adopted Name for the medication marketed as Sativex (dronabinol/cannabidiol) and licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for symptom improvement in adult patients with moderate to severe spasticity due to multiple sclerosis.
The attached table shows the number of identifiable patients who were prescribed Sativex in the community in England by integrated care board in each financial year from 2023 to 2026 and from April 2026 to June 2026. The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold information on patient condition or reasons for why Sativex has been prescribed.
The Department has made no assessment of the levels of variation in access to Sativex for multiple-sclerosis related spasticity. National Health Service commissioners are expected to take National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines fully into account in ensuring that services meet the needs of their local populations. NICE keeps its guidelines under review and would consider the need to update its recommendations on Sativex in light of any new evidence.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated to invest in (a) GP practices and (b) health centres in Witham constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10 Year Capital Plan, Government has committed over £200 million of Utilisation and Modernisation funding over four years to continue upgrading the general practice estate. The NHS East of England region has been provisionally allocated £25 million.
A further £200 million from this fund will support refurbishing the existing estate to deliver approximately 50 neighbourhood health centres this Parliament. We announced Wave 1 of neighbourhood health centre upgrade schemes in March 2026, with 27 sites across England selected to bring care closer to home.
Proposals for future waves of neighbourhood health centres are currently being assessed against the published criteria, as set out in the Neighbourhood Health Centre Guidance, with final decisions on future schemes yet to be confirmed. Projects that meet the criteria will be invited to develop detailed business cases before any final funding decisions are taken.
Across 2026/27 to 2029/30, the NHS East of England region has been allocated £579.6 million to deliver a left shift from hospital to community care and support the return to constitutional standards. The NHS Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust has been allocated £181.6 million in operational capital with they can allocate to local priorities over 2026/27 to 2029/30.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of frontline healthcare staff, including a) GPs, b) nurses and c) other clinical professionals, available to provide services to patients in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July to Question 17166.