Department of Health and Social Care

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Government recognises how important it is that patients with rare diseases can benefit from access to effective new medicines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of medicines it evaluates for use in the National Health Service, including medicines for the treatment of rare diseases. The recently announced increase to the cost-effectiveness threshold will, alongside measures announced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, increase both the speed and breadth of patient access to innovative medicines.

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research including cell and gene therapies such as CAR-T. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including gene therapy treatments.

The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, across the development pathway.

The NIHR Industry Hub, launched in October 2025, provides a single front door for companies in England, coordinating research infrastructure into one coherent, streamlined offer.

NIHR infrastructure offers innovators access to world-leading expertise, facilities, and support for the delivery of clinical trials, strengthening the UK’s position as a partner of choice for cell and gene therapy studies. The NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centres and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres support early translational and experimental medicine studies, offering world-leading scientific expertise and clinical capability for complex, early phase, and first-in-human trials, including CAR-T. This helps de-risk development and attract cutting-edge studies to the UK.

NIHR’s Clinical Research Facilities provide specialist environments and the skilled workforce required to deliver these complex therapies safely and efficiently. To improve delivery at scale, the NIHR’s Research Delivery Network and Commercial Research Delivery Centres are established to support rapid and efficient delivery of clinical trials and provide dedicated capacity and capability across the country. This will further enhance the UKs competitiveness by improving the speed and reliability of study setup and delivery.

In addition, the NIHR supported Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres (ATTCs) play a key role in the development of advanced therapy medicinal products clinical trials. By developing national infrastructure, standardising delivery pathways, and supporting centres across a range of geographies, ATTCs help ensure that advanced therapies can be delivered beyond a small number of highly specialised sites.

NHS England cannot comment on the proportion of the Innovative Medicines Fund’s budget that has been spent on medicines made available through managed access agreements. Due to the low numbers of patients who receive these highly specialised treatments, publishing this information risks confidentiality of pricing.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend any medicine, including for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, for a period of managed access through the Innovative Medicines Fund where it concludes that it is plausibly cost effective and the collection of real-world evidence may resolve clinical uncertainty. NICE concluded in its draft guidance on lecanemab and donanemab that neither treatment was suitable for a period of managed access but has not yet published its final guidance. There are no current plans to expand the circumstances in which NICE is able recommend medicines for managed access.

NHS England cannot comment on the proportion of the Innovative Medicines Fund’s budget that has been spent on medicines made available through managed access agreements. Due to the low numbers of patients who receive these highly specialised treatments, publishing this information risks confidentiality of pricing.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend any medicine, including for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, for a period of managed access through the Innovative Medicines Fund where it concludes that it is plausibly cost effective and the collection of real-world evidence may resolve clinical uncertainty. NICE concluded in its draft guidance on lecanemab and donanemab that neither treatment was suitable for a period of managed access but has not yet published its final guidance. There are no current plans to expand the circumstances in which NICE is able recommend medicines for managed access.

To help ensure every National Health Service hospital in England can benefit from digital transformation, the Government has invested £1.9 billion in either new or existing electronic patient record (EPR) systems. This has resulted in almost all trusts now having an EPR in place, or in delivery. Evidence from secondary care shows that EPRs are contributing to a 4.5% reduction in length of stay and a 13% lower cost in admitted patient spells.

Whilst this represents significant progress, we are continuing to fully realise the benefits of EPRs by building skills and changing management capacity. This includes sharing best practice, improving usability, training users more effectively, and ensuring systems are tailored to local context rather than adopting a one size fits all approach.

To help ensure every National Health Service hospital in England can benefit from digital transformation, the Government has invested £1.9 billion in either new or existing electronic patient record (EPR) systems. This has resulted in almost all trusts now having an EPR in place, or in delivery. Evidence from secondary care shows that EPRs are contributing to a 4.5% reduction in length of stay and a 13% lower cost in admitted patient spells.

Whilst this represents significant progress, we are continuing to fully realise the benefits of EPRs by building skills and changing management capacity. This includes sharing best practice, improving usability, training users more effectively, and ensuring systems are tailored to local context rather than adopting a one size fits all approach.

The Government works closely with the devolved governments to support effective cross-border healthcare arrangements and ensure patients can access timely, high-quality care regardless of where they live.

We work jointly with partners to improve the practical operation of cross-border services. This includes efforts to strengthen data sharing and digital interoperability, support access to specialist services and unnecessary burdens on patients and providers.

There are established cross-border networks which bring together relevant organisations to address operational challenges and improve coordination of care.

On 24 November, the Department announced its commitment to consult on the powers available to different professionals in different situations and settings, in particular, but not limited to, the operation of the emergency powers in sections 135 and 136. The consultation will seek views on powers and joint working approaches to ensure that health and social care professionals and police have the appropriate powers to act in order to prevent people harming themselves and others when in a mental health crisis.

The Department also set out plans to work closely with a range of stakeholders to shape the scope of that consultation. Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care have started engagement with Home Office officials and stakeholders from the police, health, and social care to consider the options to consult on that support better outcomes for patients and services, and we will set out further detail on the timing of the consultation in due course.

The Department encourages innovation in the health sector that helps to support the three big shifts in healthcare: moving care from hospitals to communities, transitioning from analogue to digital, and focusing on prevention over treatment, which are set out as part of the 10-Year Health Plan. As set out in the plan, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) in spring 2026.

The framework will support consistent, high quality and equitable care and identify current and emerging innovations across the CVD pathway. We will consider the role of Government in supporting areas where we need to go further.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out that integrated care boards (ICBs) will be strategic commissioners of local health services, ensuring that the money available to each local care system is put to the best possible use: to improve their population’s health, reduce health inequalities and improve access to consistently high-quality services. They are expected to draw on a deep understanding of population need and will need to shape commissioning plans through deep engagement with patients and the public.

To support this, on 4 November 2025, NHS England published more detailed expectations of ICBs in the Strategic Commissioning Framework. This sets out how to make best use of the whole National Health Service budget they deploy for the population: ensuring that care models match the real needs of the population, taking action to ensure individuals access the appropriate care, rigorously pursuing improved outcomes and value for money for their public.

In terms of service innovation, NHS England currently commissions the community pharmacy NHS Hypertension Case Finding service that focusses on the detection of people at risk of cardiovascular disease from high blood pressure and where it is captured the measurement of pulse rate. The data is shared with the patient’s general practitioner who will then use this information to inform any diagnosis and clinical intervention as appropriate.

Pharmacies are central to plans to create a Neighbourhood Health Service. ICB strategic commissioning will in future assess needs of local populations, prioritise commissioning based on evidence, strengthen their understanding of the role of technology and data in how and what they commission, including digital health technology and artificial intelligence, and develop models of multi neighbourhood providers.

In relation to medical devices outside of hospital, if a newly developed medical device is deemed appropriate for prescribing in primary or community care, the manufacturer has the option to apply for inclusion in the drug tariff. Once listed, the company can formalise a supply route via community pharmacies. This arrangement ensures that the device can be prescribed and dispensed to patients, with the company receiving reimbursement for the supply of their product through the established system.

Commissioning decisions are for integrated care boards (ICBs) to make, who have a duty to arrange health services for the patients they are responsible for while living within their annual financial allocations.

The Government will continue to cut waiting lists, deliver more appointments, and make care more convenient as we work to make the National Health Service fit for the future and return to the 18-week standard. Since the General Election in July 2024, the ophthalmology waiting list has fallen, average waiting times have reduced, and 18‑week performance has improved from 66.1% to 69.7%.

We were dismayed to read the findings of this report, which highlights the deep inequalities faced in accessing gynaecological care by women in the West Midlands. The Government agrees with the conclusion of the report that every woman deserves access to timely and high-quality care. That is why we will not accept these kinds of disparities as inevitable. Our ambition is a fairer Britain, where people live well for longer and spend less time in ill health, and where women, whatever their background, can rely on high-quality care.

We are shifting the centre of gravity of care from hospitals to communities, with neighbourhood services designed around local need.

Earlier this month, we published a Neighbourhood Health Framework setting out three reform agendas for integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities, and civil society to deliver the aims of neighbourhood health: to improve services for people who need routine healthcare; to improve proactive care including maintaining and developing access to women's health services; and to deliver better alternatives to hospital care.

The framework provides clarity and consistency, supporting joined-up partnership between ICBs and local authorities, working together to develop locally led neighbourhood health plans.

We have made strong progress in turning the commitments in the last administration’s Women's Health Strategy into tangible action. Our renewed strategy will address gaps from the 2022 strategy, and go further to create a system that listens to women and tackles health inequalities across England.

Renewing the strategy will help identify and remove enduring barriers to high-quality care across England, such as long waits for diagnosis, and will ensure that professionals listen and respond to women’s needs.

The Government is committed to cutting the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up, to under 150 days by March 2026, with the aim of making the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical trials.

Data published on 15 April 2026 on GOV.UK as part of the UK Clinical Research Delivery Programme’s key performance indicators report show that average set-up times for commercial interventional clinical trials have reduced from 169 days to 122 days, when comparing the same period this year to last. This is significant progress toward the Government’s target to cut clinical trials set-up times to within 150 days.

The target set in the Life Sciences Sector Plan is that by March 2026, 95% of commercial interventional trials in England deliver set up within 150 days. Data published on 15 April 2026 on GOV.UK as part of the UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators report shows that 78% of commercial interventional studies starting set-up in September 2025 met the 150-day target.

Performance data against the target will be published monthly with the final view of all studies that commenced set-up by March 2026 published in October 2026.

Pursuant to the to the answer of 3 February, the Government is actively considering whether the increased cost-effectiveness threshold will apply to medical technologies that are evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence through its HealthTech programme and will set out its position in due course.

Through our National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), we are actively committed to ensuring there is more research into women’s health, and that women’s voices and priorities are placed at the heart of this research.

We know that women have been under-represented in some research areas, particularly women in ethnic minority groups, older women, women of reproductive age, disabled women and LGBT+ women. This has implications for the health and care they receive, their options and awareness of treatments, the support they can access afterwards, and their health outcomes. To address this gap, applicants are now required to build inclusion into their research design as a condition of NIHR funding.

As highlighted in the newly published Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, the Department has strengthened NIHR conditions of funding by making it mandatory for researchers to account for sex and gender in their research applications. This move aims to tackle significant and persistent gaps in health and care research.

Alongside this, the NIHR’s Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 sets out how NIHR will become a more inclusive funder of research and widen access to participation in clinical trials. The strategy has been designed to address inequalities associated with the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010.

Through the ongoing systematic collection of data on sex, ethnicity and age of participants taking part in NIHR research, we can monitor progress and continue to champion the inclusion of under-represented groups.

Through our National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), we are actively committed to ensuring there is more research into women’s health, and that women’s voices and priorities are placed at the heart of this research.

We know that women have been under-represented in some research areas, particularly women in ethnic minority groups, older women, women of reproductive age, disabled women and LGBT+ women. This has implications for the health and care they receive, their options and awareness of treatments, the support they can access afterwards, and their health outcomes. To address this gap, applicants are now required to build inclusion into their research design as a condition of NIHR funding.

As highlighted in the newly published Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, the Department has strengthened NIHR conditions of funding by making it mandatory for researchers to account for sex and gender in their research applications. This move aims to tackle significant and persistent gaps in health and care research.

Alongside this, the NIHR’s Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 sets out how NIHR will become a more inclusive funder of research and widen access to participation in clinical trials. The strategy has been designed to address inequalities associated with the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010.

Through the ongoing systematic collection of data on sex, ethnicity and age of participants taking part in NIHR research, we can monitor progress and continue to champion the inclusion of under-represented groups.

An echocardiogram is the primary diagnostic test for suspected heart valve disease. Waiting times for echocardiograms are published in the diagnostics waiting times dataset (DM01) at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/

Data is not available in DM01 for other tests used in the diagnostic pathway, for example electrocardiograms, chest X-rays, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography scans, and/or stress tests.

As of the end of February 2026, the latest available data, the DM01 data shows that the median time patients were waiting for an echocardiogram in England was 3.2 weeks. The median time for patients waiting for an echocardiogram at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust was 2.2 weeks.

The Department is closely monitoring the Middle East conflict to assess any potential impact on United Kingdom medical supply chains through disruptions to manufacturing and logistics.

We have limited direct exposure to the Middle East for medical products, and we maintain well‑established contingency arrangements to manage medicine and medical device supply disruptions where these occur. These can include coordination of mutual aid, work to identify alternative products, alternative clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.

The Department is not aware of supply issues impacting codeine and co-codamol as a result of the conflict. The Department is aware of supply constraints affecting co-codamol 30 milligram/500 milligram tablets, which pre-date the conflict and which are due to manufacturing issues. These are in limited supply until early July 2026. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and advise on available alternative preparations.

The Department is closely monitoring the Middle East conflict to assess any potential impact on United Kingdom medical supply chains through disruptions to manufacturing and logistics.

We have limited direct exposure to the Middle East for medical products, and we maintain well‑established contingency arrangements to manage medicine and medical device supply disruptions where these occur. These can include coordination of mutual aid, work to identify alternative products, alternative clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.

The Department is not aware of supply issues impacting codeine and co-codamol as a result of the conflict. The Department is aware of supply constraints affecting co-codamol 30 milligram/500 milligram tablets, which pre-date the conflict and which are due to manufacturing issues. These are in limited supply until early July 2026. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and advise on available alternative preparations.

The Department is closely monitoring the Middle East conflict to assess any potential impact on United Kingdom medical supply chains through disruptions to manufacturing and logistics.

We have limited direct exposure to the Middle East for medical products, and we maintain well‑established contingency arrangements to manage medicine and medical device supply disruptions where these occur. These can include coordination of mutual aid, work to identify alternative products, alternative clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.

The Department is not aware of supply issues impacting codeine and co-codamol as a result of the conflict. The Department is aware of supply constraints affecting co-codamol 30 milligram/500 milligram tablets, which pre-date the conflict and which are due to manufacturing issues. These are in limited supply until early July 2026. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and advise on available alternative preparations.

The Department is closely monitoring the Middle East conflict to assess any potential impact on United Kingdom medical supply chains through disruptions to manufacturing and logistics.

We have limited direct exposure to the Middle East for medical products, and we maintain well‑established contingency arrangements to manage medicine and medical device supply disruptions where these occur. These can include coordination of mutual aid, work to identify alternative products, alternative clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.

The Department is not aware of supply issues impacting codeine and co-codamol as a result of the conflict. The Department is aware of supply constraints affecting co-codamol 30 milligram/500 milligram tablets, which pre-date the conflict and which are due to manufacturing issues. These are in limited supply until early July 2026. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and advise on available alternative preparations.

The Department is closely monitoring the Middle East conflict to assess any potential impact on United Kingdom medical supply chains through disruptions to manufacturing and logistics.

We have limited direct exposure to the Middle East for medical products, and we maintain well‑established contingency arrangements to manage medicine and medical device supply disruptions where these occur. These can include coordination of mutual aid, work to identify alternative products, alternative clinical practices, regulatory easements, and/or use of the Express Freight Service which can provide bespoke global logistics services in the event of critical supply disruption.

The Department is not aware of supply issues impacting codeine and co-codamol as a result of the conflict. The Department is aware of supply constraints affecting co-codamol 30 milligram/500 milligram tablets, which pre-date the conflict and which are due to manufacturing issues. These are in limited supply until early July 2026. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and advise on available alternative preparations.

The Department is closely monitoring the impacts of the Middle East conflict on the medical supply chain, including on the supply of helium. We have engaged with industry and received assurance on the stability of continued helium supply through contingency planning and sourcing through multiple global routes. We will continue to monitor the supply of helium and other medical products to mitigate any potential impacts on patient care.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. For the South Shropshire constituency, this is the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.

We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. From April 2026, we began introducing a package of reforms to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams have been experiencing.

These reforms will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups.

The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most. We have reduced the NHS dentistry underspend from £392 million in 2023/24 to £36 million in 2024/25.

The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.

Changes to the contract already mean that commissioners can more easily redistribute ringfenced dentistry funding to ensure delivery of dental care, in scenarios where contractors are persistently unable to deliver their National Health Service commitments.

We have reduced the NHS dentistry underspend from £392 million in 2023/24 to £36 million in 2024/25. The following table shows the integrated care boards (ICBs) that returned dental allocation to NHS England in 2024/25:

We recognise the role integrated retirement communities play in providing high quality, safe, and suitable homes which can help people stay independent and healthy for longer and which reduce the need to draw on health and social care provision.

We have not made an assessment on the impact this specific type of housing provision has on older people’s health, but the Government is committed to enhancing the provision and choice for older people in the housing market.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not undertaken a visit to an integrated retirement community to date.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.