Department of Health and Social Care

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring that all children can access timely support that meets their health needs.

We are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people. Neighbourhood health services will work together with Best Start Family Hubs, schools, and colleges so that children get support quickly, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the diverse needs of their local populations, including children. All ICBs in England are required to have an Executive Lead for Children and Young People, to ensure the interests of children are reflected in decision-making.

ICB funding allocations were issued alongside the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, which set out targets to improve children’s experiences of the health system. The framework also states that National Health Service organisations should explicitly consider the needs of children and young people in integrated plans. The priorities set out in the framework should be reflected in ICBs’ spending plans for coming financial years. The framework can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring that all children can access timely support that meets their health needs.

We are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people. Neighbourhood health services will work together with Best Start Family Hubs, schools, and colleges so that children get support quickly, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the diverse needs of their local populations, including children. All ICBs in England are required to have an Executive Lead for Children and Young People, to ensure the interests of children are reflected in decision-making.

ICB funding allocations were issued alongside the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, which set out targets to improve children’s experiences of the health system. The framework also states that National Health Service organisations should explicitly consider the needs of children and young people in integrated plans. The priorities set out in the framework should be reflected in ICBs’ spending plans for coming financial years. The framework can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring that all children can access timely support that meets their health needs.

We are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people. Neighbourhood health services will work together with Best Start Family Hubs, schools, and colleges so that children get support quickly, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the diverse needs of their local populations, including children. All ICBs in England are required to have an Executive Lead for Children and Young People, to ensure the interests of children are reflected in decision-making.

ICB funding allocations were issued alongside the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, which set out targets to improve children’s experiences of the health system. The framework also states that National Health Service organisations should explicitly consider the needs of children and young people in integrated plans. The priorities set out in the framework should be reflected in ICBs’ spending plans for coming financial years. The framework can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring that all children can access timely support that meets their health needs.

We are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people. Neighbourhood health services will work together with Best Start Family Hubs, schools, and colleges so that children get support quickly, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the diverse needs of their local populations, including children. All ICBs in England are required to have an Executive Lead for Children and Young People, to ensure the interests of children are reflected in decision-making.

ICB funding allocations were issued alongside the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, which set out targets to improve children’s experiences of the health system. The framework also states that National Health Service organisations should explicitly consider the needs of children and young people in integrated plans. The priorities set out in the framework should be reflected in ICBs’ spending plans for coming financial years. The framework can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring that all children can access timely support that meets their health needs.

We are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people. Neighbourhood health services will work together with Best Start Family Hubs, schools, and colleges so that children get support quickly, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the diverse needs of their local populations, including children. All ICBs in England are required to have an Executive Lead for Children and Young People, to ensure the interests of children are reflected in decision-making.

ICB funding allocations were issued alongside the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, which set out targets to improve children’s experiences of the health system. The framework also states that National Health Service organisations should explicitly consider the needs of children and young people in integrated plans. The priorities set out in the framework should be reflected in ICBs’ spending plans for coming financial years. The framework can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with flu vaccine manufacturers and suppliers to maintain high level oversight of the overall United Kingdom supply of flu vaccine for adults. This enables early identification and mitigation of potential risks to programme delivery, such as constraints in dose availability or delays to deliveries.

The UKHSA procures the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), which is the primary vaccine used in the children’s flu programme, on a UK wide basis. As such, the UKHSA liaises regularly with all devolved nations, including the Scottish administration, on procurement activities and supply arrangements for these vaccines.

Both the RSV vaccine and LAIV are available for Scottish Health Boards to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform, ImmForm, ensuring consistent access across the UK.

Ensuring timely and reliable access to flu and RSV vaccines is a key part of reducing the burden of respiratory illness over the winter period, helping to limit avoidable hospital admissions and support health systems, including those in devolved administrations, in managing winter pressures.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.  The plan also stated that the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05, which underpins the advertising restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products on television and online and promotion restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products in stores and their equivalent places online, is out of date. Updating the standards to reflect the latest dietary advice will strengthen the restrictions and more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.

The Government intends to publish the new NPM in due course, ahead of consulting on its application to the advertising and promotions restrictions this year.

The National Disease Registration Service collects information on how many people in England are diagnosed with or treated for cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms, with further information avaiable at the following link:

https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/

This creates a clinically rich data resource that is used to measure diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer.

The 28-day faster diagnosis standard is a performance standard that aims to have a patient diagnosed with or have cancer ruled out within 28-days from referral. This performance metric monitors diagnostic performance and delays in diagnosis across cancer types, including leukaemia. It is published monthly and can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/

Data is collected on cancer survival, with the most recent dataset being published in February 2023, which provides survival data from 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021. The next publication will be released soon and will provide data on cancer survival diagnosed from 2018 to 2022 followed up to 2023. The survival datasets can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-survival-in-england#latest-statistics

The Government’s commitments to improving health outcomes and access to healthcare services for people experiencing homelessness are set out in the cross-Government strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness, published in December 2025, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness

We are committed to its ambition that no one should leave a public institution into homelessness. In health, this means ensuring that no one eligible for homelessness assistance is discharged to the street after a hospital stay by embedding best practice across National Health Service and local systems and working jointly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a delivery plan. We are also committing to wider measures in the strategy to tackle health inequalities, including improving access to mental health and substance misuse services, and updating statutory guidance to strengthen safeguarding responsibilities for people experiencing homelessness.

For this reason, we currently do not have plans to introduce a dedicated homelessness health strategy.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Loughborough on 12 May 2025 to Question 46503.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as phenylketonuria, through the UK Rare Diseases Framework. A priority of the framework is improved access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. In February last year the England 2025 Rare Diseases Action Plan was published, including progress made under this priority, namely:

• meeting to discuss the effectiveness of early access pathways for rare disease therapies;
• launching a review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence highly specialised technology programme for evaluating rare disease treatments;
• introducing two new actions on reforming clinical trial regulations; and
• developing an operational framework for individualised therapies in the National Health Service.

Information about symptoms, medicines, tests and treatments, is provided on the NHS England webpage on phenylketonuria, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pku-suspected-description-in-brief/phenylketonuria-pku-detailed-information

The treatment sapropterin is eligible for people with phenylketonuria. Clinical trials suggest that approximately four in 10 people may benefit from sapropterin, improving their quality of life significantly and reducing restrictions on the food they can eat.

The Department recognises the potential of artificial intelligence-based tools to support mental health services in the National Health Service. Recent discussions have focused on ensuring that these technologies meet safety, ethical, and clinical standards. We are working with NHS England, regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and other partners to develop robust evaluation frameworks. Plans include consultation with clinicians, patient groups, and industry to ensure transparency and public confidence. Any adoption will comply with NHS standards and data protection requirements.

The Department recognises the potential of artificial intelligence-based tools to support mental health services in the National Health Service. Recent discussions have focused on ensuring that these technologies meet safety, ethical, and clinical standards. We are working with NHS England, regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and other partners to develop robust evaluation frameworks. Plans include consultation with clinicians, patient groups, and industry to ensure transparency and public confidence. Any adoption will comply with NHS standards and data protection requirements.

As part of our effort to shift care from hospital to home, the Government wants to support people to live independently in the community. We pledged in the 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, that through the NHS App, patients will be able to book appointments, communicate with professionals, receive advice, draft or view their care plan, and self-refer to local tests and services.

The current availability of self-referral and direct access to audiology services depends on local commissioning arrangements and service protocols, including integrated care board (ICB) commissioning. Currently, self-referral to audiology services is usually for those with age related hearing loss.

NHS England is working with ICBs to support greater standardisation of self-referral arrangements, to assess opportunities to bring more of the self-referral process into the NHS App and website in future, where appropriate.

Good physical working environments are important for staff wellbeing and retention. Staff need to be given the time and space to rest and recover from their work, particularly when working on-call or overnight. This is recognised as a priority in the NHS People Promise which sets out the importance of employers prioritising spaces for staff to rest and recuperate, and ensuring access to hot food and drinks.

In May 2024, NHS England and NHS Charities Together launched a £10 million Workforce Wellbeing Programme to support National Health Service staff in England. It will provide tailored health and wellbeing support to NHS staff, including grants to improve facilities. A three-year programme of work named Great Food, Good Health, led by NHS England, aims to improve the experience and quality of nutritious food that patients, staff, and visitors receive in hospital. As part of this, NHS England has made clear that NHS organisations must be able to demonstrate they have suitable 24/7 food service provision.

The Government remitted the independent pay review bodies (PRBs) in respect of National Health Service staff on 22 July, which formally began the 2026/27 pay round. This was over two months earlier than last year.

The Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) are independent advisory bodies made up of industry experts who carefully consider evidence submitted to them from a range of stakeholders, including Government and trade unions to make recommendations on headline pay for their remit groups. It is for individual trade unions to decide whether to engage with the PRB process, but we encourage them to do so in order for the PRBs to have the full breadth of evidence available when forming their recommendations.

The PRBs base their recommendations to the Government on a range of factors including the economic context, cost of living, recruitment and retention, morale, and motivation of NHS staff.

The Government carefully considers the independent PRBs’ recommendations once received. Ministers are not obligated to accept these, although the Government did accept the recommendations on headline pay in full for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

As my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, stated on 15 December, the Government is open to discussing multi-year pay deals with trade unions if we can bridge the gap between affordability and expectation.

The Department has access to very limited data on paid working hours under an individual’s substantive contract. This data is not a reliable way to measure average working hours since it leaves out work done through bank or agency roles, any work outside the hospital and community health services sector, and “discretionary” work that is unpaid.

Employers have a duty of care to consider staff rights and wellbeing when balancing the demands of around the clock care in the best interest of patients and the rules around working hours, rest breaks, and paid leave as set out in the Working Time Regulations 1998. In general, the safeguards relating to working hours under National Health Service staff terms and conditions of service are stronger than the legal minimums. Working hours and shift expectations are made clear in employees’ contracts of employment. Certain exemptions may apply during emergencies or other unforeseeable events, allowing some rules to be changed or excluded under collective agreements. Employers have local arrangements agreed with trade unions and staff, to address modifications in the event of emergencies.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatments hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.

The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including NHS England’s internal Staff Treatment Access Review. This demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets national delivery targets for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over multiple years. It sets performance expectations, based on nationally determined policies and budgets, and outlines enabling activities which will help ICBs and providers to deliver against said expectations.

Whilst the Medium-Term Planning Framework does not impose requirements as in legislation or the Government mandate, ‘must’ and ‘expected to’ language is used for priority targets and where a nationally consistent approach would be beneficial, for example to reduce unwarranted variation or to ensure that specific Government commitments are met. The word ‘should’ is used in cases where local flexibility is appropriate based on local determination, demographics, and/or prioritisation.

No internal guidance is issued to staff within NHS England specifically on the use of language within the Medium Term Planning Framework, but the text is checked to ensure consistency with the aforementioned principles. A suite of supporting materials, including technical guidance, webinars, and planning standards, are developed and shared across NHS England regions and the wider National Health Service system to support a clear understanding of the expectations and potential approaches to delivery set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The regionally led assurance process for planning returns allows NHS England to work with ICBs and providers to understand variance from the asks within the Medium-Term Planning Framework, where warranted.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets national delivery targets for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over multiple years. It sets performance expectations, based on nationally determined policies and budgets, and outlines enabling activities which will help ICBs and providers to deliver against said expectations.

Whilst the Medium-Term Planning Framework does not impose requirements as in legislation or the Government mandate, ‘must’ and ‘expected to’ language is used for priority targets and where a nationally consistent approach would be beneficial, for example to reduce unwarranted variation or to ensure that specific Government commitments are met. The word ‘should’ is used in cases where local flexibility is appropriate based on local determination, demographics, and/or prioritisation.

No internal guidance is issued to staff within NHS England specifically on the use of language within the Medium Term Planning Framework, but the text is checked to ensure consistency with the aforementioned principles. A suite of supporting materials, including technical guidance, webinars, and planning standards, are developed and shared across NHS England regions and the wider National Health Service system to support a clear understanding of the expectations and potential approaches to delivery set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The regionally led assurance process for planning returns allows NHS England to work with ICBs and providers to understand variance from the asks within the Medium-Term Planning Framework, where warranted.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets national delivery targets for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over multiple years. It sets performance expectations, based on nationally determined policies and budgets, and outlines enabling activities which will help ICBs and providers to deliver against said expectations.

Whilst the Medium-Term Planning Framework does not impose requirements as in legislation or the Government mandate, ‘must’ and ‘expected to’ language is used for priority targets and where a nationally consistent approach would be beneficial, for example to reduce unwarranted variation or to ensure that specific Government commitments are met. The word ‘should’ is used in cases where local flexibility is appropriate based on local determination, demographics, and/or prioritisation.

No internal guidance is issued to staff within NHS England specifically on the use of language within the Medium Term Planning Framework, but the text is checked to ensure consistency with the aforementioned principles. A suite of supporting materials, including technical guidance, webinars, and planning standards, are developed and shared across NHS England regions and the wider National Health Service system to support a clear understanding of the expectations and potential approaches to delivery set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The regionally led assurance process for planning returns allows NHS England to work with ICBs and providers to understand variance from the asks within the Medium-Term Planning Framework, where warranted.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 November 2025 to Question 89685.

At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years and new-build sites opening in the medium term. The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030, delivered through public private partnerships and public capital.

In September 2025, we launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) in 43 Places across England, including North East Essex. The NNHIP is a large-scale change programme for all partners involved in delivering neighbourhood health with a strong focus on co-production and working with the people and communities they serve.

Integrated care systems’ estates infrastructure strategies have been developed to create a long-term plan for future estate requirements and investment for each local area and its needs.

The Essex Integrated Care Board has submitted plans for local investment in health facilities other than Neighbourhood Health Services, based on indicative allocations, and will be informed of its multi-year capital budget on conclusion of the planning process.

The Government is committed to returning, by March 2029, to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment (RTT).

NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 set a target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period.

To achieve this interim March 2026 target, we expect the size of the total waiting list to reduce. We have already made significant progress on this. As of October 2025, the waiting list had reduced by over 225,000 since the Government came into office, and performance against the RTT standard has improved by 2.9%, reaching 61.8%.

This has been supported by the delivery of 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025 compared to the previous year, more than double the Government’s pledge of two million. This marks a vital First Step towards delivering the constitutional standard.

The Government is committed to returning, by March 2029, to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment (RTT).

NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 set a target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period.

To achieve this interim March 2026 target, we expect the size of the total waiting list to reduce. We have already made significant progress on this. As of October 2025, the waiting list had reduced by over 225,000 since the Government came into office, and performance against the RTT standard has improved by 2.9%, reaching 61.8%.

This has been supported by the delivery of 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025 compared to the previous year, more than double the Government’s pledge of two million. This marks a vital First Step towards delivering the constitutional standard.

On 7 August 2025, the Government announced its plans to introduce measures to improve the safety of the cosmetics sector. This included prioritising the introduction of legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.

In addition, the Government also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme in England for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed. To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.

The proposals will be taken forward through secondary legislation and therefore will be subject to the parliamentary process before the legal restrictions, or licensing regulations, can be introduced. We are now working with stakeholders to develop detailed plans and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in the spring.

We are aware that the Scottish Government is bringing forward its own legislation to introduce measures to protect the public in Scotland from unsafe cosmetic practises. We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to foster opportunities for further collaboration and alignment.

On 7 August 2025, the Government announced its plans to introduce measures to improve the safety of the cosmetics sector. This included prioritising the introduction of legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.

In addition, the Government also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme in England for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed. To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.

The proposals will be taken forward through secondary legislation and therefore will be subject to the parliamentary process before the legal restrictions, or licensing regulations, can be introduced. We are now working with stakeholders to develop detailed plans and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in the spring.

We are aware that the Scottish Government is bringing forward its own legislation to introduce measures to protect the public in Scotland from unsafe cosmetic practises. We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to foster opportunities for further collaboration and alignment.

The final draft, version 1.2, of the Part IX Drug Tariff (Med Tech in the community) Wave 1 categorisation was developed in collaboration with an Expert Reference Group and updated in line with stakeholder feedback over four iterations. The final version was published in October 2025 and can be found on the NHS Business Services Authority Website at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/manufacturers-and-suppliers/drug-tariff-part-ix-information

The Department is currently recruiting Independent Assessment Panels (IAPs) for Wave 1 and has agreed to ask them to review late feedback received from a company on the eye drops category. This is due to take place in February 2026 and will not require further input from industry as it has already been circulated for comment by them.

The Department recognises that the categorisation is not stagnant and may need further amendments as medical devices continue to evolve and the IAPs are stood up. Companies can suggest further amendments when they apply to Part IX of the Drug Tariff or through the Drug Tariff Committee.

The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) has not been formally mandated. Its role is, however, reinforced in the Medium Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29.pdf

This framework sets the expectation that all providers and integrated care boards (ICBs) will onboard to the NHS FDP and begin using its core products, data capabilities, and population health management tools by 2028/29.

The guidance highlights the importance of ensuring that providers across acute, community, and mental health sectors use the NHS FDP to support elective recovery, cancer, and urgent and emergency care.

The NHS FDP was procured on the basis that every National Health Service trust and ICB would have a tenant within the platform. The existing contract supports use by community and mental health organisations as well as by acute providers. As such, a new competitive procurement or a contract modification notice is not required.

The follow table shows the proportion of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals that have been terminated in each year since 2019:

Source: NICE.

NICE is an independent body and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has made no assessment of the reasons for the terminations of technology appraisals.

NICE strives to get the best care to patients fast, and to ensure value for the taxpayer. The aligned NICE and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency pathway, set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, will allow us to bring medicines to patients three to six months sooner. NICE continues to support and work with companies to identify the best time to submit appraisals and to ensure they have a clear understanding of NICE’s methods and processes, to try to avoid terminations.

Sometimes companies withdraw from the NICE appraisal process which means NICE cannot continue to evaluate the treatment. Companies can choose to do this for different reasons, including the treatment not being put forward at a cost-effective price, supply issues and incomplete evidence.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with inflammatory bowel disease, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative treatments.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since April 2025, the NIHR has funded a total of 40 projects into Crohn's and Colitis research, with a combined total funding value of £17.6 million, and including studies aimed at reducing time to diagnosis, such as the Redesign a faster Pathway to Inflammatory bowel disease Diagnosis study, with further information available at the following link:

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR305671

The Government welcomes Baroness Bertin’s independent report, named Creating a Safer World – the Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography, as shedding light on an important issue. The finding that high levels of pornography use can lead to mental health issues in young people is deeply concerning. The nation’s mental health has deteriorated over the past decade, so it is vital we examine the range of potential risk factors for mental ill health. That is why the Government has launched an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism.

On the recommendation to consider a consultation on whether problematic pornography use should be formally classified as an addiction, there are no current plans to launch a consultation on this issue. Classification of conditions, including behavioural addictions, is a matter for international diagnostic frameworks. In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides robust, evidence-based clinical guidance to support commissioners and providers in improving outcomes for people using the National Health Service, public health, and social care services. NICE guidance is informed by the best available research and international standards, including positions taken by the World Health Organisation.

There is a wide range of support available for individuals struggling with their mental health, whatever the reason. Since July 2024, the Government has recruited over 7,000 additional mental health professionals, expanded NHS talking therapy sessions for adults experiencing depression and anxiety, and accelerated the rollout of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, aiming for full national coverage by 2029.

The National Health Service has a finite budget, and it is vital that it is allocated in a way that maximises benefits for all patients. The prices that companies charge for their medicines are an important consideration in determining whether they should be routinely funded by the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the NHS on whether new medicines should be routinely funded based on an assessment of their costs, including the price that the company sets, and the clinical benefits that they bring to patients. In developing its recommendations, NICE evaluates medicines against a threshold that is used in determining whether a specified product is a clinically and a cost-effective use of the health budget compared to other potential uses of that budget.

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 and encourage growth in United Kingdom based clinical trials.

Work is currently underway in NHS England to encourage children and young people to join the learning disability register at the age of 14 years old, and to support people who do not have a confirmed learning disability diagnosis to access the register and appropriate services.

NHS England has published guidance to support general practitioners (GPs) in identifying people with a learning disability. People with a learning disability are identified using specific codes within a patient record which are then grouped into a ‘code cluster’. Further information on the guidance is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/improving-identification-of-people-with-a-learning-disability-guidance-for-general-practice.pdf

The learning disability register code cluster includes conditions and diagnoses that are highly likely to indicate that a person has a learning disability. Code cluster contents are dynamic and are updated regularly to account for new content. The latest cluster contents can be found in the Primary Care Domain Reference Set Portal, with further information available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/quality-and-outcomes-framework-qof/quality-and-outcome-framework-qof-business-rules/primary-care-domain-reference-set-portal

In addition, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, recently wrote to GPs, emphasising the importance of the learning disability register and providing high quality annual health checks.

As part of efforts to monitor uptake, NHS England data shows that, as of October 2025, there were 343,520 people aged 14 years old and over with a learning disability on the learning disability register in England. The following table shows the number of people on the learning disability register in each region of England:

Source: NHS England published data on the Learning Disability Health Check Scheme for October 2025, a copy of which is attached.

Work is currently underway in NHS England to encourage children and young people to join the learning disability register at the age of 14 years old, and to support people who do not have a confirmed learning disability diagnosis to access the register and appropriate services.

NHS England has published guidance to support general practitioners (GPs) in identifying people with a learning disability. People with a learning disability are identified using specific codes within a patient record which are then grouped into a ‘code cluster’. Further information on the guidance is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/improving-identification-of-people-with-a-learning-disability-guidance-for-general-practice.pdf

The learning disability register code cluster includes conditions and diagnoses that are highly likely to indicate that a person has a learning disability. Code cluster contents are dynamic and are updated regularly to account for new content. The latest cluster contents can be found in the Primary Care Domain Reference Set Portal, with further information available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/quality-and-outcomes-framework-qof/quality-and-outcome-framework-qof-business-rules/primary-care-domain-reference-set-portal

In addition, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, recently wrote to GPs, emphasising the importance of the learning disability register and providing high quality annual health checks.

As part of efforts to monitor uptake, NHS England data shows that, as of October 2025, there were 343,520 people aged 14 years old and over with a learning disability on the learning disability register in England. The following table shows the number of people on the learning disability register in each region of England:

Source: NHS England published data on the Learning Disability Health Check Scheme for October 2025, a copy of which is attached.

Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give statutory guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome. The consultation on the draft guidance was launched on 5 November 2025 and will remain open until 30 March 2026.

Relevant authorities, as defined in the schedule to the act, have a duty to have due regard to the final guidance once it is published. The act does not create any new functions beyond this duty. Rather, it brings together existing statutory requirements and guidance that relevant authorities must and/or should already be complying with to support people with Down syndrome and people with other conditions and/or a learning disability who have similar needs.

Under existing legislation, Care Quality Comision registered providers must ensure that staff receive appropriate professional development which is necessary for them to carry out their duties and must receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role, as per Section 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Section 181(7) of the Health and Care Act 2022 and Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We expect that providers should be considering whether specific training on Down syndrome is required for their staff, and the draft guidance under the Down Syndrome Act sets out that some staff who work frequently with people with Down syndrome may require additional training on Down syndrome.

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of enabling directors of children’s services to commission Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services on holistic provision for children, including those with neurodiversity.

The Government’s priority is to ensure that health and children’s social care work together effectively to provide timely, joined-up support for children and young people. This is being delivered through integrated care systems, which bring National Health Services and local authorities together to plan and deliver care collaboratively.

The Government recently announced a three-year pilot to improve mental health support for children in care by bringing together social workers and NHS professionals. Additionally, programmes such as ‘Early Language Support for Every Child’ and ‘Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools’ promote early intervention, alongside special educational needs and disabilities reforms in the forthcoming Schools White Paper.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines, which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

Sourcing weight loss medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving a product which is either falsified or not authorised for human use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict standards for quality, safety, and efficacy and can therefore expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.

Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. It works closely with other health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners, including e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.

The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, the MHRA and its partners seized approximately 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines with a street value of more than £37 million.

During the same period, it disrupted approximately 190,000 website and social media links responsible for advertising medicinal products illegally. Additionally, collaboration with one well-known online marketplace led to the successful identification and blocking of more than 1.5 million unregulated prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices before they could be offered for sale to the public.

The MHRA is continually developing new and innovative ways to combat the illegal trade in medicines and to raise public awareness. These measures include:

• publication of a #Fakemeds campaign which explains how to access medicines through safe and legitimate online sources, with further information available at the following link:
  https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/;

• public guidance on how to safely access and use GLP-1 medications, available at the following link:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know;

• development of an online service which allows the public to check if a website has been deemed ‘Not Recommended’ by the MHRA;

• development of a web-based reporting scheme allowing the public to report suspicious online sellers to the MHRA; and

• extensive work with media outlets to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal medicines.

The MHRA’s continued efforts have led to more medicines being seized than ever before, significant custodial sentences for offenders, the forfeiture of criminal profits and considerable success in disrupting the illegal supply of medicines.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines, which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

Sourcing weight loss medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving a product which is either falsified or not authorised for human use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict standards for quality, safety, and efficacy and can therefore expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.

Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. It works closely with other health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners, including e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.

The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, the MHRA and its partners seized approximately 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines with a street value of more than £37 million.

During the same period, it disrupted approximately 190,000 website and social media links responsible for advertising medicinal products illegally. Additionally, collaboration with one well-known online marketplace led to the successful identification and blocking of more than 1.5 million unregulated prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices before they could be offered for sale to the public.

The MHRA is continually developing new and innovative ways to combat the illegal trade in medicines and to raise public awareness. These measures include:

• publication of a #Fakemeds campaign which explains how to access medicines through safe and legitimate online sources, with further information available at the following link:
  https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/;

• public guidance on how to safely access and use GLP-1 medications, available at the following link:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know;

• development of an online service which allows the public to check if a website has been deemed ‘Not Recommended’ by the MHRA;

• development of a web-based reporting scheme allowing the public to report suspicious online sellers to the MHRA; and

• extensive work with media outlets to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal medicines.

The MHRA’s continued efforts have led to more medicines being seized than ever before, significant custodial sentences for offenders, the forfeiture of criminal profits and considerable success in disrupting the illegal supply of medicines.

General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.

All United Kingdom-registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners and must meet the standards set by the GMC.

The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a statutory requirement that all providers registered with the Care Quality Commission must ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role, including GPs. To support this, a Code of Practice (Code) was published and finalised on 6 September 2025 setting out the Government’s expectations on training content and delivery. The Government is rolling out the recommended package, the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, to health and adult social care staff.

NHS England is in the process of awarding a tender to pilot a Neurodevelopmental Credential for Doctors regardless of their field of practice and this will be available to GPs. The aim is to provide a training option pre- and post-Certification of Completion of Training, so that eligible doctors can gain the necessary specialist skills to enable them to work effectively in the growing number of specialist services for people with neurodevelopmental conditions, as well as in settings where people with neurodevelopmental conditions are part of a complex clinical picture.

No assessment has been made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on adoption of innovative medicines in local formularies states that once a NICE technology appraisal recommends a medicine, it must be included in a local formulary within 90 days, providing it is clinically appropriate and relevant to the services provided by the organisation, or 30 days for Early Access to Medicines Scheme medicines. This NICE guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/mpg1/chapter/Recommendations#local-formulary-scope

Local formularies exist at various levels of the health service, but most frequently appear at integrated care board (ICB) level. It is the responsibility of local medicines optimisation teams and formulary committees to ensure they are meeting these targets.

At a national level, the Innovation Scorecard and Estimates Report is a publication which reports on the use of medicines and medicine groupings in the National Health Service in England, which have been positively appraised by NICE. It can be used by local NHS organisations to monitor progress in implementing NICE Technology Appraisal recommendations. Further information on the Innovation Scorecard and Estimates Report is available at the following link:

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiOWVkZmY1MDEtOWQzMS00YzU1LWJkZmYtMTc2NGQ2MTZkYjc2IiwidCI6ImNmNmQwNDgyLTg2YjEtNGY4OC04YzBjLTNiNGRlNGNiNDAyYyJ9

In line with commitments made in 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access, and Growth, NHS England, NICE, and the NHS Business Services Authority are further developing the Innovation Scorecard and Estimates Report to better track variation in the uptake of NICE recommended medicines between ICBs.

The 10-Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan set out a commitment to move to a Single National Formulary for medicines within the next two years. The overall aim of the Single National Formulary will be to drive rapid and equitable adoption of clinically- and cost-effective innovations.

Data is the driving force of modern economies and technology and is strategically important nationally and globally. However, we know this data can be exploited by those seeking to counter United Kingdom interests and we are taking action to secure our data and its supporting infrastructure to support the UK's long-term growth.

The UK has strong safeguards and world-leading investigation and enforcement to ensure that data is collected and handled responsibly and securely. I am engaging with my Cabinet Office colleagues to ensure our protocols adapt as technology develops to protect the UK’s national security.

NHS England will shortly publish refreshed guidance on children and young people’s eating disorders. This guidance strengthens the focus on early identification and intervention across the whole care pathway, including in settings such as schools and primary care, to support prevention and timely access to help. It places particular emphasis on high-quality community provision, while ensuring that children and young people can access specialist support swiftly as soon as an eating disorder is suspected.

Since 2016, investment in children and young people’s community eating disorder services has increased every year. This includes an additional £54 million per year from 2023/24, which continues to enhance the capacity and capability of community eating disorder teams to deliver early intervention, evidence-based treatment, and ongoing support for all children and young people, including boys and young men.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning eating disorder pathways for their local populations. In doing so, ICBs are expected to assess and respond to the needs of their local communities and to ensure services are provided equitably, including that diagnosis, treatment pathways, and clinical support are appropriate and accessible for all patients. This includes maintaining effective transitions from inpatient care into community services, with robust follow-up and ongoing support to reduce the risk of deterioration following discharge.

NHS England will shortly publish refreshed guidance on children and young people’s eating disorders. This guidance strengthens the focus on early identification and intervention across the whole care pathway, including in settings such as schools and primary care, to support prevention and timely access to help. It places particular emphasis on high-quality community provision, while ensuring that children and young people can access specialist support swiftly as soon as an eating disorder is suspected.

Since 2016, investment in children and young people’s community eating disorder services has increased every year. This includes an additional £54 million per year from 2023/24, which continues to enhance the capacity and capability of community eating disorder teams to deliver early intervention, evidence-based treatment, and ongoing support for all children and young people, including boys and young men.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning eating disorder pathways for their local populations. In doing so, ICBs are expected to assess and respond to the needs of their local communities and to ensure services are provided equitably, including that diagnosis, treatment pathways, and clinical support are appropriate and accessible for all patients. This includes maintaining effective transitions from inpatient care into community services, with robust follow-up and ongoing support to reduce the risk of deterioration following discharge.