Department of Health and Social Care

Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.

The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.

Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.

Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.

The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.

Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.

Caseworkers supporting the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) are administrative staff who are not involved in the assessment of claims. Their role is to provide claimants with a consistent point of contact, manage the administrative progress of claims, communicate updates, and ensure all necessary documentation is gathered. No medical experience is required for this supportive administrative function.

All clinical assessments under the VDPS are conducted solely by medical assessors. Medical assessors are General Medical Council registered doctors who have licences to practise and at least five years' experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.

No specific assessment has been made. All claims made through the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are assessed on a case-by-case basis by independent medical assessors. Medical assessors must be General Medical Council registered doctors with a licence to practise and at least five years’ experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.

Medical assessors will consider the claim form, the clinical research, the epidemiological evidence, the current consensus of expert medical opinion, and the claimant’s full medical records. The assessment, once complete, will then undergo assurance review.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will use genomics, predictive analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to shift from sickness to prevention, enabling earlier diagnosis and personalised care.

The National Health Service Genomic Medicine Service provides equitable access to cancer genomic testing, guided by the National Genomic Test Directory, which includes over 200 cancer indications. NHS England’s Cancer Genomics Improvement Programme is delivering quality improvement initiatives and establishing Cellular Pathology Genomic Centres to streamline clinical pathways and accelerate genomic testing.

In addition, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department of Health and Social Care fund research via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) into AI applications for cancer diagnosis. This includes the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund, the £10 million Cancer Data-Driven Detection programme, and the £11 million Early Detection using Information Technology in Health Trial.

The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) is also funding the £11 million NIHR i4i/OLS Cancer Healthcare Goals: Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation programme, which includes a project to assess a breath test technology's effectiveness by using AI for gastrointestinal cancers in over 8,000 patients (including bowel cancer). AI offers significant opportunities for faster triage and improved outcomes, and evaluations of its impact are ongoing.

Local employers across the National Health Service are best placed to understand their staff’s needs and circumstances. NHS staff have access to a range of support for financial wellbeing including credit union membership, savings schemes, and access to discount schemes such as the ‘Blue Light Card’.

NHS Employers has also published guidance for employers on salary sacrifice arrangements and tax-free childcare, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/salary-sacrifice-schemes

Whilst no comprehensive quantitative assessment has been made, we recognise that home and community-based National Health Services play a crucial role in preventing admissions for people with conditions that can be safely managed in the community, thereby helping to manage demand pressures on accident and emergency departments, and improving patient experience.

Key features of home and community based services include: anticipating and preventing exacerbations using personalised care plans delivered through neighbourhood health teams for people with long-term conditions and frailty; directing people to the most appropriate service at first contact using clearly established routes for clinical advice supported by digital tools and neighbourhood teams; and delivering integrated community based services including Urgent Community Response, Hospital at Home, and therapy-led intermediate care.

Our Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan, published in June 2025, commits to increasing the number of patients receiving urgent care in the community by expanding these services.

NHS England’s “Five years of a greener NHS: progress and forward look 2025” report clearly sets out that all Greener National Health Service initiatives focus on delivering better value for money for the taxpayer and better care for patients. These initiatives are also strongly supported by NHS staff, with nine in ten supporting the NHS’s Net Zero ambitions.

Every pound the health service spends on energy bills is money that cannot be spent on cutting waiting times and improving care, and this Government is taking action to ensure every penny is saved where possible in the NHS. Ongoing examples of this include:

• Collaborating with Great British Energy to invest £130 million in NHS solar installations with projected lifetime energy bill savings up to £325 million.
• Rolling out of Electric Vehicles. This will save the NHS over £59 million per year from reduced maintenance and fuel costs. As the second largest fleet in the country, the roll-out will reduce air pollution, which impacts some of the most vulnerable patients.
• Securing over £1 billion in additional capital funding through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. These projects will reduce energy bills and provide a more comfortable environment for patients and staff.

No specific assessment has been made.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Department regularly meets with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), which is responsible for administering the NHS Pension Scheme, to discuss performance levels. These discussions include the current increase in processing times for initial pension payments to retired National Health Service staff.

The NHSBSA is working in partnership with the Department to ensure robust measures are in place to improve performance as a matter of urgency. The NHSBSA has reallocated internal resources, is actively recruiting and training new staff, and has enhanced communications with members and employers to help them plan accordingly. The Department is committed to supporting the NHSBSA in taking all necessary steps to ensure pension benefits return to being paid on-time.

To minimise the risk of financial hardship, the NHSBSA is proactively contacting and prioritising cases involving vulnerable members and those experiencing ill health. A member whose first pension payment is delayed beyond 30 days will automatically receive interest on the overdue amount. Up-to-date information on processing times is made available to members via the NHSBSA website which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/current-processing-times-nhs-pensions.

The NHSBSA remains dedicated to providing the highest possible standard of service to retiring and retired NHS staff and will continue to keep members updated on progress.

The Department and NHS England fully support women to make informed choices about their care, including the choice to give birth at home. We expect local services to work collaboratively to ensure the provision of safe, personalised care in all settings.

The Core Competency Framework, which sets out the essential training for staff to address variations in the quality of support provided, outlines that training should be tailored to specific staff groups, for example, home birth, or birth centre teams. Staff should also receive training in the management of emergencies, using clinical simulation at the point of care and across a range of settings, including in the community.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning maternity services and for determining how those services are configured to meet local needs. There may be occasions when home birth services need to be temporarily suspended or interrupted for safety reasons. When this occurs, trusts are required to re-open services as soon as it is safe to do so and report it nationally through the Maternity and Neonatal SitRep reporting tool, which collects essential data to monitor the performance of maternity and neonatal services.

NHS England will be writing to all services and systems asking them to review their service provision.

The Department and NHS England fully support women to make informed choices about their care, including the choice to give birth at home. We expect local services to work collaboratively to ensure the provision of safe, personalised care in all settings.

The Core Competency Framework, which sets out the essential training for staff to address variations in the quality of support provided, outlines that training should be tailored to specific staff groups, for example, home birth, or birth centre teams. Staff should also receive training in the management of emergencies, using clinical simulation at the point of care and across a range of settings, including in the community.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning maternity services and for determining how those services are configured to meet local needs. There may be occasions when home birth services need to be temporarily suspended or interrupted for safety reasons. When this occurs, trusts are required to re-open services as soon as it is safe to do so and report it nationally through the Maternity and Neonatal SitRep reporting tool, which collects essential data to monitor the performance of maternity and neonatal services.

NHS England will be writing to all services and systems asking them to review their service provision.

The Department and NHS England fully support women to make informed choices about their care, including the choice to give birth at home. We expect local services to work collaboratively to ensure the provision of safe, personalised care in all settings.

The Core Competency Framework, which sets out the essential training for staff to address variations in the quality of support provided, outlines that training should be tailored to specific staff groups, for example, home birth, or birth centre teams. Staff should also receive training in the management of emergencies, using clinical simulation at the point of care and across a range of settings, including in the community.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning maternity services and for determining how those services are configured to meet local needs. There may be occasions when home birth services need to be temporarily suspended or interrupted for safety reasons. When this occurs, trusts are required to re-open services as soon as it is safe to do so and report it nationally through the Maternity and Neonatal SitRep reporting tool, which collects essential data to monitor the performance of maternity and neonatal services.

NHS England will be writing to all services and systems asking them to review their service provision.

Any form of racism or discrimination is unacceptable and has no place in our National Health Service.

Action is being taken to address racism and discrimination in the NHS including an urgent review of antisemitism, other forms of racism and the oversight and regulation of healthcare professionals. The review will consider how regulators address complaints of antisemitism and other forms of racism from a complaint being raised, to investigation and fitness to practice proceedings. The review will also consider how greater transparency can be brought to regulatory processes, including General Medical Council investigations and Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service decision making on antisemitism and other racism complaints.

Additionally, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment which will include reducing violence against staff and tackling racism and sexual harassment. They will underpin the NHS Oversight Framework and act as an early warning signal for the Care Quality Commission.

Data from the General Medical Council shows that approximately 7% of doctors in England do not hold a licence to practice five years after they have completed the foundation programme (the work-based training programme that bridges the gap between medical school and specialty or general practice training). This is equivalent to around 520 doctors – a relatively small number. Although some doctors do work overseas, most moves are temporary, and the overall loss is small.

We will publish a new 10-Year Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

The Department recognises the important role that NHS England’s clinical policy development process plays in determining routine commissioning decisions on new specialised services, treatments, and interventions, which have not been reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

We are carefully assessing NHS England’s functions as part of the process of merging NHS England with the Department. The outcome of these ongoing assessments will be made at the earliest opportunity, and we remain committed to progressing this reform at pace, subject to legislation and the will of Parliament.

Until such a time that the organisations are formally merged, NHS England continues to full fill its statutory duties.

The National Institute for Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, including acquired brain injury, was published in October 2025 and with the code NG252, includes functional neurological disorder within its scope. The guideline, which covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms, recommends a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation. The guideline emphasises the need for personalised care plans that address physical, cognitive, and psychological needs.

We expect integrated care boards to take NICE guidelines fully into account when designing and commissioning services to meet the needs of their local populations. NICE guidelines represent authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on best practice, including clinical and cost-effectiveness considerations. This approach ensures consistency, quality, and equity in service provision across the National Health Service. The guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng252

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, 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.

With measures like mandatory business reporting and targets, we are moving to a more strategic, outcomes-based approach focussing on reducing less healthy food consumption, in line with United Kingdom dietary guidelines. Businesses will have the freedom to decide how to achieve the targets, through improving products, changing shop layouts, and introducing new healthy products or changing incentive/loyalty schemes to make healthy products available to all.

The Government will collaborate with industry to minimise the impact of the regulatory burden on businesses, from clarity of policy design to sufficient lead in time for implementation of both mandatory reporting and targets.

Before a nicotine vape can be placed on the United Kingdom consumer market, producers or manufacturers must first submit a notification to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in accordance with the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. If the notification data is compliant, the notification will be published on the MHRA portal.

However, under the current system, there is no requirement to check a product against its notification. There is also no current testing regime for nicotine vapes – this is done on an ad hoc basis where there is concern a product does not meet regulations. Therefore, no estimate has been made.

Powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will enable us to establish a new registration scheme and more rigorous testing regime for tobacco, vaping and nicotine products.

Enforcement agencies continue to take action to ensure that illegal vapes do not reach consumers. In 2024/25, over one million illicit vapes were seized inland, and over 1.2 million illicit vapes were detained at ports by Trading Standards in England.

The United Kingdom Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is undergoing several updates to its standards aimed at improving coverage, accessibility, and early detection. This includes updated performance thresholds, and improved accessibility of bowel cancer screening faecal immunochemical test kits for people who are blind or partially sighted.

It is recognised that pharmacies frequently serve as the initial point of contact for individuals presenting with non-specific bowel symptoms. We recommend that individuals maintain a dialogue with pharmacists; however, those exhibiting potential signs of cancer are strongly advised to contact their GP practice to support earlier diagnosis. Therefore, no assessment has been made.

The Department has no plans to create or publish a list of critical medicines in the United Kingdom.

Increasing resilience of UK medicines supply chains remains a priority for the Government. As part of work underway to enhance processes for mitigating medicine shortages and to strengthen long-term resilience we have identified medicines which are deemed both clinically critical and have potentially vulnerable supply chains. This is not a static list but a process that is used to target the most impactful resilience activities and is regularly updated to take account of the ever-changing supply situation. This information is used to inform which product areas may require additional resilience measures, and to support our work, such as targeted seasonal supply monitoring.

The National Health Service, in partnership with Our Future Health, will trial the use of Integrated Risk Scores, which combine genomic, lifestyle, and health data, within the newly announced neighbourhood health services. Initially focused on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, the programme will expand to includes breast, bowel, and prostate cancer, with other diseases such as glaucoma, osteoporosis, and dementia under consideration. This marks a major step toward routine genetic testing in preventive care, enabling earlier and more personalised interventions.

The National Health Service, in partnership with Our Future Health, will trial the use of Integrated Risk Scores, which combine genomic, lifestyle, and health data, within the newly announced neighbourhood health services. Initially focused on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, the programme will expand to includes breast, bowel, and prostate cancer, with other diseases such as glaucoma, osteoporosis, and dementia under consideration. This marks a major step toward routine genetic testing in preventive care, enabling earlier and more personalised interventions.

In accordance with the Abortion Act 1967, registered medical practitioners must notify the Chief Medical Officer of abortions within 14 days. The Department collects information on abortions via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The form does not record the number of misoprostol tablets prescribed by the abortion provider nor whether they received a telephone consultation, therefore the Department does not hold this information.

NHS England does not hold a dataset that would support an estimate of the number of people aged 18 years old and over who have speech, language, and communication needs to this degree.

The Government recognises the important role that speech and language therapy services play in supporting people to overcome health and social barriers and enhancing overall quality of life.

All NHS services, including speech and language therapy, should operate in accordance with the best available evidence-based practices. Where sufficient evidence exists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes formal guidance. Frontline services, including those delivering speech and language therapy, are expected to adhere to NICE guidance wherever it is available and applicable.

The Department continues to work with NHS England and other partners to improve understanding of speech, language and communication needs for people of all ages.

It is the ambition of this Government that, through its commitment to deliver a single patient record, people who have speech, language and communication needs will receive more co-ordinated, personalised and predictive care across the system.

The Department has made no assessment of the cost to the National Health Service of identifying, sourcing, and distributing medications for emergency prescriptions.

Prescriptions issued on an emergency basis to patients are not treated any differently to regular prescriptions.

For the purposes of reporting to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the DHSC Reporting Requirements for Medicines Shortages and Discontinuations guidance document states that a supply shortage of a presentation of health service medicine occurs when supply does not meet patient demand at a national level, irrespective of whether it applies to the entire United Kingdom, or only to one or more of England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland as individual UK nations. However, we have a variety of escalation routes, and we will investigate issues on a case-by-case basis regardless of whether they fit this definition.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government has an ambition to offer newborn genomic testing as part of routine National Health Service care within the next decade. The Generation Study is developing evidence to inform this ambition, by evaluating the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to test 100,000 newborns for over 200 genetic conditions. Positive results are only returned where there is robust evidence that a treatable condition is likely to develop within the first five years of life. There are no plans to screen for conditions that appear later in life or remain asymptomatic. By summer 2027, 100,000 newborns will have had their whole genomes sequenced. The evaluation part of the study will then be completed and presented to the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). Subject to the study’s evaluation, the UK NSC’s advice, and the appropriate funding, genomic testing could be available for all newborns in the United Kingdom by 2035.

The Government is committed to strengthening the United Kingdom’s domestic medicines manufacturing capabilities, now and in the future, using a range of levers to support the sector more broadly.

The key lever, the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), builds on the success of three previous grant funding schemes, which are on track to provide over £520 million in private investment in medicine manufacturing and secure over 1,900 high-skilled jobs. The fund provides capital grants to support UK-wide investment in human medicines, as well as medical diagnostics and medical technology products.

One of LSIMF’s core objectives, that applications to the fund are scored against, is to strengthen the UK’s manufacturing capacity and capability to increase health resilience, as well as increasing economic growth. We define health resilience as the UK’s ability to withstand and recover from health emergencies such as pandemics, long-term healthcare challenges, and system shocks such as supply chain disruption.

Support has been provided across the medicines sector, including large pharmaceutical manufacturers, contract development and manufacturing organisations and generic manufacturers. This has bolstered the UK’s capacity in critical areas such as active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing and fill-finish capability. We do not hold a prioritised list of medicines for reshoring or nearshoring.

In 2024, the Department, on behalf of the Government, joined the European Union’s Critical Medicines Alliance which seeks to enhance the security and resilience of critical medical supply chains, encouraging actions such as greater collaboration, diversification, and boosting manufacturing of key products and APIs via reshoring and nearshoring.

Learning from lives and deaths reviews (LeDeR) play a vital role in identifying learning from the notified deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people, and the recommendations made in individual reviews, as well as the annual report, are key drivers for national and local service improvement. LeDeR reviews incorporate more than just the last episode of care before a person’s death, as they also include the key health and social care experiences the person had. The Government remains committed to reviewing every death notified to LeDeR and sharing the learning from these reviews widely to inform change.

There are no plans to mandate aspects of the LeDeR programme. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are held accountable for the care of people with a learning disability through existing governance processes, such as the NHS Operating Framework and annual assessment of ICB delivery. ICBs are expected to have an Executive Lead on LeDeR and NHS England’s national LeDeR policy sets out the clear expectation that ICBs prioritise LeDeR in their delivery plans and produce an annual report on their findings and actions taken.

The Government is committed to improving care for people with a learning disability and has recognised within our new 10-Year Health Plan the unacceptable inequalities and poor life expectancy this group of people faces.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are held accountable for the care of people with a learning disability through existing governance processes, such as the NHS Operating Framework and annual assessment of ICB delivery. ICBs are expected to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism to support the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people and to have effective oversight of, and support improvements in, the quality of care.

Findings from learning from lives and deaths reviews (LeDeR) are a crucial tool for identifying systemic failures in the care of people with a learning disability and autistic people, as well as driving local service improvements. This is why ICBs are expected to have an Executive Lead on LeDeR and NHS England’s national LeDeR policy sets out the clear expectation that ICBs prioritise LeDeR reviews in their delivery plans and ensure that actions are implemented to improve services and reduce premature mortality.

In the recently published Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to reducing the health inequalities faced by people with a learning disability and autistic people, setting up ambitious targets for ICBs and health care providers. This includes reducing admission rates to mental health hospitals for people with a learning disability and autistic people, and optimising existing resources to reduce long waits for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments.

The Department recognises the potential of wearable health technologies and artificial intelligence to support the earlier detection and better management of conditions such as heart damage. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, wearables are one of the “big bets” for the future of the health service, with a vision for these technologies to become a routine part of care by 2035.

A key ambition is for health data, including from wearables, to flow securely and seamlessly through the National Health Service over time. As part of this, by 2028 we aim to make the remote monitoring of cardiovascular disease (CVD) using wearables a standard part of care. Work to integrate wearable data into the NHS App and the single patient record is also underway as part of our broader digital transformation. This supports our broader health mission to shift care from treatment to prevention, from analogue to digital, and from hospital to community settings.

To accelerate progress towards the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease modern service framework in 2026. The Department and NHS England are engaging widely throughout its development to ensure that we prioritise ambitious, evidence-led, and clinically informed approaches to prevention, treatment, and care.

We are evaluating which devices and use cases are most clinically and cost effective, with the early detection of heart damage a key area of interest. This work aligns with the commitment to modernise CVD services through the development of a new framework that will consider the role of innovation, such as wearables and remote monitoring.

As with all emerging technologies, adoption will be guided by evidence, regulation, and robust data governance. We continue to monitor developments and will update our approach as the evidence base evolves.

No national assessment has been made as it is for individual local integrated care boards to decide on the provision of mental health services to meet the needs of adults and children in their rural areas.

Nationally, the Government is committed to creating an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents adults and children from developing mental health problems, and improves the lives of people living with a mental health problem, including those living in rural areas.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments and neighbourhood mental health centres, and increasing access to talking therapies and evidence-based digital interventions.

The recently published Medium Term Planning Framework sets targets for integrated care boards to expand coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement Support schemes, and eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements by 2029.

The 10-Year Health Plan included a commitment to begin implementing Integrated Risk Scores that bring together polygenic risk scores and other non-biological risk factors. NHS England, in partnership with Our Future Health and clinical experts, will carry out a three year service evaluation from 2026/27.

A total of 52 reports that describe increased sexual arousal suspected to be associated with the use of medicines or vaccines have been received through the Yellow Card scheme. The reports were received between 2014 and 2025 for a wide range of medicinal products which include antidepressants, hormonal medicines, vaccines, antipsychotics, antibiotics, cardiovascular medicines, drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sedatives, drugs used to treat dementia and diabetes, and single reports for drugs used to treat osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease, and pain.

The term increased sexual arousal itself is not in the product information for any of the above classes of medicines, however terms such as increased libido and hypersexuality are reflected in product information for medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease. The following table shows a breakdown of all spontaneous Yellow Card Reports the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) received from 1 January 2014 to 4 November 2025, where the MedDRA, a categorisation of medical terminology, Lowest Level Term (LTT) ‘increased sexual arousal’ was reported:

In addition, the following able shows a breakdown of all spontaneous Yellow Card Reports the MHRA received from 1 January 2014 to 4 November 2025 where the MedDRA LLT ‘increased sexual arousal’ was reported, broken down by substance:

Powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill allow us to establish a new registration scheme for tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products. Under this scheme, manufacturers of vaping liquids, as well as other products, would be required to provide information verifying the product’s safety and compliance with our product rules. Alongside this, the bill provides powers to establish a more rigorous testing regime for these products. These rules will apply to products produced in the United Kingdom and those imported for sale into the UK.

There are questions on both the registration and testing of products in the recently published Call for Evidence. In this, we are seeking information on how best to implement the registration scheme, as well as elements such as testing standards. The evidence gathered will inform development of policy and a subsequent consultation. Further information on the Call for Evidence is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/tobacco-and-vapes-evidence-to-support-legislation

The future registration scheme will play an important part in enforcing our rules on product requirements. It will ensure consumer safety and improve retailer confidence in the products they are selling.

The Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and to improve the way diagnostic tools, including those using artificial intelligence (AI), are deployed across the National Health Service in England.

The NHS Cancer Programme’s Innovation Open Call is held to identify and support the most promising innovations and has funded cancer diagnostic innovations in areas including medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, behaviour interventions, artificial intelligence, robotics, and new models of care.

There are also initiatives to improve the identification of cancer symptoms, including for less survivable cancers, in primary care. This includes Jess’s Rule, which supports clinicians to rethink their assessments when patients have presented three times with the same symptoms or concerns. Jess’s Rule was developed through a process of engagement with leading clinicians and charities.

The Department has been working with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce as part of the development of the National Cancer Plan to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.

While uptake rates in England remain high by international standards, in recent years adolescent vaccine coverage for the human papillomavirus (HPV) has fallen due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. National Health Service commissioned School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent vaccination programme based on population need, to offer vaccination to those young people who may have missed out during the initial offer.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes and provides a range of supporting materials to health professionals on both the 12 and 13 year old HPV offer, and the vaccine programme for those at higher risk. The UKHSA also works closely with charities and academics to develop resources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV and the importance of vaccination, including for boys.

NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including by expanding the NHS App, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.

In March 2025, NHS England published the Cervical cancer elimination by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the NHS will improve equitable uptake and coverage across HPV vaccination and cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. Further information on the Cervical cancer elimination by 2040 – plan for England is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/

In June 2025, NHS England launched the cervical cancer elimination campaign and toolkit for stakeholders, to increase awareness of the elimination target by 2040, educate the public about HPV, and build confidence in the HPV vaccine and cervical screening.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. To achieve this, we must ensure that families have the support they need to give their babies and children the best start and the building blocks for a healthy life.

As set out in the Plan for Change and the Best Start in Life strategy, the Government has committed to strengthening health visiting services so that all families have access to high-quality, personalised support.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England includes a commitment to develop a new Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery for all nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in England. The strategy will set out a long-term professional direction of travel up to 2040 and will be published by the end of the financial year.

In addition, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026 to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.

The Lung Cancer Screening Programme is commissioned by Cancer Alliances rather than by integrated care boards (ICBs), using ring-fenced cancer Service Development Funding. There are 20 Cancer Alliances in England, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/cancer/cancer-alliances-improving-care-locally/

The programme is currently live in all 20 Cancer Alliances, however it is not live in all ICB geographies yet. Approximately 41% of England’s eligible population, or 2,852,098 people, have been invited. More than 8,000 lung cancers have been diagnosed, the majority of which have been at an early stage.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill does not include any measures which would ban pre-filled vape pods, and we have no plans to amend the Bill or bring forward secondary legislation to this effect. An amendment put forward by Earl Russell that proposes to ban pre-filled pods was debated and subsequently withdrawn during the second committee session for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Lords.

The Bill will enable the introduction of a new registration scheme for all tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, which will ensure that only compliant imported e-liquids are available for sale in the United Kingdom. The Bill also ensures that all vaping products, including pre-filled pods, will fall under the same age of sale of 18 years old, and new fixed penalty notices will support Trading Standards in taking swift action in relation to underage sales.

Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, closer to people’s homes, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations and so could include weight management services. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, this will mean services will look different, for example in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities are responsible for commissioning weight management services. We would expect them to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines and the move to a Neighbourhood Health Service.

We are intending to publish a National Framework for Neighbourhood Health Plans in the autumn. This will set out how areas should design neighbourhood health services around local needs and different population cohorts.

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.

As of 12 November 2025, data from NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA), the administrators of the VDPS, shows that since March 2022 there have been (a) 249 successful claims made through the scheme. Of these 249 successful claims, (b) 31 were as a result of the decision being overturned after review. The 249 successful claims amounted to a total of (c) £29,880,000 in payments.

Information on COVID-19 claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is published on a quarterly basis by NHSBSA. Further information is available at the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan, which will be published in the new year. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including myeloma and other blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.

To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.