Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are required for vaccines for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections to obtain regulatory approval including an indicative timeline for licensing.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
For any new medicine to be introduced to the United Kingdom market an application to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is required. The MHRA is ready to support companies that are looking to introduce new medicines to the United Kingdom market, offering regulatory and scientific advice to help companies at any stage of the product development process. The MHRA has established procedures in place to review any applications we receive to evaluate the benefit risk of a product in relation to its quality, safety, and efficacy. The exact timeframe will depend on the type of submission the company makes.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more people to become blood donors in a) Stockport and b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England and is delivering initiatives to encourage more people to become blood donors nationally, including in Stockport and across Greater Manchester.
This includes targeted partnership work with local employers in Greater Manchester, such as Aon and Deloitte, to engage and support staff to donate at nearby donor centres.
NHSBT also funds Community Grants Programme projects in Greater Manchester, including projects delivered with organisations such as:
Further information on the Community Grants Programme overall is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/
Additionally, NHSBT has also delivered extensive outreach activity in Greater Manchester, including two mass blood‑typing events held at the Trafford Centre, a three day event, and the Arndale Centre, a seven day event, which are accessible to people living in Stockport and the wider Greater Manchester area.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of support provided to patients before and after heart and lung transplants, including follow-up care and psychological support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.
Heart and lung transplant services provide multidisciplinary assessment, ongoing follow‑up, and access to psychological support where clinically indicated, ensuring that care addresses both physical and mental health needs across the patient pathway, before and after transplantation. The quality and effectiveness of care are monitored through national audit, service review, and patient feedback.
Evidence has identified variation in how aspects of service specifications and patient engagement are implemented across transplant services. This was highlighted in the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Improving Patient Engagement in Organ Transplantation: Recommendations for Best Practice report, which sets out areas for improvement in consistency and patient experience. This report is available at the following link:
NHS England is working with patient representatives, NHS Blood and Transplant, and transplant centres through a national improvement programme which includes work to address unwarranted variation and strengthen holistic, patient‑centred care before and after transplantation, in addition to wider work to improve access, workforce sustainability, and service resilience.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the health and care needs of young people with SEND in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove are identified and met in a timely and effective manner.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has published ambitious special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, supporting the treatment to prevention shift in the 10-Year Health Plan and its focus on early intervention, to prevent needs escalating. Close partnership working at all levels is crucial to delivering these reforms and transforming outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board works closely with the Staffordshire County Council, which Kidsgrove is in, and the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, alongside the National Health Service, and education and voluntary sector partners, to meet the wide range of assessed health and care needs of children and young people with SEND.
The system partnership continues to prioritise SEND and is working collaboratively to improve access, capacity, and the timeliness of support across the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB. This includes working closely with providers to understand pressures within existing services and current waiting times, targeted work to instigate improvements in specific services, and developing more effective joint commissioning across health, education, and local authorities, particularly in relation to speech and language therapy services.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of regional disparities in England for access to and outcomes of heart and lung transplants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.
Access to transplantation is based on nationally agreed clinical criteria, with organs allocated through a national system managed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to ensure equity according to clinical need. NHSBT publishes data annually on access and outcomes in its organ-specific reports, which are available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/
This data shows good overall post-transplant survival rates, alongside some variation between centres. In addition, the data shows no evidence of geographical variation beyond chance for heart and lung transplantation rates, and some variation in lung registration rates. Further work is needed to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to transplantation.
Variation in patient outcomes, including longer‑term survival and listing outcomes, are reviewed through established NHSBT and NHS England clinical governance processes, including routine outcome review and centre‑specific follow‑up where indicated. The National Transplant Clinical Panel has been established to provide expert clinical interpretation of transplant outcome data to support oversight where issues of statistical variation are identified.
To improve access and outcomes, NHS England has established a national improvement programme, informed by the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This programme, alongside NHS England’s commissioning structures, includes work to improve referral pathways, organ utilisation, and service consistency, through strengthened peer review processes, an audit of organ acceptance practices, and work with transplant centres to support consistent decision-making. Further information on NHS England’s national improvement programme and the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise is available, respectively, at the following two links:
While progress has been made, including increases in transplant activity and reductions in waiting lists, NHS England continues to work with partners to ensure services are consistent, resilient, and able to meet patient need across the country.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking improve outcomes and survival rates after heart and lung transplants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.
Access to transplantation is based on nationally agreed clinical criteria, with organs allocated through a national system managed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to ensure equity according to clinical need. NHSBT publishes data annually on access and outcomes in its organ-specific reports, which are available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/
This data shows good overall post-transplant survival rates, alongside some variation between centres. In addition, the data shows no evidence of geographical variation beyond chance for heart and lung transplantation rates, and some variation in lung registration rates. Further work is needed to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to transplantation.
Variation in patient outcomes, including longer‑term survival and listing outcomes, are reviewed through established NHSBT and NHS England clinical governance processes, including routine outcome review and centre‑specific follow‑up where indicated. The National Transplant Clinical Panel has been established to provide expert clinical interpretation of transplant outcome data to support oversight where issues of statistical variation are identified.
To improve access and outcomes, NHS England has established a national improvement programme, informed by the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This programme, alongside NHS England’s commissioning structures, includes work to improve referral pathways, organ utilisation, and service consistency, through strengthened peer review processes, an audit of organ acceptance practices, and work with transplant centres to support consistent decision-making. Further information on NHS England’s national improvement programme and the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise is available, respectively, at the following two links:
While progress has been made, including increases in transplant activity and reductions in waiting lists, NHS England continues to work with partners to ensure services are consistent, resilient, and able to meet patient need across the country.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to heart and lung transplants across England.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.
Access to transplantation is based on nationally agreed clinical criteria, with organs allocated through a national system managed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to ensure equity according to clinical need. NHSBT publishes data annually on access and outcomes in its organ-specific reports, which are available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/
This data shows good overall post-transplant survival rates, alongside some variation between centres. In addition, the data shows no evidence of geographical variation beyond chance for heart and lung transplantation rates, and some variation in lung registration rates. Further work is needed to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to transplantation.
Variation in patient outcomes, including longer‑term survival and listing outcomes, are reviewed through established NHSBT and NHS England clinical governance processes, including routine outcome review and centre‑specific follow‑up where indicated. The National Transplant Clinical Panel has been established to provide expert clinical interpretation of transplant outcome data to support oversight where issues of statistical variation are identified.
To improve access and outcomes, NHS England has established a national improvement programme, informed by the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This programme, alongside NHS England’s commissioning structures, includes work to improve referral pathways, organ utilisation, and service consistency, through strengthened peer review processes, an audit of organ acceptance practices, and work with transplant centres to support consistent decision-making. Further information on NHS England’s national improvement programme and the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise is available, respectively, at the following two links:
While progress has been made, including increases in transplant activity and reductions in waiting lists, NHS England continues to work with partners to ensure services are consistent, resilient, and able to meet patient need across the country.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to GP services for patients with long-term conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that improving access to general practice (GP) services is key for all patients, including those with long-term conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In England, we have invested £160 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of over 2,000 individual GPs into primary care networks (PCNs) across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. We are also introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme using £292 million of repurposed funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund more sessions with existing GPs to improve access in GPs
The Government will bring back the family doctor for those who would benefit from seeing the same clinician regularly, for example, those living with chronic illness, such as COPD. In the 2026/27 GP Contract we will make it a core requirement for PCNs to identify and prioritise cohorts for continuity of care using risk stratification tools as part of their core activities. This will make continuity a core expectation within primary care and support future work to embed more meaningful continuity models in subsequent contract reform.
As a result of all our measures, we've delivered 8.3 million more GP appointments, and Office for National Statistics data shows that nearly three quarters of patients now report a good experience with their GP.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure patients with systemic conditions linked to poor oral health, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, receive appropriate oral health education.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A range of actions support the provision of appropriate oral health education to patients with systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. For example, the Delivering Better Oral Health guidance, which is available at the following link:
This guidance is a key resource for the oral health profession to address risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and healthier eating. Oral health education should also be embedded in diabetes care pathways, to include educational programmes and oral health team members delivering patient education and motivation, alongside clinical management. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-standard-dental-care-for-people-with-diabetes/
Within hospitals, the Mouth Care Matters programme supports the oral health of patients, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/oral-health
In addition to this existing support, the Government is committed to reforming the dental contract by the end of this Parliament, with a focus on promoting prevention, matching resources to need, improving access, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department and relevant public health bodies became aware of the recent meningitis outbreak; what guidance was issued to NHS bodies, schools, colleges and universities; and on what date that guidance was first communicated to each category of setting.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Throughout the outbreak, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has worked closely with the National Health Service, educational settings, and other partners. The UKHSA local Health Protection Team was notified of a cluster of cases on 14 March 2026. The team acted immediately, and communication to those at immediate risk took place on 14 and 15 March 2026. On 15 March a letter was sent to all University of Kent students and staff with warn and inform information to ensure rapid identification of symptomatic individuals and provided details on eligibility for antibiotic chemoprophylaxis. Further information is available at the following link:
On 17 March, upon the identification of additional cases, advice was issued to affected schools. Integrated care boards and primary care in hours and out hours trusts were also informed of the evolving situation on 18 March. They were advised about messaging to University of Kent students, and that there were no changes to the national guidance on managing suspected meningococcal disease. They were also advised that if an individual had returned home and not received prophylaxis through UKHSA coordinated clinics this should be prescribed upon request. Guidance for public health management of meningococcal disease can be found at the following link:
In addition, information for education settings in England regarding the meningococcal disease outbreak can be found at the following link:
Information for people on what they need to do is updated regularly on the Meningitis outbreak information hub webpages, at the following link:
https://www.kmhealthandcare.uk/meningitis-information/