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/
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds information on how many Care Quality Commission inspections of (a) hospitals, (b) nursing and care homes, (c) GP practices, (d) dentists, (e) hospitals and (f) local authorities took place (i) in person and (ii) remotely in each of the last three years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table attached shows how many Care Quality Commission inspections of hospitals, dental practices, general practices, nursing and residential care homes, and local authorities took place from 2023 to the year to date in 2026. The data cannot accurately be broken down by ‘in person’ or ‘remotely’ so figures may combine both types of regulatory activity.
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: 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: 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: 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: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 that patients are offered a choice of five providers at the point of referral where appropriate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to giving patients greater control and choice over their care. Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient.
The Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, sets out plans to improve patient choice, empowering people to take control of their health by making the NHS App and Manage Your Referral website the default route for patients to choose their provider. We are improving the information available to patients, such as waiting times. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a transformed vision for elective care, that will ensure the National Health Service is receptive and reactive to patient preference, voice, and choice.
In May 2023, NHS England asked all referrers to ensure they shortlist on average five choices from which the patient may choose, where this is practicable, clinically appropriate, and preferred by the patient. Integrated care boards have responsibility to ensure that their patients are aware of the choices available to them and are able to exercise their legal right to choose a provider following an elective care referral, and this is underpinned in Part 8 of the NHS Standing Rules, which are available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2996/part/8
NHS England has regulatory oversight responsibilities to ensure patient choice operates effectively in the NHS and has published Patient Choice Guidance, which includes guidance for referrers, and which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/patient-choice-guidance/
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to maintain patient choice.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to giving patients greater control and choice over their care. Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient.
The Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, sets out plans to improve patient choice, empowering people to take control of their health by making the NHS App and Manage Your Referral website the default route for patients to choose their provider. We are improving the information available to patients, such as waiting times. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a transformed vision for elective care, that will ensure the National Health Service is receptive and reactive to patient preference, voice, and choice.
In May 2023, NHS England asked all referrers to ensure they shortlist on average five choices from which the patient may choose, where this is practicable, clinically appropriate, and preferred by the patient. Integrated care boards have responsibility to ensure that their patients are aware of the choices available to them and are able to exercise their legal right to choose a provider following an elective care referral, and this is underpinned in Part 8 of the NHS Standing Rules, which are available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2996/part/8
NHS England has regulatory oversight responsibilities to ensure patient choice operates effectively in the NHS and has published Patient Choice Guidance, which includes guidance for referrers, and which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/patient-choice-guidance/
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his department has made in implementing the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommendation to reduce barriers to research into promising treatments for cluster headaches.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is working with officials in the Home Office to support the changes agreed to in the letter from the Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health from July 2025. The group has met with stakeholders from the clinical trials community who gave advice and assurance on the proposed changes to the legislation.
The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials, reducing barriers and unnecessary bureaucracy to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for cluster headaches. We expect these efforts to attract more commercial investment in clinical research and to yield a broad and diverse portfolio of clinical trials in the UK.
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with cluster headaches, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce updated clinical (a) guidance and (b) training for healthcare professionals on the identification and management of Topical Steroid Withdrawal.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Topical corticosteroids are an important and effective treatment for inflammatory skin conditions, including eczema, when used appropriately. It is essential that healthcare professionals are aware of both the benefits and potential risks associated with their use, particularly where treatment is prolonged or involves higher‑potency products.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has taken steps to strengthen awareness of topical corticosteroid safety, including public drug safety updates and clearer product information to highlight the risk of adverse effects, including withdrawal reactions, when use has been prolonged or inappropriate. These measures are intended to support informed discussions between clinicians and patients and safer prescribing practice.
Clinical guidance for healthcare professionals is already in place through National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical knowledge summaries, which set out best practice on the appropriate potency, duration, and frequency of topical corticosteroid use, and emphasise the importance of regular review. Decisions about diagnosis and management, including recognition of adverse reactions, remain clinical matters for individual healthcare professionals, who are expected to apply this guidance alongside their clinical judgement and the patient’s circumstances.
The Department will keep emerging evidence under review and will work with regulators, the National Health Service, and professional bodies to support ongoing education, promote safe use of medicines, and improve awareness of potential adverse effects among clinicians, including general practitioners and dermatologists.