Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 118875 on Hospices: Children, if he will publish the amount that each children and young people's hospice will receive in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children and young people’s hospices will receive at least £26 million, adjusted for inflation, in revenue funding for 2026/27. NHS England has recently communicated the details of this funding allocation and dissemination to 35 individual children and young people’s hospices, and their respective integrated care boards, although the Department is not yet in a position to share those individual allocations publicly.
Communication regarding future allocations, in 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.
Additionally, we have supported the hospice sector in England with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult, and children and young people’s, hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
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: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds the data of the number of NHS dental appointments cancelled as a result of practices converting to private provision.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he holds the data on the total number of GP referrals handed to consultants for review.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the letter from Target Ovarian Cancer and 33 hon. Members of 18 November 2025.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have received and since responded to the Hon. Member’s correspondence.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of low digital literacy on patients ability to access GP services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering digital services that are accessible and inclusive throughout the National Health Service, including in primary care.
NHS England has published a framework for National Health Service action on digital inclusion to support practical action. The Digital Exclusion Risk Atlas (DERA) is an online location-based analytical tool designed to help health and care system teams understand and identify patterns of digital exclusion across England.
DERA provides a range of data indicators to highlight areas where people may face barriers to accessing and using digital health and care services. By improving visibility of these patterns, DERA aims to support more targeted interventions and contribute to efforts to reduce health inequalities.
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, what steps are being taken to ensure patients prescribed topical corticosteroids are informed of potential risks, including withdrawal reactions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clinicians are expected to work with patients to make decisions about their care and treatment as part of shared decision-making, including discussing risks, benefits, and possible consequences of different options through information-sharing. Further information on shared decision-making can be found on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s website:
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has explored the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in electrocardiogram (ECG) diagnostics.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most modern electrocardiogram (ECG) machines already include algorithm-based decision support to assist with interpretation and to generate an automated report. As with all diagnostic tests, any automated output must be interpreted by a suitably qualified clinician in the context of the individual patient’s clinical presentation. The Government is engaging with partners developing enhanced ECG technologies, to support wider adoption as evidence and readiness allow.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
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 ensure that all paediatric departments have access to specialists trained in the diagnosis and treatment of Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS).
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to respond to the Hughes report before prorogation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.