Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assurance mechanisms are in place to safeguard patient-identifiable data within the Federated Data Platform (FDP) operating across NHS trusts and the Integrated Care Board in Cheshire and Merseyside; and what independent audit or verification processes are undertaken to ensure compliance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to National Health Service data is tightly governed and independently auditable.
The NHS FDP Information Governance Framework clearly lays out the roles and responsibilities relating to breach notification and management, defining organisations’ responsibilities in this area.
All user activity within the NHS FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are monitored by both the suppliers platform team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre to detect and respond to any malicious activity.
The NHS FDP contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations, including compliance with UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what contractual safeguards and sanctions are contained within the Federated Data Platform (FDP) agreement to address any breach of data protection obligations by the contracted technology provider or any subcontractor; and what mechanisms exist for independent external scrutiny of compliance.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to National Health Service data is tightly governed and independently auditable.
The NHS FDP Information Governance Framework clearly lays out the roles and responsibilities relating to breach notification and management, defining organisations’ responsibilities in this area.
All user activity within the NHS FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are monitored by both the suppliers platform team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre to detect and respond to any malicious activity.
The NHS FDP contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations, including compliance with UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of establishing a compensation scheme for women who have experienced harm associated with pelvic mesh implants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including options for financial compensation.
The Government has deep sympathy for all those affected and recognises the profound impact that these harms have had on individuals and their families.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that he wants to make meaningful progress during this Parliament, although a decision to provide compensation has not yet been made. We recognise how difficult and disappointing this uncertainty is for those affected, and we will ensure that the public is kept informed as soon as any decision on redress is made.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes since I have been in post, and had a very fruitful discussion about the ongoing health initiatives led by the Department regarding sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Details of the Government’s work to date are set out in recent letters to the Dr Hughes, which are published on her website.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the minimum age requirement for practitioner of male circumcision for non-medical purposes.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no requirement in law for a practitioner performing non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) to be of a minimum age. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they will be subject to oversight by the relevant professional regulator such as the General Medical Council for doctors or the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives.
If a regulated healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities, and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing a joint process between NICE and the MHRA for the licensing and appraisal of medicines; and whether the licensing and appraisal of the BREAKWATER treatment protocol for patients with BRAF-mutated bowel cancer will follow this pathway.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recommendations. Current treatment options for BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer depend on the stage of the disease and previous treatments. Several medicines for the treatment of colorectal cancer have been recommended by NICE. NICE has also recommended encorafenib in combination with cetuximab as an option for treating BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic colorectal cancer after previous systemic treatment.
The BREAKWATER study is investigating encorafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for the potential treatment of colorectal cancer. This regimen does not currently have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of previously untreated BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE has prioritised an appraisal of encorafenib for this indication in anticipation of it being granted a UK marketing authorisation and will schedule the appraisal so that guidance can be published as close as possible to the expected licensing date. The joint licensing and health technology appraisal pathway was launched on 1 April. It is not possible at this stage to confirm whether the appraisal will follow the joint pathway. Further information on the appraisal’s status is publicly available on NICE’s website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/awaiting-development/gid-ta11961
The clinical trial was assessed and approved in the UK and is currently active, with further information available at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04607421?term=BREAKWATER&viewType=Card&rank=1
Department officials regularly discuss a range of topics with colleagues in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the MHRA and (B) NICE regarding the BREAKWATER treatment protocol for patients with BRAF‑mutated bowel cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recommendations. Current treatment options for BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer depend on the stage of the disease and previous treatments. Several medicines for the treatment of colorectal cancer have been recommended by NICE. NICE has also recommended encorafenib in combination with cetuximab as an option for treating BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic colorectal cancer after previous systemic treatment.
The BREAKWATER study is investigating encorafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for the potential treatment of colorectal cancer. This regimen does not currently have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of previously untreated BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE has prioritised an appraisal of encorafenib for this indication in anticipation of it being granted a UK marketing authorisation and will schedule the appraisal so that guidance can be published as close as possible to the expected licensing date. The joint licensing and health technology appraisal pathway was launched on 1 April. It is not possible at this stage to confirm whether the appraisal will follow the joint pathway. Further information on the appraisal’s status is publicly available on NICE’s website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/awaiting-development/gid-ta11961
The clinical trial was assessed and approved in the UK and is currently active, with further information available at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04607421?term=BREAKWATER&viewType=Card&rank=1
Department officials regularly discuss a range of topics with colleagues in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 high strength retail sold magnets, including those imported outside of the UK and EU regulatory frameworks, on the safety and functioning of cerebrospinal fluid shunts.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusions on the market in the United Kingdom are safe, effective, and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002) established the statutory framework that medical devices, including cerebrospinal fluid shunts, must meet in order to comply with these standards.
The manufacturer is legally responsible for obtaining the necessary certification, registering their medical devices with the MHRA, the UK Competent Authority, and undertaking post-market surveillance. Higher risk medical devices are assessed and approved by Approved Bodies, for UKCA marking, or Notified Bodies, for CE marking. Manufacturers consider anticipated conditions within intended environments of use, such as those with high magnet fields, for instance magnetic resonance imaging, when designing and manufacturing devices. As part of meeting the requirements of the MDR 2002, manufacturers must provide instructions for use, including implant cards and implant information, any special operating instructions, any warnings and/or precautions to take, and precautions to be taken as regards exposure, in reasonably foreseeable environmental conditions, to magnetic fields.
The MHRA has published guidance on how electromagnetic interference can affect several types of medical devices that have electrical or electronic systems and mitigation steps. This guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has reviewed recent evidence on the potential impact of social media on users’ mental health.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government keeps the evidence on the relationship between social media use and mental health under close review and is committed to ensuring that children’s lives online are safe and enriching. A national consultation is currently underway to seek views on measures to improve children’s online safety across social media, gaming platforms, and artificial intelligence chatbots. The consultation forms part of the Government’s broader programme to understand how technology impacts children’s wellbeing, and what more can be done to help families strike the right balance. Insights from this consultation will help inform future policy to better protect children’s mental health and ensure that digital platforms play their part in promoting safe and healthy online experiences.
With regards to specific evidence reviews, in 2019, the UK Chief Medical Officers published a review of the evidence on screen-based activities and mental health, which concluded that while there is an association between social media use and mental wellbeing, the evidence did not indicate a causal relationship and highlighted the need for more high-quality research. Since then, the Government has continued to work closely with academic experts to review emerging evidence, including studies funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
In January 2026, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published a research report titled Understanding the impact of smartphones and social media on children and young people, which found a lack of high-quality causal evidence linking children’s mental health and wellbeing and their use of social media. We will now be paying close attention to the recently announced IRL Trial, led by Professor Amy Orben, as this is the first large scale randomised controlled trial investigating how limiting access to social media might affect adolescent mental health.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support the Government intends to provide to individuals who have experienced mental harm as a result of social media use.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A national consultation is currently underway to seek views on measures to improve children’s online safety across social media, gaming platforms, and artificial intelligence chatbots. The consultation forms part of the Government’s broader programme to understand how technology impacts children’s wellbeing, and what more can be done to help families strike the right balance. Insights from this consultation will help inform future policy to better protect children’s mental health and ensure that digital platforms play their part in promoting safe and healthy online experiences.
It is unacceptable that too many people, especially children and young people, are not getting the support they need for their mental health. We need a new approach to mental health that reduces waiting times, improves the quality of care, and strengthens prevention and early intervention.
The Government has made progress to expand access to mental health support. In the first 12 months of the Government, nearly 40,000 more children and young people received support compared to the previous 12 months. This is helped by over 8,000 extra mental health workers being recruited since July 2024, against a target of 8,500 by the end of this Parliament. The rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges is being accelerated so that 100% pupils in England will have access to this innovative early support by 2029. NHS England has also set clear expectations for integrated care boards to reduce the longest waits for children and young people’s community mental health services.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 support those with serious mental health conditions through the Individual Placement and Support Programme.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of supporting people with serious mental health conditions to access and remain in employment.
Support to improve employment outcomes is embedded within NHS Talking Therapies services. Employment advisers are available in all NHS Talking Therapies services in England and work alongside therapists to provide tailored employment support alongside psychological therapy. In general, people referred for employment support are able to access this within four weeks, and where appropriate, employment support can be provided alongside therapy, or earlier where there is an urgent work-related issue.
For people with more severe mental illness, the Department is expanding the Individual Placement and Support programme so that 73,500 people can access this evidence-based service by March 2028.
More widely, the Department recognises that the fit note process is not working as effectively as it should in supporting people to manage health conditions at work. Through initiatives such as the WorkWell Primary Care Innovation Fund, local areas are piloting improved ways of connecting people to appropriate work and health support, helping to support earlier returns to work and reducing avoidable pressure on psychological therapy services. Wider work to better join up health and employment support includes initiatives such as Health and Growth Accelerators. Further information can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-boost-to-support-patients-to-stay-in-and-return-to-work