Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 that fertility patients under the South West London ICB can access three rounds of fertility care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - 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: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the reasons that females have a longer average lifespan, and shorter average health span, than males.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that women live longer but spend more years in poor health than men, often due to conditions that are misdiagnosed, undertreated, or under-researched.
Healthy life expectancy measures health-related wellbeing by measuring the difference between mortality and the average time someone is expected to remain in self-reported “good” health.
In 2022 to 2024, males in England could expect to spend 60.9 years, or 77% of their life, in “good” general health, compared to 61.3 years, or 74%, for women. While there has been a reduction for both men and women from 2019 to 2021, and this reduction has been larger for women, at 2.4 years, than for men, at 1.8 years. Healthy life expectancy at birth in England has decreased to its lowest level since the Office for National Statistics’ time series began.
A 2023 report from the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities found that changes in self-reported “good” health prevalence has a larger impact on healthy life expectancy than changes in mortality rates. Research found that self-reported poor health was associated with chronic health conditions and multimorbidity.
Our renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published on the 15 April, sets out a bold, long‑term plan to transform how the health and care system listens to, supports and delivers for women and girls. It puts women’s voices and choices at the centre of care, drives faster improvements in services and outcomes that matter most to women, and tackles long‑standing health inequalities across the life course. The strategy aligns with the 10-Year Health Plan to shift care into the community, harness digital innovation and strengthen prevention so women can live healthier, more fulfilled lives.
Asked by: Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to recover the £24 million of public funds lost in relation to the PPE contract for protective coveralls awarded to SG Recruitment; and what is the status of the claim submitted to the company’s liquidators.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department awarded personal protective equipment contracts to SG Recruitment during the COVID‑19 pandemic, including a contract for protective coveralls. The protective coveralls supplied under this contract did not meet the required specifications and were rejected. The Department therefore holds a claim in respect of the contract.
SG Recruitment is now in liquidation. The Department has submitted its claim to the company’s liquidators and will continue to engage with the liquidation process. The liquidators will advise creditors of the outcome of their investigations, and any distributions to creditors, in due course. The liquidators’ final report will be published at Companies House at the conclusion of the liquidation.
The handling of the Department’s claim against SG Recruitment was examined by the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner as part of his review into COVID-19 era commercial activity.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 make a decision on whether the Federated Data Platform and Associated Services contract with Palantir Technologies will be extended; and what contingency plans his Department has in place to ensure ongoing provision of the programme if that contract is ended.
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: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the ten advice and guidance referral pathways selected by each integrated care board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - 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: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has sought advice on triggering the break clause in Palantir’s contract with the NHS.
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: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans are in place to ensure any changes to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellent (NICE) cost-effectiveness threshold are subject to parliamentary and public scrutiny.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has implemented a new cost-effectiveness threshold in its technology appraisals of £25,000 to £35,000 which is an increase from the previous threshold of £20,000 to £30,000. The new threshold is in line with the commitments made in the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal announced in December 2025.
The Government has engaged extensively with NICE, NHS England, the pharmaceutical industry and other parties throughout the process. The Government’s intended approach was set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 13 April 2026, which is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-04-13/hlws1493
In addition, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, wrote to the chairs of the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee to inform them of the regulatory changes.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the Government’s ten year plan ‘Fit for the Future’ in which he states the Government ‘s intention to move health services from hospitals to the community, if he will putlish a list of the current community patient services offered at the Doddington hospital site in Fenland, and for each service the NHS organisation which is responsible for the delivery of those services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current community patient services offered at both the North Cambridgeshire site in Wisbech and the Doddington hospital site in Fenland, and the organisations delivering those services, are listed in the attached tables.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the Government’s ten year plan ‘Fit for the Future’ in which he states the Government’s intention to move health services from hospitals to the community, if he will publish a list of the current community patient services offered at the North Cambridgeshire site in Wisbech, and for each service the NHS organisation which is responsible for the delivery of that service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current community patient services offered at both the North Cambridgeshire site in Wisbech and the Doddington hospital site in Fenland, and the organisations delivering those services, are listed in the attached tables.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 support patients without access to the internet to get appointments with GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We understand that not all patients have access to or want to use online services. The GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practice (GP).
The 2026/27 GP Contract includes a new requirement for practices to enable online appointment requests throughout the duration of core opening hours, which will ease pressure on phone lines for people who prefer to telephone.
We are also improving capacity in GPs. 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 across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. As a result, we have successfully delivered an additional 8.3 million GP appointments for patients compared to the same period last year, meaning more patients are getting the support they need, when they need it.
The Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey from March 2026 shows that 73.7% of patients reported it was “easy” to contact their GP, up from 60.9% in July 2024.