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, what was the average time between diagnosis and treatment for heart valve disease in (a) England and (b) West Sussex in the last five years; and whether he plans to set maximum recommended timeframes on this matter.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - 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: 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, whether he has made an assessment of the variation in diagnosis times and access to treatment for heart valve disease by (a) region and (b) demographic group in England and West Sussex.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - 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: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many organ donations under deemed consent legislation have there been from deceased donors between 1st January (a) 2022, and (b) 2026.
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: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 the potential merits of restricting NHS staff from striking.
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: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what progress he has made on phasing out preclinical animal testing of biologicals where no pharmacologically relevant animal models exist.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where there is no pharmacologically relevant animal species for testing a biological product, the position of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is that there should be no studies done on animals, and in March 2026, the MHRA published a statement on its website that included this text: “For certain drug substances that are not pharmacologically active in animals, the MHRA does not support testing in animals (including with surrogate molecules). For this group of drugs, non-animal-based methods suffice to support expectations for efficacy and safety in clinical development”. This position is represented to companies that seek scientific advice from the MHRA on drug development in this context. Further information is available at the following two links:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mhra-approach-to-medicines-using-non-animal-methods
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 30 March to Question 119469 on Cancer: Vaccination, how many pharmaceutical companies have been contacted by his Department with details of the expansion of eligibility of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad since May 2025.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform that is increasing access and speeding up recruitment to clinical trials for personalised cancer vaccines and other immunotherapies for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. In 2025, the scope of the CVLP was expanded beyond personalised cancer vaccines to also include other immunotherapies. NHS England is responsible for the overall delivery of the CVLP and has contracted the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit to manage the day-to-day delivery of the platform.
The platform is designed to be company and clinical trial agnostic so any company can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research. NHS England hosted a webinar with interested pharmaceutical companies in 2025 after the expansion of the scope had been agreed, and continues to engage with companies through multiple avenues, including working with the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Vaccine Innovation Pathway.
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 recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on expanding medical exemption criteria to include cardiac arrest survivors dependent on long‑term rhythm‑stabilising medication.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to add cardiac arrest to the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate, and no discussions have been held with NHS England on this matter.
People who require long-term heart medication may be eligible for exemption from National Health Service prescription charges for another reason. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, and whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
Additionally, people on a low income can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme, and people who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate.
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, whether his department plans to review prescription charge exemptions for people who require lifelong medication following a cardiac arrest.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to add cardiac arrest to the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate, and no discussions have been held with NHS England on this matter.
People who require long-term heart medication may be eligible for exemption from National Health Service prescription charges for another reason. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, and whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
Additionally, people on a low income can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme, and people who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate.
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 he is taking to ensure that people access long‑term heart medication given the level of prescription charges.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to add cardiac arrest to the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate, and no discussions have been held with NHS England on this matter.
People who require long-term heart medication may be eligible for exemption from National Health Service prescription charges for another reason. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, and whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
Additionally, people on a low income can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme, and people who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate.
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, if he will make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of levels of access to Procysbi for people with Cystinosis in England compared to other parts of the UK.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not plan to undertake a comparative assessment of access to individual medicines across the United Kingdom. Health is a devolved matter and each UK nation is responsible for making its own decisions on the funding and use of medicines for patients in its health system.