Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
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 trends in the level of (a) respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in (a) Ashford constituency, (b) Kent and (c) the UK; and what steps he is taking to help improve respiratory health.
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: 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, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with substance use issues can access specialist inpatient detox treatment.
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: 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, whether he is taking steps to introduce pay progression for Change Band 2 roles.
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: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
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 medical (a) gender inequality and (b) misogyny on the (i) diagnostics and (ii) treatment of urinary tract infections.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a specific assessment. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines, such as those for the diagnosis and management of urinary tract infections, are subject to equality impact assessments as part of NICE’s governance processes, which mean that protected characteristics, including sex, are considered as part of the guideline's development.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the workforce pipeline for small and vulnerable allied health professions from the risk of university programme closures or reductions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education to support the availability of a diverse range of training routes into health and care careers. While the Government is committed to ensuring sustainable training pathways for small and vulnerable healthcare professions, higher education institutions are independent providers and are responsible for making their own decisions about course delivery and viability.
NHS England has a focussed programme for small and vulnerable professions, including Allied Health Professions. This programme helps maintain and strengthen training and education pathways for pre‑registration learners, including apprenticeship routes, to support a national strategic approach to placement capacity and to build awareness of healthcare careers.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid out to NHS pension scheme members in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the value of pension benefits paid to NHS Pension Scheme members in financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25:
Financial year | 2024/25 | 2023/24 |
Pensions | £13,760,850,000 | £12,577,538,000 |
Commutations and lump sum benefit on retirement | £4,050,330,000 | £3,095,639,000 |
These figures comprise the value of annual pensions and lump sums paid. It does not include other payments made by the scheme such as contribution refunds or pension tax payments to HM Revenue and Customs.
Annual accounts for the scheme are published for each financial year and record the total value of all payments made. The annual accounts are available on the GOV.UK website and on the NHS Business Service Authority’s website.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what oversight they exercise over the commissioning of prosthetic and orthotic services to ensure that they are appropriately funded and that investment is linked to measurable patient outcomes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prosthetics is a specialised service, with commissioning transferring to integrated care boards on 1 April 2025, ensuring service providers must adhere to the national service specification and national clinical commissioning policies. Orthotic services are locally commissioned by integrated care boards or National Health Service trusts. It is the responsibility of local employers to ensure they have the right people with the right skills to meet local population needs. The Department remains committed to working with stakeholders, including the British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics, to support service improvements and meet patient demand.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet representatives from organisations such as Surviving in Scrubs in order to gain a deeper understanding of the sexual violence faced by female healthcare professionals.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Sexual misconduct of any kind in the National Health Service is unacceptable. NHS England has taken forward a number of actions to ensure a zero-tolerance culture to sexual misconduct in the NHS. The Government is clear that it will take any further action necessary to combat this issue.
Ministers met with representatives from Surviving in Scrubs in February 2025, as well as the Royal College of Physicians, to discuss work underway to tackle sexual violence in the medical workforce. We also held a roundtable event in January 2026 to address the issue of sexual safety in medical schools and identified a number of actions to improving reporting processes, enhance student support and foster healthier cultures within institutions and the profession.
There continues to open dialogue on what further work needs to be undertaken to address issues of sexism, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in relation to the medical workforce and medical students.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) number and (2) scale of deficits currently being reported by integrated care boards.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes regular updates on the financial performance of all National Health Service organisations in both their quarterly Oversight Framework segmentation league tables and their monthly board papers.
At month nine (M9), the end of December 2025, there are year to date overspends across NHS systems totalling £445 million, reflecting the impact of held back deficit support funding. Six systems account for more than half of this overspend, while 17 systems were delivering in line with their financial plans at that point in the year.
Further details can be found in the M9 Financial Position 2025/26 update to the February NHS England board on the NHS England website.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a comprehensive list of NHS-commissioned placenta accreta spectrum specialist centres that have been established since 2020, including the (1) location, and (2) referral pathways, of each centre.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England regional teams, in conjunction with their local integrated care boards as the responsible commissioners, are leading on commissioning specialised placenta accreta spectrum centres within their geographies. The treating clinician, in consultation with the patient, will advise on referral routes for patients under their care.
Areas with NHS-commissioned placenta accreta spectrum specialist centres:
London:
East of England:
North East Yorkshire and Humber:
South West:
East Midlands:
West Midlands: