Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 increase participation in the bowel cancer screening programme in Ashfield.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bowel cancer screening is delivered through the national NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, which invites eligible people aged 50 to 74 years old every two years, with those aged over 74 years old able to request a test kit. Data for the programme is available at a Nottinghamshire level, and as of January 2026, the test kit return rate was 64.9%, compared with a national average of 54.3%. All individuals in Nottinghamshire with a positive test result were offered an appointment with a specialist screening practitioner within the 14‑day national standard.
NHS England Midlands has implemented a range of measures to increase participation in the screening programme across Nottinghamshire, including for residents of Ashfield. These measures include:
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 increase uptake for bowel cancer screenings.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Coverage of bowel cancer screening has been increasing in recent years. In 2019, 60.5% of people took the offer up, while now it is 71.8%.
The bowel cancer screening programme has standards, including thresholds. The acceptable threshold is the lowest level of performance which screening services are expected to attain. The achievable threshold represents the level at which the screening service is likely to be running optimally.
The threshold levels have recently been reviewed, with changes taking effect from 1 April 2025. The new coverage thresholds for people aged between 60 and 74 years old is an acceptable level of more than or equal to 62%, and an achievable level of more than or equal to 76%.
To further increase coverage across England, NHS England is doing the following:
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of full time permanent employees of the NHS in England; and how many of those employees are (1) UK nationals, and (2) overseas nationals with permission to work in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of overseas nationals with permission to work in the United Kingdom who are employed in the National Health Service in England. The following table shows, for January 2026, the self-reported nationality of staff employed by NHS hospital trusts and integrated care boards in England:
All nationality groups (headcount) | United Kingdom nationality | Non-UK nationalities | Unknown nationality |
1,545,602 | 1,197,793 | 330,982 | 17,119 |
Source: NHS Workforce Statistics, NHS England
Note: total staff number is not equal to the sum of components due to some staff working in more than one role.
Self-reported nationality may sometimes reflect an NHS employee’s heritage rather than their current citizenship.
Asked by: Lord Ravensdale (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations of the report by the Royal College of Pathologists, Paediatric and perinatal pathology workforce report 2025, published in November 2025.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The paediatric and perinatal pathology workforce report highlights the extent of the workforce crisis in paediatric and perinatal pathology and the impact this can have on turnaround times and families.
NHS England has launched a national programme to strengthen perinatal and paediatric pathology services and to improve service capacity and resilience.
A £20,000 recruitment incentive for new trainees has been introduced, a fully funded international recruitment campaign has launched, and a new National Training Programme Director has been appointed.
Further initiatives are underway to review the training pathway, develop advanced practitioner roles, and implement a retention strategy for existing staff.
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 recent report by NHS Providers Beyond Councils of Governors: rethinking public accountability, published 20 March, for future governance arrangements for NHS Foundation Trusts.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The report will be considered as part of the wider work underway on future engagement models.
The removal of councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making.
While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure growth and retention in the occupational therapy workforce across health, social care, community and specialist services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. While the scope of the 10 Year Workforce Plan is the NHS workforce, we understand the importance of effective integration across social care and community care.
We are working through how the 10 Year Workforce Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) number, and (2) percentage, of NHS acute providers (a) have been in deficit in each of the past three years, and (b) are projected to be in deficit at the end of the current financial year.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2022/23, 60 National Health Service acute trusts reported a deficit, which is the equivalent to 49% of acute trusts. In 2023/24, 75 NHS acute trusts reported a deficit, which is the equivalent to 61% of acute trusts. In 2024/25, 74 NHS acute trusts reported a deficit, which is the equivalent to 62% of acute trusts. Looking ahead to 2025/26, at month 11, 61 NHS acute trusts are forecasting a year‑end deficit, which is the equivalent to 51% of acute trusts.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase defibrillator coverage in non-ambulance emergency vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Many non-emergency patient transport service (NEPTS) ambulances operated by National Health Service trusts already carry a defibrillator.
The contractual requirements for the provision of NEPTS services, including carrying defibrillators, are determined by each integrated care board, based on their assessment of the needs of the local population.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given, if any, to centralised procurement arrangements to equip emergency vehicle fleets with defibrillators at scale.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no national standard for defibrillator provision in all emergency vehicles, and the Government has not considered centralised procurement arrangements. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to mandate the provision of defibrillators in all emergency vehicles. For National Health Service ambulance services, all NHS ambulances carry defibrillators.
The Home Office has advised that Fire Services and police forces are operationally independent from the Government, and therefore decisions on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) would be an operational matter for them.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed there are already local models of joint working between emergency services, for example where firefighters are trained to respond alongside ambulance services, including basic life support and AED use. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports effective collaboration that strengthens public safety.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a national standard or equivalent for defibrillator provision in emergency vehicles; and if so, whether they will publish that standard.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no national standard for defibrillator provision in all emergency vehicles, and the Government has not considered centralised procurement arrangements. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to mandate the provision of defibrillators in all emergency vehicles. For National Health Service ambulance services, all NHS ambulances carry defibrillators.
The Home Office has advised that Fire Services and police forces are operationally independent from the Government, and therefore decisions on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) would be an operational matter for them.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed there are already local models of joint working between emergency services, for example where firefighters are trained to respond alongside ambulance services, including basic life support and AED use. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports effective collaboration that strengthens public safety.