Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce regional differences in life expectancy; and what steps they are taking to account for housing, employment and environmental factors in health policy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to increasing the amount of time people spend in good health and to preventing premature deaths, with an ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.
Our 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as to give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with the health service on their own terms.
The 10-Year Health Plan and the Environmental Improvement Plan set out how the Government will take action to reduce exposure to harmful emissions of air pollutants. This includes action on domestic burning, on which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have recently launched a consultation.
The 10-Year Health Plan also sets out actions to address poor quality housing and improve the standard of rented homes, alongside £15 billion of investment announced in the Warm Homes Plan. £5 billion of this will be targeted at low-income and fuel poor households. This will help to make homes warmer, more comfortable, and more energy-efficient, which in turn will improve health and reduce health inequalities.
Further to this, the Government recognises that good-quality employment is an important determinant of good health. Sir Charlie Mayfield has submitted the Keep Britain Working review, which highlights how crucial it is to support people to stay healthy and in work.
In partnership with the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Work and Pensions, we are rapidly translating Sir Charlie’s key recommendations into action.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of including male veterans and service personnel in the next Men’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 19 November 2025, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England. Our vision is to improve the health of all men and boys in England, including male veterans and service personnel.
This strategy is a crucial first step, laying the foundation from which we can learn, iterate and grow to create a society where all men and boys are supported to live longer, healthier and happier lives. As a first step, we will work with the Men's Health Academic Network and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to develop and publish a one-year-on report, highlighting the improvements made and where future efforts will need to be targeted.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what indicators they use to measure progress in reducing health inequalities; and how those metrics inform policy and funding decisions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths, with a vision of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background or location, live longer, healthier lives.
We remain committed to reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy (HLE) between the richest and poorest, an ambitious commitment that shows the Government is serious about tackling health inequalities and addressing the social determinants of health. Indicators to monitor progress in health inequalities are measured in key data outcomes, such as the life expectancy estimates for England and sub-national areas, produced by the Office for National Statistics.
The Government bases decisions on a robust evidence base. For example, we know that the Carr-Hill formula is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that general practices (GPs) serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
We are targeting key metrics such as the HLE gap to enable cross-Government action on primary prevention such as regulation of tobacco, controlling air pollution, and tackling poverty. We also support NHS England’s CORE20PLUS5 approach which targets action to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the National Health Service.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish an impact summary of the Foundation Programme 2026 recruitment cycle, including (1) the projected breakdown of priority versus non-priority eligible applicant numbers, (2) an assessment of the expected displacement of applicants, and (3) the associated mitigation plan to ensure workforce stability.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of implementation and ongoing monitoring and evaluation, after each recruitment stage, NHS England will track and monitor the revised recruitment process.
The bill will not exclude any eligible applicant from applying, but applications will be prioritised as the bill describes. The Government and NHS England will develop more detailed monitoring and evaluation plans, subject to parliamentary passage of the bill. These plans would also seek to address known evidence gaps where possible.
Further detail is provided within the published impact statement on the GOV.UK website.
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 plans they have to set a target for reducing incidence of cardiovascular disease as part of the 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to fewer lives being lost to the biggest killers, such as cardiovascular disease. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, to accelerate progress on the ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease modern service framework later this year.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the dismissal of the executive medical director at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, what oversight they are exercising to ensure that there is not a culture of suppressing clinical concerns regarding patient safety and staffing pressures.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have noted the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection report of 28 March 2024 into the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which rated the trust overall as ‘Requires Improvement’, with specific concerns identified in areas such as freedom to speak up. National Health Service staff should have the confidence to speak out and come forward if they have concerns. There is support in place for staff who wish to raise concerns, including a network of more than 1,200 local Freedom to Speak Up Guardians across healthcare in England, whose role is to help and support NHS workers.
On the question of oversight, the CQC has maintained close and sustained regulatory oversight of the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in light of ongoing concerns about service quality and safety. This has included targeted inspections, staff engagement work, and structured monitoring activity. In response to identified risks within urgent and emergency care at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, the CQC undertook an assessment in December 2025, followed by a further inspection on 6 January 2026. Significant risks were identified during this period, and the CQC subsequently issued a Letter of Intent to the trust. The CQC has continued to work collaboratively with NHS England, participating in monthly quality improvement meetings to monitor the trust’s progress against its action plans.
The CQC will continue to use its statutory powers to ensure that services meet the required standards of quality and safety.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Care Quality Commission report published on 28 March 2024 into the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS whistleblowers in Doncaster are protected from professional detriment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have noted the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection report of 28 March 2024 into the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which rated the trust overall as ‘Requires Improvement’, with specific concerns identified in areas such as freedom to speak up. National Health Service staff should have the confidence to speak out and come forward if they have concerns. There is support in place for staff who wish to raise concerns, including a network of more than 1,200 local Freedom to Speak Up Guardians across healthcare in England, whose role is to help and support NHS workers.
On the question of oversight, the CQC has maintained close and sustained regulatory oversight of the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in light of ongoing concerns about service quality and safety. This has included targeted inspections, staff engagement work, and structured monitoring activity. In response to identified risks within urgent and emergency care at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, the CQC undertook an assessment in December 2025, followed by a further inspection on 6 January 2026. Significant risks were identified during this period, and the CQC subsequently issued a Letter of Intent to the trust. The CQC has continued to work collaboratively with NHS England, participating in monthly quality improvement meetings to monitor the trust’s progress against its action plans.
The CQC will continue to use its statutory powers to ensure that services meet the required standards of quality and safety.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term physical, mental and legal consequences of the Puberty Suppression and Transitional Healthcare with Adaptive Youth Services study of children with gender dysphoria.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is following expert, independent advice from the Cass Review to implement a programme of research to support high quality National Health Service care for children and young people with gender incongruence. Responding to the specific recommendations of the review, the programme includes the PATHWAYS trial, a carefully designed clinical trial to assess the relative benefits and harms of puberty-suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence when provided alongside an updated model of NHS care incorporating holistic assessment and a tailored package of psychosocial support.
The trial is now in the set-up phase following comprehensive independent scientific, ethical, and regulatory review and approvals. It was designed by an independent research team, in conjunction with patient and public involvement as well as independent ethics, clinical, and legal experts. The team responsible for the protocol design have given considerable thought to the most appropriate eligibility criteria for entry into the trial, and to the physical and mental outcome measures to be monitored, to properly assess and protect young people's wellbeing.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of technology investments, including optical character recognition and natural language processing, to automate manual processes in clinical audit and registry submission across NHS England; whether businesses cases for that investment have been prepared; if so, in which disease areas or audit programmes those cases were prepared; and what were the outcomes of those cases.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is exploring a range of functionality to automate manual data processes aligned to clinical improvement, including for our Outcomes & Registries Programme, National Disease Registration Service, frontline digitisation and the promotion and adoption of new technology across provider systems. Our central data and digital transformation business cases are primarily focused on the adoption of the technical capabilities and innovations, applicable in many areas, rather than focusing within specific individual audits or registries alone. Some business cases have been accepted and moved forward.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the vacancy for the chief executive of NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board will adhere to the standard NHS very senior manager pay framework, or whether they intend to approve an exceptional salary business case for this post that exceeds the national midpoint.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chief Executive Officer for the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) role is subject to the Very Senior Manager’s pay framework and is currently covered on an interim basis in line with that framework. Should permanent cover of the role require a review of pay for the new employee, the expectation would be that this is also done in line with the framework, but if an exceptional salary was proposed by the ICB, that would be subject to review and approval by the Department.