Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
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 promoting the document entitled BS 30480 Suicide and the workplace: Intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide, published on 4 November 2025, to employers as part of workplace wellbeing initiatives.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I am grateful to the hon. Member for her tireless work on suicide prevention. Every suicide is a tragedy that leaves a profound and enduring impact on families, friends, and communities. Tackling suicide is one of the Government’s top priorities and we are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England with a range of partners.
Everyone has a part to play in preventing suicide and employers are essential to ensuring supportive workplace communities and to highlighting the importance of intervention, prevention, and support for people affected by suicide.
We have referenced BS 30480 in the Men’s Health Strategy, published on 19 November 2025, alongside our plans to invest up to £3.6 million over the next three years to deliver neighbourhood-based suicide prevention support pathfinders for middle-aged men, co-designed with experts and men with lived experience.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission in (a) identifying and (b) responding to poor standards of care in the adult social care sector in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dr Penny Dash’s review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) uncovered significant failings in the internal workings of the CQC, which had led to a substantial loss of credibility within the health and social care sectors. Following the publication of the report, the Department is supporting the CQC as well as holding it to account to ensure that improvements are made rapidly. The CQC has already taken steps to address areas of immediate concern including enabling new assessments and reducing the backlog of registration applications.
The CQC is assessing how local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. Surrey County Council was rated ‘Good’ by the CQC. Their assessment was published on 20 November 2024, and is available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/surrey-1124
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what has been the cost to the public purse of the Gaza medical evacuation scheme for children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2025 to Question 81587.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was paid in compensation by the NHS by the reason for that compensation in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is available on the NHS Resolution website at the following link:
https://resolution.nhs.uk/resources/annual-statistics/
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
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 impact on the NHS workforce of financial pressures faced by higher education institutions providing healthcare education.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made.
We work closely with the Department for Education on a wide range of matters, including healthcare education and training funding. Matters relating to the income of universities are the responsibility of the Department for Education.
Latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) for 2025 show that acceptances to undergraduate nursing and midwifery courses at English providers have increased by 1% when compared to the same point last year, and by 5% compared to pre-pandemic numbers (2019). These are not final numbers. We are awaiting end of cycle data to be published by UCAS later this year to confirm final numbers.
The total number of publicly funded students that can start medical courses each year is limited and is set by the Government. Each medical school is issued with an expected maximum intake for the year. The Office for Students runs an annual data survey that monitors provider recruitment against these targets. In the five most recent years for which final data is available, universities have met this limit, with medicine remaining a competitive course.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. 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.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
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 level of incidence of hospital-acquired deconditioning among elderly patients in (a) acute hospitals and (b) community hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the level of incidence of hospital acquired deconditioning among elderly patients in acute hospitals or community hospitals, as the National Health Service does not routinely measure this.
However, we remain committed to reducing deconditioning in in-patient settings through a strong focus on supporting health and care needs in the community wherever possible, reducing delays to discharge, and strengthening rehabilitation and reablement services.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
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 improve the retention of surgical staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.
To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff, including promoting flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. They will provide a framework for leaders across the NHS to build a supportive culture that embeds retention.
NHS England is already leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.
In August, NHS England published the 10-point plan for improving resident doctors working lives which addresses issues such as annual leave and payroll errors. The Department continues to work to improve working conditions for all resident, specialty, associate specialists and specialist (SAS) doctors and consultant doctors.
This year, we accepted the Pay Review Body recommendations for headline pay for 2025/26 such that consultant and SAS doctors received an above inflation pay uplift of 4% and resident doctors received 4% + £750.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the NHS Federated Data Platform uptake and benefits, updated on 30 October, how many of the 563,239 people removed from the waiting list were removed for the reason of (1) receiving treatment, (2) improved conditions, (3) opting for alternative care, (4) returning to general practice for primary care, (5) returning to optometry for primary care, (6) returning to pharmacy for primary care, (7) returning to primary care not otherwise specified, and (8) other reasons not otherwise specified.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Federated Data Platform’s referral to treatment validation tool supports National Health Service staff to better manage the waiting lists of patients who have been referred for non-urgent elective care.
The Department does not hold the data required to detail the breakdown of reasons patients were removed from the waiting lists as this is patient-level data which is held by trusts themselves in their electronic patient records.
Waiting list validation is a core part of providers’ management of waiting lists which involves ensuring patients’ records are accurate and up to date, that patients still want their treatment, and that they have opportunities to update their clinical team about changes in their condition or relevant circumstances.
This ensures providers have an accurate understanding of the true size of their waiting list, whilst helping minimise missed or cancelled appointments and ensuring the most effective use of clinicians’ time.
Waiting list validation is a well-established component for the effective management of waiting lists, with detailed guidance available for trusts, including safeguards to ensure patients are not incorrectly removed from waiting lists. NHS guidance states there “must be agreement from a clinician before any patient is returned to the referrer”. Any patient removed should receive a letter that would also be sent to their general practitioner.
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, how many patients have waited longer than 24 hours for treatment in A&E in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes monthly data on accident and emergency (A&E) performance. This includes information on those A&E attendances that are 12 hours or longer for type 1 and 2 A&E providers. The data is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times the national maternity and neonatal taskforce has met.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will be chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and will take forward the recommendations of the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, forming them into a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care. Consultation on the terms of reference and shape of the taskforce with families has begun, and the first meeting of the taskforce will take place in the new year, with initial feedback from the independent investigation to be considered as part of it.
The investigation will report to the Secretary of State before the end of the year and publish its final report and recommendations in the Spring 2026. These recommendations will supersede the multiple existing actions and recommendations already in place. As confirmed in the Secretary of State’s June 2025 announcement, the findings of the investigation will feed into the taskforce and provide invaluable insight and recommendations into the key areas that require change.