Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 implications for his policies of the recommendations on NHS culture in the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission's report entitled Closing the Gap, published in September 2024.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the National Cancer Plan, we have engaged with brain cancer clinical experts and charities, as well as receiving this report, to help us develop the plan. The plan will include how we can reform the workforce to improve cancer patient outcomes, including for patients with brain cancer.
On 24 October 2025, NHS England published the Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29. This sets out that all National Health Service providers must meet the site-specific timeframes of the Government’s 150-day clinical trial set-up target. To support embedding research as part of everyday care, research activity and income should be reported to boards on a six-monthly basis.
We are embedding genomics as routine practice within the NHS and its workforce by delivering the genomics medicines service, seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs and implementing whole genome sequencing as part of routine care. The Genomics Education Programme is responsible for upskilling the entire multi-professional, multi-specialty NHS workforce in genomics.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Lord Booth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what appointments they have made to the task and finish group responsible for developing the modern service framework for cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) Task and Finish Group is co-chaired by Dr. Jessica Randall-Carrick and Sir Andrew Goddard. The CVD MSF will be published in 2026, and will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the CVD pathway. The membership of the task and finish group has representation from over 30 stakeholders representing a wide range of organisations, including patient experience groups, charities, think tanks, and professional bodies related to CVD and associated conditions.
The CVD MSF Task and Finish Group has convened twice to date, on 7 October 2025 and most recently on 18 November 2025. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in mid-January 2026.
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 27 October 2025 to Question 77609 on Medical Treatments: Cost Effectiveness, if he will instruct NICE to review the adequacy of the Quality-Adjusted Life Year threshold for innovative medicines.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The pharmaceutical sector and the innovative medicines it produces are critical to our national interest, helping people access life changing treatments, reducing pressure on the health service over the longer-term, and ensuring we have a National Health Service that is fit for the future.
That is why through our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we have committed to working with industry to accelerate growth in spending on innovative medicines, compared to the previous decade. Our 10-Year Health Plan set out how we’d reform National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when post-selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors sexual dysfunction (PSSD) was added as a yellow card reporting option; who requested it and why; and whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency plans to update PSSD reports made before the addition of that option with the MedDRA code 10086208.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate to inform regulatory decisions.
The MHRA uses the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) to code suspected adverse drug reactions reported by patients and healthcare professionals via the Yellow Card scheme. MedDRA is an international, clinically validated medical terminology used by regulatory authorities and the biopharmaceutical industry throughout the entire regulatory process, from pre-marketing to post-marketing safety monitoring. MedDRA is updated twice annually, and new terms can be proposed by any MedDRA users. The term Post Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) was added to MedDRA as a lower-level term in version 24.1 which was and implemented by the MHRA as a term available to users of the Yellow Card website in February 2022 as part of routine updates.
As part of current routine MHRA processes, Yellow Card reports are not recoded to reflect the changes in the reaction terms available but remain as reported with the terms selected by the original reporter.
As a lower-level term in MedDRA, PSSD is recorded if the reporter has specifically used this term at the time of the report, and since this term can include a wide range of symptoms it would not be appropriate to recode cases not reporting this specific term received prior to 2021. All Yellow Card reports received prior to the availability of PSSD as a MedDRA term will have the individual symptoms reported coded as MedDRA terms and available for signal detection and assessment processes.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to (a) patients and (b) their families who have to relocate following the closure of the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the concerns of those who have benefitted from the support of the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People. We are committed to ensuring that disabled people have equitable, effective, and responsive access to health and care services that meet their needs.
Adult social care services are provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities. Ensuring good management of the market and securing continuity of care in the event of market exit due to business failure is the responsibility of local authorities.
Health and care systems and providers should work together to ensure that efforts to discharge individuals from hospital into social care are joined up and make best use of available resources, in line with the duty to cooperate set out in Section 82 of the NHS Act 2006.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a temporary duty to ensure that individuals continue to receive the services they need, including National Health Service patients receiving adult social care, if their care provider is no longer able to deliver those services. The Care Act Statutory Guidance provides guidance on managing provider failure and other service interruptions.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 of the closure of Queen Elizabeth’s foundation for Disabled People on bed blockages in the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the concerns of those who have benefitted from the support of the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People. We are committed to ensuring that disabled people have equitable, effective, and responsive access to health and care services that meet their needs.
Adult social care services are provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities. Ensuring good management of the market and securing continuity of care in the event of market exit due to business failure is the responsibility of local authorities.
Health and care systems and providers should work together to ensure that efforts to discharge individuals from hospital into social care are joined up and make best use of available resources, in line with the duty to cooperate set out in Section 82 of the NHS Act 2006.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a temporary duty to ensure that individuals continue to receive the services they need, including National Health Service patients receiving adult social care, if their care provider is no longer able to deliver those services. The Care Act Statutory Guidance provides guidance on managing provider failure and other service interruptions.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 improve managerial support for GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regarding the oversight of general practices (GPs), GPs are independent businesses, providing primary care services based on a National Health Service GP Contract to their local populations. Most commonly, GPs are run by GP partners who, alongside other GPs and healthcare staff, are responsible for running their own practice.
NHS England has delegated its responsibilities for the direct commissioning of primary care services, for instance primary medical, dental, ophthalmic, and community pharmacy services, to integrated care boards (ICBs).
The responsibilities delegated are set out in the standard delegation agreement between NHS England and each ICB. This includes contractual management and supporting the improvement and transformation of services. Further information on the delegation agreement is available at the following link:
We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in general practice to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole and reflects this government’s commitment to improve support for general practice and ease pressure on general practitioners.
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, whether his Department has received complaints on the use of automated GP booking systems leading to (a) administrative and (b) clinical errors in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All digital tools used in primary care must meet minimum functionality standards set by NHS England, ensuring a consistent and high-quality user experience. NHS England provides commercial and procurement support to guarantee that all digital solutions comply with nationally specified clinical safety and technical standards
Online consultation tools offer patients an option to contact their general practice (GP) digitally, allowing them to manage appointments, view and request repeat prescriptions, and register electronically with GP surgeries. They are specifically designed to simplify administrative processes
Experience suggests that extending online access provides significant benefits to both patients and practices. With more patients using online options, phone lines are less busy, which increases availability for those who need additional help or more urgent care
It remains the responsibility of the practice and clinicians to ensure that all patient requests are dealt with appropriately, and that urgent cases are identified and managed safely.
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 his Department has made of the (a) efficiency and (b) clinical safety of automated online systems for managing GP appointment requests.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All digital tools used in primary care must meet minimum functionality standards set by NHS England, ensuring a consistent and high-quality user experience. NHS England provides commercial and procurement support to guarantee that all digital solutions comply with nationally specified clinical safety and technical standards
Online consultation tools offer patients an option to contact their general practice (GP) digitally, allowing them to manage appointments, view and request repeat prescriptions, and register electronically with GP surgeries. They are specifically designed to simplify administrative processes
Experience suggests that extending online access provides significant benefits to both patients and practices. With more patients using online options, phone lines are less busy, which increases availability for those who need additional help or more urgent care
It remains the responsibility of the practice and clinicians to ensure that all patient requests are dealt with appropriately, and that urgent cases are identified and managed safely.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 identification of young carers across other health services in the context of plans to change the Mental Health Act Code of Practice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities must take reasonable steps to identify young carers in their area and assess their needs. To support local authorities in their child protection duties, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, strengthens this by introducing a duty on safeguarding partners to enhance multi-agency working with children and families.
Reforms to the Mental Health Act will encourage recording young carers in Advance Choice Documents, providing crucial information for professionals during crises. The Mental Health Bill also ensures carers are actively involved in patients’ statutory care plans, supported by guidance in the revised Mental Health Act Code of Practice.
NHS England is improving young carer identification and support through general practice guidance and better data sharing across health, education, and social care. In partnership with the Department for Education, it is leading a cross-Government project with young carers and voluntary organisations to reduce inequalities and strengthen support pathways.