Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the news story by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, published on 18 December 2025, what is (a) the average time and (b) the maximum time taken for the investigations that take more than 15 months to be resolved.
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: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 changes to the allocation of NHS training places included in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on UK medical students studying at foreign campuses of UK universities.
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: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the potential impact of prioritising UK medical graduates in the 10 Year Health Plan on staffing levels.
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: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 adequacy of the accessibility of other Sickle Cell Day units in the context of the closure of the Whitechapel unit.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - 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: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to NHS Trusts on the use of ward-wide audible alarm systems in maternity wards.
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: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Sickle Cell day unit in Whitechapel was closed.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - 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: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many sickle cell day centres have closed in the last 5 years; and how many sickle cell day centres remain operational.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - 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: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 providing financial compensation to people harmed by sodium valproate by using the same compensation process as for thalidomide survivors.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s consideration of the Hughes Report’s recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate will include comparison with the compensation process for thalidomide survivors. However, this is a complex, cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations. This work requires coordinated input from several departments, and we will provide a further update in due course.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and made clear that the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to genomic testing in Lancashire for the (a) 2026-27 (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29 financial years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for commissioning the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) for patients in the National Health Service in England. Genomic testing is currently delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). This includes the North West NHS GLH, which delivers genomic testing for patients in the North West of England, including those in the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England has undertaken a procurement of the NHS GMS lead providers for services to be delivered from 1 April 2026, including genomic testing. The 2026/27 contract, that will include the financial value for the NHS GMS lead providers, will be complete by Quarter four of 2025/26. Financial values for subsequent years are to be agreed on an annual basis thereafter.
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 steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with learning disabilities do not remain in hospital beds when there is no medical need for them to do so.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out to tackle health inequalities and offer people more holistic, on-going support in the community. It is important that people are discharged promptly from hospital with the right support, both for their outcomes, and to free up beds for other patients.
The Department is working to ensure that patients, including people with a learning disability, can leave hospital promptly by strengthening access to appropriate community-based services. Local systems, supported through the £9 billion Better Care Fund, are required to plan jointly for integrated health and social care that supports individuals to live independently. This includes commissioning supported living arrangements, residential care where needed, and tailored packages of domiciliary care.
For 2025/26, National Health Service trusts have been asked to focus on eliminating discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by issues within acute hospitals, and to work with local authorities on eliminate the longest delays, starting with those of over 21 days.
NHS Operational Planning Guidance also sets an objective to deliver a minimum 10% reduction in the use of mental health inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people in 2025/26. The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework maintains this focus, with an ambition for a 10% year-on-year reduction up to 2028/29.