Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the Westminster Hall debate on Parkinson's disease on 17 November 2025, col. 230WH, what steps he will take to encourage medical researchers to propose more projects for National Institute for Health and Care Research funding to help cure that disease.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the 2024/25 financial year, the NIHR committed £6 million to Parkinson’s disease research through its research programmes and capacity building schemes.
As well as funding research itself, the NIHR invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England. Collectively this forms NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure enables the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research into Parkinson’s disease.
In order to inform priorities and guide future research commissioning by funders of Parkinson’s research, the NIHR Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit at Exeter has undertaken a mapping exercise of the current evidence landscape.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Welcoming applications on Parkinson's disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to encourage the use of a surgical robot in Cornwall, in the context of it being the only region in England and Wales without one.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan commits to expanding surgical robot adoption over the next decade. We recognise the importance of ensuring equitable access and we will establish national registries for robotic surgery data from 2029 and develop telesurgery networks to support geographical equity of access to robotic assisted surgery.
Decisions on the procurement of robotic‑assisted surgery are made locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards, in line with local need and national guidance. The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) has a robotic surgery programme as a commitment in their refreshed 10-year strategy, which was approved at the RCHT Board on 8 January 2026.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Defence to ensure that NHS practitioners are informed of the vulnerability to suicidal ideation of veterans impacted by Lariam; and what steps veterans can take with his Department to help improve awareness within the NHS of the nature and effects of mefloquine toxicity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - 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: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
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 impact of Matha's Rule on enhancing patient care and saving lives for those with learning disabilities.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Martha’s Rule is being implemented in all acute hospitals in England. Early indications suggest a positive impact on patient care across patient groups, including people with learning disabilities, through improved recognition of physiological deterioration, strengthened patient and family voice, and earlier clinical review.
Data published by NHS England shows that from September 2024 to November 2025, 9,135 Martha’s Rule calls were made, with the highest proportion of calls, or 72%, made via the family escalation process. 3,186 Martha’s Rule escalation calls, or 36%, related to acute deterioration and of those, 412 calls resulted in potentially life-saving transfers of care.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support for training and resources his Department is providing to integrated care boards to help implement the NHS England Maternal Care Bundle, published on 6 January 2026.
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: 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 assessment he has made of the average length of time of a GP appointment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - 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: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the restriction on pursuing clinical negligence cases to direct financial dependents only in cases where an individual has died on the justice system.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - 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: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that all patients with suspected leukaemia symptoms can access a full blood count test within 48 hours, as recommended by the NICE NG12 guidelines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is determined to take all the necessary steps to improve early diagnosis for all cancers, including blood cancers such as leukaemia.
To accomplish this, the National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has a guideline on suspected cancer called ‘recognition and referral’ which aim to support the identification of children, young people and adults with symptoms that could be caused by cancer’. The guideline provides guidance on appropriate investigations in primary care, and the selection of people to refer for a specialist opinion. The guideline recommends that people with specific symptoms should be offered a very urgent full blood count to assess for leukaemia. Local NHS organisations are expected to take NICE guidelines fully into account in ensuring that their services meet the needs of their local populations. The NHS is held to account to deliver guidelines, which include all NICE directions, at local and regional level.
The National Cancer Plan for England will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for all patient groups, including leukaemia patients.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with (1) Chrohn's and (2) Colitis in (a) South Holland and the Deepings and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Neither the Department nor NHS England hold data on the total number of people diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or colitis in South Holland and the Deepings or Lincolnshire in each of the last five years. However, the following table shows a count hospital admissions (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis Crohn's disease or colitis and where the patient was resident in Lincolnshire or South Holland and the Deepings, each year from 2020/21 to 2024/25:
Year | South Holland and Deepings | Lincolnshire | ||
Crohn’s | Colitis | Crohn’s | Colitis | |
2020/21 | 125 | 305 | 2,350 | 3,355 |
2021/22 | 175 | 410 | 2,765 | 4,295 |
2022/23 | 180 | 480 | 3,130 | 4,890 |
2023/24 | 165 | 465 | 3,390 | 5,275 |
2024/25 | 75 | 190 | 3,675 | 6,455 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, published by NHS England
Notes:
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 10 May 2023 to Question 183643 on Public Health, what methodologies were used to estimate the costs to the NHS for each of the five risk factors specified.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The applicable methodologies for the National Health Service cost attributed to each of the risk factors outlined are explained in the following reports.
The estimated air pollution related costs to the NHS can be found in the Public Health England report ‘Estimation of costs to the NHS and social care due to the health impacts of air pollution: summary report’ , from 2018, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-a-tool-to-estimate-healthcare-costs
An estimate of the NHS and healthcare costs of alcohol from 2021/22, produced by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, can be found at the following link:
https://www.ias.org.uk/factsheet/economy/
Estimated obesity related costs to the NHS can be found in the Frontier Economics report for NESTA, published in July 2025, ‘The Economic and Productivity Costs of Obesity and Overweight in the UK’, which is available at the following link:
Estimated Hypertension related costs to the NHS can be found in the Optimity Matrix Cost-effectiveness review of blood pressure interventions, ‘A Report to the Blood Pressure System Leadership Board’, published November 2014, available at the following link:
The most recent estimated smoking related costs to the NHS can be found in the press release, ‘New figures show cost of smoking to society in England dwarfs tobacco tax revenue’. This is available at the following link: