Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make weight loss medications available to people living with obesity who are unable to afford them privately and who fall below the weight threshold required for NHS prescription as a result of using the medication.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan highlights the risk that these medicines will be accessed by those who can pay over those with the highest clinical need. The plan makes a commitment to expand access on the National Health Service through innovative industry partnerships, delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients. Continuing to make these medicines more widely available on the NHS will help reduce inequalities in access.
NHS access is being prioritised for those with the highest clinical need first. NHS England has worked with clinical experts, integrated care boards, patient and public representatives, healthcare professionals, charities, and royal colleges on its prioritisation approach, which is set out in its interim commissioning guidance and available at the following link:
We do not currently have plans to make these medicines available to those who have fallen below the weight threshold required for NHS prescription as a result of using the medication privately. For patients prescribed these medicines by the NHS, they will continue to receive these medicines for as long as clinically appropriate.
For those not currently eligible for weight loss medications, there are a variety of weight management services provided by the NHS and local government. These range from multi-component behavioural programmes to specialist services for those living with severe obesity and associated co-morbidities.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the present, and planned intake for (1) medical school places, (2) GP trainees, (3) nursing trainees, (4) nursing associate trainees, (5) midwifery trainees, (6) pharmacist trainees, and (7) dentist trainees in (a) 2025, (b) 2026, (c) 2028, and (d) 2031.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, the Office for Students (OfS) sets the maximum fundable limit for medical school and dental school places on an annual basis. For the 2025/26 academic year, the OfS has published its intake target at 8,126 for medical school places and 809 for dental school places. The latest published medical and dental intake data is available on the OfS website. The number of dental and medical school places taken is as follows:
The data above is initial data from 2024 and so may change. General practice training places are set out annually by NHS England.
Undergraduate training places for nurses, nurse associates, midwives, and pharmacists are not centrally commissioned by the Government. Instead, they are determined by local employers and education providers who decide the number of learners they admit based on learner demand and provider capacity funding. The number of acceptances for nursing and midwifery is:
The above data is from 2025, was taken 28 days after A-level results day, and is not final data. Further information is available on the UCAS website. The number of entrants to pharmacy courses was 3,880, as per data from 2023. Further information is available on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website, in an online only format. Data is not available for nurse associates
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which 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: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 affordability of powdered milk in relation to Healthy Start vouchers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The funding for Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, and milk. It can also be put towards the cost of infant formula.
The Healthy Start scheme is kept under review and in April 2026 the value of the weekly payments will increase by 10%.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of hospital parking charges on (a) staff and (b) visitors to hospitals; and what information he holds on the total cost of such charges in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of hospital parking charges. Hospitals in England are permitted to charge users for car parking, but those charges must be reasonable and in line with local charges. The revenue from hospital car parking is used to maintain car park facilities and any surplus income is put back into the National Health Service. The following table shows the income from car parking from patients and visitors as well as staff in 2023/24 and 2022/23:
| Income from car parking - patients and visitors | Income from car parking - staff |
2023/24 | £172,332,199 | £70,510,110 |
2022/23 | £145,873,556 | £46,653,234 |
Data on the income from car parking charges is published annually through the NHS Estates Return Information Collection, which is available at the following link:
In 2025/26, the Department is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital, enabling local NHS organisations to allocate funding to local priorities, which could include hospital car parking.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 plans to provide to help support hospitals to provide adequate levels of car parking for visitors in the next 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of hospital parking charges. Hospitals in England are permitted to charge users for car parking, but those charges must be reasonable and in line with local charges. The revenue from hospital car parking is used to maintain car park facilities and any surplus income is put back into the National Health Service. The following table shows the income from car parking from patients and visitors as well as staff in 2023/24 and 2022/23:
| Income from car parking - patients and visitors | Income from car parking - staff |
2023/24 | £172,332,199 | £70,510,110 |
2022/23 | £145,873,556 | £46,653,234 |
Data on the income from car parking charges is published annually through the NHS Estates Return Information Collection, which is available at the following link:
In 2025/26, the Department is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital, enabling local NHS organisations to allocate funding to local priorities, which could include hospital car parking.
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 many complaints there have been relating to NHS staff in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on complaints made by, or on behalf of, patients about National Health Services provided by NHS trusts, general practices, and/or dental practices is collected and published annually. It is available at the following link:
The data includes categorisation into broad ‘subject of complaint’ areas, a range of which may involve complaints including elements relating to members of NHS staff.
Independent bodies regulating health and care professionals across the United Kingdom, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Medical Council, or the Health and Care Professions Council, also publish data relating to the fitness to practice investigations they undertake. These will cover professionals who are registered, not all of whom will be working in the NHS in England. These can be accessed via the relevant body’s website.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 help improve women's heart health.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, and we are delivering our commitment that never again will women’s health be neglected.
In 2023, 31% of those who died prematurely from cardiovascular disease (CVD) were women. We are committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress towards this ambition, we will publish a new CVD modern service framework in 2026. Officials and NHS England are working closely to deliver the framework and are engaging widely throughout its development.
The NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, aims to detect people at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease in those aged between 40 and 74 years old. The programme prevents approximately 500 heart attacks or strokes annually and every year, approximately 770,000 women complete an NHS Health Check.
Work to improve access to the NHS Health Check programme is ongoing, including the development of a NHS Health Check Online service, which will allow women to undertake their health check at home, at a time and place convenient to them.
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 many overseas visitor managers are employed by the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data requested. NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England, which are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
The data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. The level of detail available in the data is not enough to be able to identify staff who are locally in roles described as ‘Overseas Visitor Managers’ or similar.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 raise awareness of the health impact of the long term use of marijuana.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to reducing the harm from all illicit drugs. Any illegal drug use, including cannabis, can be harmful, due to both the immediate side-effects and long-term physical and mental health problems. Cannabis use can contribute to and exacerbate existing mental health problems or can accelerate their development in people predisposed to mental health problems.
Taking cannabis in any form is risky. For instance, vaping supposed tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may increase the risk of users unwittingly consuming more dangerous substances like synthetic cannabinoids. Where there are incidents of synthetic cannabinoids in THC vapes, the local authority public health team and the police force should take action with partners to warn and protect their communities. The Department is tracking reports nationally and its regional teams are providing localised warnings and support.
The Department has recently launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the risks posed by new drug trends and products, including the adulteration of ‘THC’ vapes with other drugs like synthetic cannabinoids.
Furthermore, statutory guidance on relationships, sex, and health education requires all primary and secondary schools to ensure that pupils know the key facts and risks associated with alcohol and drug use, as well as how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop lesson plans on alcohol and drugs and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year.
The Government will continue to work with our partners to discourage drug use and to alert people, particularly young people, to the potential dangers of cannabis. The Government has a drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness, particularly for young people and parents. FRANK offers easy to read information on the risks of using cannabis and basic harm reduction advice. Information on cannabis is available at the following link:
https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/cannabis(opens%20in%20a%20new%20tab)
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential impact of offering free flu vaccines to (a) charity and (b) voluntary workers on the health of vulnerable people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Eligibility for a free National Health Service flu vaccine is guided, each year, by advice and recommendations from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and is kept under regular review. The aim of the flu vaccination programme is to protect those most at risk from serious illness and hospitalisation.
Those eligible to receive a free flu vaccine on the NHS this autumn are:
The NHS website contains further information on eligibility, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/
Anyone who feels unsure about their eligibility (including those who work with vulnerable people in a voluntary capacity) can consult their general practitioner, practice nurse, or pharmacist. Pregnant women can also consult their midwife.