Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 retail sold magnets on the safety of cerebrospinal fluid shunts programmable externally by magnets.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusions on the market in the United Kingdom are safe, effective, and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002) establish the statutory framework that medical devices must meet in order to comply with these standards.
All medical devices, including cerebrospinal fluid shunts programmable externally by magnets, must comply with the MDR 2002, which include bearing the UKCA or CE marking on the packaging or labelling of the device. Manufacturers or their UK representatives must monitor use of these devices when used in the UK. The manufacturer holds the legal responsibility for obtaining the necessary certification and registering their medical devices with the MHRA, the UK Competent Authority. Higher risk medical devices are assessed and approved by Approved Bodies in the UK or Notified Bodies in the European Union.
As part of meeting the requirements of the regulations, manufacturers have to provide instructions which would include any special operating instructions, any warnings and/or precautions to take, and precautions to be taken as regards exposure, in reasonably foreseeable environmental conditions, to magnetic fields. In addition, some manufacturers provide further standalone information on this topic, an example of which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
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 5 January 2026, to Question 96853, on NHS England: Costs what estimate he has made of the (a) gross and (b) net number of civil servants who will leave the Civil Service due to redundancy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s ambition remains to reduce staff numbers by up to 50% across the Department, NHS England, and the integrated care boards, which is the equivalent to up to 18,000 posts, including a number of Civil Servants, through paid exits via voluntary exits and redundancies, natural attrition, and recruitment controls, combined together. These reductions will be made by March 2028. The overall cost of paid exits across organisations is estimated at approximately £1 billion to £1.3 billion. The calculations remain subject to ongoing policy development and refinement, and are also subject to actual take-up of exit schemes and calculated individual costs. Relevant, material financial information relating to this active policy development will be published in due course in line with transparency obligations. The Government remains committed to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication, to save more than £1 billion a year by the end of Parliament, which will go directly to improving patient outcomes.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
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 support available for families of individuals with substance misuse and addiction.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From this year, all drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services according to local need and can use this funding to support the families of individuals with a drug and/or alcohol treatment need.
The Department has published guidance specifically for adult treatment, and children and family services on how to effectively work together to support families affected by addiction. This is available at the following link:
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 has issued to local authorities on setting adult social care fee uplifts in financial year 2026-27.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes negotiating fees individually with care providers to achieve a sustainable balance of quality, effectiveness, and value for money.
The Department recognises that sustainable fee rates play a crucial role in improving the quality of care. Appropriate fee rates enable providers to recruit and retain a skilled workforce, ultimately supporting more stable, higher quality services for people who draw on care.
In December 2025, the Department launched a new publication, Adult social care priorities for local authorities: 2026 to 2027. The publication lists expectations for local authorities to help drive their delivery of the Government’s overall priorities for adult social care. It states that local authorities should, ‘set fee rates at a sustainable level, in line with commissioning priorities, to help shape markets and enable adult social care providers to recruit a skilled workforce and stabilise and improve workforce capacity, and in preparation for employment rights reforms, starting from financial year 2026, and the fair pay agreement, starting in financial year 2028’. Further information on the fair pay agreement is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fair-pay-agreement-process-in-adult-social-care
The publication is not statutory guidance, nor is it a replacement for local authorities’ existing statutory duties under the Care Act 2014, rather the expectations outlined in the publication are designed to help support local authorities in delivering their current statutory duties.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of pharmacies who have not been paid for carrying out Pharmacy First Consultations due to a shortening in the claim window in June 2025.
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: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the gender breakdown is of maternity services staff for each NHS trust.
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: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 regulate non-surgical aesthetic procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 7 August 2025, the Government announced its plans to introduce measures to improve the safety of the cosmetics sector. This included prioritising the introduction of legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.
In addition, the Government also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme in England for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed. To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.
The proposals will be taken forward through secondary legislation and therefore will be subject to the parliamentary process before the legal restrictions, or licensing regulations, can be introduced. We are now working with stakeholders to develop detailed plans and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in the spring.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham 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 impact of long working hours and workforce burnout on staff wellbeing, retention and safe staffing levels within the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know from engagement on the 10-Year Health Plan that many National Health Service staff feel disempowered and overwhelmed. Tackling this and providing proper support for staff is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive, including access to high quality health and wellbeing support.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will have a focus on supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. This includes the development of a new set of staff standards for modern employment, which will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention and are likely to focus on flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. Additionally, we will roll out Staff Treatment Hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.
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 staff responsible for UK Foundation programme allocation process are (a) NHS employees, (b) civil servants and (c) people involved in direct clinical care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) facilitates the operation and continuing development of the Foundation Programme. It is jointly funded and governed by NHS England and the four United Kingdom health departments.
All of the UKFPO’s administrative team are employees of the National Health Service, none are civil servants. Many of the team have wider experience of working in hospital settings directly with foundation doctors, or of working in foundation and medical education settings.
The UKFPO's National Clinical Director is a clinician, and the role of the Clinical Advisor for Recruitment is shared by two foundation school directors who are also both clinicians. The team is also directly responsible to medical directors in the four nation statutory education bodies (SEBs).
The UKFPO has a Foundation Recruitment Group which oversees its recruitment and allocation activity and processes. This group includes stakeholders like the Medical Schools Council, the British Medical Association, and medical school representatives, as well as the four nation SEBs.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to include physiotherapy graduates in the Graduate Guarantee Scheme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to expand the Graduate Guarantee to physiotherapy graduates.